These people exist today as the modern Assyrians who are wholly Eastern Rite Christian but retain a distinct Mesopotamian language, Neo Aramaic ( which descends from the Aramaic first spoken in Mesopotamia in 1200 BCE and still retains hundreds of Akkadian loan words ) and identity and the naming of children with ancient names such as Ashur, Shamash, Semiramis, Lamassu, Ninus, Lilitu / Lilith, Sargon, Hadad etc.

Assyrians to this day still use the names of ancient Mesopotamian gods and rulers as both first and last names ; Ashur, Hadad, Shamash, Lilitu / Lilith, Sennacherib, Sin ( Shinu ), Sargon, Semiramis, Ishtar and Lamassu for example are still common names, and some months in the Assyrian calendar are named after ancient gods such as Tammuz, and all periods are listed as being blessed by ancient gods.

The city had temples to Nergal ( Babylonian and Akkadian ), Hermes ( Greek ), Atargatis ( Syro-Aramaean ), Allat and Shamiyyah ( Arabian ) and Shamash ( the Mesopotamian sun god ).

Minimally, there are four straight rays and four wavy rays ( as in the ancient Mesopotamian symbol of the sun-god Shamash ), but there can be a higher number.

Mesopotamian limestone cylinder seal and impression — worship of Shamash, ( Musée du Louvre | Louvre )

Formerly the Department of the Ancient Near East, with a collection numbering some 330, 000 works, the British Museum possesses by far the world's largest and most important collection of Mesopotamian antiquities outside Iraq.

Its history is important to understanding the origin and development of the Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Canaanite, Israeli, Phoenician, Carthaginian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, Christian and Islamic cultures.

In c. 1801 BC, the powerful kingdom of Elam, which straddled important trade routes across the Zagros Mountains, invaded the Mesopotamian plain.

Some of the important historical Mesopotamian leaders were Ur-Nammu ( king of Ur ), Sargon ( who established the Akkadian Empire ), Hammurabi ( who established the Old Babylonian state ), Ashur-uballit II and Tiglath-Pileser I ( who established the Assyrian Empires ).

It hosts the Museo Civico ( with the donations of Arnoldo Mondadori, one of the most important Italian publishers, and Ugo Sissa, a Mantuan architect who worked in Iraq from where he brought back important Mesopotamian artworks )

One of the most important of these early Mesopotamian deities was the god Enlil, who was originally a Sumerian divinity viewed as a king of the gods and a controller of the world, who was later adopted by the Akkadians.

An important source of Mesopotamian toponymy is the great Babylonian encyclopedia Harra-hubullu and its commentaries.

The model was used for omen divination which was important to Mesopotamian medicine.

Her goal was to preserve Iraqi culture and history which included the important relics of Mesopotamian civilizations, and keep them in their country of origin.

Creation by speech is not unique to the Old Testament: it was unknown in ancient Mesopotamian cosmology, but was an important factor in the Egyptian tradition.

As a major integral role for trade between regions and countries, the Mediterranean Sea was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade and cultural exchange between emergent peoples of the region, Mesopotamian, Persian, Egyptian, Phoenician, Byzantine and future cultures.

In the east it survives in the Mesopotamian marshland in southern Iraq and in Iran ( Shadegan Marshes-the world's most important site ), as well as isolated pockets in Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq and further to the east in western India and western China.

Mesopotamian peoples ( Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians and Babylonians ) invented many technologies, most notably the wheel, which some consider the most important mechanical invention in history.

Enheduanna's authorship raises the issue of female literacy in ancient Mesopotamia ; in addition to Enheduanna royal wives are known to have commissioned or perhaps composed poetry and the goddess Nindaba acted as a scribe: As Leick notes " to some extent the descriptive epithets of Mesopotamian goddesses reveal the cultural perception of women and their role in ancient society ".

In particular the British Indian Army was able to play a significant role in the Mesopotamian campaign

Adad-nārārī I achieved major military victories that significantly strengthened the Assyrian kingdom and enabled Assyria to start to play a major role in Mesopotamian politics.

