<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Parts of this article (those related to Modern history) need to be updated . Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . (March 2015) </Td> </Tr> <P> The petroleum industry is not of recent origin, but petroleum's current status as the key component of politics, society, and technology has its roots in the early 20th century . The invention of the internal combustion engine was the major influence in the rise in the importance of petroleum . </P> <P> Four thousand years ago, according to Herodotus and confirmed by Diodorus Siculus, asphalt was used in the construction of the walls and towers of Babylon; there were oil pits near Ardericca (near Babylon), and a pitch spring on Zacynthus (Ionian islands, Greece). Great quantities of it were found on the banks of the river Issus, one of the tributaries of the Euphrates . Ancient Persian tablets indicate the medicinal and lighting uses of petroleum in the upper levels of their society . </P> <P> Oil was exploited in the Roman province of Dacia, now in Romania, where it was called picula . </P>

Where was oil first discovered in the world