Between 3000 and 2000 BC, the Mesopotamians came along and made the first true contribution to Western Civilization. They developed along the Fertile Crescent area of the Middle East. Since there is no real culture before them to compare with, a few contributions from these people set the framework f

During and shortly afterward, around 2500-1000 BC, the Egyptians began to populate the area of where modern day Egypt exists. These people, unlike the Mesopotamians before them, believed that their life after death was like heaven, and they were much more optimistic people. The Egyptians borrowed the idea of having a King as its absolute ruler. They also began as a people who worshipped many Gods, including Re, the Sun God. The King himself was basically considered a living God, and the people wanted to behave throughout their lives in order to enjoy the glorious life after death, so most of Egyptian culture was well-behaved and not rebellious. The interplay of their religious beliefs tied directly in to how the people were governed. The huge pyramids that were built for the religious afterlife of the Kings and high members of society required tons of work from the public to build them. Eventually, Egypt expanded, and new technology and new ideas about religion and society began to come in to culture. Around 1360 BC, Egypt began to experiment with the idea of monotheism. Akhenaten came in to power, and he decided that Egypt would only worship one God, Aten. Many people believe that due to conquering many outside lands, Akhenaten was influenced to change Egyptian culture to the first known Western monotheism. This impacted Egyptian politics because the very powerful priests in Egypt would become almost powerless. Eventually, Egyptian religion reverted to its original polytheism and worshipped many Gods once again.

All of the cultures mentioned contributed something to Western civilization, and most of them borrowed ideas and concepts from people before them. The most important aspect of all of these cultures is that they all prospered, expanded, and eventually failed. Some civilizations used religion to guide them through their growth and prosperity, and others completely stayed away from using religion as an influence on politics. But every society, in one way or another, did have a religious and political structure. Sometimes they merged nicely, sometimes they did not.

Finally, the Romans came into the picture between 700 BC and throughout the first few centuries AD. Rome’s earliest contributions include forming the most or

Some topics in this essay:
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