What Drives Political and Economic Development in Ancient Civilizations

What Drives Political and Economic Development in Ancient Civilizations?

Compared to present-day civilizations, civilizations of the past depended much more on its physical surroundings. Because transporting goods required lots of time and manpower, it was expensive. Thus, the characteristics of many civilizations were dependent on the physical environments and natural resources that were easily accessible.
Clearly, a civilization centered on a river has major advantages over one that is not. Rivers allow for fertile soil and an essentially limitless source of drinking water. With little worry for the humanities basic needs, these civilizations could value food and water less and value other aspects of life more, such as education and religion. Citizens could actually focus and specialize on different parts of culture and architecture instead of worrying about the resources needed for survival. Once the basic needs for human existence are met, humans could divert their attention to other more artistic activities of cultural significance. But if you look at the empires individually, each has its own unique advantage that allows for its distinctive path to a successful civilization.
Egypt, for example, flourished due to division. Egypt was split into the northern area (Lower Egypt) and the southern area (Upper Egypt). The tensions caused by their different physical environments were apparent. Lower Egypt was had much more coastline because it was adjacent to both the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Thus, the dominant type of soil was that of sand and clay. Upper Egypt, on the other hand, had much richer soil which was often coloured black. These differences in soil color represented the “yin and yang” of Egypt: redness of the sand versus the blackness of the soil; life versus death; heaven versus earth; order versus disorder. On top of these color variations, Lower and Upper Egypt had vastly different natural resources. Upper Egypt had access to all of the gold mines and most of the other resources, including alabaster, granite, and emerald. Lower Egypt was vastly inferior because they only held onto a few copper mines. The different distributions of resources, and ultimately wealth, caused tension and struggle between these two regions. Therefore, the common goal for the kings of the time were to bring stability and order to the entire civilization. Since there was this urge to seek ma’at, political and economic development was forced to occur at a more rapid pace.
The Indus Valley civilization flourished through a different type of method. The Vedic people started originally as nomads and became successful by the constant need to adapt to new situations. As nomads, the Vedic people continuously roamed while learning the ways of the indigenous peoples they dominated. This physical environment they had endure forced these people to be open to change in order to adapt to their changing environments. Eventually and coincidentally, these nomadic barbarians settled across a large area centered on the Indus River. The easy access to fertile land and water allowed for agriculture to thrive and their years of roaming have led to good trade relationships. It is easy to see how they grew so well economically. Because there was no pressing issues that threatened the state of this civilization, its government was slow to progress. It seems as if political development requires an issue. When life is easy for the entire civilization, there is no change going on.
In Ancient Greek, “Mesopotamia” directly translates to “[country] between two rivers.” In this small translation lies one of the biggest reasons why these three Ancient Civilizations developed such a sophisticated political and economic system. Mesopotamia, especially, benefitted the most. Running down the center were two major rivers: the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. Much like the Egypt’s environment, the way Mesopotamians farmed led to a stratified civilization. Because of the myriad of irrigation systems and the increased demands for food, some people became better off and thus more powerful than others. This specific environment led directly to the creation of different social classes. As time progressed and cities flourished, these social classes became very set. Occupations in these Mesopotamian cities were very highly specialized because, as mentioned before, food and water was not an issue. Social classes most often lead directly to a social divide, where the lower class don’t have the same benefits as the upper. Thus introduces the question of politics: how can you create a government that appeals to all the citizens from each different social class? This social pressure was essential to spur both political and economic development in Mesopotamia.
After a close analysis of these prosperous ancient civilizations, it can be concluded that progress only comes when a challenge is presented. Without the divided people, the Egyptian government would not progress as quickly in search for a way to equalize both ends. Without the wild and unpredictable floodwaters in Mesopotamia, people would not have created such a revolutionary irrigation system. What determines the success of each civilization is always its physical environment. The physical environment determines how the people act because it is human nature to continuously adapt and aim for survival. Although each civilization had its own river to rely on, each environment was unique with challenges that forced the people to grow and develop at a much faster pace.

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