Egyptian vs. Mesopotamian Civilizations Development Essay

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Introduction

The Nile Valley in North Africa, Euphrates and Tigris River Valley in south Asia are considered the origin of modern technology. The two regions enjoyed political and economic success during the ancient times that facilitated civilization. Their strong armies made them very successful. Many people were moving to urban centers where more job opportunities were becoming available in the construction and trade sectors of the economy. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt had a well established government structures with authorities responsible for various tasks. According to Houston, the two kingdoms played a major role in enhancing technological development and civilization (65). In this study, the researcher will look at the differences that existed between the civilization development of Mesopotamia and that of Egypt.

Discussion

The two kingdoms shared a number of factors in their civilization process. In this paper, however, the researcher will look at the differences in the civilization process. The following are some of the areas where these two ancient kingdoms had differences.

Religious

In Mesopotamia, religion played a central role in governance. In fact, Burger says that religious leaders were highly respected even by the rulers, unlike in Egypt where Pharaohs were the absolute authorities in their land (38). The Sumerians believed that they were created by gods for the sole purpose of worshiping and serving them at all stages of their lives (McKay et al. 13). For this reason, they erected a large temple at the center of the city with large granaries where grains were kept. These agricultural products were at the disposal of the Sumerian priests. The central role played by the religious leaders in the economic development of Mesopotamia is not evident in the Egyptian kingdom. Religious leaders had the distinct role of leading religious services and sermons among the Sumerians.

Diplomatic

The diplomatic structure of the Egyptian kingdom was different from that of Mesopotamia in a number of ways. According to Burger, the Mesopotamians maintained diplomatic ties with their neighboring kingdoms through practices such as royal marriages (73). This helped in forming strong family ties among the neighboring kingdoms. This helped in creating peaceful expansion of the kingdom. However, the Egyptians had a different approach of coexisting with their neighbors. They used direct negotiations and if this failed to work, they would use military force to bring down kingdoms they considered unfriendly.

Economic

The economic systems in the two kingdoms were almost the same. However, there is one striking difference in the economic structure of Mesopotamia and that of Egypt. The Mesopotamian women were allowed to own wealth under different contexts (McKay et al. 15). Women who held senior positions in government or religious settings such as queens and priestesses were allowed to own parcels of land. Their husbands did not have authority over such lands, but would occasionally help them in the management process. Women also retained ownership of their dowries paid to them by their husbands at the time of marriage.

They had the liberty of choosing the right people who would take care of such dowries. They would either choose their husbands, parents or brothers to be the custodians of such wealth. However, the Egyptians did not allow women to have wealth of their own, especially when it came to the issue of land. Egyptian women, irrespective of their positions in the society, had to rely on the wealth of their husbands or parents to survive.

Legal

Under the rule of Hammurabi, the legal systems in Mesopotamia improved significantly. The Hammurabi’s Law Code is one of the popular legal structures that were put in place under his era. One unique factor about this law code is that the king claimed that he was directed by divine spirit to come up with governing principles. This demonstrates the importance of religion when it came to issues relating to the development of legal frameworks.

The society revered gods and all that was associated with religious spirits. They respected all that which was related with religion. In the Egyptian kingdom, although the society also had a strong religious system, most of the laws were made in the royal courts and the people would be informed that the decision had been made by pharaoh and his royal court. They had to respect such laws because of the strong military systems that were put in place to ensure that everyone followed principles put in place by their ruler.

The principle of an eye-for-an-eye must have emerged in the Mesopotamian kingdom (McKay et al. 19). The Hammurabi’s Law Codes developed a legal principle that demanded for an equal treatment of a criminal as he did his victim. This means that if a criminal killed a victim and it was confirmed so in a royal court, the criminal was to be killed in the same manner. This aspect of law was not common in the Egyptian kingdom.

The consumer law in Egypt was very different from that in Mesopotamia. In Egypt, one could demand for his money back if he realized that he had been offered a substandard product by a seller. However, this had to happen within two days of the purchase, and the buyer had to prove that he had not done anything to jeopardize the quality of the product. However, this was not the case in Mesopotamia. A buyer could return a faulty good to the seller for repair even months after the purchase as long as it was confirmed that the supplier was at fault (McKay et al. 19).

Military

The military in the two kingdoms started what Burger described as modern warfare systems (62). However, the Egyptian military was at times led by women, something that was unimaginable in Mesopotamia. Hatshepsut ruled Egypt from 1479-1458 BC, and was considered one of the greatest military leaders the Egyptian empire ever had (McKay et al. 26). She conquered many nations in northeast regions, including parts of Canaan. In Mesopotamia, women were not allowed to hold senior government positions.

Political developments

The political development of the Egyptian Kingdom had significant differences from that of Mesopotamia. There was almost no distinction between the Egyptian rulers and gods (McKay et al. 21). These rulers were considered to be descendants of gods of Nile River. However, Mesopotamia had a clear distinction between their gods and rulers. The Mesopotamian rulers had to get blessings from gods in order to govern the kingdom. Pharaoh, being a living god, had the absolute power, and he did not need to back his orders with religious scriptures (Burger 51). His words were always considered holy. This is a little different from what was the case in Mesopotamia.

Conclusion

It is clear from the above discussion that although the Kingdom of Mesopotamia and that of Egypt shared a number of factors, they also had differences in many areas. These differences are seen in the religious, diplomatic, economic, legal, military, and political developments.

Works Cited

Burger, Michael. The Shaping of Western Civilization from Antiquity to the Present. London: McMillan, 2013. Print.

Houston, Mary. Ancient Egyptian, Mesopotamian & Persian Costume. New Jersey: Wiley & Sons, 2002. Print.

McKay, John, Clare Crowston, Merry Wiesner and Joe Perry. Understanding Western Society: A History. New York: Cengage, 2014. Print.

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