Egypt And Mesopotamia Comparison Essay

Egypt and Mesopotamia developed different and similar political and religious civilizations. Mesopotamian civilizations such as the Sumerians, the Akkadian kingdom, the Assyrian empire and the Babylonian city-state, were all too dependent on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Egypt’s natural isolation and material self-sufficiency fostered a unique culture that for long periods had relatively little to do with other civilizations. Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt.

Although Egypt and Mesopotamia were both early agricultural societies built upon the water provided by the major rivers which sustained them, they exhibited important differences as a consequence of the different physical environments in which they developed. In this paper I will first focus on what I consider to be the major aspects of these differences in environment and then explore the consequences of these differences in their religious beliefs, political organization and commercial practices.

Both Mesopotamia and Egypt, between 3000 and 600 B.C.E., had similarities and differences. Both regions shared similar economic structure in regards to agriculture, trade, and taxes. However, Mesopotamia and Egypt differ in regards to religion concerning belief in afterlife, influence of gods, and religious influence on government, as well as technology as it regards weaponry, scientific study, and writing.

Two early civilizations, Mesopotamia and Egypt, developed intricate societies with unique religious, political, and social aspects. A very pronounced difference in the two civilizations is how Egyptians viewed nature and the afterlife as cosmic and orderly, while the Mesopotamians viewed it as sporadic and variable. Another key difference is how the Mesopotamian land was divided into city-states, yet Egypt had a highly centralized government. Both societies, however, valued priests, and were ranked highest in their social hierarchy.

Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were similar since both civilizations were polytheistic however they had different beliefs and worshipped different gods. Their religion was unalike because of the three factors; geography, rulers, and different gods. The geography is influenced because when the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers flooded the Mesopotamians thought the gods were angry. the flood destroyed all their food. However, when the Nile flooded the Egyptians thought the gods were happy. The flood gave life to the Egyptians. Both civilizations had different beliefs.In Egypt one of the rulers altered the Egytians' beliefs since the Akanaten changed the religion into monotheism. However, Mesopotamia had independent city states with own rulers so

One of their differences is that Egypt was more stable than Mesopotamia. This is because Egypt had an ideal geographic location since they were surrounded by natural barriers such as deserts and water. They also had predictable flooding which made civilization and agriculture much easier than their Mesopotamian counterparts. Mesopotamia, on the other hand, was not as lucky since they were out in the open, vulnerable to attack by other civilizations and had unpredictable flooding. This had an impact on their government’s stability because since the Egyptian government was rarely overthrown, their civilization was able to grow and develop constantly. Mesopotamia, on the other hand, had quite the different lifestyle since that area got conquered often their way of life was constantly changing which left Mesopotamia in an unstable state. With Mesopotamia unstable, their view of the afterlife was affected. The Mesopotamians had a book called the “Epic of Gilgamesh” which described the fate of all humans when they had passed. The fate according to the “Epic of Gilgamesh” was that death was the end and that there was nothing after. Unlike the Mesopotamians, Egyptians had a positive outlook on the afterlife, which is shown in the “Book of the Dead” or the “Book of Emerging Forth into the Light.” The Egyptian’s book about the afterlife says that after one had passed from this world they would go to another life. This shows that Egypt had a positive outlook on the afterlife because they believed in another life, another

Religion was practiced throughout Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. Both the Mesopotamians and Egyptians shared polytheistic beliefs. Each god was responsible for an action, but they did not consider the gods to be equal in Mesopotamian society, in order to please the gods, a sacrifice must be made to please them in order to avoid the god’s wrath. The separation of church and state did not exist in both ancient civilizations, pharaohs of Egyptian society was known to be a god on Earth, the incarnation of Horus, the falcon god. The Mesopotamian rulers were known as a representative to the gods. Although they worship to several different gods, they do have differences between the two. The idea of an afterlife, In Mesopotamia didn’t exist but for the Egyptians the idea of an afterlife was of significant importance to them, rituals were held to ensure that the body and soul would be ready for an eternal life after death. The writing systems of both the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians have many similarities. Pictographic writing, which was developed by the

Both had polytheistic beliefs. In an article, Learning about Mesopotamian Religion and Culture it stated,’’ Mesopotamia believes in a polytheistic belief system, which means that the people believed in multiple gods instead of just one. They also believed in demons created by the gods, which could be good or evil. Each city had its own patron deity, some of which were connected to specialized occupations. There were also gods and goddess, the rulers of the sky, air, and more, which received more attention from worshipers.’’ Similarly, Egypt had the same belief. In a website called, Canadian museum of history, it stated,’’ every Egyptian town had its own particular deity, manifested in a material fetish or a god represented in the shape of an animal.’’ In another article called, Religion in Ancient Egypt it stated,’’ Egyptians' interaction with a multitude of deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, the forces and elements of nature. The myths about these gods were meant to explain the origins and behavior of the forces they represented.’’ The reason is because there was no explanation of why the world was the way it was so the Mesopotamian and Egyptians believed there was gods and goddess that control certain things. Another reason is that they thought nature was different gods For example, in Mesopotamia there was god of the sky, a

Mesopotamia and Egypt. Great rivers play a very crucial role in the development of these civilizations. Egypt was developed in the long narrow strip of river of Nile. These rivers provide two advantages to an emerging civilization. First, they are the source and the main provider of water for field irrigation, and second, the river is the easiest transportation method with the absence of paved road.

This difference in the formation of cities found in Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt also brought about differences in the way that their

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

Mesopotamia was once a vast fertile, green landscape with two mighty rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, running from the north to the south flowing into the Persian Sea. Sandy river valleys covered most of the south and mountain ranges dotted the north. This land was also known as the Fertile Crescent. Mesopotamia is one of the first major of civilization along with others that sprung up along major rivers around the world at approximately the same time. Mesopotamia was home to the Sumerians, who became known as one of the most influential innovators of the ancient world. A couple thousand miles southwest of Mesopotamia lies the land of Egypt. Like Mesopotamia, Egypt had the mighty Nile flowing south to north, pouring into the Mediterranean Sea. Egypt was covered in rich fertile soil near the Nile and surrounded by desolate desert outside of the river valley. Egypt was home to the ancient Egyptians who created the well-known monumental engineering feats, the pyramids. Even though, these two civilizations were close in region, their geographical conditions generated vastly different ways of life, belief systems and governmental systems.

Egypt and Mesopotamia had their own particular convictions and their own particular religion, however one consider that was comparative their religious outlook was that they were both polytheistic,meaning they had more than one god or goddess. The Egyptians divine beings and goddesses were perceived to be supplementary towards being moral, mental, physical, and otherworldly figures. Then again, Mesopotamia's significant religion had divine beings and goddesses that managed more with normal wonder and the human body; that were said thanks to and reprimanded for common events and debacles that happened in Mesopotamia: however when you take a gander at the implications of the Egyptian and Mesopotamian divine beings and goddesses, they had the same intending to them as the other society. Government and society is diverse for each nation, this likewise applies to Mesopotamia and Egypt. In Mesopotamia, in light of the fact that it was a place that is known for various kingdomsand domains, there were numerous styles of political perspectives, and these distinctive politicalviews brought on the need of control and to overcome their neighboring

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.

Geography played a central role in the formation, organization and nature of the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations and culture. Both civilizations were dependent on agriculture and both were located in fertile regions near major waterways.