an extensive province of Asia, the Greek name of which
denotes between the rivers,” and on this account Strabo says, ὅτι κεῖται
μεταξὺ τοῦ Εὐφράτου καὶ τοῦ Τίγρος, that it was situated between the
Euphrates and the Tigris.” In Scripture this country is called Aram, and
Aramea. But as Aram also signifies Syria, it is denominated Aram
Naharaim, or the Syria of the rivers. This province, which inclines from
the south-east to the north-west, commenced at 33° 20´ N. lat., and
terminated near 37° 30´ N. lat. Toward the south it extended as far as
the bend formed by the Jordan at Cunaxa, and to the wall of Semiramis
which separated it from Messene. Toward the north, it comprehended part
of Taurus and the Mesius, which lay between the Euphrates and the
Tigris. The modern name, given by the Arabs to this part, is of the same
import with the ancient appellation; they call it isle,” or, in their
language, _Al-Dgezera_. In this northern part is found Osrhoene, which
seems to have been the same place with Anthemusir. The northern part of
Mesopotamia is occupied by chains of mountains passing from north-west
to south-east, in the situation of the rivers. The central parts of
these mountains were called Singaræ Montes. The principal rivers were
Chaboras, (Al Kabour,) which commenced at Charræ, (Harran,) east of the
mountains, and discharged itself into the Euphrates at Circesium
(Kirkisieh;) the Mygdonius, (Hanali,) the source of which was near
Nisibis, and its termination in the Chaboras. The principal towns in the
eastern part along the Tigris and near it, are Nisibis, (Nisibin,)
Bezabde, (Zabda,) Singora, (Sindja,) Labbana on the Tigris, (Mosul,)
Hatru, (Harder,) and Apamea-Mesenes. At some distance to the south, upon
the Tigris and on the borders of Mesopotamia, was the town of Antiochia,
near which commenced the wall that passed from the Tigris to the
Euphrates, under the name of _Murus Mediæ_, or Semiramidis. In the
western part were Edessa, called also Callin-Rhæ, (Orfa,) Charræ,
(Harran,) Nicephorium, (Racca,) Circesium at the mouth of the Chaboras,
Anatho, (Anah,) Neharda, (Hadith Unnour,) upon the right of the
Euphrates. There are several other towns of less importance. According
to Strabo, this country was fertile in vines, and afforded abundance of
good wine. According to Ptolemy, Mesopotamia had on the north a part of
Armenia, on the west the Euphrates on the side of Syria, on the east the
Tigris on the borders of Assyria, and on the south the Euphrates which
joined the Tigris. Mesopotamia was a satrapy under the kings of Syria.
In the earliest accounts we have of this country, subsequent to the time
of Abraham, it was subject to a king, called Cushan-Rishathaim, then
perhaps the most powerful potentate of the east, and the first by whom
the Israelites were made captive, which happened soon after the death of
Joshua, and about B. C. 1400, Judges iii, 8. The name of this king
bespeaks him a descendant of Nimrod; and it was probably of the Lower
Mesopotamia only, or Babylonia, of which he was sovereign; the northern
parts being in the possession of the Arameans. This is implied in the
history of Abraham; who, when ordered to depart from his country,
namely, Chaldea, in the southern part of Mesopotamia, removed to
Charran, still in Mesopotamia, but beyond the boundary of the Chaldees,
and in the territory of Aram. About four hundred years after
Cushan-Rishathaim, we find the northern parts of Mesopotamia in the
hands of the Syrians of Zobah; as we are told, in 2 Sam. x, that
Hadarezer, king of Zobah, after his defeat by Joab, sent and brought out
the Syrians that were beyond the river” Euphrates. The whole country was
afterward seized by the Assyrians; to whom it pertained till the
dissolution of their empire, when it was divided between the Medes and
the Babylonians. It subsequently formed a part of the Medo-Persian,
second Syrian or Macedonian, and Parthian empires, as it does at the
present day of the modern Persian. The southern part of Mesopotamia
answers nearly to the country anciently called the land of Shinar; to
which the Prophet Daniel, i, 2, refers, and Zechariah v, 11.
On the fifth or sixth day after leaving Aleppo,” says Campbell in his
_Overland Journey to India_, “we arrived at the city of Diarbeker, the
capital of the province of that name; having passed over an extent of
country of between three and four hundred miles, most of it blessed with
the greatest fertility, and abounding with as rich pastures as I ever
beheld, covered with numerous herds and flocks. The air was charmingly
temperate in the day time, but, to my feeling, extremely cold at night.
Yet notwithstanding the extreme fertility of this country, the bad
administration of government, conspiring with the indolence of the
inhabitants, leaves it unpeopled and uncultivated. Diarbeker Proper,
called also Mesopotamia from its lying between two famous rivers, and by
Moses called PADANARAM, that is, ‘_the fruitful Syria_,’ abounds with
corn, wine, oil, fruits, and all the necessaries of life. It is supposed
to have been the seat of the earthly paradise; and all geographers agree
that here the descendants of Noah settled immediately after the flood.
