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Throughout time societies have developed and progressed from each other through trade and exchanging knowledge, as well as numerous other aspects. Although, initially each civilization possesses their individual benefits, which causes each civilization to be quite diverse. During the River valley civilizations period, the civilizations Mesopotamia and Egypt developed upon their society politically, economically, and culturally. However, each civilization progressed upon these aspects differently based on the structure of their society, geography of their settlement, and their overall beliefs. Politically, Mesopotamia had a less centralized government, as they possessed numerous city-states, which were self-governed. Egypt, however, possessed …show more content…
Although, Mesopotamia is a specific region, which prospered, it possessed numerous city-states, which were self-governed and encountered many tribulations, making Mesopotamia less centralized. Egypt, however, emphasized a strong central authority, as the bureaucrat’s kept track of land and they imposed taxes in order to support construction and the army. Likewise to Mesopotamia, Egypt also portrayed the king as a god sent to earth in order to maintain property for the civilization. Mesopotamia considered merchants within their society to be essentially imperative in order to trade widely with foreign regions. On the other hand, Egypt’s foreign policy was essentially isolationist; therefore they identified any foreigners to be as enemies, but they still valued foreign resources. Both Egypt and Mesopotamia possessed resources, which they traded extensively, which was bronze and papyrus, as this was highly demanded throughout foreign nations. Moreover, the Mesopotamians viewed their gods negatively based upon the obstacles they encountered because of their environment, as they believed that their gods were associated with forces of nature. In spite of this, Egypt also believed that their gods were associated with the forces of nature, however, the outlook towards their gods was positive as their environment was reliable. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers of Mesopotamia resulted in frequent floods and droughts, while the Nile River regularly flooded the crops of Egypt. Nonetheless, the Mesopotamians and Egyptians significantly valued their religious practices and beliefs, which was depicted in their art and architecture. Thus, even though the Mesopotamians and Egyptians settled during the River Valley civilizations period, they both possess distinct aspects, as well as certain
The ancient cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt developed into successful civilizations. One civilization the Egyptians developed was in the Nile River valley. Based off the "Mesopotamia and Egypt DBQ" packet, "Ancient Egypt was an advanced civilization in many areas including religion, architecture, transportation, and trade. Ancient Mesopotamia was one of the first civilizations that developed a form of government as well as organized people in political states." Based on the documents, Egypt and Mesopotamia developed into successful and advanced civilizations by effectively using the resources that surrounded them to solve problems and live happily.
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
During the years of 3500 BC to 2500 BC, the geography of a land often impacted a civilizations development in great measures. Depending on the resources available or the detriments present due to certain topographical characteristics like rivers or deserts, a civilization could flourish or collapse. By studying the geographic features of growing societies like the Nile, Euphrates, and Tigris Rivers as well as the Mediterranean Sea of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the link between developing cultures and geography will be examined through sources, including Egypt: Ancient Culture, Modern Land edited by Jaromir Malek and Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization by Paul Kriwaczek. To determine the extent of its influence, this investigation will attempt to compare and contrast the role of geography in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, focusing on the civilizations’ various periods of development and settlement.
From the time period 3500 BCE to 500CE two first civilizations were known as “Ancient Mesopotamia’s largest city” and “The mother of Mesoamerica” The civilizations of Mesopotamia and Mesoamerica both arose around the same time causing what is known as a common phenomenon. Both of the first civilizations had their religion practices in common. However, they both had recognizable differences in their cultures and in their political structures.
Egypt and Mesopotamia; two different civilizations that were similar in some ways, as well as different. They had their difference of their geographical location, as well as their different aspects of life. Even though they had their different life aspects, they had also had several similarities between each other.
Mesopotamian and Egyptian religions shared two key similarities: polytheism and priestly authority. The religions in Mesopotamia and Egypt were both polytheistic. Their religions were polytheistic because Mesopotamians and Egyptians could not explain many things in that occurred in their lives. Therefore, they assumed that there are different gods for everything. This means that the religion had many gods for different things. In Egypt and Mesopotamia, priests were part of the upper class and were very important in the daily lives of civilians. Priests were part of the upper class because they were thought to have the ability to communicate with the gods. In Mesopotamia, the priests held the highest authority in the religious structure. Egyptian priests were not as powerful in government as Mesopotamian priests were, but they still had significant power. Egypt’s highest religious and military leader was encapsulated in the position of pharaoh. The pharaoh was at the top of all social classes and was considered to be a god-like figure.
