Comparing and Contrasting Egypt and Mesopotamia

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.

One reason why I think Egypt was more unified, was the gift of the Nile. In my personal opinion people are products of their environment. The Nile, was one element that made living for a large population possible. The laid back atmosphere led the people to come together to create simple, but efficient ways of fertilizing the ground; furthermore, the fertile rich area allowed prosperity in crops and gave everyone piece of mind that they were not going to starve. (text, 73) On the other hand, Mesopotamia’s two rivers the Tigris and Euphrates, required people to create ways of irrigation to make the land more fertile for crops. (text, 59) The overall view of Mesopotamia’s greed arose from the possibility of loosing crops due to the floods. (text, 59) In other words, the land did not provide a great guara...

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...king also had to meet the needs of the poor and disadvantaged. (text, 113) The king was directly with the people, not so much as the gods. (text, 114)

In conclusion, it was the shape of the Nile, the promotion for goods, and harmonic style of government, led by pharaoh that formed Egypt into a more politically unified society. For Mesopotamia, it was the unpredictable Tigris and Euphrates, the money hungry tax routes, and the independence of powerful rulers that made Mesopotamia into a place where being politically divided could threaten the existence of society. Even though both states shared a common goal to overcome the hardships in running a state, it was the people from both states that determined the unity of their state. I think the catchphrase, “United we stand, divided we fall,” is the thing for a society to remember in order to be more unified.