Similarities Betwween the Civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE CIVILZATION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND ANCIENT EGYPT.

Comparison must also note important similarities, some of them
characteristic of early civilizations. Both Egypt and Mesopotamia emphasized
social stratification, with a noble, landowning class on top and masses of
peasants and slaves at the bottom. A powerful priestly group also figured in
the elite. While specific achievements in science differed, there was a common
emphasis on astronomy and related mathematics, which produced durable findings
about units of time and measurement. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt changed only
slowly by the standards of more modern societies. Details of change have not
been preserved, but it is true that having developed successful political and
economic systems there was a strong tendency toward conservation. Change, when
it came, was usually brought by outside forces - natural disasters or
invasions. Both civilizations demonstrated extraordinary durability in the
basics. Egyptian civilization and a fundamental Mesopotamian culture lasted
far longer than the civilizations that came later, in part because of relative
isolation within each respective region and because of the deliberate effort
to maintain what had been achieved, rather than experiment widely.

    Both civilizations, finally, left an important heritage in their region
and adjacent territories. A number of smaller civilization centers were
launched under the impetus of Mesopotamia and Egypt, and some would produce
important innovations of their own by about 1000 B.C.

Ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian Cultures Around the time 4,000-1,000 BC there were two major western civilizations. Those civilizations were the Ancient Egyptians and the Mesopotamians. Many similarities exist between the civilizations of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, as well as many differences. Both Egypt and Mesopotamia were polytheistic, that is, they believed their worlds were ruled by more than one god....