Compare And Contrast Egypt And Mesopotamia

Ancient civilizations surrounding Egypt and Mesopotamia during this time period had similar political and social structures to either of the civilizations. Most societies with a centralized government did not see their rulers as divine as pharaohs. Some civilizations, like the Chinese rulers and their Mandate of Heaven, ruled with a power similar to the Egyptian pharaohs. However, the Chinese empire could also be overthrown if they were a bad ruler. The Greek city-states also constantly fought each to gain power over all of Greece. Socially, ancient civilizations were not as lenient towards their women. Since social inequalities developed starting around the development of agriculture, women of ancient times were

Known as one of the earliest civilizations, Mesopotamia and Egypt both share set amounts of similarities along with a share of striking distinctions. Environmentally, these two civilizations were formed in similar surroundings, yet their weather patterns show distinctions. Politically, both governments derived from a monarch, yet their laws and punishments distinguished the two’s court systems. Economically, they both shared prosperous success in similar manners. Socially, although the two lands followed a hierarchy, the value of women contrasted. Culturally, they both believed in a higher order of creation; however, their views of them were polar opposites. Intellectually, these two societies developed skilled abilities and creations that

Even though both prospered after a devastating drought, they both had different approaches in which they traded goods. I think that the approach, Egypt took, made it more unified than Mesopotamia. One reason is that, according to them, they wanted nice things to put into their tombs to use in the afterlife. The nice things were like furniture, and coffins that were constructed from wood that was imported in from Phoenicia. (text, 107) A second reason is that when ever the Egyptians colonized a new area they would build stationed forts to broaden trade routes. (text, 107) Plus, in Egypt, they traded goods for goods. (text, 107) In contrast, I believe that most of Mesopotamia’s businessmen were concerned with just getting the money and nothing else, because money was so much easier to transport than heavy loads that were being traded. (lecture, Dr. Kaz , Feb 9th 2009) When Mesopotamia recovered from the

Thousands of years ago, in separate river valleys, two large settlements met the requirements needed to become two of the four first civilizations, and Egypt and Mesopotamia were formed. They were similar, as they both met the criteria to become a civilization, but they were also different, because geographic factors affected their lives differently. Three reasons why the society, government, and culture of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were similar and different are: first, while both civilizations were located in a river valley, geographic conditions made sustaining society in Mesopotamia more difficult than in Ancient Egypt. Second, Mesopotamia and Egypt had effective bureaucracies, but the many sustained invasions throughout Ancient Mesopotamian history made the state less stable than Egypt. Lastly, although both religions were polytheistic, unpredictable war and flooding made Mesopotamian culture pessimistic, while Egyptian culture reflected Egypt’s stability.

Both regions taxed the people and punished those who could not pay. Mesopotamia forced citizens unable to pay taxes into slavery to pay their debts. Those greatly burdened from taxes in Egypt sometimes fled into the desert. Both civilizations had kings residing over them. The Egyptian king was called a pharaoh and they were believed to be a link to the gods. Mesopotamia had kings the lugal and kept order in the civilization. Hammurabi is a memorable king or lugal, because of his relentless military efforts and severe punishments. Religion maintained great amounts of power in influence in both Mesopotamia and Egypt. The priests in Mesopotamia were in the same social class as the king and temples called ziggurats were built devoted to the gods. In Egypt, the pharaoh was reveled for his connection to the gods and elaborate burials for constructed to help him in the afterlife. The government required the people to do service, which is how the great pyramids were constructed. Temples were also created for the gods, like in Mesopotamia. The regions shared many similarities in the political structure of the

Joy Ogbonna Two ancient civilization Mesopotamia and Egypt created unique and complex civilizations with distinct political, social, and religious characteristics. Egypt and Mesopotamian civilizations are different in gender roles, but similar in religion and political structure. Each civilization viewed the world very different, and these differences led to the instability of Mesopotamia, and protection of the civilization. The historical evidence would indicate that the two civilizations, Mesopotamia and Egypt had some subtle differences but for the most part they were very alike.

The early civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia were dominated by geography which decided religious and political beliefs. Each society had rivers that helped them complete their daily activities. Their religious beliefs were focused on the rivers that were near them. They seeked order by having Kings and Pharaohs and establishing codes and laws. The Pharaohs and Kings created laws and leaded and protected the city.

