Babylonia and Assyria fell first to the Persians and later to the Greeks under Alexander. Still later, Mesopotamia briefly became a part of the Roman Empire. In the a. d. 600s, like much of the Middle East, it fell to the conquering Muslims and flourished again as a part of their empire. The Muslims gave the area its religion, Islam, which is the faith of modern Mesopotamia. Again like most of the Middle East, it came under the rule of the Turkish or Ottoman Empire for many centuries, which only ended with the defeat of Turkey in World War I. Britain then took over, and for a time they revived the old name of the region.
In 1932, Mesopotamia achieved independence as Iraq. Kings ruled the country until 1958, when a revolution led by the military overthrew the monarchy. The Baath (buh-OTH) Party gained control in 1968, and in 1979 the Baath leader Saddam Hussein (suh-DOM hoo-SAYN; 1937- ) assumed control. Meanwhile modern Syria, the land of the Aramaeans in ancient times, also came under the leadership of its own Baath Party, which like its counterpart in Iraq favored unity among Arab nations against their ancient enemy, Israel. But this was not the only theme from ancient times that was repeated: despite their similarities, the governments of Syria and Iraq remained opposed to one another. In 1980, Iraq went to war against another enemy from times past, Iran (ee-RAHN), formerly Persia. The Iran-Iraq war lasted for eight years, claimed more lives than any conflict since World War II, and did not result in a clear victory for either side.
On August 2, 1990, Saddam's troops swept into the oil-rich nation of Kuwait (coo-ATE) to the south. Not only did they slaughter many people, but with his hold on the combined oil fields of Iraq and Kuwait, Saddam threatened to bring the world to its knees. The United Nations, a world organization established for the primary purpose of maintaining peace, launched an attack on January 17, 1991. The Gulf War lasted only a few months, and United Nations forces—primarily those of the United States, which launched a powerful air attach on the Iraqi capital of Baghdad (BAG-dad)—forced the Iraqis out of Kuwait.
But Saddam was not removed from power, and he continued to threaten the region. Saddam, whose capital is close
To the site of old Babylon and who has identified himself with the Babylonians, also maintained uneasy relations with an age-old rival, the Assyrians. The latter, who live in the northern part of the country as their ancestors did thousands of years before, maintain the Aramaic language and are Christians instead of Muslims.
World History
