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. Geographic differences between these two countries were a major factor in determining stability. Mesopotamia rose out of a largely unorganized world c.c. ten thousand B.C. As birthplace of civilization, Mesopotamians had to deduce the best way to become civilized without example or instruction. The first step towards civilization was the transition to hunters and gatherers. Mesopotamians established farms with domesticated animals and seeds of barley and wheat. The fertile-crescent, which rested between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, became the cradle of this young organized civilization. The fertile-crescent didn’t always have enough water to sustain crops. Weather was unpredictable, and the rivers didn’t always produce enough water to irrigate the crops. Alternately, the rivers could flood without any notice causing severe hardships on the people. These calamities were due to the amount of rain or snow fall to the North and South. This precarious way of life contributed greatly to the unstable mentality and economic hardships of the Mesopotamians. A short time after Mesopotamia was form, Egypt began to rise out of th... ... middle of paper ... ... 2008) 11. Hymns to the Pharaoh’s was written for Ramesses IV c. 1166 B.C. This can be found Ibid. This paragraph was mainly derived from information in the textbook Lynn Hunt, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, R. Po-chia Hsia, Bonnie G. Smith. The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures: 3rd Edition, Volume I.(Boston, New York 2009) 9-10 The previous three sentences were mostly derived from information in the textbook Lynn Hunt, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, R. Po-chia Hsia, Bonnie G. Smith. The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures: 3rd Edition, Volume I.(Boston, New York 2009) 7 This quote was taken from an assessment of the Code of Hammurabi, which was the law in ancient Mesopotamia: Marvin Perry, Sources of the Western Tradition: From Ancient Times to the Enlightenment, 8th Edition, Volume I. (Baruch College, 2008)7
Coffin, Judith G., and Robert C. Stacey. "CHAPTER 18 PAGES 668-669." Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 16TH ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W. W. Norton &, 2008. N. pag. Print.
Clifford R. Backman, The Cultures of the West: A History. Volume 1: To 1750. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Perry, Marvin., et al. Sources of the Western Tradition. Volume II. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company., 1995.
The Egyptian and Mesopotamian religion and society were similar, but their government/leadership was different. Religion in Egypt and Mesopotamia were very similar because both faiths were polytheistic and had priestly authority. Both cultures had powerful priests, both had a belief of an afterlife, and religion was part of their daily lives. Both societies had similar rigid social classes, relied on slavery; both also had a religion which played an important role in their daily lives. Although, their societies were very common, they still had some differences in government. The Egypt, the government was a theocracy, whereas the government in Mesopotamia was run by a monarchy. Despite their similarities, the differences between these two civilizations were most likely a result of unique geographical and topographical conditions.
Perry, Marvin, et al. Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics and Society. 4th ed. Vol. I. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992.
3. Jackson J. Spielvogel. Western Civilization Third Edition, A Brief History volume 1: to 1715. 2005 Belmont CA. Wadsworth Publishing
Hunt, Lynn, et al. The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 2009. Print.
Wilkie, Brian, and James Hurt, ed. Literature of the Western World Volume 1. 5th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 2001.
Kishlansky, Mark, Patrick Geary and Patricia O'Brien. Civilization in the West, Combind Volume, Seventh Edition. New York: Longman, 2008.
Martin, Glenn Richards. "Chapter 8-13." Prevailing Worldviews of Western Society since 1500. Marion, IN: Triangle, 2006. 134+. Print.
Katharine J. Lualdi, Sources of The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures (Bedford/St. Martins: Boston, MA, 2012) 194. (Named as Primary Sources for the Middle Ages on our angel for History 102.)
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.
Dunkle, Roger. "The Classical Origins of Western Culture" Brooklyn College, The City University of New York. 1986 . Web. 29 July 2015.
Wilkie, Brian, and James Hurt. Literature of the Western World: Volume II. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1997. 1134-86.
Lynn Hunt et al., The Making of the West: peoples and cultures, a Concise History (Boston:Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003), 43, 45, 132, 136, 179-180