ABSTRACT
Nowhere in the recorded history of man is the inuence of poor water management more graphically illustrated than in the desert region of the Middle East occupied by present day Iraq. The land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in southern Iraq, known as the cradle of civilization, ancient Mesopotamia (the land between the rivers), or Sumer in ancient times, is now desolate and barren, consisting of salt-encrusted soils. At one time (beginning over 6000 years ago), this region, a desert then as it is now, consisted of lush and productive elds of cereal grains, palm groves, and forage for livestock. The Sumerians colonized and transformed the desert by diverting water from the Euphrates River through a series of canals. They introduced irrigated agriculture to the region. The irrigation practices that were begun by the Sumerians continued under subsequent dynasties, such as the Akkadians and the Assyrians.
