Early civilization remains permits us to observe how life was lived in earlier times. Until the Neolithic Era humans were fairly nomadic. When they became knowledgeable of farming they began to realize that they would not have to be nomadic anymore thus forming civilizations. These early civilizations were typically polytheistic, which means that they believed in many gods. During these civilizations they also learned to tame animals and their technologies grew more and more advanced. Almost all early civilizations have failed but they all left a lasting mark that will continue forever. The Nile River Valley Civilization and the Mesopotamia Civilization are both amazing but they both have their differences in their political and social aspects. …show more content…
The first one is the Sumerian civilizations. Sumerian cities began in the south of Mesopotamia. Ruler was dependent upon to make sure that the city walls and irrigation systems were okay. Their government was based heavily on religion. They had created a system of laws which allowed them to keep order in their society. These laws were later called the Hammurabi’s Codes of Laws. The Sumerian cities also had a system of ranks. The ranks are as followed: leading family, priests, scribes, merchants, artisans, and peasant farmers. Majority of the population was made of farmers. As for education, only the royals went to school. Can you imagine only the upper class humans being able to go to school? Next, when the Mesopotamians were first civilizing women were equal to women. Although as time progressed the society became a fairly patriarchal society. Despite the women’s setbacks they still had some political rights. The Sumerians were polytheistic. Not surprising since it was an early civilization huh? They built ziggurats or a pyramid temple that soared towards the heavens. Although they were the first to create them Assyrians and the Babylonians also built them due to cultural diffusion. With these temples they praised their gods and thank them for all they have done. The Sumerians believed in an afterlife. Although they never went to extremes they buried their dead with weapons in case they needed them. The …show more content…
These individual states traded with each other. They would most likely trade things specific to that area. They also had a very multifaceted and planned irrigation system. Last but not least they were all tiny domains that were actually well prearranged. On their own they were fairly solid and had a very organized government. Although they were then all united by King Menes. The citizens were fairly obedient and did what they were told to do by their god, the pharaoh. They felt as if bad things would happen if they went against a god. The government became one hundred percent centralized and they controlled every single last one of the resources in the vast region in which we call the Nile River Valley. Just imagine being a part of this structured civilization. Now the Mesopotamia civilizations were a little different, well a lot. Although they had similarities. They did have slight similarities though. Mesopotamia was made of many independent states. They never became united and stayed this way as to what feels like the end of time. In earlier times this probably seemed like a good idea although later they realize that it is now. This separation made the region tremendously susceptible to attacks. The Mesopotamians apparently never heard the saying there is no I in team! Although, despite all of this separation the region worked together in order to do massive projects which included things like
The ancient cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt developed into successful civilizations. One civilization the Egyptians developed was in the Nile River valley. Based off the "Mesopotamia and Egypt DBQ" packet, "Ancient Egypt was an advanced civilization in many areas including religion, architecture, transportation, and trade. Ancient Mesopotamia was one of the first civilizations that developed a form of government as well as organized people in political states." Based on the documents, Egypt and Mesopotamia developed into successful and advanced civilizations by effectively using the resources that surrounded them to solve problems and live happily.
Egypt and Mesopotamia were two of the world’s earliest city-based civilizations, creating the basis for Middle Eastern and Western history. Both Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations existed on the banks of major rivers. While Egyptian civilization thrived along the Nile, Mesopotamia settled between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Although they shared this characteristic, it was also the cause of many of their differences in political systems, religions, and social stability.
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.
Although the kings of both lands were closely tied to religious institutions they had very different responsibilities to their people because of the culture of their location. The major point that differentiates Mesopotamia and Egypt is their location. The fact that Egypt was located in the most productive area of ancient times caused Egyptian pharaohs to focus more on their internal concerns, rather than gain new territories. The idea of Ma’at played a big role in the way of the pharaohs ruling over Egypt. Instead of expanding, they were more worried about having harmony and peace within the people, and keeping the balance of ma’at.
