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"Mesopotamia, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in modern day Iraq, is often referred to as the cradle of civilization because it is the first place where complex urban centers grew. The history of Mesopotamia, however, is inextricably tied to the greater region, which is comprised of the modern nations of Iran, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, the Gulf states and Turkey: the Near or Middle East. "

"Mesopotamia, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in modern day Iraq, is often referred to as the cradle of civilization because it is the first place where complex urban centers grew. The history of Mesopotamia, however, is inextricably tied to the greater region, which is comprised of the modern nations of Iran, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, the Gulf states and Turkey: the Near or Middle East. "

"Modern and Ancient Civilizations" on google maps

"Modern and Ancient Civilizations" on google maps

"A 3,250-year-old Hittite dam at Alacahöyük features striking similarities to modern water management construction. Archaeologist Aykut Çınaroğlu says the dam in north-central Turkey was built for irrigation and drinking water, and the dam's clean water is still used by local farmers today. "

"The sexagesimal part of this system survives in the modern era in units of time (seconds and minutes) and of trigonometry (360 degrees)."

"The sexagesimal part of this system survives in the modern era in units of time (seconds and minutes) and of trigonometry (360 degrees)."

"The Sumerian writing system was adopted and modified by other contemporaneous Mesopotamian people such as the Akkadians and the Babylonians. As a spoken language, Sumerian died out around the 18th century BCE, but continued as a "learned" written language (much like Latin was during the Middle Ages in Europe). In this way, Sumerian was used continually until the 1st century CE, making it one of the longest used writing system in history."

"The Hittites, who spoke an Indo-European language (a family of languages that includes English), dominated much of Anatolia and neighboring regions between about 1650 and 1200 B.C. It has been suggested that groups speaking languages related to Hittite first entered Anatolia at the end of the third millennium B.C., but the Hittites first rose to prominence around 1750 B.C., when King Pithana and his son Anitta captured the important city of Kanesh as well as a number of other city-states, including that of Hattusha (modern Bogazköy)."

"The Hittites were a people who once lived in what is modern Turkey and northern Syria. Most of what we know about them today comes from ancient texts that have been recovered. It would seem that the first indication of their existence occurred in about 1900 BC, in the region that was to become Hatti. There, they established the town of Nesa. Over the next three hundred years, their influence grew until in about 1680 BC, a true empire was born."

animation showing the development of modern Latin alphabet, from Phoenician 900 BC

"Sumerian was spoken in Sumer in southern Mesopotamia (part of modern Iraq) from perhaps the 4th millennium BC until about 2,000 BC, when it was replaced by Akkadian as a spoken language, though continued to be used in writing for religious, artistic and scholarly purposes until about the 1st century AD. Sumerian is not related to any other known language so is classified as a language isolate."

"Disney's The Lion King is one of the most iconic children's films of all time. However, behind the Hakunah Matata lies a movie laced with symbolism and mythical references. "

"Computer animator Steve K. Simons and Greek warfare expert Dr. Sonya Nevin work together to develop moving parts from the static images on Greek pottery, much of it in the extensive collection of the University of Reading's Ure Museum. They collaborate with ancient music experts to create soundtracks that wouldn't sound out of place in one of the symposia depicted on the vases. It's a full-spectrum historical immersion achieved through modern technology."

"Mythology is everywhere! Daily you run across instances of words, city names, companies, literary allusions - and many planets and constellations - that take their name or borrow their theme from Greek myths. Because of your many requests, I have provided a couple of thousand excellent examples to help you get started in your research. Remember, you're surrounded by mythology in today's society, whether you realize it or not!"

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