美索不达米亚位于中东，主要在现在的伊拉克，部分地区延伸到叙利亚和土耳其，其影响力曾扩展到现在的伊朗和波斯湾沿岸国家。该名称的字面意思是“河流之间”，另一个别称是“两条河流之地”。这两条河流是底格里斯河和幼发拉底河；它们都发源于东安纳托利亚的山区，大致平行流淌，然后在巴士拉附近汇合，形成阿拉伯河，最终流入波斯湾。

该地区曾孕育了世界上最早的几个文明，拥有数十个考古遗址，包括许多 联合国教科文组织世界遗产。不幸的是，其中许多遗址已被“伊斯兰国”（Da'esh）所毁或损坏。

截至2024年中期，该地区大部分地区非常危险，请参阅叙利亚和伊拉克条目中的警告。

了解

美索不达米亚是历史悠久的 新月沃地 的一部分；另一部分是 黎凡特。该地区是文明的发源地之一，农业和城市最早在此兴起。

美索不达米亚是伟大的青铜时代文明之一，与其他文明如 古埃及、古代中国、印度河流域文明 等并列。所有这些文明都建立了城市和帝国，并发展或引入了诸如青铜冶炼、灌溉、文字、玻璃、数学、自然科学、时间测量、城市规划和车轮等创新。历史学家们就谁在各项发明上居于首位争论不休，而美索不达米亚则是其中大多数的候选之地。

拉玛苏（守护神）
新亚述时期，约公元前 700 年

许多帝国在此兴衰——1 苏美尔 ,2 阿卡德 ,3 巴比伦 ，以及4 亚述 最为著名。

Nearby ancient kingdoms which they influenced, traded with, sometimes invaded, and sometimes were invaded by included1 埃兰 和 米底 ，位于现在的伊朗（米底首都2 埃克巴塔纳 现为哈马丹），以及3 乌拉尔图 地区。4 米坦尼 或胡里安人起源于更西部，但他们也曾一度统治过美索不达米亚北部东部。

Mesopotamia has a prominent role in the Abrahamic religions — 犹太教, 基督教 and 伊斯兰教 — and a shared history with the 圣地. The Israelites' exile in Babylon around 600 BCE is well described in the Old Testament, and is one of the oldest Biblical events supported by historical records. Like many other ancient empires, Babylon primarily became known among Europeans through the 圣经.

这片土地后来成为许多帝国的属地：赫梯、希腊帝国（亚历山大大帝及其继承者）、罗马帝国及其继承者拜占庭帝国、波斯帝国的各个化身、蒙古帝国、巴格达的哈里发国（参见伊斯兰黄金时代）、奥斯曼帝国，以及大英帝国。

Mesopotamia has been devastated by war many times in history, including in the 21st century. Iraq and Syria are, as of 2025, still dangerous destinations; see warnings in those articles.

对话

Most languages native to the region — including Akkadian which was the main language of the Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian empires, and 阿拉姆语 which became important later — were from the Semitic family which includes Arabic and Hebrew. Sumerian — spoken in Sumer and used by priests and scholars for centuries after Akkadian replaced it in general use — was a language isolate, unrelated to any other known language.

• 巴别塔。 尚不清楚这个《圣经》故事是否具有历史依据，但如果属实，那么这座塔肯定位于美索不达米亚。可能的地1点包括巴比伦的埃特曼南吉塔和乌尔大金字塔。有人认为苏美尔语是人类最初的语言，在巴别事件之前。  

Today Arabic is the main language of the region, but Turkish, Kurdish, and Syriac are also spoken in some areas.

目的地

This article focuses on the great Mesopotamian civilisations of the Bronze Age; see Fertile Crescent for archeological sites dating back before those.

“ He carved on a stone stela all of his toils,
and built the wall of Uruk-Haven,
the wall of the sacred Eanna Temple, the holy sanctuary. ”

—Epic of Gilgamesh

苏美尔

Sumer was the earliest known civilisation, starting before 5000 BCE. Quite likely it was the first to enter the Bronze Age, and the first to evolve from city-states to an empire.

