The rise of Egypt and Mesopotamia occurred at about the same time. Although Egypt and Mesopotamia were influenced by a religious leader and had similar forms of writing, motivation from Egypt came from climate and religious factors, while Mesopotamia was made up of a group of city-states and different religious factors in the 4000 and 600 BCE. Because the civilizations had different religious systems, the ways of life were different among the civilizations.
The civilizations had theocratic leaders. Mesopotamia’s government was controlled by a priest or a king. The priest and kings were religious leaders. In Egypt, pharaohs and kings ruled and controlled the government and people. Egypt and Mesopotamia were unified with a form of writing. Mesopotamia invented the cuneiform writing that allowed people to communicate. Egyptians had hieroglyphics as their form of writing. Social hierarchy occurred in the two civilizations. The top of the social ladder to the bottom descended with government officials, merchants, artisans, farmers, and slaves. Because Mesopotamia did not have fertile land or many materials, they depended on trade. Egypt also traded on the Nile River over the Sinai Peninsula. The priest and pharaohs were respected highly because pharaohs were thought to be gods in human form, and priests connected the people to God.
Unlike Mesopotamia, Egypt was a unified civilization which lead to a main authority. Mesopotamia, however, was made up of city-states. Women in Egypt were thought to have some equal rights as men. Most women could become high in rank if their husband was high in rank. Mesopotamia looked at women as slaves and only used for breeding. Women had little to no rights in Mesopotamia. In Egypt, pyramids were built to bury mainly pharaohs and kings to have a good afterlife. Ziggurats were built in Mesopotamia as a religious temple instead of a place for burials. The Nile River allowed Egypt to start agriculture because the river