In the first civilization, both Mesopotamia and Egypt relied on a hunter-gatherer economic system, during that time, every country in the world strived on it. Mesopotamia had rich soil for agriculture, but experiences floods. For the Mesopotamians, these floods would destroy major cities, but for the Egyptians it would keep the soil rich all year long without the damage that the Mesopotamians had experienced. With the rich soil foods were plentiful around the farm lands, which gave both countries the chance to establish largely dense areas, like what we now know as a city-state. The Nile River also served as a defense for the Egyptians they enjoyed centuries of tranquility and peace in which they used to develop peaceful development of their civilization. For the Mesopotamians, this wasn’t the case.
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 ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt began to develop circa 3,000 B.C. Located near rivers, the lands offered fertile soil and an excess of crops that drew in many people. As more people arrived, the small settlements flourished into large, thriving civilizations. Many aspects of Mesopotamia and Egypt, such as their cities, their strongly organized government, and their religion, greatly contributed to the success of these two civilizations.
After reading the articles on early civilization, I've identified several similarities and differences about the people who were from these three cultures. The civilizations in the articles include, the people from Mesopotamia, the Quiche' Indians, a tribe in early Meso-America, and "The book of Genesis" which offers a Christian or biblical explanation of how our own civilization originated. I will tell you about how they believed they came into existence and what they thought they should do to ensure their civilization continued. The three stories offered insight on how the different cultures lived by describing how they believed their civilization was created.
The Mesopotamia was in between to very important rivers, which were the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Being between two rivers had some advantages, as well as disadvantages. Some of the advantages meant that they could produce enough food to support the people that lived around that area. Some of the disadvantages were that they had some flood problems. Sometimes the rivers would over flow, which caused floods that destroyed crops and villages. Considering that their main source for anything was agriculture, floods really brought chaos. After some time the Mesopotamian people learned different ways
During the years of 3500 BC to 2500 BC, the geography of a land often impacted a civilizations development in great measures. Depending on the resources available or the detriments present due to certain topographical characteristics like rivers or deserts, a civilization could flourish or collapse. By studying the geographic features of growing societies like the Nile, Euphrates, and Tigris Rivers as well as the Mediterranean Sea of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the link between developing cultures and geography will be examined through sources, including Egypt: Ancient Culture, Modern Land edited by Jaromir Malek and Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization by Paul Kriwaczek. To determine the extent of its influence, this investigation will attempt to compare and contrast the role of geography in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, focusing on the civilizations’ various periods of development and settlement.
During the time of early civilizations people were creating communities, societies, cultures, political structures and religions all new to our world. It was trying times and ages of awakenings. Religion played a major part role in the history of our world and mankind some of the religions discovered at this time are still practiced today, and some have faded away. The two early civilizations that stand out to me are Mesopotamia and India. Although the two share some similarities, the differences in religious beliefs between Mesopotamia and India are clear.
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.
Of the first civilizations, Mesopotamia and Egypt left behind the most widely available documented look at the past (92). Interestingly enough, the basis for societal rank was comparable between these two civilizations. But despite similarities in social stratification, Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilization had very dissimilar views on life and the afterlife.
Mesopotamia was one of the first civilizations to have social organization. Sumer was one of the first city states in Mesopotamia. At the top of the social pyramid was the king, who was thought to be chosen by the gods. Then came the religious figures, scribes and merchants, artists and craftsmen, and at the bottom, workers, soldiers, farmers, and slaves. This can be seen on the Standard of Ur. Standard of Ur was found in 1922 and is 4,500 years old. It is theorized to be a standard or the sound box of a musical instrument. There are two sides; one represents “War” and the other “Peace”. One these sides, we can see their social organization based on the size and order of the people. The king is bigger and at the top and center; poorer, skinner people are on the left. Sumer had many succes...
For thousands of years, people all over the world have developed, progressed, and eventually formed civilizations. A civilization is a community characterized by elements such as a system of writing, a development of social classes, and cities. Early civilizations such as ancient Greece, classical Rome, Mesopotamia, and classical China have made many contributions to society that still affect people in the modern world. The inventions, progress, and contributions of the people of these ancient civilizations and others have shaped the world that we all live in today.