I.

Introduction

Mesopotamia (Greek, “the land between the rivers”), area in western Asia, lying between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, in which the world's earliest urban civilizations arose, around 3500 bc. Mesopotamia, known as “the cradle of civilization”, was the centre of Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Chaldean civilizations. The area now forms most of modern Iraq, south-eastern Turkey, and eastern Syria.

The Tigris and Euphrates lie about 400 km (250 mi) apart as they flow south out of Turkey; the Euphrates runs for 1,300 km (800 mi), and the Tigris for 885 km (550 mi) before they join, reaching the Persian Gulf as the Shatt Al Arab. The valleys and plains of Mesopotamia are accessible from the rivers and their tributaries, the hills to the north and east, and the Arabian Desert and Syrian steppe to the west. The natural wealth of Mesopotamia has always attracted people from poorer neighbouring regions, and its history is one of continuous migration and invasion. Rainfall is low in most of the region, but when irrigated by canals the fertile soil yields heavy crops. The cultivation of date palms in the south provides a rich supply of food, fibre, wood, and fodder. Both rivers have fish, and the southern marshes contain wildfowl.

II.

Early Mesopotamian States

The need for irrigation and self-defence led the ancient Mesopotamians to organize and build canals and walled settlements. After 6000 bc the settlements grew, becoming cities by the 4th millennium bc. The earliest settlement in the region is probably Eridu, but the most remarkable example is Erech (Uruk) in the south, where mud-brick temples were decorated with fine metalwork and stone carving, and where the earliest written Mesopotamian documents (3rd millennium bc) were found. The development of an administration also stimulated the invention of a form of writing, cuneiform. The Sumerians were probably responsible for this early urban culture, which spread north up the Euphrates. Other important settlements of Sumer were Adab, Isin, Kish, Larsa, Nippur, and Ur.

About 2330 bc the region was conquered by the Akkadians, a Semitic people (see Semites) from central Mesopotamia. Their king, Sargon I, called the Great (reigned about 2335-2279 bc), founded the dynasty of Akkad, and at this time the Akkadian language began to replace Sumerian. The Gutians, people from the eastern hills, ended Akkadian rule about 2218 bc, and, after an interval, the 3rd Dynasty of Ur came to rule much of Mesopotamia. At Ur, there was a final flowering of Sumerian traditions. Invaders from the northern kingdom of Elam destroyed the city of Ur about 2000 bc. Under their rule no single city gained overall control until the mid-18th century, when Hammurabi of Babylon united the country for a few years at the end of his reign. At the same time, an Amorite family gained control of Ashur to the north; both Babylon and Ashur, however, soon fell to newcomers. About 1595 bc the Hittites raided Babylon, which soon after came under the control of the Kassites. During the following 400 years Babylonia flourished; its kings were equal to the pharaohs of Egypt and its population traded widely. Ashur fell to the Mitanni state, set up by Hurrians from the Caucasus, who were probably related to the people of Urartu. The Hurrians had been in Mesopotamia for centuries, but after 1700 bc they spread in large numbers across the whole of the north and into Anatolia.

III.

The Assyrian and Chaldean Empires

About 1350 bc, the northern Mesopotamian kingdom of Assyria began to assert itself. Assyrian armies defeated Mitanni, conquered Babylon briefly about 1225 bc, and reached the Mediterranean about 1100 bc. Over the next two centuries, this expansion was halted by Aramaeans from the Syrian steppe and, with the help of Chaldeans they overran Babylonia. Assyria fought these and other peoples, expanding again after 910 bc. At its greatest extent (c. 730-650 bc) the Assyrian Empire controlled the Middle East from Egypt to the Persian Gulf. Conquered regions were left under client kings or, if troublesome, annexed. Following ancient practice, rebellious subjects were deported, resulting in a mixture of races across the empire. Frequent revolts demanded a strong military machine, but it could not maintain control of so vast a realm for long. Internal pressures and attacks from the peoples of Media and the Chaldeans in Babylonia caused Assyria to collapse in 612 bc. The Medes took the hill country, leaving Mesopotamia to the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar II. The Chaldeans ruled Mesopotamia until 539 bc, when Cyrus the Great of Persia, who had conquered Media, captured Babylon.

IV.

Persian Rule

Under the Persians, Mesopotamia was divided into the satrapies (provinces) of Babylon and Ashur, with Babylon playing a major role in the empire. The Aramaic language, widely spoken earlier, became the common language, and the establishment of an imperial government brought stability to the region. In the end, however, the regime proved too oppressive and Mesopotamia's prosperity declined.

V.

Hellenistic and Roman Times

Alexander the Great conquered Asia Minor in 331 bc. After his death in 323 bc, his empire disintegrated. Seleucus I entered Babylon in 312 bc, assuming possession of Mesopotamia and Persia. A dozen cities were founded—Seleucia on the Tigris being the largest—bringing Hellenistic culture, trade, and renewed prosperity to the region. A major new canal system, the Nahrawan, was also built. About 250 bc the Arsacid rulers of Parthia took Mesopotamia from the Seleucids. The Parthians organized their empire so that several autonomous vassal states developed, in which Greek and Persian ideas mingled. After weathering three major Roman invasions, the Parthians fell in ad 226 to the Sasanians of Persia, whose domain extended from the Euphrates to modern Afghanistan. They established an effective government with a hierarchy of officials and improved the system of irrigation canals and drainage. Intermittent conflict in the north-west with the Roman province of Syria—later part of the Byzantine empire (after 395)—and with Arabs in the desert border areas led to the destruction of the Sasanian empire in 635 by the Arabs who brought with them the new religion of Islam.

VI.

Medieval and Modern Times

Between 635 and 750 Mesopotamia was ruled by the Umayyad caliphs of Damascus. During that time many peoples settled in the land, and the Arabic language displaced Greek and Persian. Conflicts between the Muslims culminated in the construction of Baghdad as the new capital of a Muslim empire under the Abbasid caliphs. The caliphs imported Turkish slave troops, who gradually took control, establishing dynasties of their own in the area. After the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258, administrative decay and further attacks by Bedouin and Mongols (1401) led to the deterioration of the canal system, which in turn affected agriculture.

The Ottoman Turks and Safavid Persian rulers vied for control of Mesopotamia from the 16th to the 18th century, when family dynasties controlled Baghdad and other Mesopotamian cities. The Turks eventually prevailed. During World War I British troops took the area after much hard fighting. The League of Nations then mandated Iraq to Great Britain and Syria to France. Iraq became independent in 1932, Syria in 1945.