Characteristics Of Ancient Civilizations

Egypt would be nothing without their famous government and rulers. The biggest, most important ruler, of Ancient Egypt, was and is the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh was the most vital leader to not just of the government, but also of the religion in Egypt. There were tears of the Egyptian government. So, under the pharaoh, was the vizier. A vizier is the main overseer of the land. The other officials reported to vizier each day. Under the vizier, were the Nomarks. They rule over a certain area of land called a nome. Almost like a governor. A nome was almost like a state. The role of a nomark would be hereditary and be passed down from father to son. The laws of Ancient Egypt were believed to be partially codified. There were 8 books that set out the legal code. Most people believe that Egyptian law was based on common sense and the view of right and wrong. This is how Egyptian’s complex religion helped make Egypt a working civilization.

In Egypt, the social structure was very important to everyday life. At the top they had their main gods, Ra, Osiris, and Isis. They even elevated some of their own people to the top, giving the god status. These were the Pharaohs. The Pharaohs had total control and power over their subjects and pyramids were built as their graves. There is also a chain of command at the top of hte social structure. After Pharaohs came his appointed assistant, known as the Vizier who collected and kept track of the taxes. Under the vizier came their scribes to helped record all the documents. These were vitally important because they were largely the only ones in the entire community who could read and write. Then came the soldiers, quite high up on the ladder compared to many of the other civilizations. This was because fighting for the Pharaoh was highly appraised work. The middle class was made up of the craftsmen, traders and merchants, and artisans. These are the people who created the everyday tools for people up and down the entire social structure. And finally at the very bottom came the farmers and slaves, doing the unsklled work unlike the middle

Ancient Egypt was a captivating and intricate civilization. Over the years, historians have found it easier to study this civilization, rather than other historical civilizations, because the Egyptians went through great lengths to record their history. Besides being decent record keepers, they were very religious, and “ahead of their time,” due to their technological and economic breakthroughs. Because of the aspects of this culture, it has to be one of the greatest civilizations of the world.

In social terms, Egypt and Mesopotamia followed a hierarchy. A body of people with authority, categorized according to

The people groups in ancient Egyptian were very different than our societies social groups today. Ancient Egyptians were grouped in a hierarchical system with the Pharaoh at the top and farmers and slaves at the bottom. The groups of people nearest to the top of society were the richest and most powerful. The Pharaoh was believed to be a god on earth and had the most power. He was responsible for making laws and keeping order. Ensuring that Egypt was not attacked or invaded by enemies and for keeping the gods happy so that the Nile flooded and there was a good harvest. The Vizier was the Pharaoh's chief advisor

An interesting question to ask oneself about ancient civilizations is “How did the various governments keep their respective populations under control?” By taking a look at some of the literature and forms of art, one can get an idea of the crafty techniques used by leaders to control the populace. The concept of social control has been around as long as civilizations have been. This can be seen in the Roman stoic ideals portrayed in the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, the Four Noble Truth’s teachings in India, and the emphasis on harmony in China with the Chinese Bronze Bell. It’s interesting to see the ways works of art and even religious texts were used to control the common people.

In 1950, V Gordon Childe drew up a list of traits of to what he considered to be the common characteristics of early civilizations. According to Fagan & Scarre, a recent archaeologist Charles Redman divided Childe’s list into primary and secondary characteristics. The primary characteristics included cities and states, together with full-time specialization of labor, concentration of surplus, and a class-structured society. For the secondary, the characteristics included symptoms or by-products of these major economic and organizational changes: monumental public works, long-distance trade, standardized monumental artworks, writing, and the sciences (arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy)(Scarre and Fagan 2003). One of the most common characteristics involve was a large, dense population living in a city. This essay well state and describe two early cities in Mesopotamia and explore the layouts and characteristics of these two cities. Also, whether each city is unique or share common characteristics with each other. The two cities are Maskan-shapir and Ur.

