Archaeological work has shown that numerous early cities such as Uruk, Eridu and Hamoukar flourished in Mesopotamia. An ancient Babylonian myth claims that Eridu, a site located in southern Iraq, is the oldest city in the world and was created by the gods, wrote Zainab Bahrani, a professor of ancient near-eastern art and archaeology at Columbia University, in her book "Mesopotamia: Ancient Art and Architecture" (Thames & Hudson, 2017).
"A city had not been made, a living creature had not been placed. All the lands were sea... Then Eridu was made," part of the myth says in translation.
While the ancient Babylonians believed that Eridu was the first city on the planet, modern-day archaeologists are not so sure.
Mesopotamia is located in the region now known as the Middle East, which includes parts of southwest Asia and lands around the eastern Merranean Sea.