The Fertile Crescent is a crescent-shape region in the Middle East incorporating the Levant, Ancient Mesopotamia, and Ancient Egypt, known as the "Cradle of Civilization." The term "Fertile Crescent" was coined by University of Chicago archaeologist James Henry Breasted, around 1900. The region was named the "Fertile Crescent" because of its rich soil and half-moon shape. The Fertile Crescent was divided into 1) the eastern portion, consisting of the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys, called Mesopotamia (land between the rivers), and 2) the western, or Mediterranean, portion.