Mesopotamia (The Fires of God)

Mesopotamia, officially the Republic of Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia. The country borders Persia to the north and east, the [[Saudi Caliphate (The Fires of God)|Saudi Caliphate to the south, Jordan to the southwest, and Syria to the north and west. The southern part of Mesopotamia is within the Arabian Peninsula. The capital, Ctesiphon, is close to the border with Persia and is Mesopotamia's largest city. The largest ethnic groups in Mesopotamia are Persians and Kurds. Other ethnic groups include Assyrians, Turkmen, Shabakis, Yazidis, Armenians, Mandeans, Circassians, and Kawliya. Around 95% of the country's 36 million citizens are Zoroastrian, with Christianity, Islam, Yarsan, Yezidism, and Mandeanism also present.

Mesopotamia has a narrow section of coastline measuring 58 km (36 mi) on the northern Persian Gulf and its territory encompasses the Mesopotamian Alluvial Plain, the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert. Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through the center of Iraq and flow into the Arvand Rud near the Persian Gulf. These rivers provide Mesopotamia with significant amounts of fertile land.

The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is most often referred to as humanity's cradle of civilization. It was here that mankind first began to read, write, create laws, and live in cities under an organized government—notably Uruk. The area has been home to continuous successive civilizations since the 6th millennium BC. At different periods in its history, Mesopotamia was the center of the indigenous Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian empires. It was also part of the Median, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Roman and Sassanid empires, and under British control as a League of Nations mandate.

Mesopotamia's modern borders were mostly demarcated in 1920 by the League of Nations when Persian territory in western Asia was divided by the Treaty of Constantinople. Mesopotamia was placed under the authority of the United Kingdom as the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. A monarchy was established in 1921 and the Kingdom of Mesopotamia gained independence from Britain in 1932. In 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and the Republic of Mesopotamia was created, which has governed the country in a democratic manner ever since. Mesopotamia is a member of both the United Nations and the Zoroastrian League.