Egypt and Mesopatamia
Two Civilizations Next Door Neighbors or Worlds Apart?
Vincent Casella October 11, 2012
AP Global History Mrs. Belesis
As time winds on and centuries pass we are faced with a question. Are we are own county, civilization, government, society? Everything derives from something else. We as humans are the greatest examples. We are molded in the image in which our society finds suitable, but who comes up with these standards of living? The answer is no one individual as it is with everything else . At about 3000 B.C.E. a Sumerian civilization named Mesopotamia began to take shape. only short thereafter so did the civilization of Egypt there is no exception with civilizations Mesopotamia and Egypt they both have similar ideals which were in one way or another diffused into each other's way of life. Ancient Egypt political system was comprised of pharaohs ,who were to be believed as gods themselves, for most of their history. Those at the time who were governed under this centralized rule were forced to kneel before the pharaoh when he passed by and were banned from touching him or making eye contact. These pharaohs had numerous responsibilities. They owned most of the land, supervised armies passed laws and oversaw trade. They ruled through a large bureaucracy. At their death, a pharaoh's son stepped into his position and this is how great dynasties were born. While on the other hand Mesopotamia was comprised of self-governing city-states, with each one operating on its own as separate and independent political and economic units. Aristocracies emerged, and were made up of kings, their families and nobility. They owned the majority of the surrounding land and controlled most of the highest ranking positions in both the government and the military. Though the kings were not considered divine, as they were in Ancient Egypt, but they
Vincent Casella October 11, 2012
AP Global History Mrs. Belesis
As time winds on and centuries pass we are faced with a question. Are we are own county, civilization, government, society? Everything derives from something else. We as humans are the greatest examples. We are molded in the image in which our society finds suitable, but who comes up with these standards of living? The answer is no one individual as it is with everything else . At about 3000 B.C.E. a Sumerian civilization named Mesopotamia began to take shape. only short thereafter so did the civilization of Egypt there is no exception with civilizations Mesopotamia and Egypt they both have similar ideals which were in one way or another diffused into each other's way of life. Ancient Egypt political system was comprised of pharaohs ,who were to be believed as gods themselves, for most of their history. Those at the time who were governed under this centralized rule were forced to kneel before the pharaoh when he passed by and were banned from touching him or making eye contact. These pharaohs had numerous responsibilities. They owned most of the land, supervised armies passed laws and oversaw trade. They ruled through a large bureaucracy. At their death, a pharaoh's son stepped into his position and this is how great dynasties were born. While on the other hand Mesopotamia was comprised of self-governing city-states, with each one operating on its own as separate and independent political and economic units. Aristocracies emerged, and were made up of kings, their families and nobility. They owned the majority of the surrounding land and controlled most of the highest ranking positions in both the government and the military. Though the kings were not considered divine, as they were in Ancient Egypt, but they