Compare and Contrast Essay: Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia
Compare and Contrast Essay: Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia
Early civilizations were built near rivers because of the many resources and advantages of the rivers. RIvers could provide transportation, food, drink, and fertile soil. Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were two river valley civilizations, and were very important to the beginning of mankind in the historic-era. A river valley civilization is deeply affected by the river it is situated upon. The river can affect all aspects of the life in the civilizations, including political aspects, economic aspects, religious aspects, social aspects, intellectual aspects, and architectural aspects. In Egyptian society, the Nile river was very consistent and predictable with its flooding, rather than Mesopotamia, where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were very sporadic with their flooding, and caused Mesopotamian societies to be very different. One major difference between the Egyptian and Mesopotamian societies, was the government. In Egypt, there were many peasant villages all under one king, the Pharaoh. In Mesopotamia, there were city-states with kings to govern smaller areas because of the hectic rivers that surrounded Mesopotamia. There were also a lot of similarities between the two civilizations. They both had very religious centered societies and had polytheistic views. Also, they both traded a lot, and even fought wars over trade.
One connection between the governments in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia was that they were both bureaucracies. A bureaucracy is when there are a group of elected officials who help rule with a head ruler (king or Pharaoh). In Egypt, there were Viziers, or advisers, to the Pharaoh oversaw building projects, tax collections, and judiciary cases. The Vizier was seen as very high up in the social structure, just below the Pharaoh. Mesopotamian governors were similar to Viziers, but they were not as high in the social structure, below high priests and nobles. The governors oversaw what
Early civilizations were built near rivers because of the many resources and advantages of the rivers. RIvers could provide transportation, food, drink, and fertile soil. Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were two river valley civilizations, and were very important to the beginning of mankind in the historic-era. A river valley civilization is deeply affected by the river it is situated upon. The river can affect all aspects of the life in the civilizations, including political aspects, economic aspects, religious aspects, social aspects, intellectual aspects, and architectural aspects. In Egyptian society, the Nile river was very consistent and predictable with its flooding, rather than Mesopotamia, where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were very sporadic with their flooding, and caused Mesopotamian societies to be very different. One major difference between the Egyptian and Mesopotamian societies, was the government. In Egypt, there were many peasant villages all under one king, the Pharaoh. In Mesopotamia, there were city-states with kings to govern smaller areas because of the hectic rivers that surrounded Mesopotamia. There were also a lot of similarities between the two civilizations. They both had very religious centered societies and had polytheistic views. Also, they both traded a lot, and even fought wars over trade.
One connection between the governments in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia was that they were both bureaucracies. A bureaucracy is when there are a group of elected officials who help rule with a head ruler (king or Pharaoh). In Egypt, there were Viziers, or advisers, to the Pharaoh oversaw building projects, tax collections, and judiciary cases. The Vizier was seen as very high up in the social structure, just below the Pharaoh. Mesopotamian governors were similar to Viziers, but they were not as high in the social structure, below high priests and nobles. The governors oversaw what