Indus Valley Polytheism

Egyptian geography was more promising than that of the Sumerians. The land on both sides of the Nile was very fertile, due to annual flooding. The flooding was very predictable which helped the Egyptians see the universe as a well ordered system. This resulted in an early sense of nationalism among the Egyptians, which was very different from that of the Sumerian civilization.

Polytheism is the belief in multiple gods. They used these gods to explain natural phenomenons such as storms, droughts, and floods. In the sumerian religion, there were more than 3,000 different gods, many of them, however, were unknown outside their local area of origin. City-states could create their own gods and way of worship, on top of the standardized major gods and worship practices. Some of the major gods the people of Sumer recognized were Enlil, the god of air, Utu, the sun god, Nanna Suen, the moon god, Nin-Khursaga, the Earth goddess, and Enki, the god of waters. The Akkadian people believed in similar gods, just with different names. For example, the god Utu was known as Shamash to Akkadians, Nanna Suen was known as Sin, and Nin-Khursaga was known is Ishtar. To the west of Sumer and Akkad, ancient Egypt was participating in polytheism. The Egyptians also had a system of a widespread recognition of a company of major deities that would rule over local gods created in each cult center. One of the major gods, Ptah, was responsible for creating the world. Other gods include Osiris, Seth, Isiris, Anubis, and Horus. With all the gods having control of nature, the followers were heavily dependent upon them for the success of their harvests and

The earliest forms of civilizations were said to be located on the three river valleys of the Tigris-Euphrates River in ancient Mesopotamia, the Nile River in ancient Egypt and the Huang He and Indus River in ancient India and China. These three river valley civilizations had many differences yet still lived common life styles. Although the civilizations are located on different continents, they share similar social, political, and economic beliefs from their intellectual developments to types of government to religious beliefs and trading systems.

Beginning with Mesopotamia, according to McKay Mesopotamia was part of the Fertile Crescent, which was where the first agriculture developed (McKay, 35). Moving from Mesopotamia to the city-state Sumer, many farmers brought with them their farming tools and trade abilities so that they could successfully farm in warmer, more arid climates (McKay, 35). Irrigation was a major part of the process and was needed for them to succeed. As the civilization grew, people built temples in Mesopotamia, where farmers would use them to store food items and animals. To the Mesopotamian people, the belief of Polytheism, which is that of many Gods controlling the earth and world, brought a distinct outlook on life (McKay, 36). Sumerian

The earliest civilization in Asia arose around 3500 BCE in Mesopotamia meaning "land between the rivers" because of its convenient location between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This river valley region's rich soil and access to waterways made early civilization thrive on agriculture and trade. Although much has changed since its beginnings, the Mesopotamian River Valley has continued to grow and develop as a civilization to this day. During the time period 2000 BCE to present, Mesopotamia has changed geographically, religiously, and economically, but the rich resource of the Tigris and the Euphrates river has stayed the same.

The Indus River Valley civilization is the largest among the other three civilizations, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China, with a population of over five million people, covering land

The Indus Valley Civilization was an ancient civilization located in what is now Pakistan and northwest India, on the rich flood plain of the Indus River. The first evidences of religion can be traced back to 5500 B.C.E. Similarly, archeological records show that farming settlements formed around 4000 B.C.E. By 2500 B.C.E. dozens of towns and cities had been established and the Indus Valley Civilization was at its peak (Violatti). The Indus River Valley Civilization had some sort of writing system that is still unknown to modern scholars. The evidence suggests they had a highly developed city life; there was irrigation for farming and an underground

The civilizations of the Nile River valley, the Mesopotamia valley, and Indus Valley marked human progress toward fixed settlements and the development of a rich culture. These civilizations shared many characteristics that contributed to their success. What made these civilizations unique were the contributions that each one gave to the world. They contributed their own ideas and accomplishments in the areas of religion, science, and mathematics. These contributions defined each civilization and how they would be remembered, as well as, their importance to the world.

The geography of Ancient Egypt and Ancient India is obviously different. These civilizations are “two of the three oldest civilizations to exist from the old world.” (SFU). Just as the names suggest, the locations are Egypt and India. To be specific, Ancient Egypt was located around the Nile River, while Ancient India covered the lands of modern-day Pakistan and Northwest India. The Nile Valley civilization and the Indus Valley civilization were the real names. The Nile Valley began in “3100 B.C.E. and ended in 30 B.C.E.” (Stayer, pg. 61). The Indus Valley bloomed during “2000 B.C.E. but ended in 550 C.E” (Strayer, pg. 69,133). This civilization was “much larger than the Nile Valley, but in terms of the value, they are equally astounding.” (Strayer, pg. 91).

In the following treatise, the research that will be presented will provide criteria involving similarities and differences in three attributes of life in the four primary river valley civilizations. The river valley civilizations are composed of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and China. While each of these civilizations is unique in their habits and traditions, they share many similar qualities. For this work to be as comprehensive as possible, the primary focus will be on comparing and analyzing the cultures and ambiance, or environments, political organization and religious beliefs, and social structures of each society. The following categories are going to be analyzed by utilizing the frameworks of the four river valley civilizations. Without further ado, a juxtaposition of the ancient river valley civilizations.

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.

Most societies that developed in ancient civilizations were centered around their belief systems. The Egyptians and the Mesopotamians were no different in this sense. Both civilizations were polytheistic and built elaborate temples to praise their gods. Additionally, the leaders in both regions were believed to be related to the gods because of the great power they held and the wealth under their control. However, the Mesopotamians had a pessimistic outlook on life because of the unpredictability of their environment. The Egyptians, on the other hand, had an optimistic outlook because the Nile River inundated their region regularly, which could be predicted by the stars. The similarities and differences in the religions of these two

There were four main ancient River Valley civilizations: the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia, the Nile River of Egypt, the Indus River of India, and the Yellow River of China. These civilizations showed specific similarities and contrasting differences. Many of these differences and similarities showed up in the three categories of the technological advances, the types of government, and the geography of the civilization. Two civilizations that are very interesting to delve deeper into and study the contrasting societies are China and Egypt. Since China and Egypt were both isolated from the outside, they developed with a strong focus on technology and learning with strong governments to hold the nations together.

Some differences among the cities and city-states that developed in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus River Valley was that Mesopotamia became the first complex society,Egypt was that they had all of their tools and crops they needed to become a thriving civilization in their own area and they didn't need to trade with other civilizations,

Religions played an important role in both Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations. It allowed people to worship Gods who they believed to ensure good lives. However, both civilizations did not use judge morality. Sumerians believed that Gods give them good living condition rather than judge it. Sumerian religion was created from myths and ritual prayers. Sumerians were “literal servants” and obey to the Gods. They offered prayers, gifts to the gods and Gods blessed people with good condition. Gods of Sumerians were Heaven creating of day and night, The Great Above making up of the space between the sky and the earth, and The Great Below where people go after death. Like Sumerian, Egypt religion was also created from myths along with traditions.