在伊拉克南部沼泽地纳西里耶附近，有一个 联合国教科文组织世界遗产，其中包括几座苏美尔城市的遗址

• 1 埃里都. 可能是世界上最古老的城市，可追溯到公元前约 5400 年。  
• 2 乌鲁克. 苏美尔城市化过程中的重要中心，约公元前 4000-3200 年。约公元前 3100 年可能是世界上最大的城市（拥有超过 40,000 居民及郊区）。乌鲁克历史悠久，直到公元 7 世纪才被废弃。  

The Epic of Gilgamesh. This is the oldest known piece of literature, a great epic about a king who ruled Uruk in the 27th century BCE. One of its stories, the story of Utnapishtim, is a great flood story that resembles the story of Noah in the Bible. 

• 3 乌尔 (迦勒底的乌尔). 苏美尔帝国的首都，该帝国是该地区第一个，也是可能是世界上第一个帝国，始于公元前约 2600 年。该镇在《圣经》中（创世记 11:28 和 11:31）被提及，通常的解释是亚伯拉罕从那里开始了寻找应许之地的旅程。 (updated Apr 2019)
• 4 拉尔萨. 已知历史可追溯到公元前约 2500 年，曾是多个帝国的重要城市。约公元前 2000-1700 年间拥有自己的小帝国。  
• 5 拉格什 (泰勒-希巴). 拉格什曾是独立的城邦，由两个王朝统治，约公元前 2550-2300 年和公元前 2230-2110 年。其间曾属于阿卡德帝国，之后又属于乌尔帝国。如今它是美索不达米亚最大的考古遗址之一。  

Not far from those were other Sumerian cities

• 6 尼普尔. 苏美尔、阿卡德和巴比伦帝国的重要城市，部分原因在于它是其宗教的主要中心。现在是一个考古遗址，有许多神庙和一座金字塔。它比其他苏美尔城市存在的时间更长，最终在大约公元 1000 年被废弃。  
• 7 基什 (近巴比伦). 自乌贝德时期（约公元前 5300-4300 年）起就有人居住，在多个帝国中都很重要，约公元 750 年后被废弃，现仅存遗址。  
• 8 伊辛 (伊桑-巴赫里亚特). 可追溯到至少公元前 2900-2350 年的早期王朝时期。它曾一度拥有自己的统治者，甚至是一个小帝国，但大多数时候它都是各种其他帝国的一部分。  
• 9 马里 (泰勒-哈里里) (近代尔埃尔-祖尔). 最初是幼发拉底河畔的苏美尔城市，约公元前 2500 年。有时是小帝国的首都，有时是阿卡德、巴比伦和亚述帝国的一部分。在希腊化时期被废弃并遗忘。  

Citadel of Erbil

• 10 埃尔比勒 (阿尔贝拉). 埃尔比勒曾是一个苏美尔城镇，在后来所有帝国时期都保持着重要地位。它拥有新亚述时期的城堡，该城堡是 联合国教科文组织世界遗产。如今它是伊拉克库尔德斯坦的首府，人口约 160 万。它有几个博物馆，其中一些展品来自古代。  
• 11 哈兰 (在土耳其乌尔法附近，靠近叙利亚边境). 可能在公元前 2000 年之前是一个苏美尔贸易站。
  当地传说它是亚伯拉罕和约伯的出生地，而亚伯拉罕洞穴是穆斯林的朝圣地。亚伯拉罕寻找应许之地的旅程的一个版本（例如在钦定版圣经中）是从乌尔出发，经哈兰前往。另一个版本是他的家人从乌尔迁往哈兰，然后亚伯拉罕在那里出生并开始他的旅程。
  后来它成为一个阿拉米亚城市，然后成为新亚述帝国最重要的城市之一。直到公元 1271 年被蒙古人摧毁前，它一直是重要的贸易中心。今天这里只有一个村庄，有一些遗址，包括一座令人印象深刻的中世纪城堡。  

