Mesopotamia

[ mes-uh-puh-tey-mee-uh ]

/ ˌmɛs ə pəˈteɪ mi ə /

noun

an ancient region in W Asia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers: now part of Iraq.

Related forms

Mes·o·po·ta·mi·an, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mesopotamia

It started in the south, Chan says, then spread to Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Iran, as well as to the Greco-Roman world.
When Saudi Arabia Ruled the World|Emily Wilson|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
U.S. advisers there repeated the familiar mantra I heard many times during my tour in Mesopotamia… “Iraqi good enough.”
The View of Iraq From Troops in Afghanistan|Nick Willard|June 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Both built themselves new capitals, the Persian in Ctesiphon in Mesopotamia; the Romans in Constantinople.
David's Book Club: In the Shadow of the Sword|David Frum|June 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Christians were residing in Mesopotamia more than 500 years before Muslims arrived in the region.
Hillary's Troubling Silence|Reza Aslan|November 13, 2010|DAILY BEAST

Fundamentalist Sunni Islam was gaining ground fast in Mesopotamia in the 1990s as Baathism collapsed as an ideology.
The Next Wave of Jihadists|Reuel Marc Gerecht|March 11, 2010|DAILY BEAST
As the papyri of Egypt have been forced to give up their secrets, so have the clay cylinders of Mesopotamia.
Human Life|Sherwood Sweet Knight
The onager of Mesopotamia is a very beautiful animal, with its grey glossy coat, and its lively and rapid action.
History Of Egypt, Chalda, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 3 (of 12)|G. Maspero
The religion of Mesopotamia did not require the believer to preserve his dead, as in Egypt.
The World's Progress, Vol. I (of X)|Various
Mesopotamia might, in case of necessity, be abandoned, if the native land were made secure.
The History of Antiquity, Vol. III (of VI)|Max Duncker
Jacob, also, on his return from Mesopotamia, pitched his tent in this then pastoral region.
Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow|Eliza R. Snow Smith

British Dictionary definitions for mesopotamia

Mesopotamia

/ (ˌmɛsəpəˈteɪmɪə) /

noun

a region of SW Asia between the lower and middle reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers: site of several ancient civilizations

Word Origin for Mesopotamia

Latin from Greek mesopotamia (khora) (the land) between rivers

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Culture definitions for mesopotamia

Mesopotamia

[ (mes-uh-puh-tay-mee-uh) ]

A region of western Asia, in what is now Iraq, known as the “cradle of civilization.” Western writing first developed there, done with sticks on clay tablets. Agricultural organization on a large scale also began in Mesopotamia, along with work in bronze and iron (see Bronze Age and Iron Age). Governmental systems in the region were especially advanced (see Babylon (see also Babylon) and Hammurabi). A number of peoples lived in Mesopotamia, including the Sumerians, Akkadians, Hittites, and Assyrians.