Mesopotamia
From ArchaeoWiki
Mesopotamia |ˈmɛsəpəˌteɪmɪə| (Arabic: بين نهرين Bayn Nahrain "between the two rivers") refers to an extensive region in south-west Asia presently administered by the modern states of Iraq (predominately), eastern Syria and south-eastern Turkey.
The term Mesopotamia derives from the ancient Greek μέσος "between" + ποταμός "river", which was originally employed to refer solely to the area between the Euphrates and the Tigris Rivers, but which by convention was used—and continues to be so employed by archaeologists and historians—to the fertile valleys of both rivers and their tributaries, as well as the surrounding territories, some of which are best described as both steppe and desert. It should be noted that a political entity named Mesopotamia has never existed, nor does Mesopotamia have any strict boundaries.
Mesopotamia is widely recognised as one of the regions in the Near East first experiencing the developmental transition to hydraulic and urban civilisation, duly celebrated as a "cradle of civilisation" and the eastern segment of the Fertile Crescent.
