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Mesopotamia quiz: Test your knowledge about the ancient civilizations of the Fertile Crescent
Kristina Killgrove
3 July 2025
Are you as assured as Ashurbanipal about your knowledge of Mesopotamia, or as dim as Nimrud?
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A mosaic artwork from the ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur inlaid with shell and lapis lazuli.
(Image credit: Zev Radovan via Alamy)
The historical area called Mesopotamia, meaning “land between two rivers” in ancient Greek, refers broadly to the territory between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Mesopotamia encompassed what today are Iraq, eastern Syria, southeast Turkey, and parts of Iran and Kuwait. Beginning around 10,000 B.C., Mesopotamia became a hotbed of cultural developments, including agriculture, mathematics and the wheel. So it’s no surprise that some of the world’s earliest empires also arose here.
The Sumerian civilization began around 5500 B.C. in south-central Iraq, boasting important city-states such as Ur. The Akkadian Empire eclipsed Sumer around 2300 B.C., dramatically expanding the old borders — and drafting numerous salacious riddles. And then around 800 B.C., the middling city of Assur capitalized on free trade and became a significant power at the heart of the Assyrian Empire. All of these cultures left their mark on the region.
Is your knowledge of the ancient Near East as solid as a cuneiform tablet, or will this “cradle of civilization” test make you cry like a “Baby”lon? Start the quiz below to find out.
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Kristina Killgrove
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Staff writer
Kristina Killgrove is a staff writer at Live Science with a focus on archaeology and paleoanthropology news. Her articles have also appeared in venues such as Forbes, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss. Killgrove holds postgraduate degrees in anthropology and classical archaeology and was formerly a university professor and researcher. She has received awards from the Society for American Archaeology and the American Anthropological Association for her science writing.
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