Who was more advanced the Egyptians or the Mesopotamians?
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G - Geography
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R - Religion
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A - Achievements
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P - Politics
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E - Economics
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S - Social Structure
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The Big Question
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Mesopotamia was located in the fertile cresent, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Egypt was located in northern Africa along the Nile River. Why were rivers so important to these ancient civilizations? Why would these civilizations decide to locate near a river?
Organized religion had its beginnings in ancient Mesopotamia (in what is now modern Iraq) and in Egypt more than five thousand years ago. The religious systems in these areas blended political with spiritual elements in a type of government known as a theocracy, or rule by divine guidance. Both ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were polytheistic, meaning they worshiped more than one God. A major difference in outlook, however, marked the two religions. In Mesopotamia the forces of nature were more chaotic, more likely to cause catastrophes, such as disastrous flooding. As a result, the gods were seen as unpredictable beings of extraordinary power who had to be kept content by priests. People were at the mercy of the gods, so the job of humanity was to carry out their wills and make them happy. In Egypt, where nature was less destructive, the gods were seen as kind and generous and generally well-disposed toward humanity.
Achievements of the ancient Egyptians...
The ancient Egyptians were very clever people. They invented many things to make their life more comfortable.
Calendar following the stars
Number system including fractions
Shadoofs, Nilometers, and Reservoirs
Source: mrdonn.org
Achievements of the Ancient Mesopotamians...
The Sumerians were very inventive people. It is believed that they invented the sailboat, the wheel, and the chariot. For certain they developed cuneiform, the first written language. They developed a system of math that we still use in part today. They based their math on the number 60. Today, there are 360 degrees in a circle. They also invented the game of checkers.
The game of checkers invented at Ur
Cuneiform - The First Written Language
Gilgamesh - The First Super-Hero
Hammurabi's Law Code - Written Down, and Applied to Everyone
Hanging Gardens of Babylon (one of the 7 wonders of the world!)
Source: mrdonn.org
A king of some sort ultimately ruled both Egypt and Mesopotamia. While Mesopotamian kings did claim to be direct messengers of the gods, Egypt's pharaohs claimed extra power and authority as actual embodiments of the gods themselves.The mesopotamian civilization was extremely decentralized. It basically consisted of largely independent city-states in which one city state would temporarily gain military dominance over others and exploit their resources and manpower to conquer additional city-states. Each Mesopotamian "empire" (whether Babylonian, Sumerian, or Assyrian) was basically a federation of city states. In contrast, ancient Egypt was, a unified stated with a centralized administration beneath the Pharaoh.
Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia based their economies on agriculture. Each farmer paid taxes in the form of grain. This grain was used to feed the people in the event of a famine. Trading was a common feature in both the societies and commercial interaction with the outside world was extensive in both places.
Both communities had a social system broken down into three groups. King Hammurabi's law declared these three groups: the free landowning, containing royalty, priests, and officials; the dependent farmers and artisans; and the slave class, who were usually prisoners of war. Temple leaders were considered royalty and controlled large estates along with the Lugal (king). While male dominance existed, women did have rights in Mesopotamia. They could own land and business and could trade, but child rearing was preferred.
The pyramid has been used as a visual metaphor to describe the social structures of ancient Egypt. The position of an individual in the social pyramid was determined by birth circumstances such as class, gender and race, and the relationship among social groups were determined by their occupations.
Would you rather be an EGYPTIAN or a MESOPOTAMIAN?
Why?