In Judges 3 God makes Jews to serve the King of Mesopotamia for 8 years because they commit the sin of serving the other Gods.
About Mesopotamia: (reference from Wikipedia)
Mesopotamia is the region now occupied by modern Iraq, and parts of eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and southwest Iran. The name Mesopotamia here means "between" and "river", referring to the basins of the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers and the area in between. The geographical area watered by these two rivers is often referred to as the "Cradle of Civilization", since it was here that the first literate societies developed in the late 4th millennium BC, using a highly sophisticated writing system in the context of the emergence of the first cities and complex state bureaucracies.
The region was as one of the famous four river-based civilizations where writing was first invented, along with the Nile valley in Egypt, the Indus Valley in the Indian Subcontinent and Yellow River valley in China.
The earliest language written in Mesopotamia was Sumerian. Scholars agree that other languages were also spoken in early Mesopotamia along with Sumerian. Later a Semitic language, Akkadian, came to be the dominant language, although Sumerian was retained for administration, religious, literary, and scientific purposes. Different varieties of Akkadian were used until the end of the Neo-Babylonian period. Then Aramaic, which had already become common in Mesopotamia, became the official provincial administration language of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.
Mesopotamian people developed many technologies, among them metalworking, glassmaking, textile weaving, flood control, water storage, as well as irrigation. They were also one of the first Bronze age people in the world. Early on they used copper, bronze and gold, and later they used iron. Palaces were decorated with hundreds of kilograms of these very expensive metals. Also, copper, bronze, and iron were used for armor as well as for different weapons such as swords, daggers & spears.
The Mesopotamians used a sexagesimal (base 60) numeral system. This is the source of the current 60-minute hours and 24-hour days, as well as the 360 degree circle. The Sumerian calendar also measured weeks of seven days each. This mathematical knowledge was used in mapmaking.
The Babylonian astronomers were very interested in studying the stars and sky, and most could already predict eclipses and solstices. People thought that everything had some purpose in astronomy. Most of these related to religion and omens. Mesopotamian astronomers worked out a 12 month calendar based on the cycles of the moon. They divided the year into two seasons: summer and winter. The origins of astrology probably date from this time.
The religion of the people was polytheistic which is completely contrary to the Jews ideology.
Mesopotamian settlers were some of the first people to make beer and wine.
