I've been thinking on it lately, and what I can find clarify all that much. It seems that there is a lot of muddying of waters by Islamic, Judiastic and Christian scholarly groups trying to erase the history to fit their own belief systems.
So what is the story of it? What sort of empire was it? What brought it down? And, of additional interest, where does Islam, Christianity and Judaism come into all of this?
From what I currently understand, it was an empire made of city states, like early Greece. Then the empire fell, and the city states fell to warring factions. The Persians held Baghdad and used the trade routes to secure power within the region, Israel went on a rampage, taking over as much land as possible, and a large group of old city states then formed a nation and scattered the nation of Israel.
How much of this is correct, and how much isn't?
From what I currently understand, it was an empire made of city states, like early Greece. Then the empire fell, and the city states fell to warring factions. The Persians held Baghdad and used the trade routes to secure power within the region, Israel went on a rampage, taking over as much land as possible, and a large group of old city states then formed a nation and scattered the nation of Israel.
Well...frankly, very little of this is correct. Mesopotamia refers to a geographic region, largely corresponding to Iraq and Syria today. The ancient history of Mesopotamia involved dozens of different peoples, empires, and cultures. There was no one "Mesopotamian Empire."
However, there were many entities that rose in and ruled much of Mesopotamia. Notable ones include the Akkadian Empire, the First Babylonian Dynasty, Mitanni, the Kassites, the Neo-Assyrian Empire, and the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The Sumerians should also be mentioned.
Baghdad was founded by Muslim Arabs. Although located in the Mesopotamian region, the city was built long after ancient Mesopotamian empires had been brought to an end.
The Biblical Kingdom of Israel does not appear to have ruled any part of Mesopotamia. The Babylonian captivity which you seem to be referencing was actually caused by the Neo-Babylonian Empire, and the Babylonian captivity itself was long after the Kingdom of Israel had disappeared.