Marian Wong
1/21/15
P.5
The Mesopotamian and Egyptian early civilizations and culture is what has created the basic foundation of building a modern day civilization in our world today. But for obvious reasons, being one of the first to create a peaceful and controlled community at is not easy what so ever. So the question is how is it exactly that both the Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures were able to grow to be a successful civilization? For one, the Mesopotamians were one of the first to develop a form of government to organize the people into political states. They made rules for people to follow, and if someone defied the laws then they would be punished. This helped create peace and order. Along with keeping the peace in the villages, both Mesopotamian and Egyptians river valleys keep peace with their religions by building monuments that are seen today as architectural art. Lastly, and possibly most importantly, the Egyptians and Mesopotamians used the river to their advantage to farm and grow goods. The cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt developed into successful civilizations because they enhanced their government, architecture, and with help of the rivers themselves to better expand and develop the civilization. The Mesopotamians were quick to give a set of laws known as “the Code of Hammurabi” (Doc #4). “People caught stealing could be put to death”. These rules were very strict and “punishment for breaking these laws was very harsh” (Doc #4) but only because it was important to be obedient to the law to be able to keep peace. These rules purpose were for the citizens of Mesopotamia to treat each other as equals and to treat others with respect and kindness. In a way this was also a way to cleanse the location of evil people for a more tranquil state. “Those who did not show care and respect for the property of others had to pay a fine” (Doc #4) so in a way in was a win-win situation for those who wanted to spread good throughout the river valley. As for the Egyptians, suppose that their form of government and policy depended on their pharaoh. “[A pharaoh] is a god by whose dealings one lives” (Doc #3). As if their faith is foreseen by their king. It might not be a concrete as having and enforcing laws but it wasn’t unsuccessful in keeping the people from doing bad. Both river valleys, though they used a different set of rules, keep their civilizations controlled and avoided chaotic governments. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the Egyptians viewed their pharaoh as a god and to honor them “workers build huge pyramids to serve as tombs.” (Doc #5). Building those famous pyramids took hundreds of thousands workers to complete, in which of course, many died. These pyramids were built specially for their kings to rest in peace along with the kings’ possessions. “Egyptians believed that their kings could take their possessions with them after death. As a result, pharaohs were buried with their possessions” (Doc #5). The Sumerians and Akkadians also built temples for their gods. They were polytheistic, therefore they many different beliefs. “They believed that keeping the gods happy was the key to their own happiness and prosperity” (Doc #6). So in attempt to please their gods, they build temples called “ziggurats” which includes many different levels that went up high in