Difference between revisions of "Mesopotamia"

<p> Originally the name ‘Mesopotamia’ was given to the fertile land around the upper reaches of the [[Euphrates]] and [[Tigris]] Rivers (&nbsp;Genesis 24:10; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 23:4; &nbsp;Judges 3:8-10; &nbsp;1 Chronicles 19:6). By New [[Testament]] times it applied to the whole of the Euphrates-Tigris valley, so that even the city of Ur, which was near the mouth of the Euphrates, was considered to be in [[Mesopotamia]] (&nbsp;Acts 2:9; &nbsp;Acts 7:2). (For details see ARAM; ASSYRIA; BABYLON; EUPHRATES; SYRIA; TIGRIS.) </p>

<p> an extensive province of Asia, the Greek name of which denotes "between the rivers," and on this account [[Strabo]] says, οτι κειται μεταξυ του Ευφρατου και του Τιγρος , that "it was situated between the Euphrates and the Tigris." In [[Scripture]] this country is called Aram, and Aramea. But as [[Aram]] also signifies Syria, it is denominated Aram Naharaim, or the Syria of the rivers. This province, which inclines from the southeast to the north-west, commenced at 33 20' N. lat., and terminated near 37 30' N. lat. Toward the south it extended as far as the bend formed by the [[Jordan]] at Cunaxa, and to the wall of [[Semiramis]] which separated it from Messene. Toward the north, it comprehended part of [[Taurus]] and the Mesius, which lay between the Euphrates and the Tigris. The modern name, given by the Arabs to this part, is of the same import with the ancient appellation; they call it "isle," or, in their language, <em> Al- Dgezera. </em> In this northern part is found Osrhoene, which seems to have been the same place with Anthemusir. The northern part of Mesopotamia is occupied by chains of mountains passing from north-west to south-east, in the situation of the rivers. The central parts of these mountains were called Singarae Montes. The principal rivers were Chaboras, (Al Kabour,) which commenced at Charrae, (Harran,) east of the mountains, and discharged itself into the Euphrates at Circesium (Kirkisieh;) the Mygdonius, (Hanali,) the source of which was near Nisibis, and its termination in the Chaboras. The principal towns in the eastern part along the Tigris and near it, are Nisibis, (Nisibin,) Bezabde, (Zabda,) Singora, (Sindja,) Labbana on the Tigris, (Mosul,) Hatru, (Harder,) and Apamea-Mesenes. At some distance to the south, upon the Tigris and on the borders of Mesopotamia, was the town of Antiochia, near which commenced the wall that passed from the Tigris to the Euphrates, under the name of <em> Murus Mediae, </em> or Semiramidis. In the western part were Edessa, called also Callin-Rhae, (Orfa,) Charrae, (Harran,) Nicephorium, (Racca,) Circesium at the mouth of the Chaboras, Anatho, (Anah,) Neharda, (Hadith Unnour,) upon the right of the Euphrates. There are several other towns of less importance. According to Strabo, this country was fertile in vines, and afforded abundance of good wine. According to Ptolemy, Mesopotamia had on the north a part of Armenia, on the west the Euphrates on the side of Syria, on the east the Tigris on the borders of Assyria, and on the south the Euphrates which joined the Tigris. Mesopotamia was a satrapy under the kings of Syria. </p> <p> In the earliest accounts we have of this country, subsequent to the time of Abraham, it was subject to a king, called Cushan-Rishathaim, then perhaps the most powerful potentate of the east, and the first by whom the [[Israelites]] were made captive, which happened soon after the death of Joshua, and about B.C. 1400, &nbsp;Judges 3:8 . The name of this king bespeaks him a descendant of Nimrod; and it was probably of the Lower Mesopotamia only, or Babylonia, of which he was sovereign; the northern parts being in the possession of the Arameans. This is implied in the history of Abraham; who, when ordered to depart from his country, namely, Chaldea, in the southern part of Mesopotamia, removed to Charran, still in Mesopotamia, but beyond the boundary of the Chaldees, and in the territory of Aram. About four hundred years after Cushan-Rishathaim, we find the northern parts of Mesopotamia in the hands of the [[Syrians]] of Zobah; as we are told, in 2 Samuel x, that Hadarezer, king of Zobah, after his defeat by Joab, "sent and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river" Euphrates. The whole country was afterward seized by the Assyrians; to whom it pertained till the dissolution of their empire, when it was divided between the [[Medes]] and the Babylonians. It subsequently formed a part of the Medo-Persian, second [[Syrian]] or Macedonian, and [[Parthian]] empires, as it does at the present day of the modern Persians. The southern part of Mesopotamia answers nearly to the country anciently called the land of Shinar; to which the [[Prophet]] &nbsp;Daniel 1:2 , refers, and &nbsp;Zechariah 5:11 . </p> <p> "On the fifth or sixth day after leaving Aleppo," says [[Campbell]] in his <em> Overland [[Journey]] to India, </em> "we arrived at the city of Diarbeker, the capital of the province of that name; having passed over an extent of country of between three and four hundred miles, most of it blessed with the greatest fertility, and abounding with as rich pastures as I ever beheld, covered with numerous herds and flocks. The air was charmingly temperate in the day time, but, to my feeling, extremely cold at night. Yet notwithstanding the extreme fertility of this country, the bad administration of government, conspiring with the indolence of the inhabitants, leaves it unpeopled and uncultivated. Diarbeker Proper, called also Mesopotamia from its lying between two famous rivers, and by Moses called PADANARAM, that is, <em> ‘the fruitful Syria,' </em> abounds with corn, wine, oil, fruits, and all the necessaries of life. It is supposed to have been the seat of the earthly paradise; and all geographers agree that here the descendants of Noah settled immediately after the flood. To be treading that ground which [[Abraham]] trod, where [[Nahor]] the father of [[Rebecca]] lived, where holy Job breathed the pure air of piety and simplicity, and where [[Laban]] the father-in-law of Jacob resided, was to me a circumstance productive of delightful sensations. As I rode along, I have often mused upon the contemptible stratagems to which I </p> <p> was reduced, in order to get through this country, for no other reason than because I was a Christian; and I could not avoid reflecting with sorrow on the melancholy effects of superstition, and regretting that this fine tract of country, which ought to be considered above all others as the universal inheritance of mankind, should now be cut off from all except a horde of senseless bigots, barbarous fanatics, and inflexible tyrants." </p>