Most people believe that all ancient civilizations were the same: they all lived with a steadfast loyalty to their one and only king that ruled all of the lands, civilizations only achievements were monumental buildings, and they vacuously attacked neighboring societies to gain more land for millennia. While some of this knowledge is true to an extent, civilizations accomplished an abundance more than some realize. Some fail to register that early civilizations are unique from each other. Egypt and Mesopotamia were two distinct civilizations. Despite similarities such as both being river civilizations, Egypt and Mesopotamia contrasted with each other in the areas of, type of ruling, religion, and

Where America has social classes from riches to poor, Egypt has their own form of social structure. First the pharaoh is at the top. Pharaohs were well known as gods to the citizens. No one could question his commands because he or she was the ultimate authority in Egypt. Next, there were high government officials, the chief treasurer, and the army generals. Follows that are the priests and nobles. Government officials consisted of members of the royal family, nobles and priests. They passed on power from one generation to the next and protected the blood line. Religion and government were linked in Egypt, so this is why priests and nobles were near the top and the pharaohs were worshiped as gods. Priests served the god’s needs. Soldiers, scribes, craftsmen, and merchants were near the bottom of the social class. Farmers, unskilled or unemployed workers, and slaves made the bottom of the pyramid of the social structure. Instead of the social class' structure and government of ancient Egypt, ancient Egyptians invented and achieved many things we still have in our modern

Both ancient Athens and Egypt adhered to a strict hierarchical framework, ranking people as superiors or inferiors. Old Kingdom Egyptian hierarchy is described as having the king and queen at the top, with priests, administrators, governors and army commanders coming second, then the commoners who worked mostly in agriculture, and finally, slaves, who had been captured in war. (Hunt, pg. 22). According to Esolen, (pg. 35), Egyptian society was structured as such: the Pharaoh came first, and was believed to be God on earth. Next came the “Vizier”, who was the pharaohs chief advisor. Nobles were next in the hierarchy, responsible for making local laws. Priests came next, and were responsible for performing rituals and ceremonies. Scribes were a very important group, as they were the only ones who could read or write, so they were the record keepers. A small percentage

During ancient Egypt, civilization was brought about because the people picked a ruler, or king. “Two of the most important sources of life for the ancient Egyptians were the Nile River and the Pharaoh” (William). At the time, society was very hierarchical; the society was divided into two groups: the privileged people and the majority. The king kept control and managed everything ranging from politics to religion.

Egypt’s social hierarchy created a stable, well-ordered society, as seen through a clearly visible status of people that ensured survival and success of the society, massive social inequality, that stimulated the development of a more complex society and the state, and beneficial social norms, regarding the everyday life, customs and beliefs, which were a great foundation for people’s morals and duties and helped the society to run smoothly. Social status was clearly displayed and was a requirement for survival and success of society. For example, since the Egyptians believed that the Pharaohs were gods, they entrusted them with many responsibilities, such as political, religious, social, economic, military and legal commitments. The Kings

First and foremost, Ancient Egypt was structured in the form of a pyramid. The top of the pyramid of course was the gods. These gods included Ra, Osiris, and Iris, and according to the people of Egypt, these gods controlled almost the entire earth. Leaders in Egypt were called pharaohs so they were believed to be Gods in human form which is amazing. The ruler in status were powerful nobles and priests. Only nobles could hold government posts and in those positions they profited from tributes paid to the pharaoh. Priests were responsible for pleasing the gods. While soldiers fought in wars or quelled domestic uprisings. When there was no war to fight, the soldiers supervised

Ancient Egypt is one of the civilizations that have been studied for decades, and is one of the most well known in regards of early advancements. During 3000 - 300 BC Ancient Egypt was at its peek in fashion and developed many clothing and accessories that aided them for survival that is still seen in todays culture.

I believe Ancient Egypt in a civilization because it has all seven indicators! It has Complex religion, social classes, specialized workers such as craftsmen & artisans, organized government, long-distance trade, cities & methods of record keeping.