Mesopotamia and Egypt
Comparing and Contrasting the Egyptian and Mesopotamian Civilizations
The Mesopotamian (in modern day Iraq) and Egyptian (in modern day Egypt) civilizations flourished around 3500 BCE. They were River Valley civilizations that thrived on agriculture. During their reign, they were very prosperous and shared similarities and differences. Differences between them were that Mesopotamia’s environment hindered their civilization in warfare and agriculture while Egypt’s environment strengthened it and in their patriarchy society, women were treated more as equals to men in Egypt than in Mesopotamia. They were similar in ways such as, they both incorporated and influenced the culture of neighboring peoples. The environment in Egypt has special features that the Mesopotamia lacked that ensured a prosperous civilization. Women were entitled to rights in Egypt that only men were allowed to have in Mesopotamia. However, they both gained new cultures and tools by traveling peoples and left their marks on other civilizations. The environment of Mesopotamia and Egypt differed greatly. In Mesopotamia, they relied on two river valleys, Tigris and the Euphrates. Both were used for irrigation to produce agriculture. However, the Rivers were very unpredictable and prone to flooding unexpectedly and destroying crops. The River of Egypt was the Nile, hence the name the Nile valley civilization. This river was very predictable. The people of the civilization knew when the river would flood during the year and they used it to their advantage for agriculture. Because of this, they had a smaller irrigation system, which leads to another example. Mesopotamian’s environment requires then to produce an elaborate irrigation, which sped up the salinization of the soil and contributed to the fall of the civilization. The Egyptians had a less elaborate form of irrigation because of the predictability of the river, so the civilization lasted longer. Another example of their different
The Mesopotamian (in modern day Iraq) and Egyptian (in modern day Egypt) civilizations flourished around 3500 BCE. They were River Valley civilizations that thrived on agriculture. During their reign, they were very prosperous and shared similarities and differences. Differences between them were that Mesopotamia’s environment hindered their civilization in warfare and agriculture while Egypt’s environment strengthened it and in their patriarchy society, women were treated more as equals to men in Egypt than in Mesopotamia. They were similar in ways such as, they both incorporated and influenced the culture of neighboring peoples. The environment in Egypt has special features that the Mesopotamia lacked that ensured a prosperous civilization. Women were entitled to rights in Egypt that only men were allowed to have in Mesopotamia. However, they both gained new cultures and tools by traveling peoples and left their marks on other civilizations. The environment of Mesopotamia and Egypt differed greatly. In Mesopotamia, they relied on two river valleys, Tigris and the Euphrates. Both were used for irrigation to produce agriculture. However, the Rivers were very unpredictable and prone to flooding unexpectedly and destroying crops. The River of Egypt was the Nile, hence the name the Nile valley civilization. This river was very predictable. The people of the civilization knew when the river would flood during the year and they used it to their advantage for agriculture. Because of this, they had a smaller irrigation system, which leads to another example. Mesopotamian’s environment requires then to produce an elaborate irrigation, which sped up the salinization of the soil and contributed to the fall of the civilization. The Egyptians had a less elaborate form of irrigation because of the predictability of the river, so the civilization lasted longer. Another example of their different