Mesopotamia

In Greek this region means “between the rivers”. It earned this name because of its location between the Euphrates and Tigris. Its approximate size is three hundred miles long and a hundred and fifty miles in width. Hills and plains can be located in the northern part of this geological landmass. This region is fairly fertile due to seasonal rains, rivers, and streams flowing from the mountains. Three essential natural resources that can be found in this region are timber, metals, and stones. Timber for house building and fire, metals and stones for tools. The south was made up of marshy lands. Mesopotamia is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Caspian Sea, and Egypt.

The first people to settle this land were the Sumerians in the southern part. They first occupied the land but constantly were at war for water and other reasons. They eventually lost to the Acadians who spoke a language similar to Hebrew and Arabic. The Sumerians tried to come back and had some success. The Amorites came later and took control of most of the land. Next came the Hittites which are Indo – European and spoke an early indo – European language which would have been something like Persian, English, German, and Dutch all in one. Their empire was the greatest from 1600 – 1200 B.C. Even after the Assyrians took over they still controlled some territories until they were finally conquered by others. Others that came to the land later were the Kassites and Chaldeans.

Early peoples came to this land because of its many resources. It has lumber, water, its geography, seasona