Mesopotamia and Egypt

Egypt and Mesopotamia are alike and different in many ways. If you go deeper, their religious beliefs have affects on their social and political developments. They are similar because they are both polytheistic, believing in many gods and goddesses, and their social classes and structures are similar. However, the power of women in Egypt is greater than it is in Mesopotamia. Also, the rulers of the lands and how it is divided is different.

First off, I'll start with the political standpoints. Both Egypt and Mesopotamia are polytheistic, meaning they worship many gods and goddesses. They believe that they must praise them to make them happy. When a disaster occurs, they believe the gods are unhappy because they think the gods and goddesses control all aspects of life. The people wanted to make them happy so they built ziggurats and pyramids. This leads to their belief of after-life. They think when people die, they go into a new state of living and should be well taken care of after death. However, in each area, the power is divided differently. In Egypt, the pharaohs or kings rule the whole land. Whereas in Mesopotamia, they have city-states. In each city-state, there is a different ruler and each one has a god it worships.

On the other side, in a social standpoint, there are also similarities and differences. The women have power and rights in both civilizations, but the rights are different. In Egypt, women are almost just as equal as men because of the goddesses that they worship and believe in. For example, the women in Egypt can buy, sell, and inherit property. They also had the right to dissolve their marriages. Whereas women in Mesopotamia, couldn't buy nor sell land. On a very rare occasion, they would inherit it. Also, their rights were no where near the rights of the men. However, the social classes of Mesopotamia and Egypt were almost identical. At the top of the social class pyramid, you had the pharaohs and the rulers. Included with that, was their family, the leading officials, and high priests. In the middle class was the lesser priests, scribes, merchants, and artisans. Lastly, in the lowest class of Egypt and Mesopotamia, was the lower class which was a majority of the people; peasants.

Overall, Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt are alike and different in many ways. They both are civilizations that have religious beliefs that affect their development socially and politically.