The earliest historical records of Anatolia stem from the south east of the region, and are from the Mesopotamian based Akkadian Empire during the reign of Sargon of Akkad in the 24th century BC.

The Museum continued to collect from all countries and all centuries: among the most spectacular additions were the 2600 BC Mesopotamian treasure from Ur, discovered during Leonard Woolley's 1922 – 34 excavations.

* January 13 – WWI: The Battle of Wadi occurs between Allied British and Ottoman Empire forces, during the Mesopotamian campaign in modern-day Iraq.

The name of the language is derived from the city of Akkad, a major center of Semitic Mesopotamian civilization, during the Akkadian Empire ( ca.

In the early 2nd millennium BCE, during the days of Lot, the Vale of Siddim was a river valley where a great battle occurred between four Mesopotamian armies and five cities of the Jordan plain.

This scripture indicates that the valley was filled with many of these pits that the armies of Sodom and Gomorrah fell into during their retreat from Mesopotamian forces.

The materials used to build a Mesopotamian house were the same as those used today: mud brick, mud plaster and wooden doors, which were all naturally available around the city, although wood could not be naturally made very well during the particular time period described.

However, although a bishop resided in the city, many people of Harran retained their ancient pagan faith during the Christian period, and ancient Mesopotamian / Assyrian gods such as Sin and Ashur were still worshipped for a time.

Notable Eparti dynasty rulers in Elam during this time include Sirukdukh ( c. 1850 BC ), who entered various military coalitions to contain the power of the Mesopotamian states ; Siwe-Palar-Khuppak, who for some time was the most powerful person in the area, respectfully addressed as " Father " by Mesopotamian kings such as Zimrilim of Mari, and even Hammurabi of Babylon, and Kudur-Nahhunte, who plundered the temples of Akkad.

In Mesopotamian mythology, Lamashtu ( Akkadian < sup > d </ sup > La-maš-tu ; Sumerian Dimme < sup > d </ sup > Dim < sub > 3 </ sub >- me ) was a female demon, monster, malevolent goddess or demigoddess who menaced women during childbirth and, if possible, kidnapped children while they were breastfeeding.

In general terms, Mesopotamian civilization survived the arrival of Amorites, as the indigenous Sumerian-Akkadian civilization had survived domination during the restless period that had preceded the rise of the Third Dynasty of Ur.

Maude, as a Major-General, commanded the 13th Division during Gallipoli Campaign and the unsuccessful relief of Kut in the Mesopotamian Campaign

One of the largest obstacles scholars had to overcome during the early days of Assyriology was the decipherment of curious triangular markings on many of the artifacts and ruins found at Mesopotamian sites.

For this reason, most of the first chapter of Book Three is written as a dramatic dialogue during which Lepsius witnesses the Sufi whirling devotions and learns firsthand about the deep resentment against the West — especially Western “ progress ” as instituted by the Young Turks — and the atrocities in the concentration camps set up in the Mesopotamian desert for deported Armenians.

On 20 April, the half-flight left India for Mesopotamia ( Iraq ) to provide air support to Indian and British troops during the Mesopotamian campaign against the Ottoman Empire ( Turkey ).

The Mesopotamian process of sun-dried bricks, and architectural building principles — including the use of arch and of recessed walls for decorative effect — became popular during this time.

The Mesopotamian civilization emerged during the period 3700 – 2900 BC amid the development of technological innovations such as the plough, sailing boats and copper metal working.

The crypts span the breadth of late-Victorian and turn-of-the-century architectural movements, including some styled in the Mesopotamian – Egyptian style favored during the burst of " Egyptian mania " enjoyed after Howard Carter's discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1922.

From the other direction, Jean Bottero has suggested that Yah of Ebla ( a possible precursor of Yam ) was equated with the Mesopotamian god Ea during the Akkadian period.

Mesopotamian inscriptions indicate that Indian traders from the Indus valley — carrying copper, hardwoods, ivory, pearls, carnelian, and gold — were active in Mesopotamia during the reign of Sargon of Akkad ( c. 2300 BCE ).

However, it is unclear how much actually changed on the ground ; there is no archaeological evidence for any rebuilding or repairing of Mesopotamian temples during Cyrus's reign.