The Egypt and Mesopotamia Civilizations: A Tale Of Two Rivers

The areas of Mesopotamia and Egypt reflect upon the what it was like to live during the BCE time period and instances of going through complete urban revolution. Mesopotamia and Egypt both had use the rivers available to them for various purposes to maintain civilized life. A story of Gilgamesh talks about a specific instance where the lines between living a civilized life are completely different during this time. In Mesopotamia Hammurabi’s code provides a specific overview of the various rules and regulations presented in the city.

Egypt presented a story of an unusual event regarding a peasant who needs to understand the boundaries in maintain their place in this society. The Mesopotamia and Egypt exhibit areas of similar land with the exception regarding the pronounced differences in civilization and society. Both cities went through an urban revolution which changed and effected citizens lives.

In “The Mesopotamia and Egypt Civilizations: A Tale of Two Rivers”, both the Mesopotamia and Egypt cities went through a time of urban revolution which presented changes in the ways each civilization is run and operated.

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Mesopotamia had the less desirable Euphrates river due to the high flooding plain areas which made it difficult to plant and harvest the crops which needed to be planted. The river had no area for the drainage to be effectively irrigated through canals. Euphrates river was viewed as having two Gods names Girsu and Tiamat which had the ultimate power over these waters and promoted evil tendencies over the city of Mesopotamia.

This inconvenience made it more difficult for them to advance in into an urbanized society. Egypt had better luck with their efforts to become urbanized because the Nile river because it presented better conditions for growing crops necessary for survival. The Nile river had other purposes like transportation which involved multiple routes to various destinations containing civilians. The Egypt citizens were able to communicate and meet with people through using the Nile River as a place for transportation. Even with the land areas being similar by both Mesopotamia and Egypt having rivers the use of them varied between cities in terms of how they were able to use each water source . The locations of the cities of Egypt and Mesopotamia were likely ideal because of the two rivers available to both civilizations, but interpretations and practicality were the only things setting the one apart from other. Historically, Egypt had better agriculture advancements than Mesopotamia and in the long run that helped them to have a well-established society with far less struggle. This demonstrates the idea by which cities can be geography similar but completely different in the ways by which they run. Citizens seem to have benefitted more in Egypt’s Nile river due to the overall advancements in farming.

The city of Mesopotamia tells a story about how citizens once lived in accordance to their beliefs and way of living. The “Epic of Gilgamesh” was about a man named Gilgamesh talks about the importance of following the civilized norm. Gilgamesh was a man who had characteristics described as wild and strong with being mostly a god with attractive physical characteristics. The story reflects upon Gilgamesh and his ability to take away sons from families because they are not supposed to reproduce with a warrior’s daughter or wife. The gods created Enkidu as a feminine god who is part animal and has an appetite for grass. Enkidu is trying to remain civilized by being introduced to the ideas of being a man which included visiting prostitutes for pleasure. Gilgamesh and Enkidu didn’t always get along they did go through a rough patch. The idea is that animals would reject him because of the newly adopted civilized ways. In the end of this story Gilgamesh and Enkidu became friends. Mesopotamia really embodied its ideas of being brought into a civilized society. The story pertaining to Gilgamesh was extremely important because it allowed a glimpse into how one might have viewed specific gods pertaining to ideas about who was in control in a society and who the people looked up to in terms of living in a civilized urban society. This is clearly a story being told to demonstrate the overall ideas of perhaps how the citizens were entertained in their lives. While some areas might have been fabricated it told more about what it could have been in relation to certain details about living in the city of Mesopotamia.

The interpretation of a civilized urban society to Egypt was different in terms of how structure and the instances regarding how laws should be presented for citizens. In” The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant”, it speaks upon the ideas of how Egypt was supposed to have positions of power and how each position was supposed to act in a certain way. The story begins with a man whose name was Khunanup and he was peasant from Wadi Natrun. He decides to go to Egypt where he will buy provisions for his family and trade goods. Khunanup then proceeds to an area near the Heracleopolis and meets a few people along the way. The most important idea of the story is where he meets Farafra who is attempting to steal the provisions Khnunanup has gathered. The peasant Knunanaup should have an idea of his place in society and should not at all be an eloquent individual. The peasant should not have a high adequate status in society due to their ranking. Farafa decided to steal the goods from Khnunanup because he should know where he stands in this society. The story ends with the pesant Khnunanaup being killed but the goods and property were returned to him. Egypt clearly decided that peasants were not as important in the society and the story depicts the idea of rank and status. The detail about the goods and property being stolen then returned say a lot about how citizens in Egypt might resolve a crime situation. It shows how the social ladder would have advanced over time in this civilization. The story would have given an idea of change to citizens and helped them by reviewing these practices and deciding if they should be put into place or changed to adapt more to citizens.

During both the ancient times of Mesopotamia and Egypt there was many ideas which could be categorized as moving towards an urban revolution society. The geographical locations of Mesopotamia and Egypt each had advantages and disadvantages because of the rivers located near each area. Mesopotamia talked a story relating to how they might perceive certain ideas and thoughts however it seemed to have been a form of entertainment for citizens. In Egypt there seems to be a clear connection with their stories and the link of what possibly occurred in terms of a development in a ranking system. Mesopotamia and Egypt both acquired different attributes which made them efficient in changing citizens lives.