Mesopatam

Mesopotamia[a] is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–
Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today,
Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq.[1][2] In the broader sense, the
historical region of Mesopotamia also includes parts of present-day Iran, Turkey,
Syria and Kuwait.[3][4]
Mesopotamia is the site of the earliest developments of the Neolithic Revolution

from around 10,000 BC. It has been identified as having "inspired some of the most
important developments in human history, including the invention of the wheel, the
planting of the first cereal crops, the development of cursive script, mathematics,
astronomy, and agriculture". It is recognised as the cradle of some of the world's
earliest civilizations.[5]
The Sumerians and Akkadians, each originating from different areas, dominated
Mesopotamia from the beginning of recorded history (c. 3100 BC) to the fall of
Babylon in 539 BC. The rise of empires, beginning with Sargon of Akkad around 2350
BC, characterized the subsequent 2,000 years of Mesopotamian history, marked by the
succession of kingdoms and empires such as the Akkadian Empire. The early second
millennium BC saw the polarization of Mesopotamian society into Assyria in the
north and Babylonia in the south. From 900 to 612 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire
asserted control over much of the ancient Near East. Subsequently, the Babylonians,
who had long been overshadowed by Assyria, seized power, dominating the region for
a century as the final independent Mesopotamian realm until the modern era.[6] In
539 BC, Mesopotamia was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire. The area was next
conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. After his death, it became part of the
Greek Seleucid Empire.
Around 150 BC, Mesopotamia was under the control of the Parthian Empire. It became
a battleground between the Romans and Parthians, with western parts of the region
coming under ephemeral Roman control. In 226 AD, the eastern regions of Mesopotamia
fell to the Sassanid Persians. The division of the region between the Roman
Byzantine Empire from 395 AD and the Sassanid Empire lasted until the 7th century
Muslim conquest of Persia of the Sasanian Empire and the Muslim conquest of the
Levant from the Byzantines. A number of primarily neo-Assyrian and Christian native
Mesopotamian states existed between the 1st century BC and 3rd century AD,
including Adiabene, Osroene, and Hatra.
Etymology
The regional toponym Mesopotamia (/ˌmɛsəpəˈteɪmiə/, Ancient Greek: Μεσοποταμία
'[land] between rivers'; Arabic: ‫ ِب َلاد ٱل َّرا ِف َد ْين‬Bilād ar-Rāfidayn or ‫ َب ْين ٱل َّن ْه َر ْين‬Bayn an-Nahrayn;
‫ م ی ا ن ‌ر و د ا ن‬miyân rudân; Syriac: U ‫ ܒܝܬ‬Beth Nahrain "(land) between the (two)
Persian:
rivers") comes from the ancient Greek root words μέσος (mesos, 'middle') and
ποταμός (potamos, 'river')[7] and translates to '(land) between rivers', likely
being a calque of the older Aramaic term, with the Aramaic term itself likely being
a calque of the Akkadian birit narim. It is used throughout the Greek Septuagint
(c. 250 BC) to translate the Hebrew and Aramaic equivalent Naharaim. An even
earlier Greek usage of the name Mesopotamia is evident from The Anabasis of
Alexander, which was written in the late 2nd century AD but specifically refers to
sources from the time of Alexander the Great. In the Anabasis, Mesopotamia was used
to designate the land east of the Euphrates in north Syria.
The Akkadian term biritum/birit narim corresponded to a similar geographical

concept.[8] Later, the term Mesopotamia was more generally applied to all the lands
between the Euphrates and the Tigris, thereby incorporating not only parts of Syria
but also almost all of Iraq and southeastern Turkey.[9] The neighbouring steppes to
the west of the Euphrates and the western part of the Zagros Mountains are also
often included under the wider term Mesopotamia.[10][11][12]
A further distinction is usually made between Northern or Upper Mesopotamia and

Southern or Lower Mesopotamia.[2] Upper Mesopotamia, also known as the Jazira, is
the area between the Euphrates and the Tigris from their sources down to Baghdad.
[10] Lower Mesopotamia is the area from Baghdad to the Persian Gulf and includes
Kuwait and parts of western Iran.[2]
In modern academic usage, the term Mesopotamia often also has a chronological
connotation. It is usually used to designate the area until the Muslim conquests,
with names like Syria, Jazira, and Iraq being used to describe the region after
that date.[9][13] It has been argued that these later euphemisms[clarification
needed] are Eurocentric terms attributed to the region in the midst of various
19th-century Western encroachments.[13][14]
Geography
Main article: Geography of Mesopotamia
The Tigris river flowing through the region of modern Mosul in Upper Mesopotamia.
Mesopotamian Marshes at night, southern Iraq. A reed house (Mudhif) and a narrow
canoe (Mashoof) are in the water. Mudhif structures have been one of the
traditional types of structures, built by the Marsh people of southern Mesopotamia
for at least 5,000 years. A carved elevation of a typical mudhif, dating to around
3,300 BC was discovered at Uruk.[15]
Mesopotamia encompasses the land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, both of
which have their headwaters in the neighboring Armenian highlands. Both rivers are
fed by numerous tributaries, and the entire river system drains a vast mountainous
region. Overland routes in Mesopotamia usually follow the Euphrates because the
banks of the Tigris are frequently steep and difficult. The climate of the region
is semi-arid with a vast desert expanse in the north which gives way to a 15,000-
square-kilometre (5,800 sq mi) region of marshes, lagoons, mudflats, and reed banks
in the south. In the extreme south, the Euphrates and the Tigris unite and empty
into the Persian Gulf.
The arid environment ranges from the northern areas of rain-fed agriculture to the
south where irrigation of agriculture is essential.[16] This irrigation is aided by
a high water table and by melting snows from the high peaks of the northern Zagros
Mountains and from the Armenian Highlands, the source of the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers that give the region its name. The usefulness of irrigation depends upon the
ability to mobilize sufficient labor for the construction and maintenance of
canals, and this, from the earliest period, has assisted the development of urban
settlements and centralized systems of political authority.
Agriculture throughout the region has been supplemented by nomadic pastoralism,

where tent-dwelling nomads herded sheep and goats (and later camels) from the river
pastures in the dry summer months, out into seasonal grazing lands on the desert
fringe in the wet winter season. The area is generally lacking in building stone,
precious metals, and timber, and so historically has relied upon long-distance
trade of agricultural products to secure these items from outlying areas.[17] In
the marshlands to the south of the area, a complex water-borne fishing culture has
existed since prehistoric times and has added to the cultural mix.
Periodic breakdowns in the cultural system have occurred for a number of reasons.
The demands for labor has from time to time led to population increases that push
the limits of the ecological carrying capacity, and should a period of climatic
instability ensue, collapsing central government and declining populations can
occur. Alternatively, military vulnerability to invasion from marginal hill tribes
or nomadic pastoralists has led to periods of trade collapse and neglect of
irrigation systems. Equally, centripetal tendencies amongst city-states have meant
that central authority over the whole region, when imposed, has tended to be
ephemeral, and localism has fragmented power into tribal or smaller regional units.
[18] These trends have continued to the present day in Iraq.

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Mesopotamia[a] is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–

Mesopotamia is the site of the earliest developments of the Neolithic Revolution

The Akkadian term biritum/birit narim corresponded to a similar geographical

A further distinction is usually made between Northern or Upper Mesopotamia and

Agriculture throughout the region has been supplemented by nomadic pastoralism,

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