The Chaldeans are the descendants of the ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia—modern-day Iraq—primarily the Babylonians and Assyrians. Their mother tongue is Chaldean, also known as Syriac, which is the most widely spoken dialect of the Aramaic language today. The history of the Chaldeans is inseparable from that of their homeland, Mesopotamia. The “Land Between Two Rivers” is universally recognized as the Cradle of Civilization, where the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians pioneered the foundations of civilized society. They made major advancements in agriculture, irrigation, mathematics, astronomy, and architecture, and excelled in literature, music, painting, and sculpture. The Towers of Babylon, the Hanging Gardens (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World), the Code of Hammurabi, and the Epic of Gilgamesh are enduring examples of this remarkable civilization. The influence of Mesopotamian culture on biblical heritage is also significant. Scripture clearly states that Abraham, the father of all believers, was called by God from "Ur of the Chaldeans"; to begin the most pivotal journey in religious history. The most brilliant period in Mesopotamian history is known as the Chaldean Period, or the Neo-Babylonian Era (627–539 B.C.), which reached its peak during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II. At that time, the Chaldean Empire encompassed Mesopotamia, Persia, Syria, Palestine, and even Egypt. The Chaldeans were originally an Aramean tribe, and their language—Aramaic—spread throughout the Middle East, becoming the international language of the era until the Arab conquest. The Old Testament was translated from Hebrew into Chaldean, preserved to this day in the Babylonian Targumim. Over time, Aramaic also became the commonly spoken language in Palestine, and there is no doubt that Jesus Christ and His disciples spoke a dialect of this same language. Such was the splendor of Babylon during Nebuchadnezzar’s reign that Scripture proclaims: "Babylon has been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand that made all the earth drunken. The nations have drunken of her wine; therefore, the nations are mad." ;(Jeremiah 51:7). In 539 B.C., Babylon fell to Cyrus the Persian, marking the end of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. From that point onward, Mesopotamia became the target of successive conquests by the Persians, Greeks (under Alexander the Great), Romans, Parthians, Sasanids (Persians again), Arabs, Mongols, and Ottoman Turks, until the formation of the State of Iraq in 1921.