Compare And Contrast Egypt And Mesopotamia

In conclusion, the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt, religion was crucial to life and life was inseparable from religion. Religious customs and laws led the day-to-day presence of all citizens; their rank in society also played a huge part. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt were led by theocracies, where people thought that the kings ruled by spiritual right. However, their systems reflect the different social and geographical characteristics of each

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.

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

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.

While describing the cultural among the people of Mesopotamia and Egypt, I learned the differences and similarities in culture. The birth of Mesopotamian Civilization began in c. 3000 B.C.E., in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers of Southwest Asia. Mesopotamia is a Greek word and it means ‘between the rivers.’ In contrast, the birth of Egyptian Civilization began in c. 3100 B.C.E., in a valley of the Nile River in Northeastern Africa. Egypt is a Greek word and it means ‘House of the Spirit of Ptah.’ Since there are several categories in the cultures of the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians, I decided to narrows it to three categories: Religion, Writing, and Geography. The three categories will present the basis to compare cultural differences and similarities.

The first civilizations and the rise of empires began with small groups or villages existing with the use of hunting, fishing, and foraging. (William J. Duiker and Jackson J. Spielvogel, World History, vol. 1, 1) Within a few thousand years, people learned how to cultivate food crops and this led to an increase in population. Increased food production resulted in larger communities. The cities began to expand their cultural and religious developments leading to the beginnings of civilization. (Duiker, World History, 1) The first civilizations emerged in Mesopotamia and Egypt during the fourth and third millennia B.C.E and had various components in common. Each of these civilizations was established in a river valley so they were able to provide and produce the agricultural resources needed to survive and uphold the population. (Duiker, World History, 1) Mesopotamia developed in the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates River known as “the land between the rivers.” These rivers provided irregular and catastrophic flooding for the city-state. They created an intensive irrigation system to improve their agriculture. The first people to create Mesopotamian civilization were known as the Sumerians. These people were the first city builders and created the major city’s named Eridu, Ur, Uruk, Umma, and Lagash. These cities were built with surrounding walls and defense towers. A six-mile-long wall enclosed the city of Uruk. Mesopotamia lacked

The physical environments of Egypt and Mesopotamia do explain their cultural differences. Egyptians had natural barriers and fertile, predictable land, while Mesopotamians had unpredictable land and no protection from invaders. These key differences are the basis of the cultural differences between the two regions, and explain different parts of their culture, such as their outlook on life/afterlife and their rulers.

Ancient people groups commonly believed in the supernatural and that another force had to control everything that happened in their land. As people dispersed through the land on earth after the Tower of Babel, new religions were created. The Egyptians were a very advanced society that had a very complicated religion based on the main sun god: Ra. This concept was different for the Israelites in the Old Testament who worshipped one God. The practice of monotheism in Israel was very uncommon among the ancient pagan religions in the Middle East that were often polytheistic. At first glance, the idols of Egypt and the God of Israel seem extremely different, but similarities appear after further investigation into the roots of both religions.

All first civilizations had common aspects in terms of their agricultural technology, city living, class inequalities, and patriarchy. However, another trait in all first civilizations was the tendency to build around water sources. Here, marks a critical similarity between the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations as they were both based around rivers. This also marks the hearth of all future differences of these two civilizations. Mesopotamia and Egypt though similar in their dependency on their respectable rivers for agriculture, branched off from this point leading to differences in future environments, and culture.

Grain surplus was important because it excused workers from working harder to provide families with their own food. The excess grain also funded public works. As well as a logical medium of exchange.

Egypt and Mesopotamia were the two greatest civilizations in ancient times because of the sophisticated way of living, but most importantly the way the kings rule over the people. These civilizations had aspects of their daily lives that were similar, and others in which they are different. Mesopotamians had an idea of expansion in mind, while Egyptians had an idea of internal ruling and making the people’s daily life peaceful and harmonic. In Ancient Mesopotamia the most readily available material for writing was clay. When writing on clay first arose, Mesopotamians would try to make an artistic representation of what they were referring to. The process was technical and when you are describing a rock next to a deer, you would draw the rock first and then add the deer to the picture. Pictograms were the earliest stage in writing. The Mesopotamian drove an urban social change and that is when cuneiform was found.

There are many mysteries to life, ancient civilizations created religion to explain these mysteries. Many ancient civilizations believed in religions that worshiped more than one god or goddess, this is called polytheism. Both the Ancient Egyptians and the Ancient Greeks practiced polytheism. For both ancient civilizations religion was an important part of daily life. Ancient Egyptians and Ancient Greeks had similar creation stories and worshipped similar gods and goddesses yet there beliefs were still very different

The ancient Egyptians centered their every day lives around religion. The Egyptian people had up to 2000 gods that they worshiped and praised to which they attributed different characteristics to each one having them represent the natural world such as the sun, the moon, and the rain making them polytheistic. They saw their kings and rulers not just as

The Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus wrote in his Histories that ancient Egyptians were “religious excessively beyond all other men”. This comment, although perhaps biased by his Greek perspective, illuminates for modern man the importance of religion in the everyday lives of ancient Egyptian peoples. Religion, in the form of devotion, prayers and offerings, was considered essential to maintaining a happy, healthy life. This devotion could take one of two distinct shapes: state-wide religious worship, or personal, popular worship. Each of these forms of worship is similar but distinctive, and both are a good example of how ancient Egyptian theology was distinct from any other theological system in the ancient world.

Religions are like fire. They have the potential to warm a house or have the ability to burn a house down. Ancient Egyptians’ religious beliefs were influential to their sustainability. We see some of their ancient values in honoring the earth and living a life of balance has globalized and manifested in many religions around the world. Ancient Egyptians practiced a religion that celebrated the afterlife, honored the earth we live on, and shared many similarities and differences with other religions around the world.