Mesopotamia and Babylonia with the course of the Euphrates and Tigris

Mid-18th century map of the ancient Fertile Crescent.

Arcing from the eastern the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, across Mesopotamia (literally, the land between rivers) to the Persian Gulf, the Fertile Crescent is where some of the world’s first agricultural communities are thought to have been established. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers both played an important role in irrigating and fertilizing this lush region, which saw the rise of mankind’s earliest civilizations.

This map, published anonymously in a mid-18th century travel volume, shows the region in some detail. Topography is depicted pictorially and various peaks, cities, regions, and tribes are individually labeled. Place names often span hundreds, if not thousands of years. Of particular note are Antioch, Babylon, Edessa, Nineveh and Gaugamela.