During the time of early civilizations people were creating communities, societies, cultures, political structures and religions all new to our world. It was trying times and ages of awakenings. Religion played a major part role in the history of our world and mankind some of the religions discovered at this time are still practiced today, and some have faded away. The two early civilizations that stand out to me are Mesopotamia and India. Although the two share some similarities, the differences in religious beliefs between Mesopotamia and India are clear. The people of Mesopotamia had a belief system that was polytheistic, which is a belief in multiple gods and goddesses. They believed there was a god or goddess for all aspects of the universe. They worshipped gods such as Anu the god of heaven, Enlil the god of water, and Ninhursag the mother goddess. The Babylonians and Assyrians of Mesopotamia also believed in Marduk and Assur the kings of the gods, Shamash was the god of the sun, Sin who was …show more content…
Ancient Hebrews believed in Monotheism, its acceptance in Mesopotamia was a gradual transition in that era. The god of the ancient Hebrews was Yahweh. There were two belief systems in India, Hinduism and Buddhism. The people who followed Hinduism worship one main god, Indra who was a war god. Indra guided the people through wars, and was responsible for the weather. There were also a number of gods that were responsible for one’s personal behaviors and the morals they believed to be important. Those were the gods who determined if the person was to go to heaven or to hell. In Buddhism there wasn’t a god they worship, rather people tried to reach holiness following the practices of Buddha. Buddha was a man named Siddhartha Gautama, who developed Buddhism through meditation, fasting and praying. Acrobatiq.
Geography plays an important role in the development of a civilization. The impact of geography can either make or break a civilization. Early civilizations inhabited features such as river valleys, deserts, rainforests, plateaus and other geographical structures. One important geographically defining structure are river valleys . River valleys had a significant impact on one particular civilization, Mesopotamia.
The ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt began to develop circa 3,000 B.C. Located near rivers, the lands offered fertile soil and an excess of crops that drew in many people. As more people arrived, the small settlements flourished into large, thriving civilizations. Many aspects of Mesopotamia and Egypt, such as their cities, their strongly organized government, and their religion, greatly contributed to the success of these two civilizations.
Before the beginning of history, people from across the land gradually developed numerous cultures, each unique in some ways while the same time having features in common. Mesopotamia and Egypt are important to the history of the world because of religious, social, political and economic development. Mesopotamia was the first civilization, which was around 3000 B.C., and all other countries evolved from it. Mesopotamia emerged from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The soil was rich and agriculture was plentiful. The Semitic nomads occupied the land around Akkad. The Sumerians established the city-states. Villages became urban centers. Because of the formation of the city-states everything flourished. However, Mesopotamian agriculture lacked stones; therefore mud brick became their major building block. Their diet consisted of fish from the rivers. The rivers were flooded frequently destroyed the cities. Mesopotamians made their living from crops and pottery.
Ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations would not be as successful as they were without living by the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile rivers. Rivers shaped the development of civilization in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia by how they utilized the floods, what they traded, their views on religion, and controlling the rivers.
Throughout world history one learns about many different civilizations. In this case we will be talking about two civilizations. Comparing and contrasting these two civilizations will go into more depth and expand ones knowledge, such as, the Mesopotamia and The Nile River Valley.
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 governed harmonic life style of Egypt led this society to be more politically unified; whereas, Mesopotamia’s government led to many different ways of structure, thus creating a less unified society.
The first civilization to rise was the Mesopotamia, located in present day Iraq, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, and Egypt, along the Nile River. It’s split in two ecological zones. In the south Babylonia (irrigation is vital) and north Assyria (agriculture is possible with rainfall and wells). By 4000 B.C.E., people had settled in large numbers in the river-watered lowlands of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Archaeologists have shown that large-scale irrigation appeared only long after urban civilization had already developed, meaning major waterworks were a consequence of urbanism (population). Mesopotamia cities were made of people called the Summerians in the land of Sumer located on the south of Babylonia. The Summerian city was one of
Different ancient cultures and societies had either great, somewhat considerate, or horrible treatment of women.