To be treading that ground which Abraham trod, where Nahor the father of
Rebecca lived, where holy Job breathed the pure air of piety and
simplicity, and where Laban the father-in-law of Jacob resided, was to
me a circumstance productive of delightful sensations. As I rode along,
I have often mused upon the contemptible stratagems to which I was
reduced, in order to get through this country, for no other reason than
because I was a Christian; and I could not avoid reflecting with sorrow
on the melancholy effects of superstition, and regretting that this fine
tract of country, which ought to be considered above all others as the
universal inheritance of mankind, should now be cut off from all except
a horde of senseless bigots, barbarous fanatics, and inflexible
tyrants.”
denotes between the rivers,” and on this account Strabo says, ὅτι κεῖται
μεταξὺ τοῦ Εὐφράτου καὶ τοῦ Τίγρος, that it was situated between the
Euphrates and the Tigris.” In Scripture this country is called Aram, and
Aramea. But as Aram also signifies Syria, it is denominated Aram
Naharaim, or the Syria of the rivers. This province, which inclines from
the south-east to the north-west, commenced at 33° 20´ N. lat., and
terminated near 37° 30´ N. lat. Toward the south it extended as far as
the bend formed by the Jordan at Cunaxa, and to the wall of Semiramis
which separated it from Messene. Toward the north, it comprehended part
of Taurus and the Mesius, which lay between the Euphrates and the
Tigris. The modern name, given by the Arabs to this part, is of the same
import with the ancient appellation; they call it isle,” or, in their
language, _Al-Dgezera_. In this northern part is found Osrhoene, which
seems to have been the same place with Anthemusir. The northern part of
Mesopotamia is occupied by chains of mountains passing from north-west
to south-east, in the situation of the rivers. The central parts of
these mountains were called Singaræ Montes. The principal rivers were
Chaboras, (Al Kabour,) which commenced at Charræ, (Harran,) east of the
mountains, and discharged itself into the Euphrates at Circesium
(Kirkisieh;) the Mygdonius, (Hanali,) the source of which was near
Nisibis, and its termination in the Chaboras. The principal towns in the
eastern part along the Tigris and near it, are Nisibis, (Nisibin,)
Bezabde, (Zabda,) Singora, (Sindja,) Labbana on the Tigris, (Mosul,)
Hatru, (Harder,) and Apamea-Mesenes. At some distance to the south, upon
the Tigris and on the borders of Mesopotamia, was the town of Antiochia,
near which commenced the wall that passed from the Tigris to the
Euphrates, under the name of _Murus Mediæ_, or Semiramidis. In the
western part were Edessa, called also Callin-Rhæ, (Orfa,) Charræ,
(Harran,) Nicephorium, (Racca,) Circesium at the mouth of the Chaboras,
Anatho, (Anah,) Neharda, (Hadith Unnour,) upon the right of the
Euphrates. There are several other towns of less importance. According
to Strabo, this country was fertile in vines, and afforded abundance of
good wine. According to Ptolemy, Mesopotamia had on the north a part of
Armenia, on the west the Euphrates on the side of Syria, on the east the
Tigris on the borders of Assyria, and on the south the Euphrates which
joined the Tigris. Mesopotamia was a satrapy under the kings of Syria.
In the earliest accounts we have of this country, subsequent to the time
of Abraham, it was subject to a king, called Cushan-Rishathaim, then
perhaps the most powerful potentate of the east, and the first by whom
the Israelites were made captive, which happened soon after the death of
Joshua, and about B. C. 1400, Judges iii, 8. The name of this king
bespeaks him a descendant of Nimrod; and it was probably of the Lower
Mesopotamia only, or Babylonia, of which he was sovereign; the northern
parts being in the possession of the Arameans. This is implied in the
history of Abraham; who, when ordered to depart from his country,
namely, Chaldea, in the southern part of Mesopotamia, removed to
Charran, still in Mesopotamia, but beyond the boundary of the Chaldees,
and in the territory of Aram. About four hundred years after
Cushan-Rishathaim, we find the northern parts of Mesopotamia in the
hands of the Syrians of Zobah; as we are told, in 2 Sam. x, that
Hadarezer, king of Zobah, after his defeat by Joab, sent and brought out
the Syrians that were beyond the river” Euphrates. The whole country was
afterward seized by the Assyrians; to whom it pertained till the
dissolution of their empire, when it was divided between the Medes and
the Babylonians. It subsequently formed a part of the Medo-Persian,
second Syrian or Macedonian, and Parthian empires, as it does at the
present day of the modern Persian. The southern part of Mesopotamia
answers nearly to the country anciently called the land of Shinar; to
which the Prophet Daniel, i, 2, refers, and Zechariah v, 11.
On the fifth or sixth day after leaving Aleppo,” says Campbell in his
_Overland Journey to India_, “we arrived at the city of Diarbeker, the
capital of the province of that name; having passed over an extent of
country of between three and four hundred miles, most of it blessed with
the greatest fertility, and abounding with as rich pastures as I ever
beheld, covered with numerous herds and flocks. The air was charmingly
temperate in the day time, but, to my feeling, extremely cold at night.
Yet notwithstanding the extreme fertility of this country, the bad
administration of government, conspiring with the indolence of the
inhabitants, leaves it unpeopled and uncultivated. Diarbeker Proper,
called also Mesopotamia from its lying between two famous rivers, and by
Moses called PADANARAM, that is, ‘_the fruitful Syria_,’ abounds with
corn, wine, oil, fruits, and all the necessaries of life. It is supposed
to have been the seat of the earthly paradise; and all geographers agree
that here the descendants of Noah settled immediately after the flood.
To be treading that ground which Abraham trod, where Nahor the father of
Rebecca lived, where holy Job breathed the pure air of piety and
simplicity, and where Laban the father-in-law of Jacob resided, was to
me a circumstance productive of delightful sensations. As I rode along,
I have often mused upon the contemptible stratagems to which I was
reduced, in order to get through this country, for no other reason than
because I was a Christian; and I could not avoid reflecting with sorrow
on the melancholy effects of superstition, and regretting that this fine
tract of country, which ought to be considered above all others as the
universal inheritance of mankind, should now be cut off from all except
a horde of senseless bigots, barbarous fanatics, and inflexible
tyrants.”