Comparative Analysis Essay: Egypt and Mesopotamia

The rise of civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia occurred about the same time and both civilizations grew along the mighty rivers. There were so many similarities but many differences as well. In each case, it was the river valley and geography that dictated outcomes affecting agricultural prosperity, religious formation, and agricultural prosperity, government structures. The first true civilizations in ancient times both formed near prominent rivers. These civilizations developed in the Middle East, Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates and Egypt by the Nile River. Egypt and Mesopotamia are examples of two early river-valley civilizations that relied heavily on its geography and the surrounding environment. In Mesopotamia, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were unpredictable. These rivers had irregular flooding, which meant people could never calculate when flooding occurred. As in Egypt, it was very predictable when the water of the river rose to its abnormal level. This was benefitted in a sense that when both rivers flooded it released minerals and deposited it to the soil. The soil with an abundance of minerals benefitted the crops the civilians grew. Mesopotamia and Egypt were both separated in a different form of political organization. Mesopotamia was organized as city-states as of Egypt were divided into Upper and Lower Egypt. Mesopotamia’s political structure consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king and claimed themselves divine authority and the government-regulated religion. On the other hand, Egypt’s political structure was based on theocracy. Pharaohs were the kings of Egypt. In both civilizations, kings served as leaders in times of war. Each civilization had its own set of laws. In Mesopotamia, the Babylonian king Hammurabi established a code of laws called Hammurabi’s Code, which helped unify his empire. These laws established rules of procedure for courts of law and regulated property rights and the duties of family members, and setting harsh punishment for those who committed crimes. As in Egypt, there was no written code. Upper and Lower Egypt were soon combined by a pharaoh named Menes. He unified both parts of Egypt through military means, as shown on the Narmer Palette. The pharaoh was depicted in wearing the crowns of Upper Egypt on one side and Lower Egypt on the other, indicating that he was the first king over both kingdoms. Mesopotamia’s economy was based on pottery industry. They used to built their houses and create other portable tools of clay. They then traded with other societies for buying and selling goods. Egypt’s economy was based on agriculture and traded as well. Mesopotamia and Egypt were both polytheistic. They believed in many gods. Mesopotamian religion was ideas about gods’ creation of the earth and punishment of