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Irrigation allowed farms to be further away from rivers. Irrigation is an artificial way to bring water to the land or soil.
Farming
Because the irrigation system drew the water from the river.
Irrigation systems played a large role in the development of civilization because these systems allowed farming to begin in areas away from the coasts or from rivers. This meant that civilizations were able to spread inland and grow larger.
Mesopotamia was crossed by two long rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates. These two rivers allowed the development of agriculture. Water from the two rivers was used to irrigate the land near the rivers by building irrigation canals. Good agricultural conditions created prosperity and the rise of rulers who probably co-ordinated the construction of the canals. They appropriated a large part of the harvest, which made them rich.