Mesopotamia And Egypt Essay, Research Paper
Mesopotamia and Egypt
The source of the many differences between Mesopotamia and
Egypt can be found in the
geographic locations of these civilizations. Egypt,
protected by natural barriers on all sides,
remained uninfluenced for many years. Not many other
civilizations came in contact with the
Egyptian people. Thus, they developed much differently
politically and socially compared to
Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia was constantly invaded by
foreigners who would incorporate their
culture into their newly conquered society and form a new
one by force. It is no surprise then
that the two civilizations would end up with completely
different ideas about the world.
Egypt s social structure consisted of the pharaoh,
priests, farmers, merchants, and
craftsmen. The pharaoh was the God-King . Not only did he
govern Egypt, but he was an
immortal (or a god). Pharaohs were believed to be gods who
had chosen to live on earth for a
time. These immortal men were highly respected by Egyptian
people because of their godly
powers. The pharaoh s will was law, and his wisdom
all-knowing (Adler,1996,26). Because
the gods spoke through the pharaoh, his regulations and laws
were to be carried out without
question. Otherwise the gods would cease to smile upon
Egypt .
Priests were important to Egyptians but were not
terribly powerful (like they were in
Mesopotamia). They merely enforced religious beliefs and
helped the king when he was
unpopular. The Free tenant farmers, who worked on estates
owned by a landowner or
government official, constituted the majority of the
population. These farmers worked on this
granted land in order to provide service to the crown (the
pharaoh). Their life, like the Egyptians
of higher and lower classes, was extremely stable and
predictable. They usually resided in
crowded villages that stretched across the Nile River. In
these villages, the merchants and
craftsmen could also be found, but Egypt had no real cities.
The capital cities in Egypt served as
royal palaces for the wealthy or for social entertainment.
The majority of the population had
nothing to do with these cities, except to act as a labor
force. Unlike many other civilizations, the
cities of Egypt were not used as major trade or control
centers among villages. Trade and
commerce were of little importance to Egyptians.
On the other hand, Mesopotamia was a huge collection
of many cultures. Numerous
amounts of foreigners invaded and forced their beliefs and
ideas upon the Mesopotamians. All of
this cultural influence produced many rapid changes and
caused extreme instability. Rulers were
not gods, were not as well respected, and had to fight for
their control. Mesopotamians did not
experience the security that Egyptians had. The economy way
under constant stress because of
the taxes needed to support an army. Armies were of extreme
importance in order to prevent
further invasions and to squelch frequent rebellions that
occurred. The isolated Egyptians never
had to raise an army or set any heavy taxes. Mesopotamians
though, because of the number of
invaders, had many cities and trade centers. The variety of
people within the cities produced
many cultural achievements and advances. They had well
developed road systems to improve
communication and enforce government control in surrounding
villages. They, under the
Phoenicians, developed a water-based trade system that
reached as far as Great Britain. By sea,
they traded information, dyes, and metals such as copper and
iron. Because of their exposure to
many different ideas, Mesopotamians were very influential
in the ancient world and are still
today.
As for the Egyptians, their ideas vanished with the
disappearance of their civilizations.
Their natural barriers separated them from the harsh
realities around them. They were stable and
were not subjected to invasions by foreigners for many
centuries. This provided a false sense of
security. They took very little measures to prevent a
disastrous invasion from occurring. Egypt
was not prepared militarily; they had little trained
soldiers and very few advanced weapons.
Egyptians trusted that the gods were responsible for their
long reign without any outside threats.
They believed that the Gods smiled on Egypt , and they also
took this to mean that they were
superior to any other cultures. The only real people were
Egyptian people and anyone else was
considered inferior. This egotistical view resulted in a
limited trade of knowledge because
foreigners had little to offer the superior Egyptians.
Thus, they did not advance scientifically,
mathematically, or militarily like the Mesopotamians had.
This feeling of superiority eventually
resulted in their defeat when invaders finally did come.
The experiences of the Mesopotamians and Egyptians
were very different because of their
location. Egyptians viewed the world as perfect and safe
because they had never experienced the
traumatic invasions that the Mesopotamians did. Egyptian
life was comfortable and unchanging
with very few threatening situations. Mesopotamians
experience much change and instability.
They had no true identity because of the many new
influences. They were constantly worried
about their security and the world, to them, was not a
peaceful place. However, their experiences
prepared them for the them for survival in the future, while
Egypt s failure to adjust to a new
situation lead to their demise. Mesopotamian views can
still be found today and Egyptian views
disappeared along with their superiority in Egypt.