Comparing Mesopotamia And Egypt Essay

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

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.

Mesopotamia and Egypt had different types of governance. In Mesopotamia, the government was a monarchy, whereas the Egyptian government was a theocracy. The difference is that in an Egyptian theocracy, society was ruled by a king who was worshipped and considered a god-like figure. A monarchy is a government ruled by a king or military ruler. In Mesopotamians society, priests held the most power, until military leaders came to power due to the arising dangers of attack. Military leaders promised protection and power to Mesopotamians. The Mesopotamians believed that

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.

In 3100 B.C and Mesopotamians at 5000 B.C (1). The Nile river was a key place for the start of the Ancient Egyptian empire. Egyptians themselves were located near lower Egypt closeby the Nile Delta. They then slowly moved up around upper egypt. With clear fertile and rich soil, agriculture was most efficient and made the Ancient Egyptians very rich. Mesopotamians also had their own rivers known as the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers which were rich in soil for farming. Mesopotamians were located around Zagros Mountains and located inside the Persian gulf. Mesopotamians were Mediterraneans. Egyptians and the Mesopotamians were very alike. Equal rights between men and women existed in both of the empires societies. (2). This is important because the demographics of females were not small in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Mesopotamia. Also, the religion of both empires were polytheistic (Meaning “many gods”) (2). Because the gods controlled Egypt and Mesopotamia through land and power, people dedicated a large portion of their time to the gods. An example is that temples

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.

While both the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations share similar political, social and economic qualities, the details of these broad spectrums branch off in opposite directions. For example, both Mesopotamia and Egypt were ruled by kings, but in Egypt, their kings were called pharaohs and they had significantly more power than the Mesopotamian kings of the city-states. Both civilizations also had social classes in which a person fit into, but in Mesopotamia, many more rules and restrictions were forced onto women, especially young girls, than Mesopotamian boys or Egyptian boys or girls. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt traded with each other,

Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia had some similarities in their religious aspects. For example, they both had polytheistic religions and many of their gods and goddesses embodied elements of nature. Likewise, both civilizations had dedicated buildings to worship their gods and placed a high value on religious leaders. These civilizations were centered in religion and believed their gods created them (Kate, 2010). There were a few notable differences in their religions though, starting with the reflection each group had on religion.

In the first civilization, both Mesopotamia and Egypt relied on a hunter-gatherer economic system, during that time, every country in the world strived on it. Mesopotamia had rich soil for agriculture, but experiences floods. For the Mesopotamians, these floods would destroy major cities, but for the Egyptians it would keep the soil rich all year long without the damage that the Mesopotamians had experienced.

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.

The differences, and even more so, the similarities between the geography in Mesopotamia, and Ancient Egypt can be found to be very intriguing. Both were near rivers and experienced floods. Both civilizations took advantage of the floods. Both made advances in agriculture due to the rich silt left from the floods.

Both civilizations worshiped gods that they believed had control over different aspects of their life. For example, the Egyptians worshiped Thoth the moon god and the Mesopotamians worshiped Nanna the moon god. Even though they may have had different names, they represented the same thing, and they were worshipped for the same reason, to bring good fortune and prosperity to the people in their civilization.

Throughout the history of Earth, there have been many fascinating developments, the most prominent being the first civilizations, Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. They had many similarities, such as characteristics of early civilizations and social structures, but they also had their differences. The most embossed differences included the divergent geography, prior belief, trade, relations with other civilizations, and politics.

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