When did Mesopotamia become Iraq?
In the West, that area of the Middle East was known as Mesopotamia up until 1922, when the modern state of Iraq became established following the end of the British mandate, which was granted at the end of WW1. Kuwait was also created at the same time by the Allied powers, who hived off the South-East section of Iraq and installed a tame monarchy in order to secure a puppet ally in the region, whose oil wealth they could have easy access to. Claims by Saddam Hussein following his invasion of Kuwait in 1990 that it had always been a part of Iraq were thus actually right!!
