<P> The Fertile Crescent (also known as the cradle of civilization) is a crescent - shaped region containing the comparatively moist and fertile areas of what is an otherwise arid and semi-arid Western Asia, the Nile Valley and Nile Delta . It was created by the inundations of the surrounding Nile, Euphrates, and Tigris rivers . Having originated in the study of ancient history, the concept soon developed and today retains meanings in international geopolitics and diplomatic relations . </P> <P> The Fertile Crescent includes Mesopotamia, the land in and around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; and the Levant, the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea . The modern - day countries with significant territory within the Fertile Crescent are Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, as well as the southeastern fringe of Turkey and the western fringes of Iran . </P> <P> The region saw the development of some of the earliest human civilizations, which flourished thanks to the water supplies and agricultural resources available in the Fertile Crescent . Technological advances made in the region include the development of writing, glass, the wheel, agriculture, and the use of irrigation . </P> <P> The term "Fertile Crescent" was popularized by University of Chicago archaeologist James Henry Breasted, beginning with his high school textbooks Outlines of European History in 1914 and Ancient Times, A History of the Early World in 1916 . Breasted's 1916 textbook description of the Fertile Crescent: </P>

Which important resource used today is found in the southern part of the fertile crescent