The Mesopotamian civilization seems so grim and joyless when compared to Egyptian civilization for several reasons including control of water and land, location of cities in relation to warfare, writings from the time, and security.
The area in which the Mesopotamian civilization was formed, in the Tigris and Euphrates River valleys, was not ideal for efficient agricultural growing and water control. Farming and growing food in Mesopotamia required significant planning since there was not an abundance of rain and the rivers flooded fields during spring harvest time. In addition, when trying to plant seeds in the fall, there was not enough water. Due to this, Mesopotamians had to construct man-made dikes and storage channels to provide water
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.
Over the years the Egyptians had more experience than the Mesopotamians, because the Egyptians had more ideas for making new things. In Ancient Egypt the Egyptians had built pyramid structures and in the Ancient Middle East the Mesopotamians had built ziggurat structures. The Egyptians and the Mesopotamians had most things in common, but they mostly have a lot of differences. The Mesopotamians were the first to develop tools during that time, but over the years the Egyptians had also developed tools but it was real science technology. Another thing is that when it came to women’s rights in Ancient Middle East all the women were owned by their husbands, and in Ancient Egypt the people worshiped women and there was even a woman ruler. Even though Ancient Middle East and Ancient Egypt share written language and both heavily relied on the Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates, rivers the difference between Ancient Middle East and Ancient Egypt is that they both had an opposite view of the afterlife.
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
Mesopotamia and Egypt were very different because of their geography and world view. Mesopotamia was often flooded because of their bad geography, but the land around the Nile river was built well so the Egyptians didn 't have to worry about the river flooding as often. The land in Mesopotamia was often attacked and invaded. Ultimately the geography of Egypt was significantly better than Mesopotamia because of the benefits of the nile river created a positive world view, a strong government and a universal religion.
Historians are confident that Mesopotamia and Egypt are the earliest documented civilizations based on archaeological evidence. They are known for their innovations in technology, agriculture, and law, which society uses today. The evidence from various researches by credible historians and archeologist shows that indeed both civilizations had a legal system whether written or not. The Mesopotamian people were tame by rules put forth by Hammurabi – the sixth king of Ancient Babylon – referred to as Hammurabi’s Code by historians. The Mesopotamian government went to great lengths to spell out their laws, and consequences for breaking them, in depth detail; on the other hand, Egypt failed to do the same. While less visible proof of Egyptian law exists today, there is evidence that proves they had a structured and progressive legal society. Even though both societies were advanced, their legal system in many ways contrasted each other.
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 Egyptian and Mesopotamian agricultural lives were highly differentiated due to their contrasting geographical situations, and also differences in technological processes and developments. Only a small area of Egyptian land (the Delta and Nile Valley) was fertile during the annual inundation of the river Nile. Moreover, harsh natural circumstances created a famine risk for the entire population, thus restricting the freedom to decide for a common citizen. To illustrate, an uneven spillage of the river Nile, when there were insufficient water resources for the agriculture or floods threatening corps, required a unified, or communal, water regulation and distributional system. So, a
cilvilizations and ancient cultures were able to be successful in their way of life. Ancient cultures in this case Mesopotamia and Egypt were sucessful in both their different and same unique ways, weather it'll be in term of their beliefs, way of life, or how the civilization were being govern, each have their own ways to sucess and are able to pass on that knowledge to the future generation. Ancient cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt are able to develop into sucessful civilization by their governors being able to create a laws for civilians to follow, geographic luck of how Fertile Creasant and Nile river help out each civilizations to survive and grows, and beliefs of how in order to be happy and successful with their way of life, each culture must keep their gods happy in many uniqe ways, which all these points were the reason why the Mesopotamia
Society in Mesopotamia and Egypt was similar based on location and economy, but environmental factors made Mesopotamian society less stable than that of Egypt. First, both civilizations depended on the water sources of their respective rivers for agriculture, which was a large part of their economy. Both civilizations had fertile soil from the silt that was deposited by the floods. Second, a lack of natural barriers in Mesopotamia contrasts with the many natural barriers present in Egypt, which made Mesopotamia
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 overflow, flooding, or lack thereof of the rivers as well as weather differences contributed greatly to the economic stability of each country. As previously stated, Mesopotamians were farmers. The flooding of the Tigris and the
They brought writing, the wheel, the calendar, and astronomy. Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt allowed human beings, for the first time in history, to settle down in one place and farm instead of chasing their often dangerous wild animal food sources. Both civilizations shared similarities and differences in their climate, politics, intellect, religion, arts and architecture, technology, economics, and social structures, that allowed them to flourish and become two of the most well-known ancient civilizations.
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
Civilization was first created due to the Neolithic Revolution and two of the few salient river valley civilizations were Egypt and Mesopotamia. Both societies’ government were a theocratic monarchy and the people were polytheistic, however due to geographic conditions, the two civilizations differ in their governmental stability and outlook on religion. Between the two civilizations, the geography of Egypt was more advantageous and beneficial to their society than Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia and Egypt were different in that their systems of government were very similar yet very different. Although the two civilizations were theocratic monarchies, Egypt was more centralized than Mesopotamia.
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.