The Egyptians (2700 BCE - 1075 BCE) and the Achaemenid (550 BCE - 330 BCE) were two of the most influential civilizations of ancient times. They created empires that would leave a cultural mark on the world and the civilizations yet to come. Even though they both have created a lasting impression on the world today, these two civilizations were starkly different. Three of the more defining contrasting differences are Egypt 's polytheistic religion compared to the Achaemenid Zoroastrianism, the compositions and tactics of each civilization’s military, and the governmental/social structure of the Egyptians versus the Achaemenid. The religion of the Egyptians was very complex. It was a polytheistic religion with one or more gods representing each function of life. According to the Pearson Scholars and authors of The Heritage of World Civilizations, the Egyptians even had “the common tendency to combine the character and function of …show more content…
Egyptian polytheistic religion recognized gods representing every aspect of life. The Achaemenid Empire served one and only one true god, Ahura Mazda. The military system of the Egyptians was dominated by the chariot warrior and its ability to afford such technology. The Achaemenid Empire relied upon a heavy armored, well organized, and highly trained infantry for its defense and conquests. The government structure of Egypt was rigid. The pharaoh was both king and a god. On the contrary, while the Achaemenid king was the ultimate ruler, he did pass down some authority to provincial governors known as satraps. Whether because of the need to adapt or a need to expand an empire, these differences demonstrate how two cultures can evolve over a 2000 year period with completely contrasting views on religion, military tactics, and governmental
During the New Kingdom of Egypt (from 1552 through 1069 B.C.), there came a sweeping change in the religious structure of the ancient Egyptian civilization. "The Hymn to the Aten" was created by Amenhotep IV, who ruled from 1369 to 1353 B.C., and began a move toward a monotheist culture instead of the polytheist religion which Egypt had experienced for the many hundreds of years prior to the introduction of this new idea. There was much that was different from the old views in "The Hymn to the Aten", and it offered a new outlook on the Egyptian ways of life by providing a complete break with the traditions which Egypt held to with great respect. Yet at the same time, there were many commonalties between these new ideas and the old views of the Egyptian world. Although through the duration of his reign, Amenhotep IV introduced a great many changes to the Egyptian religion along with "The Hymn", none of these reforms outlived their creator, mostly due to the massive forces placed on his successor, Tutankhamen, to renounce these new reforms. However, the significance of Amenhotep IV, or Akhenaten as he later changed his name to, is found in "The Hymn". "The Hymn" itself can be looked at as a contradiction of ideas; it must be looked at in relation to both the Old Kingdom's belief of steadfast and static values, as well as in regards to the changes of the Middle Kingdom, which saw unprecedented expansionistic and individualistic oriented reforms. In this paper I plan to discuss the evolvement of Egyptian Religious Beliefs throughout the Old,
Ancient Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt both emerged approximately around the same period (4000-3500 BCE). Many of their human developments, scientific accomplishments and philosophies contribute greatly to today’s modern world. Organized religion was first seen in those ancient civilizations. The religious systems in theses areas are intertwined with political and spiritual elements as well as a major influence on the cultural behaviors of the civilizations. In such governments, gods and goddesses are seen as the supreme religious and civic leaders. . The priestly class and divine kings would carry out their deity’s will, in ancient Mesopotamia and in Egypt, religion and government was designed as one. The Egyptians believed that they were the divine nation and their
The Cosmopolitan Middle East consists of both Mesopotamia and Egypt, but when Mesopotamia was split into two zones, Babylonia conquered the south, while Assyria conquered the north. The Hittites, one of the states that came to Mesopotamia, they made good use of the copper, silver, and iron, to increase commerce with other states. The Hyksos, a strong foreign group who had lot of strength and intelligence, took over the kingdom of Egypt and changed Egypt into an aggressive state. But it was also a time of change with many rulers who held the throne of New Kingdom Egypt, such as Hatshepsut, Akhenaten, and Ramesses II. Traveling and communication were necessities in international trading because metal was needed amongst different cities.
Religion was a major part of Ancient Egyptians’ lives. Their faith was so engrained in them that it was more of a lifestyle than a set of beliefs. The Egyptians practiced polytheism, or the worship of many gods, and they believed that their pharaoh was a god on Earth (Doc 3). The people worshipped the pharaoh and gave him all respect and power. They believed that their two main goals in life were to keep the pharaoh and the other gods happy and to live a good life so that they may enjoy a happy life after death. Their shared faith strengthened their society because everyone was working toward the same goal. Groups were not divided based on what god they worshipped. Instead, the fact that every person lived to please the same gods and wished to go to the same afterlife gave them something in common and brought them together as a community. Sumerians also practiced polytheism and believed that their priests were connected to the gods. The people thought it was their responsibility to keep the gods happy, and believed that if the gods were pleased, they would allow their people to be content as well (Doc 6). Because of their desire to please the gods, Sumerians performed every task to the best of their ability. For example, they invested lots of time and money into their ziggurats, or temples, because they only wanted to give their best to the gods. The Sumerians’ devotion to every task ensured that everything was done well and helped their civilization
Before the beginning of history, people from across the land gradually developed numerous cultures, each unique in some ways while the same time having features in common. Mesopotamia and Egypt are important to the history of the world because of religious, social, political and economic development. Mesopotamia was the first civilization, which was around 3000 B.C., and all other countries evolved from it. Mesopotamia emerged from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The soil was rich and agriculture was plentiful. The Semitic nomads occupied the land around Akkad. The Sumerians established the city-states. Villages became urban centers. Because of the formation of the city-states everything flourished. However, Mesopotamian agriculture lacked stones; therefore mud brick became their major building block. Their diet consisted of fish from the rivers. The rivers were flooded frequently destroyed the cities. Mesopotamians made their living from crops and pottery.
Ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations would not be as successful as they were without living by the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile rivers. Rivers shaped the development of civilization in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia by how they utilized the floods, what they traded, their views on religion, and controlling the rivers.
Throughout the history of the earth, man has gradually evolved from strolling hunters and gatherers into the improved people as we are today. Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures dates back to around 4,000-1000 BCE; therefore, the utmost significant development, I believe, would be the development of two civilizations. The first of these civilizations would be the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians. The civilizations had many similarities but they also had their differences. Egypt developed in relative isolation from the rest of near east while the Mesopotamia was multicultural society opened into welcoming other cultures. Mesopotamia and Egypt was on the banks of major rivers. Mesopotamia resided on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers while Egypt resided
What similarities and differences did Egypt and Mesopotamia have and why was Egypt more politically unified than its neighbor, Mesopotamia? I think in order to answer these questions it is important to look at how both societies lived. Egypt and Mesopotamia were two civilizations existing during the time period of 2000-1200 BCE.(text, 97) These civilizations were shaped by their environment, involved with trade, and faced changes in government after the 100 year drought; however, they differed in that Egypt was shaped by the Nile, traded goods for goods and changed their outlook on the pharaoh who was ruler of all; whereas, Mesopotamia was shaped by the Tigris and Euphrates, traded money for goods, and had a ruler over rulers. The governed harmonic life style of Egypt led this society to be more politically unified; whereas, Mesopotamia’s government led to many different ways of structure, thus creating a less unified society.
Around 3500 B.C.E to 3000 B.C.E., civilizations emerged in many places. Egypt and Mesoamerica are distinctive two of them. Considering the different aspects of civilization, historians can find some same characteristics and differences which are valuable for historians to understand civilization in-depth.
Egyptians worshiped many gods and goddesses. Some of the gods they worshiped were Ra the sun god, Isis the god of nature and magic, Horus the god of war and Osiris the god of the dead. The act of worshiping many gods is called polytheism. The Egyptians had a god for almost everything.
Throughout the test of time one question has remained, what does it mean to be a human? In the ancient world this question was both pondered and ignored. Two ancient civilizations had very different thoughts when it came to human life, these civilizations being the Greeks and the Egyptians. When one examines the religion and government of these two great civilizations a very stark contrast is seen. Egypt, an advanced kingdom in the northeast of Africa worshipped numerous gods, one of these gods being their pharaoh. The pharaoh had absolute rule because he was considered from the gods. In Greece the connection between church and state was less so than in Egypt, especially in Athens, and in the Athenian run Delian league. In Athens the people
The approach to religion was different. For the Achaemenid Persian Empire during early years they followed a specific God named Marduk who was the one that inspired and made Cyrus the Great the first emperor, owner and governor of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Therefore, the Achaemenid Persian Empire was a multi-religious and multi-cultural empire because they owned many territories such as Egypt, Palestine, Jordan and so on. In addition, Jews were free to follow their own traditions and “as the biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah record, the Persian king allowed the Jews to return to Israel, where they then rebuilt their temple” (102). However, when Darius was in charge of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the religion changed. Zoroastrianism was implemented as the new faith whose god was Ahura- Mazda. Therefore, the new faith presented two different paths, the good one known as Arta and the bad one know as Drauga whose god was Ahriman. In comparison, the Egyptian Empire followed one god named Horus. Therefore, Horus was the living pharaoh but the previous pharaoh would be called Osiris. In addition, the pharaoh believes in many rituals and traditions such as immortality, which played a huge part during the after life. The immortality was divided by a vital self named Ka, an individual self named Ba, and a transcendent spirit which was the only independent part of the body named Akh. Mummification was also an important ritual for the Egyptians in terms of religion and rituals. There were three ways to make mummification successful and it depended on your social class. Therefore, while both empires were heavily invested in religion, the Egyptian Empire was more strict because everyone was required to follow one religion, whereas in the Persian Empire different religious groups were allowed to worship their own gods and participate in their own rituals
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.
Religion was very important to the ancient Egyptians the believed in many gods, meaning they were polytheistic.
In conclusion, Ancient Egypt has a very complex religion and beliefs that would be considered bizarre in many parts of the world. They believed in many gods, some took part in the creation of the universe. Others brought the flood every year, offered protection and took care of people after they died. The ancient Egyptians thought that it was important to recognize and worship the gods because they represented the peace and harmony across the land.