Steve Antrim12/12/16WC1HIDAncient Egypt and Mesopotamia Comparison Essay The most significant part in the evolution of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia was geography, permitting the civilizations to thrive along the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile rivers. The construction of ancient civilizations along the river valleys enabled them to grow through trade along the river. Growth in population generated a significant need for agriculture and the inhabitants of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia looked to the gods to obtain these necessities. Access to neighboring civilizations through river trade served to cultural advancements in each society. Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia each had similarities in how their civilizations grew by the geography of their
The ancient civilizations of the Ancient Egypt, as well as the great Mesopotamia, are the world’s greatest civilization as recorded by history. The civilization was highly facilitated by rivers which cut across their land. The Euphrates, Nile, as well as Tigris, constantly moving along the river banks which in turn resulted in the adjoining land is extremely fertile (Backman). This led to flourishment and development of Ur and Eriku cities in Mesopotamia as well as the city of Thebes in Egypt (Backman). The Nile was very significant in Ancient Egypt as it made invasion by enemies impossible due to its marshy deltas (Backman). On the other hand, Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia differed fundamentally in many aspects more specifically in how their societies were structured, cultural orientation, religion, technological experiences, literature, and art among other things (Backman). This paper will center on examining these differences as well as similarities between these two regions as well as what they communicate concerning the circumstances that people from these two regions faced.
The civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt both have many things in common, including having adjacent rivers. However both Rivers are very different in regards to when the rivers flood. The Nile river of Egypt floods varies periodically and accurately making it very easy to tell when the river will flood for the crops of the Egyptian people. In Mesopotamia the Euphrates and Tigris flood unpredictably, making it almost impossible to raise a civilization there. Nevertheless the Mesopotamian people found a way around this by using technology such irrigation. This supplies water to land or crops to help growth, typically done by channels. Although both are great civilizations they have very fundamental differences from cultural to religious.
The fact that Egypt and Mesopotamia both had similar political structures led to both civilizations having a similar economy. Mesopotamian and Egyptian armies employed by kings or pharaohs used metal weapons which required specialized labor to make, thus increasing the diversity of the economy. Trade was already an important factor in both empires, rulers not only desired foreign
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.
Agriculture was central to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia; it was the basis of both their economies. While both civilizations utilized agriculture in similar fashions, ancient Egypt had a more stable efficient system due to geographic location and resources, therefore relishing in a more positive economy. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers surrounding Mesopotamia were harsh, unpredictable, and prone to erratic flooding, causing
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
Both Mesopotamia and Egypt relied heavily on their rivers for many reasons. The two civilizations both used ponds and the flooding of their rivers for irrigation and crops. Being close to the rivers made the soil very fertile and easier to grow crops with. Some of the large crops that were grown in these civilizations are barley and other grains. Each of the rivers flooded at least
Throughout time, geography has played a key role in whether a civilization thrived or fell this was no different from the ancient cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia. While these two fledgling cultures were separated by hundreds of miles, and vastly different they shared similar and unique challenges with the land in which they lived.
Mesopotamia and Egypt were two of the first innovational societies. They both developed and grew in similar and different ways. They are geographically different since Mesopotamia was located between two rivers, but Egypt was located along the Nile River. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt were guided by one main ruler, but meanwhile in Mesopotamia the government was decentralized with a king, and in Egypt was centralized ruled by a pharaoh.
The ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt are similar, but different in the way that their belief system ties in to their legal system, social order, and artistic tendencies. In Mesopotamia "individual priest-kings ruled Sumerian city-states as agents of god," (Fiero) under Hammurabi's code, but in Egypt the king, or "Pharaoh," whose word is law, was thought to be a representative or equal of the sun god Amon Ra. "While social order and division of labor that prevailed in Mesopotamia are depicted in the Standard of Ur; the ruler and his officials are in the top register, soldiers and servants below, and victims of war and slaves at the bottom." (Fiero) Mesopotamians built ziggurats as temples, or shrines linking heaven and earth
Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia are a valuable area of historical research. This essay will focus on the differences and similarities in these societies economic, political, and cultural lives. As well as the circumstances the people of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia faced.
Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt Egypt and Mesopotamia coincide in some aspects but highly differ in others. Egypt is located in Northeast Africa on the Nile River, while Mesopotamia is located in the Middle East along the Tigris and Euphrates. Mesopotamia introduced writings as formal law codes as well as city planning and architecture institutions. They also came up with innovations in irrigation systems and farming. Egypt arose 1000 years after Mesopotamia and not only do they have similarities and differences, but an interesting fact is that Mesopotamia brought innovations to Egypt and Egypt improved on those.
Agriculture created in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt was based deeply upon their environmental factors, still they both differed in their domestication methods. In ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, canal irrigation was a major factor for the ability to create a food supply. They both used this farming method due to the fact that that lived near a large body of water where flooding occurred frequently. In order to capture the amount of silt they need to cultivate their crops efficiently, they created canals for their irrigation systems. The civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt also developed heir civilizations on the rivers. This was a major key in the prospering of their civilization because once again, the river provided lots of silt for their agriculture. Food was also primary reason that