Egypt and Mesopotamia
Kate Ward
Per. 3
9/11/13
River Valley civilizations were the first to occur throughout time. Two of the most advanced were Egypt and Mesopotamia. Although both had a male dominant government that was supported by a patriarchal king or leader, Egypt had a strong, centralized government whereas Mesopotamia was decentralized and was based upon small city-states operating independently. To add, Egypt was also classified as self sufficient rather than Mesopotamia who relied on trade because of unstable agriculture. Due to Egypt surpassing Mesopotamia in areas such as governmental structure, self sufficiency, and cultural traditions, Egypt proves to be the more advanced society. Environmental and geographical factors highly influenced both Egyptian and Mesopotamian society. Both civilizations had periodic flooding occurring nearby. This could be viewed in both a positive and negative outlook, but unfortunately for Mesopotamia, residents had to deal with the Tigris and Euphrates River which caused irregular flooding and this then resulted in unstable agriculture, making the Mesopotamians come up with other ways to make things all the more convenient. Egypt on the other hand, had to deal with the Nile River which affected the civilization in a much more positive manner. Egyptians had the capability to predict when the Nile would flood. Due to the Nile’s predictable, annual flooding, agriculture benefitted from this because fertile soil was now available which led to the growth of crops and gave farmers and idea of when the time was best to pick their crops. Agriculture then flourished across the region and caused a surplus of food thus resulting in Egypt being self-sufficient as opposed to Mesopotamia who relied and depended on the trading of goods and other resources with other regions. Furthermore, natural barriers also affected the civilizations in various areas. Mesopotamia had few which again, was a disadvantage because there was always the constant worry of
Per. 3
9/11/13
River Valley civilizations were the first to occur throughout time. Two of the most advanced were Egypt and Mesopotamia. Although both had a male dominant government that was supported by a patriarchal king or leader, Egypt had a strong, centralized government whereas Mesopotamia was decentralized and was based upon small city-states operating independently. To add, Egypt was also classified as self sufficient rather than Mesopotamia who relied on trade because of unstable agriculture. Due to Egypt surpassing Mesopotamia in areas such as governmental structure, self sufficiency, and cultural traditions, Egypt proves to be the more advanced society. Environmental and geographical factors highly influenced both Egyptian and Mesopotamian society. Both civilizations had periodic flooding occurring nearby. This could be viewed in both a positive and negative outlook, but unfortunately for Mesopotamia, residents had to deal with the Tigris and Euphrates River which caused irregular flooding and this then resulted in unstable agriculture, making the Mesopotamians come up with other ways to make things all the more convenient. Egypt on the other hand, had to deal with the Nile River which affected the civilization in a much more positive manner. Egyptians had the capability to predict when the Nile would flood. Due to the Nile’s predictable, annual flooding, agriculture benefitted from this because fertile soil was now available which led to the growth of crops and gave farmers and idea of when the time was best to pick their crops. Agriculture then flourished across the region and caused a surplus of food thus resulting in Egypt being self-sufficient as opposed to Mesopotamia who relied and depended on the trading of goods and other resources with other regions. Furthermore, natural barriers also affected the civilizations in various areas. Mesopotamia had few which again, was a disadvantage because there was always the constant worry of