Iraq was known in the west as Mesopotamia until the 20th century. The ruins of Ur, Babylon, and other ancient cities are here, as is the legendary location of the Garden of Eden. Almost 75% of Iraq's population lives in the flat, alluvial plain stretching southeast from Baghdad to Basra and the Persian Gulf. The Tigris River and the Euphrates River carry about 70 million cubic meters of silt annually from this plain down to the delta. The water from these two great rivers, and the fertility of… (More on Iraqis)