Early Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt
Tim Xu
Early Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt The ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia were both fairly successful at what they were able to do with their surroundings. Gathering food, hunting, and even just the ability to exist were essential tools that both civilizations excelled in. The Early Mesopotamians and Ancient Egyptians were politically through their type of governments, yet contrasting in their eventual downfalls to neighboring peoples. In addition, both civilizations were divergent religiously through their beliefs in the afterlife, while sharing polytheism as a trait. Politically, both Egypt and Mesopotamia shared quite a few traits. For example, both civilizations were absolute monarchies and theocracies. In Egypt’s case, the pharaoh was the divine and absolute monarch as well as a religious leader. His subjects believed him to be a descendant of the sun god Re, and built numerous megastructures (pyramids) in his honor and as a tomb for the afterlife. Furthermore, early Mesopotamia featured various city-states, with individual monarchs casting their rule over their territories. Overall, while the monarchs of Egypt and Mesopotamia were religious leaders, the Pharaoh was divine while the Mesopotamian kings were divinely inspired. On the other hand, a political aspect that both civilizations differed in was their political downfalls. In early Mesopotamia, the city-states were all taken over by the Akkadian Empire, which then further was taken over by the Babylonian Empire, which in the end were replaced by the Assyrian Empire. On the contrary, the Egyptians eventually fell to the Hyksos, thereby ending the old kingdom. Overall, these chains of power demonstrate the importance of geological location, with Old Kingdom Egypt able to survive around 2000 years due to the surrounding desert while the various civilizations in Mesopotamia ended relatively quickly due to the lack of geographical barriers. In the end, politically Ancient Egypt and
Early Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt The ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia were both fairly successful at what they were able to do with their surroundings. Gathering food, hunting, and even just the ability to exist were essential tools that both civilizations excelled in. The Early Mesopotamians and Ancient Egyptians were politically through their type of governments, yet contrasting in their eventual downfalls to neighboring peoples. In addition, both civilizations were divergent religiously through their beliefs in the afterlife, while sharing polytheism as a trait. Politically, both Egypt and Mesopotamia shared quite a few traits. For example, both civilizations were absolute monarchies and theocracies. In Egypt’s case, the pharaoh was the divine and absolute monarch as well as a religious leader. His subjects believed him to be a descendant of the sun god Re, and built numerous megastructures (pyramids) in his honor and as a tomb for the afterlife. Furthermore, early Mesopotamia featured various city-states, with individual monarchs casting their rule over their territories. Overall, while the monarchs of Egypt and Mesopotamia were religious leaders, the Pharaoh was divine while the Mesopotamian kings were divinely inspired. On the other hand, a political aspect that both civilizations differed in was their political downfalls. In early Mesopotamia, the city-states were all taken over by the Akkadian Empire, which then further was taken over by the Babylonian Empire, which in the end were replaced by the Assyrian Empire. On the contrary, the Egyptians eventually fell to the Hyksos, thereby ending the old kingdom. Overall, these chains of power demonstrate the importance of geological location, with Old Kingdom Egypt able to survive around 2000 years due to the surrounding desert while the various civilizations in Mesopotamia ended relatively quickly due to the lack of geographical barriers. In the end, politically Ancient Egypt and