Sumer and Egypt developed divergent forms of political organization because their surrounding environments imposed different structural forces on their societies. Within Sumer and Egypt, two unique forms of political organization developed. The development of these forms can be largely credited to influences on the initial creation and preservation of the two systems. Sumer and Egypt began with fundamentally different governmental structures, which, in part, impacted the unity of their nations as they developed. The river resources of each kingdom influenced the preservation of the political unity of each nation. Lastly, the boundaries of each of these nations played a large role in either supporting or undermining the unity of their governments. …show more content…
Fundamental differences in the structure of the Sumerian and Egyptian political systems impacted the political unity of these two kingdoms. The political rule of Sumerian city-states started with religious households gaining power.1 As time progressed however, the the institution of a kingship developed, necessitating a shared power relationship or religio-political structure.2 The king controlled the military authority and inter-city relationships.3 Whereas, the religious officials (high priests) had authority over the economic and social interests of the citizens. This led to overlapping power which resulted in the king and religious officials competing with each other’s authority.4 In short, there was a constant struggle for power. By contrast, Egypt had an inherently unified system characterized by the divine monarchy of the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh was the sole ruler of Egypt and had absolute power of all of the citizens within. The minimal power of the Pharaoh’s other political administrators allowed the absolute control of the Pharaoh to be successful.5 Additionally, even though the power of the Pharaoh was supreme, he would still attempt to preserve personal relations with prominent nobles of the nation.6 Also, the heir to the throne ( the prince), would be educated with a group of children from the important nobles of the realm.7 In …show more content…
This can be applied to other developing nations as well, which shows the overall importance of geographical feature in general. Overall, the example of Sumer and Egypt demonstrates that geography is the most important influence on the development of any civilization. Lastly, even though their versions were divergent, Sumer and Egypt’s different political organization contributed to the overall progression of human
Life in the ancient river valley civilizations was different for each region. A perfect example would be the Egyptians river and the Yellow river both are river valley civilizations but each have different geography, social structures, beliefs, gender roles, literature, weapons and technology. In the Egyptian river valley geography is very important, they relied on the Nile rivers floodings that lasted about 4 months providing them with fresh waste free soil the many seas surrounding this civilization acted as a barrier aiding them in war and fighting off diseases. As for the Yellow river civilization geography affected them negatively its surroundings make it difficult to trade crops and livestock so they have to dedicate themselves greatly to producing their own food.
Eventually, the Old Kingdom fell apart and Egypt went into a time of disorder. A new dynasty unified Egypt and started the Middle Kingdom. The boundaries and jobs of nomes were established. Pharaohs were described as “shepherds of the people” instead of being like a
Akhenaten’s reign from 1352BC-1336BC is one of those studies in Ancient History that can be excruciatingly frustrating, due to sheer lack of evidence, Akhenaten just so happened to almost be erased from history. Thus accumulating contradicting interpretations of his reign and effect on Egyptian society. Eberhard Otto stating that “Akhenaten destroyed much, he created little… whatever else he may have been, was no intellectual heavyweight”. Others claim he was “the worlds first idealist… and individual”. Accentuated by his iconoclastic religious reformation and relocation of Egypt’s capital city.
Pharaohs were viewed as the leaders with the task to build public works and produce for the welfare. Mining was re-established, along with trading, which both grew and expanded, causing more success and power for Egypt during the Middle Kingdom. Egyptian advanced greatly during this time and improved many of its already developed innovations, throughout the dynasties. Overall, the Middle Kingdom was a very prosperous time for Egypt. Upper and Lower Egypt were reunited under the reign of King Mentuhotep I.
#1 - In what ways was geography crucial to the establishment of the small kingdoms and empires we have discussed thus far? Paragraph 1: Throughout all of history, geography has impacted the way small kingdoms and empires have been created. The Phoenicians are impacted by living on the coast and the Persians are impacted by living on the fertile crescent of Mesopotamia.
Joseph steele LAW AND ORDER IN MESOPOTAMIA If a sister of god open a tavern or enter one, then the women shall be burned to death. this was one of the laws in mesopotamia. there were two rivers called the tigris and euphrates rivers both of them had lots of benefits and were very challenging. two leaders named sargon and hammurabi figured out how to live through harsh times. sargon and hammurabi attempted to maintain law and order in mesopotamia by having power, and by having an army and many more.
While the leaders of old Mesopotamia and Egypt both made political frameworks
The pharaohs are shown just as capable at everything the gods could do. She goes as far to say “The King was myth, as the Gods were myth”. (Hellum 140) The article explains that the interpretations of the myths portray the pharaohs on equal footing with the gods. There is a clear argument that a main factor in the mythology is to serve the elite almost exclusively.
The primary leader of the government under the pharaoh was the was the Vizier The Vizier was the boss of the land all the other officials reported into the Vizier The Vizier has to act by the law, act by the law, and not act headstrong Under the Vizier were governors called Nomarchs Nomarchs controlled an area of land called nomes Nomarchs were sometimes commissioned by the Pharaoh The role of a Nomarch would be passed on from father to son The wives of the Pharaohs were the second most powerful people in the land under the Pharaoh The
As Mesopotamia and Egypt developed many aspects such as the geography, natural resources, and the proximity to water, impacted the culture of both civilizations. The factors affected in both regions were, religion, social structure, politics and economics. Mesopotamia, currently referred to as Iraq, was one of the first civilizations to be established. The geography of this city was an important aspect when the Mesopotamians decided where to initiate a civilization.
The system of government that used in Ancient Egypt were monarchy just like China, but it was based on the beliefs like how the pharaoh is the representative from the god and serves to control its people. Government and religion were alike in antiquated Egypt. The pharaoh was the head of
While these cultures all inhabited the same region they developed individual styles of religious beliefs. Ancient Egyptian life was centered around religion with practices and ceremonies permeating to many of the daily activities preformed by citizens. Egypt's leader was the pharaoh who was viewed by the people of Egypt as a living god with divine authority over Egypt. The Egyptians had many gods and they preformed rituals daily to keep in good favor with them.
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.
The system of bureaucracy seen in Ptolemaic Egypt was impossible in the Seleucid nation, as it did not have a homologous population (lecture notes, September 20, 2016). Instead, it was comprised of many different populations with localized governments giving the people more autonomy. The Seleucid government was less rigid, had less land control, and placed an increased amount of trust in the leaders of each province area. Each province was able to have its own legal system and political system, with the only central laws surrounding taxation to the Seleucid government and a definitive exchange rate for the differing currencies (lecture notes, September 20, 2016).
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.