Mesopotamia

Proper noun

Mesopotamia

1. A geographic region in southwest Asia, spanning from the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, located in modern Iraq, eastern Syria, and southeast Turkey; the site of one of the most ancient civilizations in the history of man.
   • It was purchased by the Isle of Wight Railway in 1882, and continued to work between Brading and Bembridge until 1917, when it was taken over by the War Department, and sent overseas for war service in Mesopotamia, whence it never returned. It survived until at least 1921, when it was observed on...1948 July and August, K. Westcott Jones, “The Isle of Wight Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 217
   • Variously associated with qualities ranging from warding off evil to promoting fertility, the open hand of the hamsa is thought to have originated in Mesopotamia and is recognized the world over.2020 November 25, Tanya Dukes, “Gilt-y Pleasures: Holiday Gift Ideas for the Jewelry Lover”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 25 Jun 2021
2. A former province of the Roman Empire, existing from 116 to 117 AD and again from 198 to 637 AD.
3. The Mandate for Mesopotamia, a League of Nations mandate from 1920 to 1932, entrusted to the United Kingdom, that was the precursor to the independent state of Iraq.
4. A geographic region in northeast Argentina, between the Paraná and Uruguay rivers.
5. (UK, obsolete, slang) The Eaton Square district of London, England.