Mesopotamian And Hebrew Societies: A Comparative Analysis

All three civilizations were deeply religious. Their religious beliefs, while different, laid the groundwork for each civilization’s everyday life.

The beliefs and religion of the Sumerians and Egyptians lead to stable conditions for civilizations. The Sumerians were polytheistic, people believing in many gods. There has been over 3,000 gods and goddesses identified. For Sumerians, the most prominent building in the city was the temple. Ziggurats are massive towers dedicated to the chief god or goddess of their city which also stored surplus of food. When you look at document 6, you can see how high they built these towers so show the greatness of their past leaders. Sumerians used the form of government called theocracy's which believed their ruling depended solely on gods. Kings had great power such as leading armies, supervised buildings, organized workers and lived in large palaces. In a document is shares

Mesopotamian societies had multiple gods. Most deities represented cosmic forces of nature such as the sun, moon, water, and storms who were responsible for the creation of the earth (World Societies p. 36). There were also gods of lesser things such as love and scribal arts. Looking at Mesopotamia’s geography, you can see how it might have served as inspiration for deities. The Euphrates and Tigris rivers surrounding Babylon could’ve been inspirations for the many water gods like Apsu, Enki, and Tiamat, as could the Persian Gulf located nearby. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods are depicted as harsh and wrathful because they decide to wipe out the human race with a flood just because they make too much noise (Ward p.20). The gods’ destructive nature is likely based off the chaos caused by flooding from the Tigris and Euphrates. Storm gods like Marduk could’ve been connected to the Zagros mountain range nearby where lighting and

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 first point that Hebrews exhibit all features of a civilization is after their Exodus from Egypt and rise in Jerusalem, in my opinion. Although the Hebrews did live in tribes and show pieces of civilizations beforehand, they had adopted aspects of the Mesopotamian civilization and did not fit into all categories for a civilization. The Hebrews needed to exhibit several things, on their own, and those things are: a writing system, complex government, job specialization, complex religion, art and architecture, rise in cities, public works, and finally social classes. To start, Moses helped them with religion and transformed them into a nation in the early 13th century, as well as, helped them believe in Yahweh, the one god. After Moses, the Hebrews had their first king, Saul, which can be assumed that at this point they had a complex government. With having a place to call their homeland,

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

In the Middle Kingdom, gods were believed to care for all of its people and not just the Divine Monarch (Wallech, 2013, p. 60). The rulers cared for the kingdom 's people which showed a sharp change in attitudes toward people. No longer was the ruler placed on a pedestal and treated like untouchable royalty. Treating citizens as a part of society assisted Egypt in growing and becoming successful in trade, writing and protecting itself. In Babylonia, the people were treated as sacred to the kingdom while outsiders were viewed as alien (Wallech, 2013, p.43). The Middle Kingdom subjects now had a place in the afterlife, formerly reserved for rulers and royalty. In Babylonia, humans teamed

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.

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 had gods for every aspect of their lives and afterlives. Although the Mayans had many gods, they also practiced Animism. Both cultures had places for rituals and ceremonies. The gods they believed in were different from each other and some were worshiped more than others. With very few differences, the religious aspects of both cultures influenced both cultures equally.

There are many similarities and differences between the early civilizations of the Middle East and India. The early Middle East civilizations will include Mesopotamia and Egypt. Mesopotamia was founded in 3300 BC, and Egypt was founded around 3000 BC. India was founded around 2500 BC. So these civilizations were founded all around the same time. There are many similarities and differences in their political characteristics, social/cultural characteristics, and economic characteristics.

During 600 BCE and 600 CE, many countries was going through a drastic change. When analyzing early civilizations, it’s evident there is similarities and differences. The Middle East, China, and Africa were among few countries that advanced during this aeon. All of these empires within the countries have risen and fallen, developing these civilizations to what we know of today.

For centuries civilization has evolved and spread across the globe, causing for many cultures, traditions, and especially religions to develop. Even in ancient societies such as Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, religion was one of, if not, the most important aspect of an individual 's life. The religions found in Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt would shape how relationships within society functioned, including how communities related themselves to the divine and the role of leaders and priests. Furthermore, these religions would also affect how each of these societies thought about justice and even influenced attitudes toward the afterlife.

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.

The Mesopotamian religion alleged that the gods had created human beings to serve them. The gods were in complete control and the human beings have no choice that obeys. They beliefs their gods lived in the same way as people did and beliefs in the supernatural power. The three important characteristic were first polytheistic (gods exits and compete with each other) second anthropomorphic (the gods looks as a human form and have their own personality.) and third pantheistic (everything was immersed with divinity).