The Rise Of Civilizations On Egypt And Mesopotamia

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.

During the third millennium, early civilizations began to expand. These civilizations started evolving from simple farming and trade to advanced governments, economies, and cultures. The Nile river valley civilizations of ancient Egypt and the early civilizations of Mesopotamia near the Tigris and Euphrates River had many similarities and differences in political, economic, and cultural aspects. Both the Ancient Egyptians and the Mesopotamians had rich, fertile soil for agriculture; they also had very similar religion. However, Mesopotamia had more abundant trade opportunities, a city-state style government, and less gender equality.

When you look back in history to the development and the contributions of both the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations, you see that there was a lot accomplished, as well as a lot created. The earliest forms of writing developed in Mesopotamia, while Egypt was referred to the “Gift of the Nile” by traveler Herodotus (McKay,42). Development of cities was another major marker, especially in the “old world”, of how people eventually determined civilizations and what they represented. According to McKay, civilizations were determined by people who considered themselves more “civilized”, urban people mostly. Made up of cities, written rules of law, and social justice codes, Mesopotamia and Egypt would develop into two of the largest civilizations in history.

Egypt developed around the Nile River, while Mesopotamia developed between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Egypt and Mesopotamia grew into complex civilizations. Politically, both Egypt and Mesopotamia had a government with one main ruler, but Egypt had a centralized government with a pharaoh, while Mesopotamia had a decentralized government with a king. Socially, both civilizations were patriarchal, but Egypt was more lenient towards women while Mesopotamia was stricter. The political and social structures of Egypt and Mesopotamia both similarities and differences.

The Egyptian and Mesopotamian religion and society were similar, but their government system was different. The religions in Egypt and Mesopotamia were similar because both were polytheistic, had beliefs of an afterlife, as well as priests who were part of the upper levels of the social hierarchy. Social similarities between Egypt and Mesopotamia included: rigid social structure, dependence on slavery, and authoritative religious structure. However, the system of government was different because Egyptian society was governed by a theocratic monarchy, while Mesopotamia was ruled by a traditional monarchy.

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 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.

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,

Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt are both cradles of civilization. Both contributed greatly to human development through their achievements, failures, peoples, scientific accomplishments, philosophies, religions, and contributions.

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.

When comparing cultures it would be difficult to find two that are more diverse than the Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures. The Mesopotamian culture was filled with tension and instability while the Egyptian people maintained a stable and somewhat more content way of life. In examining these two cultures one can surmise that these differences are mainly due to the political, economic, social, religious, and geographic differences between Egypt and Mesopotamia. These factors added to the overall mentality of the people. These mentalities affected the stability of each culture, whether for the better or worse.

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

The Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations were both one of the oldest civilizations in the world. They are considered by most scholarly historians and writers as the "cradles" of human civilizations. In these two geographical areas, the earliest cities in the world history appeared. As civilizations contemporary to each other, Egypt and Mesopotamia present several similarities and contrasts. Egypt was an ancient civilization in Northeastern Africa concentrated along the Nile river. It was a racially diverse place because the Nile river drew people from all over the region. Mesopotamia (taken from the Greek meaning: "Land between the rivers") is a region and not a country. It is the area between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, north or northwest of Bagdad in modern Iraq. It also extended north and east to parts of modern It was composed of Sumerians, the Akkadians, the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Chaldeans and to some degree the Phoenicians.

Besides Mesopotamia, a second civilization grew up in northeastern Africa, along the Nile River. Egyptian civilization, formed by 3000 B.C., benefited from trade and technological influence from Mesopotamia, but it produced a quite different society and culture. Because its values and its tightly knit political organization encouraged monumental building, we know more about Egypt than about Mesopotamia, even though the latter was in most respects more important and richer in subsequent heritage. Unlike Mesopotamia and the Middle East, where an original river-valley basis to civilization ultimately gave way to the spread of civilization throughout an entire region, Egyptian civilization from its origins to its decline was focused on the Nile River and the deserts around it. The Nile focus also gave a more optimistic cast to Egyptian culture, for it could be seen as a source of never- failing bounty to be thankfully received, rather than a menacing cause of floods.