Geography of Mesopotamia parts of Syria but also almost all of Iraq and southeastern Turkey. The neighboring steppes to the west of the Euphrates and the western part of the Zagros Mountains are also often included under the wider term Mesopotamia. A further distinction is usually made between Upper or Northern Mesopotamia and Lower or Southern Mesopotamia. Upper Mesopotamia, also known as the Jazirah, is the area between the Euphrates and the Tigris from their sources down to Baghdad. Lower Mesopotamia is the area from Baghdad to the Persian Gulf. In modern scientific usage, the term Mesopotamia often also has a chronological connotation.
Agriculture in ancient Mesopotamia is very arid and has poor soil quality. But the man-made infrastructure took advantage of some of the potential of this space (large rivers and broad, flat plains) to counter these issues and make lower Mesopotamia one of the most productive agricultural areas in the ancient world. In the north, the uncertainties of production were greater, as a result of the fluctuation of the climate year by year. There were, as a result, many systems of agricultural land, reflecting the diversity of ancient Mesopotamian agriculture. The natural context of ancient Mesopotamia was little different from modern conditions in this region,