Geography not only plays a part in the spread of a religion but also can be inspiration or reflection for the religion itself. Many societies have numerous deities inspired by the landscape in and around their civilization. However, I believe not all religions drew inspiration from the land they lived in.
The Ancient Israelites and the Mesopotamians are both early societies in the Middle East. These societies have similar social similarities, such as having the society being patriarchal. They also had the same political laws such as men were recognized as the head of the household. Another similarity is with inheritance. Usually men would inherit property, money, or other values. They both had organized and centralized religion.
The Mesopotamian and Hebrew societies lived in two very distinct sphere of influence, as they were Polytheist and monotheist, respectably. This difference ensured that each society would operate using different methods.
Mesopotamia is one of the earliest civilizations in the world; hence it is called the cradle of civilization. Located between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, Mesopotamia is the perfect word for this region since Mesopotamia also means the land between rivers. These two rivers created the Fertile Crescent which was surrounded by barren territories. People in this area gave up hunting and gathering and instead slowly shifted into agricultural means of getting food to help them survive. They started domesticating animals and planted their own crops. They began building houses for themselves which were primarily composed of reeds or mud bricks. Granaries, built by the people in Mesopotamia, were the place where they stored extra grains from their
All of these ancient civilizations worshipped many gods and goddesses. The Mesopotamians worshiped An, the sky god, Ninhursag, the mother of all living things, Inanna, the goddess of love and war, and many others. The Egyptians worshipped Re, the god of the sun, Horus, the god of the sky and of pharaoh`s, and Osiris, the god of the underworld, ruler of the dead, and many others. The Chinese believed that the rivers, forests, and mountains were alive with spirits. They also worshiped the dragon and their ancestors. They believed the dragon was an all powerful god that looked out for humans. They also worshiped their ancestors, believing that they lived in the heavens after they died and took interest in their grandson or granddaughters lives. The peoples of the Indus River Valley Civilization had many gods and goddesses, just like the other civilizations. The ancient river valley civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and the Indus River differed greatly in food. Ancient Mesopotamians meals normally consisted of bread and beer. Egyptians normally ate onions, beans, and lentils, and the rich ones could eat of the variety of crops that grew in Egypt - dates, figs, and grapes. The Chinese mostly ate rice and millet, sometimes with a few vegetables on the top for flavor. The people of the Indus River Valley Civilization ate lots of bread and beer, and the rich ones might have enjoyed some fruits. The different civilizations also developed different things to improve their society. Mesopotamians were the first ancient people to create an organized, permanent set of laws - the code of Hammurabi. Ancient Egypt was the first ancient river valley civilization to invent sails. They use these sails to ride up and down the Nile River trading
Ancient civilizations began in areas that had arable land and other features such as rivers. Civilizations succeeded in these environments because they could settle down and not live a nomadic lifestyle. Because the land was arable, agriculture prospered and people relied on the geography to grant them the elements needed for survival. In China and Egypt, geography greatly influenced and affected the lives of the people living there because of the prosperous rivers and large natural barriers.
Throughout time civilizations have risen and collapsed. Some were conquered while others simply disappeared. The Egyptian civilization thrived near the Nile River from 3000 B.C. and was later conquered by the Persian Empire around 525 B.C. In the other hand, the Mayan civilization developed in Yucatan Peninsula around 200 B.C., and mysterious disappeared around 900 A.D. However, these two cultures share many factors in common such as developing calendars and building pyramids. Even though civilizations developed in different time periods, they can still have many factors in common such as environment, language, and architecture.
Our government is based on a theocracy. A theocracy is a government in which the religious authority rules. This person who rules Egypt is the pharaoh. The pharaoh is considered to be godlike and have ka, or an eternal life force. Besides being religiously involved, he is also responsible for the government, army, and justice of the kingdom. We believe that he is responsible for the Nile’s flow, sun rise, etc. Famous pharaohs are Tutankhamun and Cleopatra. This government system is better than others because it easier to obtain control, laws or orders are applied more quickly, and social reform can be created more efficiently.
In early mesopotamia, their culture had many characteristics that made the early societies really “work.” Their codes and rules were based off certain things that can tell you a lot about their culture and how they governed the place. Mesopotamia was the first place to house civilization in around 1800 BCE. There were two civilizations that had stayed in mesopotamia, the Akkadians from 1800 BCE, and the sumerians from around 2200 BCE. Both civilizations lived at different times but had very similar cultures.
Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt were two early human civilizations that lived during the bronze age in harsh desert environments located not far from each other. Both civilizations were built around rivers that they depended on for survival. There is evidence that these rivers had great influence on both the societies politics and culture. Egypt was built around the very strong and reliable Nile River. Ancient Mesopotamia was established in the fertile crescent between the less reliable Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. During the bronze age both Ancient Mesopotamians and Ancient Egyptians developed forms of religion that highly reflected their habitat. They had many similarities in their politics even though they had completely different forms of government. Both societies were also known for their discoveries in art and technology. They developed their own forms of writing, different tools and architecture.
The Egyptians and Mayans had many similarities and differences. Each was affected differently by their surroundings, yet their religious beliefs were very similar. This affected how each empire would grow, eventually collapse, and influence the future. Both architecture styles were used by settlers who took over the massive empires and farming techniques are still used till this day. However, the spiritual beliefs of both cultures were not passed down. In conclusion, the Egyptians and Mayans both impacted this world in major ways, but were impacted themselves by the land they lived
Civilization is the cooperation between individuals within a region. The first civilizations were Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations. Both civilizations acquired a different environment. However, their environment promoted religion, specifically polytheism. Although their environments were different, both civilizations were in harmony about the existence of many gods. Religion played an important role in civilization as government laws and divine kingship derived from it. Both civilizations were quite similar, but acquired some differences unique to each civilization. These differences include the environment, divine kingship, and sense of security from either nature or law. The idea and practices of ancient Mesopotamia originated from the Sumerians. Moreover, both Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilization diffused their practices and ideas to other ancient civilizations like the Hebrews and the Greeks. The laws from the Mesopotamian civilization were diffused into the Hebrew civilization as the Exodus. Both Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilization also influenced the Greeks with the idea that the gods were in control of the fate of humans and the environment. In addition, the Greek idea of gods evolved, which was not identical to both Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations.
Many civilizations have affected one another whether or not it's a serious or minor impact; it still has a control on one another. Egypt and Mesopotamia were not totally different; a person’s social standing determined by what proportion of money that they had. Egypt and Mesopotamia were designed on the backs of slavery, acting manual labor that was taxed by the rich. Although, each had political similarities, they had numerous differences. Egypt had a centralized government dominated by a ruler whereas Mesopotamia had a City-State government dominated by a King.
The three early civilizations; the Mesopotamians, the Hebrews, and the Greeks, believed in different deities. All of their gods were all similar yet very different from one another. The Mesopotamian and Greek civilizations were polytheistic, believing in many gods. The Hebrew civilizations were monotheistic, believing in only one god. Mesopotamians relationship with their gods, was all about serving their gods. In fact the gods created humans to serve them. The gods gave there people laws through King Hammurabi. Mesopotamian gods were also very forgiving. For after destroying much of the world during a flood, they let a man survive. After it was done the gods realized their mistakes. The Hebrew civilizations relationships with their god were
Mesopotamia and the Shang and Zhou were two very successful early civilizations. Mesopotamia was a civilization that emerged from the fertile lands between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers in the Middle East. Chinese people called the Shang took over a portion of northern China located near the Huang He, and began to develop their dynasty. The Zhou dynasty took over the Shang, but both dynasties succeed in bringing China new achievements.