Ap History Compare and Contrast Essay: Egypt and Mesopotamia

Ancient civilizations across history have shown unique and incredible feats of mankind. Arguably, two of the most prominent ancient civilizations in the Middle East and even the world are the Mesopotamians (Beginning 5,000 B.C.) and Egyptians (Beginning 3,150 B.C). Even though these two civilizations peaked about 2,000 years apart, they share numerous similarities contributing to their success, and also show even more differences that distinguish how each had a unique culture and way of life.

Although Mesopotamia and Egypt have some things in common, they are different in many ways. Mesopotamia did not have as many people as Egypt did. Also, Egypt had specialized workers that are called the wealthy landowners. Mesopotamia did not have any specialized workers that were wealthy. Mesopotamia and Egypt had different types of specialized workers.

While both Mesopotamia and Egypt have clear similarities on their views on religion, Mesopotamia struggled with their geography due to the high flooding that surrounded the area and on their government due to the harsh laws and rules, while Egypt triumphed in their culture and geography.

When you look back in history to the development and the contributions of both the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations, you see that there was a lot accomplished, as well as a lot created. The earliest forms of writing developed in Mesopotamia, while Egypt was referred to the “Gift of the Nile” by traveler Herodotus (McKay,42). Development of cities was another major marker, especially in the “old world”, of how people eventually determined civilizations and what they represented. According to McKay, civilizations were determined by people who considered themselves more “civilized”, urban people mostly. Made up of cities, written rules of law, and social justice codes, Mesopotamia and Egypt would develop into two of the largest civilizations in history.

Egypt developed around the Nile River, while Mesopotamia developed between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Egypt and Mesopotamia grew into complex civilizations. Politically, both Egypt and Mesopotamia had a government with one main ruler, but Egypt had a centralized government with a pharaoh, while Mesopotamia had a decentralized government with a king. Socially, both civilizations were patriarchal, but Egypt was more lenient towards women while Mesopotamia was stricter. The political and social structures of Egypt and Mesopotamia both similarities and differences.

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

What similarities and differences did Egypt and Mesopotamia have and why was Egypt more politically unified than its neighbor, Mesopotamia? I think in order to answer these questions it is important to look at how both societies lived. Egypt and Mesopotamia were two civilizations existing during the time period of 2000-1200 BCE.(text, 97) These civilizations were shaped by their environment, involved with trade, and faced changes in government after the 100 year drought; however, they differed in that Egypt was shaped by the Nile, traded goods for goods and changed their outlook on the pharaoh who was ruler of all; whereas, Mesopotamia was shaped by the Tigris and Euphrates, traded money for goods, and had a ruler over rulers. The

Civilization. The word “civilization” comes from the Latin term for “city.” The first civilizations were the river-valley civilizations, so-called because they all developed alongside major rivers to secure an adequate water supply for agricultural production. 2 of the greatest river-valley civilizations were Mesopotamia and Egypt. All though they both supported having a patriarchal leader or king, Egypt had a strong, centralized government, whereas Mesopotamia was decentralized, and built based on small city-states operating independently.

Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia present a valuable area of historical research. They are of great importance mostly because of their ethnic kinship (Watson, 2017). In such case, comparison and contrast essay is very promising as causal relationships can be formed based on a mutual starting point. This comparison-contrast essay focuses on differences and similarities in these societies’ economic, political and cultural life in order to make further implications regarding the circumstances the peoples of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia faced.

Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt are both cradles of civilization. Both contributed greatly to human development through their achievements, failures, peoples, scientific accomplishments, philosophies, religions, and contributions.

When comparing cultures it would be difficult to find two that are more diverse than the Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures. The Mesopotamian culture was filled with tension and instability while the Egyptian people maintained a stable and somewhat more content way of life. In examining these two cultures one can surmise that these differences are mainly due to the political, economic, social, religious, and geographic differences between Egypt and Mesopotamia. These factors added to the overall mentality of the people. These mentalities affected the stability of each culture, whether for the better or worse.

In ancient times two neighboring civilizations emerged whose culture, economies, governments, and innovations were a result of the river systems on which they depended. Ancient Mesopotamia was in the Near East spanning modern day Iraq, Kuwait and parts of Syria, Turkey and Iran. Mesopotamia’s name in Ancient Greek is translated as “land between the rivers,” referring to the Tigris and Euphrates river systems between which Mesopotamia was located. In Ancient Egypt, as in modern day Egypt, the Nile River played a major role in this Northern African civilization.

Governmental changes implemented change in the role women played from how it previously existed in society, and allowed society to move towards equality between women and men. Previously to the Middle Kingdom of Egyptian society thought of women as inferior to men, and gave them few rights. Women were viewed and treated as sexual objects throughout society; this treatment was commonly prominent for the elite peoples. Pharaohs often married multiple women, and were permitted to use them as prostitutes (Salisbury). Before the Middle Kingdom women were expected to care for household obligations. This was shown to be an important responsibility, to the point to where married women were often called “Mistress of the House,” which showed the importance of their domestic role. Woman were also responsible for purchasing and preparing the food

Throughout the semester we have taken time in class to understand the differences between the many complex societies we have learned about. The differences can range from technology, agriculture, communication, labor, and much more. The two main complex societies that I will focus on is Egypt and Mesopotamia specifically on how farming played out differently due to natural disadvantages.

Egypt was an ancient civilisation found in the northern Africa. Like many early civilizations, it developed along a river, that being the Nile River. It was important that it developed along a river such as the Nile because it provided water for agriculture and drinking, which were necessary for survival in a permanent settlement or civilization. South of Egypt was the civilization of Nubia, or Kush. This was important to Egypt’s culture because the back-and-forth conquering of each other that went on led to the integration of one another’s culture. Egypt adopted Nubian traditions and vice versa.