| The early civilizations of western Asia and northeast Africa took shape in the 4th millennium B.C.E. Two major centers arose in Mesopotamia and Egypt, each with quite different characteristics but recurrent contacts in war, trade, and culture. Mesopotamian history was marked by recurrent invasions plus the formation of new empires and smaller kingdoms; societies in contact with this civilization center fanned out in North Africa (Carthage) and Asia Minor. The long period in the histories of both western Asia and Egypt extends from the formation of civilizations to the conquests first of the Persians, then of Alexander the Great. | 1 |