The Mesopotamian (in current Iraq) and Egyptian (in advanced Egypt) civic establishments thrived around 3500 BCE. They were River Valley human advancements that flourished with farming. Amid their rule, they were extremely prosperous and imparted similitudes and contrasts. Contrasts between them were that Mesopotamia's surroundings upset their human progress in fighting and agribusiness while Egypt's surroundings fortified it and in their patriarchal society, ladies were dealt with more as equivalents to men in Egypt than in Mesopotamia. They were comparative in courses, for example, they both joined and impacted the way of life of neighboring people groups.

Egypt and Mesopotamia Egypt and Mesopotamia were both very complex empires. Every aspect of Egyptians life was based around religion, Mesopotamian religion explained everything about life and death. Social classes in both civilizations were based on a pyramid like social structure. Egypt never developed any major cities but, Mesopotamia developed many major cities. These three elements of civilization helped Egypt and Mesopotamia grow into thriving civilizations.

Mesopotamia and Egypt had many similarities and differences. Two similarities are their patriarchal societies and their use of metallurgy to produce tools and weapons. Two differences were the different styles of written language and the rule of kings in Mesopotamia verses the rule of pharaohs in Egypt. Mesopotamia and Egypt both used a patriarchal society that vested public and private authority in adult men. For instance, men not only held high positions in government, but also controlled household affairs.

Religion was practiced throughout Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. Both the Mesopotamians and Egyptians shared polytheistic beliefs. Each god was responsible for an action, but they did not consider the gods to be equal in Mesopotamian society, in order to please the gods, a sacrifice must be made to please them in order to avoid the god’s wrath. The separation of church and state did not exist in both ancient civilizations, pharaohs of Egyptian society was known to be a god on Earth, the incarnation of Horus, the falcon god. The Mesopotamian rulers were known as a representative to the gods. Although they worship to several different gods, they do have differences between the two. The idea of an afterlife, In Mesopotamia didn’t exist but for the Egyptians the idea of an afterlife was of significant importance to them, rituals were held to ensure that the body and soul would be ready for an eternal life after death. The writing systems of both the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians have many similarities. Pictographic writing, which was developed by the

Civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt thrived as a result of the Rivers that served them: the Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates (Matthews, Noble & Platt, 2014). These rivers provided these civilizations with fertile land, which provided a strong foundation for an agrarian society. Additionally, it allowed Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures to expand their reach in the transportation of goods and services within the region. The two regions’ civilizations were similar in their social structures, though they possessed different opinions on rule. A higher, noble class typically ruled over the lower, working class (Nyokabi, 2016).

Mesopotamia and Egypt were some of the first ancient civilizations that historians presently know about. These two were geographically located in different places, with different obstacles, and advantages. Egypt had less fertile land but was also, more self-contained. Mesopotamia struggled with fighting off outside intruders but arguably had the most complex water works systems. One significant thing both civilizations had in common was their people worshiped the Gods. At this time there was no real modern religion or politics the way we understand them now in modern society. There was no separation of church and state, everything was done to appease the almighty. The belief was, these Devine Beings controlled everything that mattered; the weather, the crops, fertility and even good health. The Gods were all knowing and all powerful, making it easy for the elite class to manipulate religion to get the same influence and respect from the people of these civilizations.

Leadership is a vital aspect all civilizations had and with leadership came legislature. Consequently, Egypt and Mesopotamia both had to create a system to govern the people who lived in their civilizations. Mesopotamia had a system of laws known as Hammurabi’s Code set in place filled with many rules that helped govern the civilization. Many of these sets of laws were based upon ‘an eye for an eye’ set of values which included specific crimes and what was to be done if the defendant was found guilty in court. By the same token, Egypt had a set of laws based upon their religious beliefs, more specifically the goddess Ma’at. Furthermore, the Egyptians had a court system and

Egypt and Mesopotamia were both two of the earliest known civilizations. Egypt was built on both sides of the Nile River, while Mesopotamia was built in between Tigris River, and the Euphrates River. Their geographic location permitted water resources that granted fertile land for successful agriculture. Although both civilizations had their similarities and differences, agriculture was their primary living resource, as well as polytheistic being their primary religion. As a matter of fact, they believed in multiple gods and goddesses, and it was very important to maintain good relationships with them to ensure positive outcomes. Therefore, Osiris, Anubis, and Ereshkigal all shared similar roles and positions throughout their area.