Geography has provided natural resources and boundaries for cultures continuously over many generations. The topography led civilization to have protection from other cultures and plentiful natural resources that they used for human survival or for an economic profit. With a good amount of resources available, cultures like India and China thrived in the creation and expansion of their civilizations. Geography helped India and China civilization develop their culture, spread their religion, and determine the rate at which each civilization’s ideas were transferred. The physical features that India and China lived on helped their cultures form and thrive into their current form.
Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, and Greece were all historical civilizations that made history the way it is today. The three civilizations differed in many different ways, but they were also quite similar in other aspects. The focus of survival, beliefs, daily life, and many other focuses connect the three civilizations.
Of the first civilizations, Mesopotamia and Egypt left behind the most widely available documented look at the past (92). Interestingly enough, the basis for societal rank was comparable between these two civilizations. But despite similarities in social stratification, Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilization had very dissimilar views on life and the afterlife.
Egypt and Mesopotamia were two of the world’s earliest city-based civilizations, creating the basis for Middle Eastern and Western history. Both Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations existed on the banks of major rivers. While Egyptian civilization thrived along the Nile, Mesopotamia settled between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Although they shared this characteristic, it was also the cause of many of their differences in political systems, religions, and social stability.
Two of the earliest and greatest civilizations, Mesopotamia and Egypt, show the transition from a Paleolithic society into a settled civilization. Both cultures had established kings; however, the Pharaoh is the god-king of Egypt, while in Mesopotamia the monarchs are priest-kings whom serve the gods. Although Mesopotamia and Egypt have some characteristics in common, which bring them under the “First Civilizations” category, their different views and beliefs about divine authority and how it is practiced set these civilizations apart and make them unique.
People of the ancient world often had questions about their existence and how life and people came to be on earth. Most ancient people answered these questions through religion. The Sumerians were the first important group of people to inhabit Mesopotamia and they were known to practice a form of worship called polytheism, which is the worship of several gods. Mesopotamians associated different gods with natural events, emotions, and other occurrences. Their main deities included An (the god of the heavens), Enlil (Lord Storm), Enki (god of wisdom), and Nihursaga (the mother of all living things)(p.22). The Mesopotamians believed that the gods controlled all of the events and occurrences in life. An ancient text called “Creation of Man by the Mother Goddess” (p.34) helps us understand how the M...
Civilizations is identified by institutions whether is it governmental or cultural institutions. Mesopotamia is just one of the civilizations arouse about 3500- 3000 BCE, and influenced Homer on his literature about Iliad and Odyssey, where in this era Sumerian writings has thousands of clay tablets inscribed with wedge- shaped symbols of Sumerian script indicating that form of writing is developed around 3000 BCE. Then religiosity among Sumerian as well as Akkadian and Babylonian shared many basic attitudes and concepts that became the foundation for other Near Eastern beliefs system. Mesopotamian religion held that gods had created human beings to serve powerless mortals had no choice but to obey and worship these deities. Mesopotamian are polytheistic they believed in many gods and goddesses existed and often competed with one another. Believing that their gods is in human form as well with a strengths and weaknesses of mortals, believed their deities lived in the same way as people did, and when it comes in approaching the supernatural powers they are so practical, deities are there gods and have their own duties and responsibilities, there’s a sky of god and earth gods like for instance Anu, the sky of god; Enlil, the air god; Utu, the sun god; Enki the god of earth and the freshwater god; Nanna, the moon goddess; Inanna (or Ishatar), the goddess of love and war; and Ninhursag, the mother goddess. When it comes in their literature, The Epic of Gilgamesh focuses on fundamental themes that concern warriors in an aristocratic society; the need to be brave in the face of danger, the choice of death before dishonor, the conflict between companionship and sexual pleasure, the power of the gods over weak mortals, and the finality ...