阿卡德、巴比伦和亚述

在尼尼微发现的阿卡德青铜器

公元前2270年左右，苏美尔人被阿卡德帝国征服。该地区后来的帝国都讲阿卡德语，并且主要城市都在苏美尔的北部。

公元前610年左右，亚述帝国 fall，许多列出的城市被米底人夷为平地。

• 阿卡德. 这座城市是公元前 2000 年前主宰美索不达米亚南部数百年的帝国的首都。其确切位置尚不确定。  
• 1 巴比伦 (on the Euphrates). This ancient city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is often associated with Biblical history. Babylon was the center of an empire circa 1900-1600 BCE and other empires ending with the Chaldean Empire (or Neo-Babylonian Empire) 626-539 BCE. Later it was briefly Alexander the Great's capital. (updated Apr 2019)
• 2 Assur (Ashur) (on the Tigris). Capital of several empires, circa 2000 BCE to 609 BCE. Both the city itself and its empire, Assyria, were named for the town's main God. Today there are only ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  
• 3 尼尼微 (across the Tigris from Mosul). Nineveh was an important Assyrian city and it is mentioned in the Biblical book of Jonah; it replaced Assur as the capital in later Assyrian Empires. Around 700 BCE it was among the world's largest cities, probably the first with population over 100,000.  
• 4 尼姆鲁德 (on the Tigris). This was an important Assyrian city circa 1350-610 BCE  

尼姆鲁德和尼尼微在2014-17年内战期间都遭到“伊斯兰国”的严重破坏。

• 阿拉米人. These were originally a nomadic pastoral people, but many of them settled by about the 12th century BCE. Their main center was a region called Aram — mentioned in the Bible, and including most of today's Syria and parts of northern Israel — but there were also other Aramean states, mostly in what is now Turkey. The Neo-Assyrian Empire conquered the region in the 8th century BCE and relocated the Arameans all over the empire. Later the Semitic name Aram was replaced by the Greek name Syria.  
• 阿拉米语 (Classical Syriac). This Semitic language was originally spoken by Arameans, but later became the lingua franca of the region, used in administration by the Neo-Babylonian Empire (612–539 BCE) and the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire (539–330 BCE). It remained important under later Greek and Roman rule, and was likely Jesus' native language. Aramaic and its descendant Syriac have been spoken for over 3,000 years, but today other languages dominate in the region and Syriac is considered endangered. It mainly survives today as a liturgical language in the Syriac churches.  
• 5 基尔库克 (Arrapha). This city was part of the Akkadian and Assyrian empires, and for a few centuries around 1500 BCE, it was the capital of a Mittani Empire. It still exists today; tourists attractions include Kirkuk Citadel from 858 BC. Inside that is one of several sites that claim to be the tomb of the Prophet Daniel.  
• 6 努兹 (Gasur) (modern Yorghan Tepe). Founded during the Akkadian Empire, later part of the Mittani Empire.  
• 7 马尔丁 (near the Tigris). This city was part of the Akkadian and Assyrian empires, and later a center of Assyrian or Syriac culture, and of the Syriac Church. Today it is in Turkey, but many of its people are Assyrians, and the Syriac language, descended from Aramaic, is still spoken. It is an extremely scenic town with many fine old stone buildings.  
• 8 哈桑凯伊夫. An old town on the Tigris, probably founded in Assyrian times. Its main tourist attractions are cliff dwellings built in caves starting about 1000 BCE and various later buildings including churches, mosques and a castle. Much of it has now been flooded by a dam project.  

后来的城市

亚述帝国约于公元前610年 fall，米底人和米坦尼人继承了大部分遗产。然后该地区约于公元前539年被波斯人占领，而亚历山大大帝约于公元前330年征服了包括该地区在内的波斯帝国。一些美索不达米亚的城市是在这些事件之后建造的。

• 1 塞琉西亚 (Seleucia on the Tigris) (near today's Baghdad). Founded around 305 BCE by Alexander's general Seleucus Nicator as the first capital of his Seleucid Empire; later the capital was moved to Antioch.  
• 2 泰西封 (near Seleucia). Built by the Parthians about 120 BCE, it absorbed Seleucia. Capital of both the Parthian and Sassanian Empires at different times. Abandoned about 800 CE.  

另请参阅

• 伊斯兰前的阿拉伯半岛
• 战区
• 肥沃的新月