Mesopotamia
Land between rivers
Mesopotamia is the ancient region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, roughly corresponding to modern Iraq.
The name means "between rivers" in Greek.
Often called the cradle of civilization, it's where writing, agriculture, and urban life first developed.
The Sumerians built the first cities in Mesopotamia.
The term now serves as shorthand for ancient Near Eastern civilization generally.
Western Asian river
- EuphratesMajor Iraqi river
- Fertile CrescentMideast arc where civilization began
- floodplainFlood-prone riverside lowland
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
cradle of civilization · canals · silt · alluvial · delta · marshes · arid · riverine
Early Mesopotamian metropolis
- cuneiformStylus-impressed ancient script
- zigguratStepped ancient temple mound
- GilgameshMesopotamian epic protagonist
- city-stateSelf-governing urban territory
temple · pictograph · lyre · wheel
Stylus-impressed ancient script
- zigguratStepped ancient temple mound
- polytheismBelief in multiple deities
- mythologyBody of traditional tales
- scribesProfessional document copiers
tablets · Epic of Gilgamesh · creation myth · priest · divination · brewing · pottery · metalwork
Ancient Mesopotamian capital
- HammurabiAncient Babylonian king-legislator
- Code of HammurabiAncient Babylonian legal collection
- NebuchadnezzarChaldean dynasty monarch
- MardukBabylonian supreme deity
Chaldean · astrology · astronomy · Enuma Elish · stele
Assyrian empire's seat
- royal librarySovereign's official book collection
- conquestDefeating and seizing control
- siege warfareSurrounding fortifications to force capitulation
- deportationLegal expulsion from country
Tigris
Western Asian river
- EuphratesMajor Iraqi river
- Fertile CrescentMideast arc where civilization began
- floodplainFlood-prone riverside lowland
cradle of civilization · irrigation · canals · silt · alluvial · delta · marshes · arid · riverine · levees
Ur
Early Mesopotamian metropolis
- cuneiformStylus-impressed ancient script
- zigguratStepped ancient temple mound
- GilgameshMesopotamian epic protagonist
city-state · temple · pictograph · lyre · wheel
cuneiform
Stylus-impressed ancient script
- zigguratStepped ancient temple mound
- polytheismBelief in multiple deities
- mythologyBody of traditional tales
scribes · tablets · Epic of Gilgamesh · creation myth · priest · divination · brewing · pottery · metalwork · textile
Babylon
Ancient Mesopotamian capital
- HammurabiAncient Babylonian king-legislator
- Code of HammurabiAncient Babylonian legal collection
- NebuchadnezzarChaldean dynasty monarch
Marduk · Chaldean · astrology · astronomy · Enuma Elish · stele
Nineveh
Assyrian empire's seat
- royal librarySovereign's official book collection
- conquestDefeating and seizing control
- siege warfareSurrounding fortifications to force capitulation
deportation · tribute · chariot · iron weapons · winged bull
empire
Domain under unified control
- SemiticOf Hebrew or Arabic peoples
- dynastySuccessive family rulers
- centralizationUnifying control in one place
- AsiaChina, India, Japan, Thailand, Korea
- ancient civilizationsAncient Egypt, Sumer, Ancient Greece, Aztecs, Egypt
- ancient historyancient history, ancient world, classical antiquity, ancient empires, Babylon
- ancient worldancient Greece, ancient Rome, ancient Egypt, pyramids, pyramid
- civilizationempires, empire, civilizations, dynasty, kingdoms
- Middle EastIraq, Baghdad, Cairo, Iran, Jordan
MesopotamiaEgypt
Northeastern African nation
Nile Valley · Indus Valley · Mesoamerica · Anatolia · Levant
Mesopotamiadesert
To leave behind completely
wasteland · Arabian Desert · Sahara · ocean · tundra
- ancient MesopotamiaEarly civilization between rivers