The term "cradle of civilization" was coined by British archaeologist Austen Henry Layard in 1847. At that time, he was trying to explain how ancient Assyria had been so innovative and advanced when compared with other parts of the world at that time. His argument was that since modern Iraq had been inhabited for more than 10,000 years, it was clear that some type of culture had existed there before the Arab invasion around 600 AD. He called this previous culture the "cradle of civilization."