Compare And Contrast Egypt And Mesopotamia

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

The Mesopotamian government is different from Egypt in many ways. One way that their

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.

According to the document 1, Egyptian civilizations began close to the Nile River because the Nile provided a fetile area in the middle of a dessert located near Africa, these fetile could be use for soil for the plants and crops to grow food and farming. The Nile also beneficials to the people not only for rich soil, but also for the transportation to get from one destination to another and also for trade, which allow Egypt to be open for sharing resources from other area around the world. According the document 2, Mesopotamia are located in Fertile Creasant area, which have lots of river to provide civilization food, transportation, as well as plants. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers located in Fertile Creasant are also essential to the survival of people and the Nile river proves how geographic luck play the big role in both civilizations to be

The first category of culture is religion. There were several similarities between the Mesopotamians and Egyptians. The Mesopotamians and Egyptians had their own religion and beliefs. Both were polytheistic, meaning they believed in numerous gods or goddesses instead of one god or goddess. There were also several differences between the Mesopotamian and Egyptians. While the Mesopotamians and Egyptians worshiped thousands of deities, there were four main essential deities for the Mesopotamians: An, Enlil, Enki, and Ninhursaga. An was the god of heaven. Enlil was the god of wind and became the power of energy, force, and authority on the earth. Enki was the god of

The evolvement of two noteworthy key societies in the Middle East and North Africa inspires my effort at comparative analysis. Because different geography, various degrees of exposure to outside invasion and influence, and different prior beliefs, Egypt, and Mesopotamia were similar to one another in many ways. Egypt emphasized strong central authority, while Mesopotamian politics shifted more frequently over a substructure of regional city-states. Mesopotamian art focused on less impressive structures while embracing a pronounced literary element that Egyptian art lacked. Egyptian civilization, formed by 3000 B.C., advanced from trade and technological influence from Mesopotamia, but it produced an entirely different social order and culture. Since its ethics and its tightly knit political association encouraged monumental building, we know more about Egypt about Mesopotamia, even though the latter was in the most respects more important and richer in subsequent heritage.

I have chosen to discuss the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Both have many significant similarities and differences. I would like to compare some important points in four common categories. I will compare and contrast the geography and its impact, the political structure of each society, the importance of their existing class structures and finally the role of women in these dynamic civilizations.

Egypt and Mesopotamia, although similar, are different as a result of one major natural resource: a river. Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were an agricultural based society that believed in the existence of many deities; however, they differed in the aspect of how they evolved as an agricultural society and whether they feared or praised their gods.

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.

Egyptians viewed the afterlife in a very positive way - they believed if they lived by the standards of “Ma’at”, they would end up in the “Happy Field of Food” or “Field of Offerings” in the afterlife. “Ma’at”, simply put, composed of acting in ways that are truthful, harmonious, moral, balanced, and orderly. In simple terms, Egyptians believed that if they acted with morality, they would have a happy afterlife with no hunger or pain. Mesopotamians had a much darker view of life after death: they believed they would spend eternity in the “House of Dust” with other tortured souls. Mesopotamian gods were not moral or truthful - they cheated, lied, stole, etc., and Mesopotamians believed that humans were created simply because the gods grew tired of working. Mesopotamians worshipped their gods because they believed if they worshipped enough, they may receive blessings or justice, but this was not guaranteed.

One major similarity that Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia had is that they had a polytheistic belief system. This means that they believed in many Gods. Some important Mesopotamian Gods were Adad, Ashur, Marduk, and Shamash. Some important Egyptian Gods are Mut, Osiris, Horus, and Thoth. Egyptians also viewed their Pharaohs as gods.

Mei Kei Ho Professor Codella Humanity 300 14th February, 2017 Part I: Compare and Contrast Mesopotamian and Egyptian Cultures The two most significant civilizations in ancient history are Mesopotamia and Egypt, They both developed environmental, political, religious and social patterns as well as architecture and art. Although they had a lot of things in common, they were also different in a lot of ways.

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).

Their king god called Amun, and they also have the sun god Re, sky God Horus. Otherwise, The Mesopotamians were very scared of their gods, because their gods gave the Mesopotamians punishments when they do the wrong things like making their country flood. Mesopotamians believed that the god is the role leader , and god can protect people. They have the most three important gods,the God of Air Enlil, Amu is the father of God whom represented the authority , and God of water EA . Beside that, they still have sun God Utu, the Goddess of love and war called Inanna, and Marduk is the god of babylon. In Mesopotamia, the kings represented the gods, while the Egyptian kings were gods, and two leaders were believed to be related to the gods, because of the great power they held and the wealth under their control. Both ancient Mesopotamia's and ancient Egypt's religions had the enhance to their culture. The religion played an important role in their society, and spiritual life.

Economically, these two civilizations both shared prosperous success in similar manners. One connection between Mesopotamia and Egypt is that they both manipulated their designated rivers to perform critical trade operations by using them as routes. They were able to communicated and send goods with other civilizations in a farther location via the river system. Also, these two civilizations were very productive in the agricultural field due to the strategically created irrigation systems that provided water to their fertile soils to provide lush vegetations in Nile and Sumer. The one difference between Mesopotamia and Egypt in terms of economy is that the Nile government controlled most if not all of the trading monopoly, and they had their citizens pay substantial taxes.