"Mesopotamia (from the Greek, meaning "between two rivers") was an ancient region located in the Near East (Middle East) bounded in the northeast by the Zagros Mountains and in the southeast by the Arabian Plateau, corresponding to modern-day Iraq and parts of Iran, Syria, Kuwait, and Turkey and known as the Fertile Crescent and the "cradle of civilization." The "two rivers" of the name refer to the Tigris and the Euphrates, and the land was known as Al-Jazirah (the island) to the Arabs"
"Mesopotamia was the home of many different civilizations spanning thousands of years, which contributed significantly to world culture and progress. Many of the aspects of daily life taken for granted in the present day, such as writing, the wheel, a code of laws, the sail, the concept of the 24-hour day, beer-brewing, civil rights, and irrigation of crops all were first developed in the land between two rivers, which was home to the great Mesopotamian civilizations, the beginning of beginnings."
Mesopotamia lay in the Near East between the Zagros Mountains and the Arabian Plateau, corresponding to modern Iraq and parts of Iran, Syria, Kuwait, and Turkey. The name means 'between two rivers,' referring to the Tigris and Euphrates, and the region was called Al-Jazirah by Arabs and the Fertile Crescent by later scholars. Mesopotamia produced many foundational innovations including writing, the wheel, legal codes, sailing, the 24-hour day, beer brewing, civil rights concepts, and irrigation. The region contained diverse civilizations rather than a single unified state. Shared elements across periods included city prominence, literacy, pantheons of gods, and sometimes expanded rights for women.
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