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

river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. It corresponds roughly to the
territory of modern Iraq[1][2] and forms the eastern geographic boundary of the
modern Middle East. Just beyond it lies southwestern Iran, where the region transitions
into the Persian plateau, marking the shift from the Arab world to Iran.[3] In the broader
sense, the historical region of Mesopotamia also includes parts of present-
day Iran (southwest), Turkey (southeast), Syria (northeast), and Kuwait.[4][5][6]

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.[7]

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.[8] In 539 BC,
Mesopotamia was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great. The
area was next conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. After his death, it was
fought over by the various Diadochi (successors of Alexander), of whom
the Seleucids emerged victorious.

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 under Ardashir I. The division of the region
between the Roman Empire and the Sassanid Empire lasted until the 7th
century Muslim conquest 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
[edit]
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; Persian: ‫ میان‌رودان‬miyân rudân; Syriac: ‫ ܒܝܬ‬Beth
Nahrain "(land) between the (two) rivers") comes from the ancient Greek root
words μέσος (mesos, 'middle') and ποταμός (potamos, 'river')[9] 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.

[10]
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.[11] 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.[12][13][14]

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.[12] 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.[11][15] It
has been argued[by whom?] that these later euphemisms[clarification needed] are Eurocentric terms
attributed to the region in the midst of various 19th-century Western encroachments. [15][16]

Geography
[edit]
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.[17]
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.[18] 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.[19] 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.[20] These trends have continued to the present day in Iraq.