Egypt vs Sumer
Water is life, and without it life has not been found to exist. Thus it would be appropriate to find the earliest signs of human civilization on the nutrient rich soils of the world’s great rivers. The rivers that first saw such great advances in human development were the Tigris, Euphrates, and the Nile. Through early agricultural advancements such as irrigation and new farming tools, these rivers led to a vast surplus of food, which in turn created a huge population boom and the potential for two great societies to develop. Ancient Egypt and Sumer are what most modern historians consider to be the cradle of civilization. These two civilizations led to the development of western civilization as we know it today. Yet, even though they both contribute to this singular idea of western civilization, they both have very unique civilizations themselves with many differences and many similarities which are best exemplified in their government structure, religious practice, and cultural and technological achievements.Sumer started as agricultural communities and as these communities grew, they turned into large city-states with the need of some type of governing body. Thus as a whole they formed a type of federation, but for the prac
In both Sumer and Egypt religion was polytheistic; but while they believed in many gods, one god rose above the rest, the god of the sun. This demonstrates how strongly both civilizations relied upon their agriculture for survival and prosperity. Both Sumer and Egypt saw their gods in anthropomorphic form, and in Egypt even animals characteristics were given as well. In order to please the gods, great temples were built; ziggurats in Sumer and large temples in Egypt, such as the sphinx. Egypt had another great structure that stills marvels people of today as well, the pyramids. Though not used as temples they are highly religious themselves. The pyramids were used as great tombs for pharaohs and in later days for other important peoples. The Egyptians believed that in order to live on the second life their bodies here must be preserved. Sumerian belief in life after death differs from the Egyptian belief. In Sumer, very little if any bodily preservation was attempted for the afterlife. In both civilizations we find no separation of church and state, conversely they depend on each other for help in upholding their hierarchal societies. Yet, even with the consolidation of power at the elite level, they achieved many great accomplishments. Unlike Sumer, Egypt was founded under one ruler, the Pharaoh. He was believed to be the incarnate form of the sun god Ra, and therefore was without contestation when it came to following what he proclaimed. With this God-King Egypt could be considered a theocracy, where the ruler is God and therefore must be followed and obeyed. The pharaoh ruled a unified kingdom, unlike the separate cit
Some topics in this essay:
Sumer Egypt,
Egypt Sumer,
God-King Egypt,
Osiris Egyptians,
,
Euphrates Nile,
Hammurabi Babylon,
sumer egypt,
western civilization,
sumer developed,
unlike sumer,
led development,
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Approximate Word count = 1100
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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