where was the ancient region of mesopotamia?
Middle East
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 " The spread of urban trading networks , and their extension along the Persian Gulf and eastern Mediterranean , created a complex molecular structure of regional foci so that as well as the zonation of core and periphery ( originally created around Mesopotamia ) there was a series of interacting civilizations : Mesopotamia , Egypt , the Indus Valley ; then also Syria , central Anatolia ( Hittites ) and the Aegean ( Minoans and Mycenaeans ) . Beyond this was a margin which included not only temperate areas such as Europe , but the dry steppe corridor of central Asia . This was truly a world system , even though it occupied only a restricted portion of the western Old World . Whilst each civilization emphasized its ideological autonomy , all were identifiably part of a common world of interacting components . " 

entailment
 The earliest historical reference to the region dates to the Ur III dynasty , when king Shulgi mentioned the city of Urbilum – the ancient name of modern @-@ day Arbil . The great Assyrian capitals of Assur , Nineveh , Nimrud and Dur @-@ Sharrukin were all located in the foothill zone where the Great Zab flows into the Tigris , and the Great Zab basin became increasingly integrated into the Middle Assyrian and Neo @-@ Assyrian empires . Nimrud , the capital of the empire until 706 BCE , was located only 10 kilometres ( 6 @.@ 2 mi ) away from the confluence of the Great Zab with the Tigris . The Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II constructed a canal called Patti @-@ Hegalli that tapped water from the Great Zab to irrigate the land around Nimrud , and this canal was restored by his successors Tiglath @-@ Pileser III and Esarhaddon . This canal ran along the right bank of the Great Zab and cut through a rock bluff by means of a tunnel and is still visible today . After the fall of the Neo @-@ Assyrian empire , the Medes gained control of the area , followed by the Achaemenids in 550 BCE . The Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BCE – one of the decisive battles leading to the fall of the Achaemenid empire at the hands of Alexander the Great – supposedly took place north of the Great Zab in the vicinity of Mosul . After Alexander ’ s death in 323 BCE , control of the area shifted to the Seleucids . 

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 Even though the fertile crescent civilizations are considered the oldest in history , at the time the Burney Relief was made other late bronze age civilizations were equally in full bloom . Travel and cultural exchange were not commonplace , but nevertheless possible . To the east , Elam with its capital Susa was in frequent military conflict with Isin , Larsa and later Babylon . Even further , the Indus Valley Civilization was already past its peak , and in China , the Erlitou culture blossomed . To the southwest , Egypt was ruled by the 12th dynasty , further to the west the Minoan civilization , centred on Crete with the Old Palace in Knossos , dominated the Mediterranean . To the north of Mesopotamia , the Anatolian Hittites were establishing their Old Kingdom over the Hattians ; they brought an end to Babylon 's empire with the sack of the city in 1531 BCE . Indeed , Collon mentions this raid as possibly being the reason for the damage to the right @-@ hand side of the relief . 

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 It mostly incorporated the original Assyrian kingdom , corresponding with modern northern Iraq in the upper Tigris , the middle and upper Euphrates , modern @-@ day north eastern Syria ( Eber @-@ Nari ) and part of south @-@ east Anatolia ( modern Turkey ) . The Neo @-@ Assyrian Empire collapsed after a period of violent civil wars , followed by an invasion by a coalition of some of its former subject peoples , the Iranian peoples ( Medes and Persians ) , Babylonians , Scythians , and Cimmerians in the late 7th century BC , culminating in the Battle of Nineveh , and Assyria had fallen completely by 605 BC . Between 605 and 559 BC , Assyria was divided between the Median Empire to the east and the Neo @-@ Babylonian Empire to the west . Both parts were subsumed into the Achaemenid Empire in 539 BC , and it has been argued that they constituted the satrapies of Media and Athura , respectively . In Herodotus ' account the Ninth Tributary District comprised " Babylonia and the rest of Assyria " , and excluded Eber @-@ Nari . 

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 Northern Mesopotamia evolved independently from the south during the Late Chalcolithic / early and middle Northern Uruk ( 4000 @-@ 3500 BC ) . This period was characterized by a strong emphasis on holy sites , among which , the Eye Temple was the most important in Tell Brak . The building containing " Eyes " idols in area TW was wood paneled , whose main room had been lined with wooden panels . The building also contained the earliest known semi columned facade , which is a character that will be associated with temples in later periods . 
