Mesopotamia (from the Greek: Μεσοποταμία: "[land] between rivers"; Arabic: بلاد الرافدين (bilād al-rāfidayn); Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪܝܢ (Beth Nahrain): "land of rivers") is a name
for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, corresponding to
modern-day Iraq, the northeastern section of Syria and to a much lesser extent southeastern Turkey,
smaller parts of southwestern Iran and Kuwait.
Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization in the West, Bronze
Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian empires, all native to the territory of
modern-day Iraq. In the Iron Age, it was controlled by the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian
empires. The indigenous Sumerians and Akkadians (including
Assyrians and Babylonians) dominated Mesopotamia from the beginning of written
history (c. 3100 BC) to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC, when it was conquered by
the Achaemenid Empire. It fell to Alexander the Great
in 332 BC, and after his death, it became part of the Greek Seleucid Empire.
Around 150 BC, Mesopotamia was under the control of the Parthians. Mesopotamia became a battleground
between the Romans and Parthians, with parts of Mesopotamia coming under
ephemeral Roman control. In AD 226, it fell to the Sassanid Persians and
remained under Persian rule until the 7th-century Arab Islamic conquest of the Sassanid Empire. 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.
for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, corresponding to
modern-day Iraq, the northeastern section of Syria and to a much lesser extent southeastern Turkey,
smaller parts of southwestern Iran and Kuwait.
Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization in the West, Bronze
Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian empires, all native to the territory of
modern-day Iraq. In the Iron Age, it was controlled by the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian
empires. The indigenous Sumerians and Akkadians (including
Assyrians and Babylonians) dominated Mesopotamia from the beginning of written
history (c. 3100 BC) to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC, when it was conquered by
the Achaemenid Empire. It fell to Alexander the Great
in 332 BC, and after his death, it became part of the Greek Seleucid Empire.
Around 150 BC, Mesopotamia was under the control of the Parthians. Mesopotamia became a battleground
between the Romans and Parthians, with parts of Mesopotamia coming under
ephemeral Roman control. In AD 226, it fell to the Sassanid Persians and
remained under Persian rule until the 7th-century Arab Islamic conquest of the Sassanid Empire. 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.