The low sedimentary lands of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in southern Mesopotamia are widely known as the "cradle of civilization" because of the size of urbanization that occurred in the region in the second half of the fourth millennium BC. "Ancient Mesopotamia at the Dawn of Civilization", Guillermo Aljazi draws on the work of modern geographers to explore how the unique and geographical river environment of the Tigris and Euphrates influenced the development of urban civilization in southern Mesopotamia. It argues that these natural conditions give rural areas significant competitive advantages over their landlocked competitors elsewhere in Southwest Asia and, more importantly, the ability to transport goods easily.

In due course, this has led to increased commercial and economic activity and increased population density in the south was possible elsewhere. With the growth of southern political movements in size and complexity during the fourth millennium, new revolutionary forms of labor organization and record-keeping were created.

These socially created innovations, al-Azzaz says, are the reason behind the emergence of developed cities in the south. Mesopotamia from anywhere else in Southwest Asia or the world..