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 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.
Prior to the Civil War the antebellum South was structured by a class system. The particular class system used by the south was a structure of social rankings. Typically, this system was dependent on how much land, as well as slaves one owned. Then based off of those requirements there were then six specific classes that one would fall into.
Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient China shared the same type of government. Although Ancient Mesopotamia began ruling its lands with priest kings eventually came to rule just as Ancient China, both civilization believed kings had divine approval. Social classes among both civilization followed the upper class, middle class, lower class structure. Upper class among the two consisted of the higher gods, kings, priest etc. Middle class consisted of peasant farmers, merchants, fisherman etc. Lower class consisted of slaves, lower gods and many more. Mesopotamia followed "Hammurabi's code of Law" and China followed "Confucius Golden rule"
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.
The Egyptian Middle Kingdom and Babylonia had many similarities related in geography. Despite this they also had numerous distinct differences. Fundamental similarities manifested as care for the people by the rulers which had recently developed in both societies. As the rulers were no longer concerned with only themselves, but the citizens as well. Both societies had military protection although Babylon organized and conquered the Fertile Crescent and later Egypt. Politically, both cultures respected the other as equals and engaged in trade. The Middle Kingdom acknowledged that they were no longer entirely in control of all resources. Socially writing was excellent between the two kingdoms. Under Hammurabi the Babylonians had a set of laws, and the Egyptians excelled at writing.
In the Ancient world, Life began around rivers. Throughout this essay I will be comparing and contrasting two of the prominent ancient civilizations, the Egyptians and the Sumerians. They had many cultural and governmental differences between them. Below are some examples.
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.
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.
When it comes to religion, Ancient Egypt and Ancient Mesopotamia have both similarities and differences. In the Egyptian culture religion was included in everything they did. Life revolved around religion to them, because life was seen as
First, Mesopotamia and Egypt are both similar and different to India politically. In the Middle East, Mesopotamia had independent city-states governed by monarchs, and Egypt had Pharaohs rule the kingdoms as gods. A monarch would a king or a queen, and Pharaohs
The economic ways of both Mesopotamia and Egypt were similar in value and influence. These civilizations thrived on trade both within itself and with other civilizations. These cities like Sumer and Giza became important to the economic structures of the civilizations. The cities were the economic centers. They housed scribes who recorded taxes and transactions and architects who designed projects that became public works such as ziggurats and tombs. The cities became a place for artisan goods like metallurgy and sculptors. Most importantly, they were trade hubs. Trade allowed both Egypt and Mesopotamia to receive items that lacked such as cattle and trade away what they had an abundance of. Egypt traded things like papyrus for ebony and ivory
Babylon’s thick walls and strong gates were not able to keep the Persians. In 539 B.C.,Babylon and the rest of Mesopotamia fell under control of the Persian empire. Within a few decades, the Persian empire became the largest in the world,so far.
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.