The Mediterranean: The Asian and African Roots of the Cradle of Civilization

In Antiquity, the regions encompassed by the Mediterranean Sea were extremely fertile allowing rapid prosperity. This wealth combined with the easy communication between banks contributed to a rich and successful transmission of knowledge, especially during the 1st millennium BC, which turned the Great Sea the core of Ancient History. Later, the Mediterranean civilization was acknowledged as the fundamental political, cultural, artistic and religious substratum for the construction of the so-called Western world. Yet, it was in Egypt and Mesopotamia, during the 4th and 3rd millennia BC that many of these foundations were first set. The Ancient Mediterranean world was not just influenced by its African and Asian neighbours but was in fact defined by a profound communion, at all levels, between these different regions. In the twenty-first century, however, many European countries still insist in portraying themselves as direct heirs of the combined Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian traditions, disregarding their African and Asian roots. As a result of this flawed self-perception, a gap between Europe, Africa and Asia came to be, bearing deep consequences to the present. With this contribution, we aim to reclaim the importance of these other legacies to the construction of the cradle of the civilization.