<p> [[Mesopotamia]] (''Mĕs-O-Po-Tâ'Mi-Ah'' ), ''The Region, Between The Rivers.'' The name given by the Greeks and Romans to that tract of fertile country lying between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. &nbsp;Acts 2:9; &nbsp;Acts 7:2. It was called by the Hebrews Aram-naharaim, or "Aram (or Syria) of the two rivers;" &nbsp;Genesis 24:10; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 23:4; &nbsp;Judges 3:8; &nbsp;Judges 3:10; &nbsp;1 Chronicles 19:6; and Padan-aram or "Plain of Syria," &nbsp;Genesis 25:20; &nbsp;Genesis 28:2-7; &nbsp;Genesis 46:15; also Aram or "Syria," &nbsp;Numbers 23:7; &nbsp;Genesis 31:20; &nbsp;Genesis 31:24. The great plains of Mesopotamia possess a nearly uniform, level, good soil, but barren from want of irrigation. Mesopotamia was the country of Nahor, R. V., "city of Nahor." &nbsp;Genesis 24:10. Here lived [[Bethuel]] and Laban, and hither Abraham sent his servant to fetch Isaac a wife. A century later Jacob came on the same errand, and hence he returned with his two wives after an absence of 21 years. Mesopotamia again occurs at the close of the wanderings in the wilderness. &nbsp;Deuteronomy 23:4. About a half century later, Mesopotamia appears as the seat of a powerful monarchy. &nbsp;Judges 3:1-31. The children of Ammon, having provoked a war with David, "sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Syria-maachah, and out of Zobah." &nbsp;1 Chronicles 19:6. Assyrian inscriptions and the Scripture record show that Mesopotamia was inhabited in the early times of the empire, b.c. 1200-1100, by a vast number of petty tribes, each under its own prince, and all quite independent of each other, &nbsp;Judges 3:8-10; &nbsp;2 Kings 19:12-13; &nbsp;Isaiah 37:12, until subjugated by the kings of Assyria. Mesopotamia became an Assyrian province. The conquests of [[Cyrus]] brought it wholly under the Persian yoke, and thus it continued to the time of Alexander. The whole region is studded with mounds and ruins of Assyrian and [[Babylonian]] greatness. See Assyria. </p>

<p> ("region between the rivers"); 700 miles long, from 20 to 250 broad; bounded N.E. by the Tigris, S.W. by the Euphrates. Its Hebrew name Aram Naharaim means "Aram between the rivers." The tribe sprung from Aram, Shem's fourth son, first colonized it. Man's first dwelling after the flood. Here was the plain of [[Shinar]] (&nbsp;Genesis 11:2; &nbsp;Genesis 14:1), where the [[Babel]] tower and kingdom were. [[Padan]] Aram, "plain Syria," was the N. part of the whole; the whole Syrian "highland" was Aram, in contradistinction from [[Canaan]] "the lowland." The upper Tigris valley was separated from the Mesopotamian plain by a mountain range (Masius: Strabo, 11:12, section 4). </p> <p> The vast plain is intersected by the Sinjar running E. and W. Mounds mark city sites on every side. [[Innumerable]] lines of embankment indicate a network of ancient canals which diffused by irrigation fertility where now are morasses or barrenness. The N.W. part between the bend of the Euphrates and the upper Tigris is what Scripture names Mesopotamia. The Chaboras or (See [[Habor]] , flowing from the S. side of the Sinjar range, empties itself into the Euphrates. Orfa, Abram's native city, and Haran, his resting place between [[Chaldaea]] and Palestine, are in Padan Aram (&nbsp;Genesis 25:20; &nbsp;Genesis 28:2). Nahor settled in Mesopotamia after quitting [[Ur]] (&nbsp;Genesis 24:10). Naharina occurs in Egyptian inscriptions of the 18th and 19th dynasties. Bethuel, Rebekah, and Laban lived in Padan Aram. Balaam's abode was [[Pethor]] of Mesopotamia among "the mountains of the East" (&nbsp;Numbers 23:7; &nbsp;Numbers 22:5). </p> <p> Chushan [[Rishathaim]] of Mesopotamia oppressed [[Israel]] in the time of the Judges (&nbsp;Judges 3:8). (See CHUSHAN RISHATHAIM.) The Mesopotamians aided the [[Ammonites]] with chariots against David (&nbsp;1 Chronicles 19:6; &nbsp;1 Chronicles 19:16). Assyrian inscriptions confirm Scripture in asserting that Mesopotamia was independent of Assyria until after David ''("The Tribes Of The Nairi," [[Stream]] Lands, Were Under Their Several Independent Princes, Until In 880 B.C., Jehu'S Time, Assyria [[Became]] Completely Their Master)'' ; also that Mesopotamians used chariots in battle, and that after David's time Mesopotamia became absorbed in Assyria. Men of Mesopotamia were among those who heard in their own tongue the wonderful works of God (&nbsp;Acts 2:9). </p>