Mesopotamia means "land between two rivers, which were, Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. This location gave birth to the first civilizations in the world. First civilizations were Sumer, and Ur... but the first empire was the Akkadian Empire led by Sargon the Great. It developed when the first people formed a settlement which split into many. They were known as "city states". Sargon conquered all of these and ruled from then on until the uprise of the Babylonian Empire. Hope this helps!