Mesopotamia vs Egypt
Mesopotamia and Egypt are two different civilizations that show some difference between them when it comes to their history and growth. Egypt was built on both the sides of the River Nile. On the other hand, Mesopotamia was built in the fertile area between Tigris and Euphrates River. This is the main difference between Mesopotamia and Egypt. Though the location of each civilization was different, they do share something is common. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt had access to water resources. So, it is believed that both these civilizations developed on the basis of water. Both had agriculture as the primary occupation. Let us see more information about each civilization and based on that information understand the differences between each civilization.
More about Egypt
The geographical location of Egypt made it very hard to invade. Egypt has the huge Mediterranean Sea as one boundary while the other boundary was a huge desert. When it comes to the civilization of Egypt, since they were settlers near the Nile River, agriculture played an important part in the civilization. The grain is considered the most important element in the Egyptian society. This is very much evident from the ancient paintings in the Egyptian art. Grain is often portrayed as the chief element of the society.
The structure of the Egyptian society was also special. Even though it was an early civilization in the world, the female community was treated with respect in the Egyptian civilization. This was especially seen in the higher society. That was mostly because marriage alliances were very important to keep the power of the ruler intact. You can see how much they paid respect to women as they have many powerful goddesses in religions as well.
When it comes to the political system of Egypt, Egypt has a central government style of politics. The Pharaoh was the single leader of the Egyptians. He was the single leader of Egypt.
The most import accomplishment by which Egyptians are remembered today is the construction of pyramids. These are magnificent, huge stone structures that were built mainly as tombs for their kings. Egyptians strongly believed in the afterlife. So, once the king died, they usually placed his mummified body in a tomb with all the belongings he had while he was alive.
More about Mesopotamia
Though Mesopotamia was also situated near a water source, their situation was not very stable. There was not much protection from invaders. It was much more open to many attacks.
When it comes to the society, females were considered as property in the Mesopotamian civilization. In short, it can be said that there was no gender equality in Mesopotamia. So, like most early cultures, Mesopotamia did not treat the women well as the Egyptians did.
Egypt had a different form of government and Mesopotamia had a different form of government altogether. City-state type of government was adopted by the rulers of Mesopotamia. In Mesopotamia, each area was a separate political fragment. This is a major difference in the administrative systems that prevailed in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Though Mesopotamians had a king, the ruling was more state-based rather than being a central power based governing system.
Bronze, lead, silver, and gold were subjected to advanced metallurgical techniques during the Mesopotamian civilization. In fact, Mesopotamia should be credited with the invention of the pottery wheel.
What is the difference between Mesopotamia and Egypt?
• Time:
• Both Mesopotamia and Egypt is believed to have been around 5000 and 6000 B.C.
• Location:
• Egypt was built on both the sides of the River Nile.
• Mesopotamia was built in the fertile area between Tigris and Euphrates River.
• Society:
• Both societies had royalty, high class, traders, farmers, and labourers as classes.
• In the Egyptian society, the women were treated with respect.
• In the Mesopotamian society, women were considered a property.
• Agriculture:
• Both civilizations were engaged in agriculture.
• Political System:
• Egypt had a central system of governing where everything happened according to the Pharaoh’s wishes.
• Mesopotamia had a more city based governing system where each city functioned as a unit on their own, even though they had a king.
As you can see, though both Mesopotamia and Egypt existed during the same time, they had a number of differences in the way they functioned.
Images Courtesy:
- The Great Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza by Citypeek (CC BY-SA 3.0)
- A ziggurat in Iraq by Jim Gordon (CC BY 2.0)
This article was very simplified for me in its chronology of both countries.