Comparison Between Mesopotamia and Egypt
Comparison Between Mesopotamia and Egypt
Ancient Civilization thrived in the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Each had its own distinct views on the social, political, and religious aspects; however, there were many similarities as well. Through this essay, I will illustrate the differences, as well as the similarities of the fascinating early civilizations of Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Approximately 5000 B.C.E. cultivation rose from unrest in Mesopotamia, the modern day area of Iran and Iraq, and formed what is arguably the first example of human civilization. It rose upon the banks of the Tigris-Euphrates River, formed by a tribe known as the Sumerians. They were a collection of agriculturally based communities, which coordinated strongly to ease the hardship of farming.
Besides Mesopotamia, another civilization arose 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.
The development of two great early civilizations in the Middle East and North Africa encourages a first effort at comparative analysis. Because of different geography, different degrees of exposure to outside invasion and influence, and different prior beliefs, 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. Mesopotamian art focused on less monumental structures, while embracing a definite literary element that Egyptian art needed.
These cultural differences can be explained partly by geography: Mesopotamians lacked access to the great stones that Egyptians could import for their monuments. The differences also owed something to different politics, for Egyptian ability to organize masses of laborers followed from its centralized government structures and strong bureaucracy. The differences owed something, finally, to different beliefs, for the Mesopotamians lacked the Egyptian concern for preparations for the afterlife, which so motivated the great tombs and pyramids that have made Egypt and some of the pharaohs
live on in human memory.
Both societies traded extensively, but there was a difference in economic manner. Mesopotamia was more productive of technological improvements, because their environment was more difficult to manage than the Nile valley. Trade contacts were more extensive, and the Mesopotamians gave attention to a merchant class and commercial law.
Social differences were less obvious because it is difficult to obtain information on daily life for early civilizations. It is probable, though, that the status of women was greater in Egypt than in Mesopotamia (where womens position seems to have deteriorated after Sumer). Egyptians paid great
respect to women at least in the upper classes, in part because marriage alliances were vital to the preservation and stability of the monarchy. Also, Egyptian religion included more pronounced deference to goddesses as sources of creativity.
Comparisons in politics, culture, economics, and society suggest civilizations that varied substantially because of largely separate origins and environments. The distinction in overall tone was striking, with Egypt being more stable and cheerful than Mesopotamia not only in beliefs about gods
and the afterlife but in the colorful and lively pictures the Egyptians