How did Mesopotamia fall?
“The Fall of Mesopotamia The following contributed to the fall of Mesopotamia: 1. Overcrowding led to pollution. 2. War-like tribes trying for geographic influence. 3. Too much irrigation. They had irrigated all the way to the sea and the soil was ruined by salt. After the Hittites withdrew, nothing much was known about the next four centuries, a dark ages.” (http://mr_sedivy.tripod.com/pho_mes2.htm… “Poisoned fields: A contributor to collapse Along with factors such as war and changes in the environment, scientists now believe irrigation techniques played an important role in Mashkan-shapir’s collapse. The same process that allowed farming in this region also eventually made it impossible to farm. Irrigation has a Catch-22: if irrigation water is allowed to sit on the fields and evaporate, it leaves behind mineral salts; if attempts are made to drain off irrigation water and it flows through the soil too quickly,