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.
Both societies had started out in the same way, as city-states. A city-state is a city that with its surrounding territory forms an independent state. The creators of Mesopotamian society were the Sumerians; around 3000B.C.E. they had established a number of independent cities in southern Mesopotamia (Spielvogel 7). In 750 B.C.E. the Greek society began to bombard, and it all started with the polis, or city-state (Spielvogel 60).
the Belshazzar festival to their advantage. The Persians made easy work on the Babylonian troops in the outlying areas. Most Babylonian troops were set in the center of the city, and didn’t even know that the Persians were invading the city. In October 539 BC, Persia easily takes over the city of Babylon, with little to no resistance by the Babylonian guards.
All these civilizations were connected by coastal shipping, therefor creating the first large metropolitan web. China also had civilizations, but it remained isolated from the Nile-Indus corridor. In the Americas civilizations appeared mainly in Mesoamerica, although much later than in Eurasia, such as the Olmecs and Mayans. None of these civilizations merged, but their interactions created the first metropolitan web in the Americas. Decipherable written records seen in Mesopotamia (cuneiform) and Egypt (hieroglyphics) are lacked in both South America and the Indus Valley, preventing too much to be known about their civilizations. Sumerian cities in Mesopotamia were perhaps the most advanced of their time, and their religion played a major role in their everyday life. Temples were the most distinct parts of the city and pleasing the gods was always a priority until military rulers reduced their importance. Sumerian cities also were centers for new technology such as tools, cloths, and weapons. Urban dwellers had the advantage of these superior weapons and pastoralist groups had the advantage of mobility, leaving farming villages to submit to the powerful and organized warfare. In order to maintain their new power, rulers established tax collectors and military specialists. This initiated a social system with social classes based on rank and wealth (luxury goods). Developments that occurred in Egypt and Indus Valley were participants in the building of the metropolitan web around Sumer. The Nile was the bases for all life in Egypt, as it allowed transport by boat as well as a water source for irrigation and successful farming. The whole of Egypt was politically unites under one pharaoh, who was considered to be a divine ruler. Egypt’s geography kept them safe from external threats, and they found little interest in affairs outside of their borders. The
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.
While the leaders of old Mesopotamia and Egypt both made political frameworks that permitted them to practice aggregate control over their subjects, the association of these frameworks was entirely unexpected. Old Mesopotamia was made out of firmly sorted out autonomous city-expresses that were ruled by rulers who asserted awesome power, while Antiquated Egypt was a united and politically state ruled by a lord why should considered be a living god. Both Mesopotamian and Egyptian rulers controlled tremendous measures of area.
Although both Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations lean on different river floods they had similar water system. As showed in source 2 (Major Ancient Levees Identifiable in LANDSAT Imagery) the Mesopotamia had a spread irrigation system that could reach the entire civilization, so everyone could use water to increase their income with agriculture. The lifting machine that the early societies used to their water supply and irrigation system also reveal a large amount of information about their economy; source 5 (Saqiya) and 7 (Noria) shows that the machines did not required any kind of labor, thus not taking people away from their jobs (that they could actually be paid), the sources also shows that the materials required to build each machine is cheap and easy to operate; once again leading the irrigation system and the water supply available for everyone especially for those seeking farming purposes; source 8 (Sections from the Code of Hammurabi Referring to Irrigation, 1750 B.C.E.) indicates that Hammurabi, the king of Mesopotamia, established some taxes over water making the Mesopotamian and the civilization much powerful economically. Water also helped Rome to develop their economy, source 10 (Suetonius´s Description of the Water Projects Undertaken by Emperor Claudius) express how the emperor
Mesopotamia was a collection of separate political entities unlike Egypt who was all one nation. In the nation of Egypt women were valued more than in Mesopotamia. The political structure of both Mesopotamia and Egypt have influenced political systems of future empires. Their political structures were the building blocks that eventually led to today's political systems and it directly affected how the Roman Empire was led
The Mesopotamian geography affected their society because Mesopotamia was located on an open plain without protection from foreign intrusions. Egypt, on the other hand, was centered on the Nile River ad protected by natural boundaries. This allowed Egypt?s kingdom for prosper and last for thousands of years. Mesopotamia was not considered a nation or country, it was considered a region between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers that established a number of highly organized city-states. Since each city-state was independent there was no capital of Mesopotamia.