Fact file

Area: Southwest Asia

Mesopotamia is derived from the Persian and Aramaic words: between rivers and House of Two rivers.  It is a region of Southwest Asia.  It composed parts of Iraq, Turkey and Syria.

Mesopotamia is famous as the site of some of the oldest civilizations in the world.

Writings from Mesopotamia are among the earliest known in the world.  The age of Sumerian writing is about as old as Egyptian hieroglyphs, and some even older.

Mesopotamia was the home to some of the oldest civilizations including Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians and Assyrians.  The Sumerians arrived in Mesopotamia 5000 BC.

Mesopotamia was a threat to the Pharaoh in Egypt because of expansion of civilization until Mesopotamia was axed by Alexander the Great.

It is now divided into two regions: northern Mesopotamia and southern Iraq.

Map

Overview map of ancient Mesopotamia:

Gallery

A Mesopotamian lapis lazuli pendant circa 2900 BC:

Sumerian list of gods in cuneiform script, ca. 24th century BC:

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