At very nearly the same time the ancient Egyptian culture was thriving along the Nile River, another civilization was developing and flourishing in a similar manner. The vast fertile valley between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers sometimes called Mesopotamia was the birth place of the early Babylonian civilization. Actually the city of Babylon, its rulers and its culture domi nated for only a relatively few years the period we shall study. Over a span of about 5000 years, the center of authority and culture shifted from city to city within this great fertile valley.