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Mesopotamia ( Greek: Μεσοποταμία, translated from Old Persian Miyanrudan "the Land between the Rivers" or the Aramaic name Beth-Nahrin "two rivers") is, strictly speaking, the alluvial plain lying between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (in modern Iraq and Syria), is a region of Southwest Asia. More commonly, the term includes these river plains in totality - not merely the land between the two rivers - as well as the surrounding lowland territories bounded by the Arabian Desert to the west and south, the Persian Gulf to the immediate south, the Zagros Mountains and the Caucasus mountains to the north.

Writings from Mesopotamia ( Uruk, modern Warka) are the earliest written work in the world, giving Mesopotamia the reputation of being the " Cradle of CivilizationCradle of Civilization is a title claimed by many regions of the world, but is most often applied to the ancient city states of Mesopotamia. See also Ancient Near East Cradle of Humanity.".

Mesopotamia was settled by, and conquered by, numerous ancient civilizations, including the SumeriansSumer (or Shumer Sumeria Shinar, native ki-en-gir formed the southern part of Mesopotamia from the time of settlement by the Sumerians until the time of Babylonia. Sumerian cuneiform script may pre-date any other form of writing, and dates to no later tha, AkkadiansAkkad (or Agade was a city and its region of northern Mesopotamia, (located in present-day Iraq) between Assyria to the northwest and Sumer to the south. It reached the height of its power between the 22nd and 18th centuries BC, before the rise of Babylon, BabyloniaBabylonia was an ancient state in Mesopotamia (in modern Iraq), combining the territories of Sumer and Akkad. Its capital was Babylon. The earliest mention of Babylon can be found in a tablet of the reign of Sargon of Akkad, dating back to the 23rd centurns, AssyriansThis article concerns the ancient Mesopotamian kingdom. For the modern-day peoples in northern Iraq and neighboring areas, see Assyrian. Assyria a country named after its original capital city, Asshur on the Tigris, was originally a colony of Babylonia, a and the Persian Empire. Peoples who threatened or invaded these lands include the HittitesHittites is the conventional English-language term for an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language and established a kingdom centered in Hattusa (the modern village of Bogazkoy in todays's north-central Turkey), through most of the second millen and the Elamites. During the time of the Persian Empire of Sassanids this area was called Dil-i Iranshahr meaning "Iran's Heart" and the metropol Ctesiphon, the capital of Persia was situated in Mesopotamia.

These civilizations arose from earlier settlements and cultures which were among the first to make use of agriculture.

Neolithic settlements e.g., Jarmo, Tell Abu Hureyra
Hassuna period
Halaf period (or Halafian)
Samarra period (or Samarran), e.g., Choga Mami
Ubaid period, e.g., Eridu
Uruk period , named after the city Uruk.
Sumerian Early Dynastic period

Early cities in this region include:

lower Mesopotamia / Sumer
- Ur
- Uruk
- Isin
- Lagash
Akkad
upper Mesopotamia

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