Mesopotamia (English spelling)

Japanese: メソポタミア（英語表記）Mesopotamia

One of the world's oldest civilizations. Mesopotamia is a Greek word meaning "the land between two rivers (the Tigris and the Euphrates)". In the broad sense, Mesopotamia encompasses the mountainous region of Turkey in the northwest to the Persian Gulf in the southeast, while in the narrow sense, Mesopotamia refers to the region that is closest to the two rivers, the border of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, and that was called Assyria in the north and Babylonia in the south, but the term can be used in both broad and narrow senses depending on the era. From about 4500 BC, the Eridu and Ubaid cultures developed in the south, and the Hassuna, Samarra, and Halaf cultures flourished in the north. During the Uruk period, large temples were built and writing was invented. During the Early Dynastic Period, founded by the Sumerians, each village developed into a walled city-state, and conflicts became fierce. It was around this time that large temples with ziggurats were built. Lugar-Zaggishi of Uruk and Sargon of Akkad established empires, but were subsequently invaded by the Amorites and Gutians in the surrounding areas. Around the time Shamshi-Adad I established his kingdom in Assyria, Hammurabi began to expand his territory in Babylonia, and at one time controlled all of Mesopotamia. Babylonia was defeated by the Hittites around 1600 BC and was absorbed into the Second Babylonian Dynasty, but soon after Shalmaneser I of Assyria resurrected the entire region and became Assyrian territory. Later, the Aramaean Nabopolassar established the Neo-Babylonian Empire and conquered Assyria, but was defeated by Cyrus II of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia in 539 BC. Hellenistic culture was then brought to Babylon by Alexander III (the Great), and the region passed through the Parthian period and was eventually ruled by the Sassanid Empire of Persia. After being conquered by Arab forces in 634, it became an Islamic state, and with the founding of the Abbasid Caliphate in 750, "Arabic culture" blossomed. After that, the culture of the region stagnated from the Mongol invasion in 1258 until it was conquered by Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire in 1534. Europeans began to invade the region in the 18th century, and from the 19th century onwards, Britain and France in particular played a part in the modernization of the region. The Kingdom of Iraq was established in 1921. The monarchy was abolished in a revolution in 1958, and it became a republic.

Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia

Northeastern Argentina, an area between the Paraná and Uruguay rivers. The name means "land between the rivers" in Greek. It is a long and narrow region that stretches about 1,000 km from north to south and 200 to 400 km from east to west, covering an area of about 200,000 ^km2 . It consists of the three states of Entre Rios, Corrientes, and Misiones from the south, and borders Paraguay, Brazil, and Uruguay from the north to the east. Except for the northeastern state of Misiones, which is part of the Paraná Plateau, the area is a swampy region with low grass-covered hills here and there. Since the Spanish settled there at the end of the 16th century, it has been developed by Jesuit missionaries and others, and after World War II, immigrants from Brazil, Paraguay, Europe, Japan, and other countries have settled there. It is currently an important agricultural and livestock region in the country, producing wool, beef, flax, rice, citrus fruits, cotton, tobacco, and other crops. The Parana and Uruguay rivers have many rapids and sandbars, and their courses change frequently, so rather than serving as major transportation arteries, they have served to isolate the region from other regions. A railway line runs through the eastern part of Paraguay, connecting the capital of Paraguay, Asuncion, with Buenos Aires, and the road network is fairly well developed, but the road conditions are poor. In the early 1980s, the Salto Grande power station downstream of the Uruguay River and the Apipejasireta power station upstream of the Parana River were completed, and serve as energy sources for the region.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

世界最古の文明発祥地の一つ。メソポタミアとは「二つの川 (チグリス川，ユーフラテス川 ) の間の土地」を意味するギリシア語。広義のメソポタミアは，北西はトルコの山岳地帯から南東はペルシア湾までを包含し，狭義のメソポタミアは両河川が最も近づく現イラクの首都バグダードを境に北をアッシリア，南をバビロニアと呼んだ地域をさすが，時代によって広義にも狭義にも用いる。前 4500年頃から南部ではエリドゥ，ウバイドの各文化が発展し，北部ではハッスーナ，サーマッラー，ハラフの文化が栄えた。ウルク期にいたって大神殿が建造され，文字が発明された。シュメール人が築いた初期王朝時代には各村落は城壁のある都市国家へと発展し，抗争が激しくなった。ジッグラトをもつ大神殿造営はこの頃から始まった。ウルクのルーガル＝ザグギシやアッカドのサルゴンは帝国を築いたものの，その後周辺のアモリ人やグティ人の侵入が相次いだ。アッシリアでシャムシ＝アダド1世が王国を確立した頃，バビロニアではハンムラビが版図を拡大し始め，一時はメソポタミア全土を支配下に置いた。バビロニアは前 1600年頃ヒッタイトに敗れ，すべてバビロン第2王朝に吸収されたが，まもなく再興したアッシリアのシャルマネゼル1世以降，全地域がアッシリア領となった。その後アラム人ナボポラッサルにより新バビロニア帝国が築かれて，アッシリアを征服したが，前 539年アケメネス朝ペルシアのキュロス2世により敗北。さらにアレクサンドロス3世 (大王) によりヘレニズム文化がもたらされ，パルティア時代を経て，ササン朝ペルシアに支配されるにいたった。 634年アラブ軍に征服されて以来イスラム国家となり，750年アッバース朝創始とともに「アラビア文化」が開花した。その後 1258年のモンゴル軍侵入から 1534年オスマン帝国のスレイマン1世に征服されるまで，この地方の文化は停滞した。 18世紀に入るとヨーロッパ人が進出し，19世紀以降，特にイギリスとフランスがこの地域の近代化に一役買った。 1921年イラク王国が成立。 1958年革命により王制廃止，共和国となった。

メソポタミア
Mesopotamia

アルゼンチン北東部，パラナ川とウルグアイ川にはさまれた地域。名称はギリシア語で「川の間の土地」を意味する。南北約 1000km，東西 200～400kmにわたって広がる細長い地域で，面積約 20万 km²。南からエントレリオス，コリエンテス，ミシオネスの3州から成り，北から東にかけてパラグアイ，ブラジル，ウルグアイと国境を接する。パラナ高原に属する北東部のミシオネス州以外は低湿地帯で，ところどころに草におおわれた低い丘陵がある。 16世紀末スペイン人が入植して以来，イエズス会の宣教師などにより開拓が進められ，第2次世界大戦後はブラジル，パラグアイなどのほかヨーロッパや日本などからの移住者が入植。現在同国の重要な農牧地帯となっており，羊毛，牛肉，アマ，米，柑橘類，綿花，タバコなどを産する。パラナ川とウルグアイ川は急流部や砂州が多く，流路もしばしば変るため交通の大動脈としての役割より，むしろこの地域を他地域から孤立させる働きをしてきた。パラグアイの首都アスンシオンとブエノスアイレスを結ぶ鉄道が東部を縦断し，道路網もかなり発達しているが，道路状態は悪い。 1980年代初めにウルグアイ川下流のサルトグランデ，パラナ川上流のアピペヤシレタ両発電所が完成，地域のエネルギー源となっている。

出典　ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典について　情報

<<: Mesopotamian Art

>>: Maisonette (English spelling)