Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia[a] is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river
system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day
Iraq.[1][2] In the broader sense, the historical region of Mesopotamia included parts of present-
day Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey.[3][4]

The Sumerians and Akkadians (including Assyrians and Babylonians), each originating from
different areas, dominated Mesopotamia from the beginning of recorded history (c. 3100 BC) to
the fall of Babylon in 539 BC, when it was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire. Mesopotamia
was next conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, and after his death, it became part of the
Greek Seleucid Empire.

Mesopotamia is the site of the earliest developments of the Neolithic Revolution from around
10,000 BC. It has been identified as having "inspired some of the most important developments
in human history, including the invention of the wheel, the planting of the first cereal crops, and
the development of cursive script, mathematics, astronomy, and agriculture". It is recognised as
the cradle of some of the world's earliest civilizations.[5]

Around 150 BC, Mesopotamia was under the control of the Parthian Empire. It became a
battleground between the Romans and Parthians, with western parts of the region coming under
ephemeral Roman control. In 226 AD, the eastern regions of Mesopotamia fell to the Sassanid
Persians. The division of the region between the Roman (Byzantine Empire from 395 AD) and
Sassanid Empires lasted until the 7th century Muslim conquest of Persia of the Sasanian Empire
and Muslim conquest of the Levant from Byzantines. 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.