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Question: Are Mesopotamia and The Near East interchangeable references to the exact same land!?
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No!. Mesopotamia is a fairly precise designation for a region that is roughly equivalent to modern Iraq, perhaps excluding the more northern provinces which are part of Kurdistan!. The 'Near East' is a much broader and vaguer reference, roughly equivalent, oddly enough, to the 'Middle East' and variously including some or all of Iraq, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Egypt, and Turkey!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

No!. Mesopotamia, which means "In the middle" (Meso) of the "rivers" (Potamia), refers to the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which is the land of and immediately around Iraq!. The "Near East" extends from the Mediterranean Sea on the west to the eastern border of Iraq!. So the Near East is far larger than Mesopotamia!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

The Near East encompasses that area which includes Mesopotamia!.

Others include Anatolia (the Asian portion of modern Turkey), the Levant (Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, and Palestine), Georgia, Armenia, and Mesopotamia (Iraq)!.Www@QuestionHome@Com