Mesopotamian Women

With governmental machinery that brought political and social order to their territories, effective political and military power enabled them to build regional empires and expand their authority to neighboring people. Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were two great civilizations among the earliest to emerge in the Middle east and North Africa. Both made significant contributions in areas such as mathematics, medicine, agriculture, astronomy, technology, architecture, art and writing. They had differences as well, including their political structures. Most importantly is that Egyptians were under a centralized government, and the Mesopotamians had self-controlled city state governments.

When it came to men vs. women, the women had far better rights in Egypt than they did in Mesopotamia. While the women in Egypt had most all of the privileges Egyptian men had, girls in Mesopotamia had to wait until they became adults to obtain their full rights because they were not allowed to attend the schools where upper class boys went to. Compared to other civilizations such as the Huang He River Valley area where the women of the society had little to no rights, both the women of Egypt and Mesopotamia were treated extremely well for the time period. Mesopotamian and Egyptian religions share their similar traits such as polytheism and the belief of an afterlife as well. Even though the Egyptians saw their pharaoh as a god and the Mesopotamians saw their kings simply as representatives of the gods, they both still believe that their leaders have something to do with a god. While both civilizations believed in an afterlife, their perceptions of it are completely different. For example, the Egyptians built massive pyramids for their pharaohs because they believed that their king would rule even longer after death than they would while they were still alive, so their pyramid should be even more important than their palace, yet the Mesopotamians believed in a completely different afterlife in which they would receive no help from their gods and they would be sent to the land of no return, an extremely gloomy and depressing land between the crust of

However, in Mesopotamia, the males subjugated the women. To stop married women from tempting other men, they were forced to cover their bodies, except for their faces, with veils. Women in Mesopotamia were often arranged into marriages, without a say on the subject. The Mesopotamian women had little impact on their society, while certain Egyptian women were able to gain highly influential positions in their society. One Egyptian woman even became the Queen of Egypt, alongside her son. Due to Egypt being less strict towards the women, Egyptian women were able to have a greater influence on their society. Although both civilizations were patriarchal, they varied on how strict they were towards women.

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

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

Mesopotamia restrictions on female roles in society were more prominent than they were in Egypt. In Mesopotamia, men were of greater value in the hierarchy than the women were. The men were the ones who served in the military, built the walls that protected the city, served in governmental positions but men also did a majority of the agricultural jobs. The men protected the city-states and the women did not, which created a patriarchy in the civilization that was constantly at war. This created a divide in the rights of men and women both legally and social. Women was not defined by her personality but instead by her relationship with her husband. Men were seen as the head of the household, giving men of the lower classes more power even if

Mesopotamia and Egypt are very important to history in many ways such as religion, social, and economic development. All Countries evolved around Mesopotamia which was the first civilization in around 3000 BC. Egypt on the other hand emerged around 3100 BC. To compare both women from each civilization it is important to know the history between the two civilizations. Ancient Egypt gave power to a pharaoh which commanded wealth, and resources to all people in Egypt. Not only that the pharaoh was a lord to both the lower and upper parts of Egypt. The pharaoh was also a temporal and a spiritual ruler. Mesopotamia was somewhat alike; class structure was divided into two classes. The king was at the top with the free commoners on the bottom.

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.

Egypt and Mesopotamia were in contrast to one another in many ways. Egypt emphasized strong central authority, while Mesopotamian politics shifted more frequently over a substructure of regional city-states. They were also culturally different; Egypt developed in relative isolation, all foreigners were considered enemies while Mesopotamia was a multicultural society. Also, Egypt was well endowed with natural resources and far more self-sufficient than Mesopotamia. They used papyrus reeds growing in marshy areas to make sails, ropes, and a kind of paper. Hunters pursued the abundant wild animals and birds in the marshes. Egypt's art and architecture are very different from Mesopotamia. From pyramids to temples, rigid pharaohs to flowing art of Amarna, Egypt's style was totally different from Mesopotamia's. Mesopotamian art focused on less monumental structures. In Mesopotamia, women lost social standing and freedoms in societies where agriculture superseded hunting and gathering; whereas in Egypt, they are depicted with dignity and respect, could own properties, and inheritance from their parents was possible. Both civilizations traded differently but Mesopotamia was more productive due to technological advance. Egypt’s interests abroad focused on maintain access to valuable resources rather than acquiring territory. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt were ruled by kings,

I have chosen to discuss the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Both have many significant similarities and differences. I would like to compare some important points in four common categories. I will compare and contrast the geography and its impact, the political structure of each society, the importance of their existing class structures and finally the role of women in these dynamic civilizations.

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.

Mesopotamia and Egypt were some of the first agricultural civilizations to make a lasting impact on history, and while they were similar in many ways they were drastically different in the way women were perceived. The way Mesopotamia treated their women is a prime example of what most people think when talking about women in the B.C.E era. Women were treated very poorly in Mesopotamia. They were thought of slightly better than property, but still below men. Women were not allowed to marry for love, and before marriage, they were forced to wear veils in public to show modesty (Noonan).

     Back in the days of Mesopotamia, things were quite different. Women were respected for who they were and did not have to fight to gain the rights they had.

Egypt and Mesopotamia had various political and intellectual outlooks that had similarities and differences. Egypt had an absolute monarchy where the pharaoh, or person entitled with kingship, had all control and was believed to be in direct contact with the gods. The pharaoh was seen as being god-like as well. Politically, Egyptians were also focused on their material wealth and the expansion of their civilization. Intellectually, Egyptians were focused on their language and literature.

Their primary role was to bear children and take care of the house. Thus, was the life cycle for a woman. Then again, in Ancient Egypt, gender was based on social dignity instead of social status. As a result, according to the social classes in the society, women had enjoyed equal rights to that of men unlike the Mesopotamian women or any other civilization during the same period through legal and economic rights. In contrast to societies in other civilizations, women in Ancient Egypt had a modern higher status and much more freedom than the women in the Ancient Mesopotamian civilization. Women were thought of as