Mesopotamia   Mes·o·po·ta·mi·a     [(mes-uh-puh-tay-mee-uh)]

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition                      and Online Etymology Dictionary   

From Greek mesopotamia (khora), literature “the country between two rivers,” from feminine of mesopotamos, from mesos “middle” + potamos “river.” A region of western Asia, in what is now Iraq, known as the “cradle of civilization.”  

Oh Really?! Did you actually read this?

The oh-so-xenophobic American Heritage Dictionary says all of this and more. Cradle of civilization it was? Meaning the beginning. The original. Birthplace of mankind, as it were. Everything is from there. Translation: this is the miserable place that everybody left. Left first. As in, “This place isn’t what it used to be, let’s get out of here!” Or, “We didn’t know what to do next, so: We’re gone!”  

Why?

It declined in importance after Mongol invaders destroyed its extensive irrigation system in A.D. 1258.  

Hmm…  Those dastardly Mongols, who destroyed the irrigation systems, made this place “decline in importance.” Well it’s really important now  isn’t it? (April 2008) In the ongoing discussion called “political anthropology,”  let’s just see what’s really going on.

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).  Probably settled before 5000 B.C., the area was the home of numerous early civilizations, including Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia, and Assyria. Governmental systems in the region were especially advanced.  

Ok…….

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