Mesopotamia and Egypt Comparative Essay
Matthew B
Owens
World History AP-3
21 September 2011
Mesopotamia and Egypt Comparative Essay
While both the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations share similar political, social and economic qualities, the details of these broad spectrums branch off in opposite directions. For example, both Mesopotamia and Egypt were ruled by kings, but in Egypt, their kings were called pharaohs and they had significantly more power than the Mesopotamian kings of the city-states. Both civilizations also had social classes in which a person fit into, but in Mesopotamia, many more rules and restrictions were forced onto women, especially young girls, than Mesopotamian boys or Egyptian boys or girls. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt traded with each other, but the goods they traded were completely dependent of their civilization’s special needs.
Pharaohs played a powerful role in the Egyptian society, more so than the kings did in the Mesopotamian civilization. Although both rulers had great responsibilities such as leading their armies, managing their civilizations, and ruling over the people in their jurisdiction, the Egyptian pharaohs ruled over much more land and people than the Mesopotamian kings did. This is because Mesopotamia was divided into small city-states in which one king was assigned to, but in Egypt the pharaoh ruled over the entire civilization and was expected to bring them wealth and prosperity. The pharaohs were even thought to have godly powers and used them to communicate with other gods to protect the Egyptians from the flooding of the Nile and other disasters.
Socially, Mesopotamia and Egypt are very similar in such ways like they both have social classes. Both Mesopotamian and Egyptian social classes strongly reflect one another with the priests and kings at the top, followed by the wealthy people, then the common people, then the slaves, however in Egypt, slaves could climb up the social ladder by marrying someone in another class. In Mesopotamia, slaves
Owens
World History AP-3
21 September 2011
Mesopotamia and Egypt Comparative Essay
While both the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations share similar political, social and economic qualities, the details of these broad spectrums branch off in opposite directions. For example, both Mesopotamia and Egypt were ruled by kings, but in Egypt, their kings were called pharaohs and they had significantly more power than the Mesopotamian kings of the city-states. Both civilizations also had social classes in which a person fit into, but in Mesopotamia, many more rules and restrictions were forced onto women, especially young girls, than Mesopotamian boys or Egyptian boys or girls. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt traded with each other, but the goods they traded were completely dependent of their civilization’s special needs.
Pharaohs played a powerful role in the Egyptian society, more so than the kings did in the Mesopotamian civilization. Although both rulers had great responsibilities such as leading their armies, managing their civilizations, and ruling over the people in their jurisdiction, the Egyptian pharaohs ruled over much more land and people than the Mesopotamian kings did. This is because Mesopotamia was divided into small city-states in which one king was assigned to, but in Egypt the pharaoh ruled over the entire civilization and was expected to bring them wealth and prosperity. The pharaohs were even thought to have godly powers and used them to communicate with other gods to protect the Egyptians from the flooding of the Nile and other disasters.
Socially, Mesopotamia and Egypt are very similar in such ways like they both have social classes. Both Mesopotamian and Egyptian social classes strongly reflect one another with the priests and kings at the top, followed by the wealthy people, then the common people, then the slaves, however in Egypt, slaves could climb up the social ladder by marrying someone in another class. In Mesopotamia, slaves