In the previous thousand years,^[1]http://www.timemaps.com/history/middle-east-3500bc the influence of Mesopotamian civilization^[2]http://www.timemaps.com/history/iraq-2500bc has spread far and wide, carried by the trade networks radiating outwards from the Sumerian cities. Towns and cities are now scattered over a large part of the Middle East, with outlying regions such as Asia Minor^[3]http://www.timemaps.com/history/turkey-2500bc and Iran^[4]http://www.timemaps.com/history/iran-2500bc being drawn into the orbit of urban civilization.

The second great civilization of the ancient world is now well established. Situated in the Nile valley, Egypt^[5]http://www.timemaps.com/history/ancient-egypt-2500bc has already produced some of the most famous structures in all history, the great Pyramids of Giza.