section_path: Near East
section_name: Near East
paragraph_text: Near East
  
  West Asia and the Near East were the first regions to enter the Bronze Age, beginning with the rise of the Mesopotamian civilization of Sumer in the mid-4th millennium BC. Cultures in the ancient Near East practised intensive year-round agriculture; developed writing systems; invented the potter's wheel, created centralized governments (usually in the form of hereditary monarchies), written law codes, city-states and nation-states and empires; embarked on advanced architectural projects; and introduced social stratification, economic and civil administration, slavery, and practised organized warfare, medicine, and religion. Societies in the region laid the foundations for astronomy, mathematics, and astrology.
  
  The following dates are approximate. For details, consult linked articles.