Ap World History Compare and Contrast Essay Egypt vs....

Unit 2 Anonymous Civilization. The word â€Å"civilization† comes from the Latin term for â€Å"city.† The first civilizations were the river-valley civilizations, so-called because they all developed alongside major rivers to secure an adequate water supply for agricultural production. 2 of the greatest river-valley civilizations were Mesopotamia and Egypt. All though they both supported having a patriarchal leader or king, Egypt had a strong, centralized government, whereas Mesopotamia was decentralized, and built based on small city-states operating independently. In both societies, the patriarchal leaders were influenced by religion tremendously. For example, in Egypt, all the citizens believed that not only did their pharoah have†¦show more content†¦This can be seen in Egyptian artwork, which is described as cheerful, colorful, and lively. Because there was only one leader in Egypt, there were governors in many key areas of the empire. However, a consistent problem seen in Egypt is the pawning of rulers, in which the priests always played a huge role in society and controlled the pharaoh. When looking at other civilizations most notably Caliphate, the caliphs were pawned by military and religious leaders, which ultimately lead to the downfall of their empire. Mesopotamia was a decentralized civilization, and resulted with many rulers leading the many city-states within the empire. Due to the many wars occurring within, kings were originally war leaders, and the function of defense and war, including leadership of a trained army, re mained vital. Due to being many rulers within the empire, there were many internal conflicts, let alone the outside ones, which resulted in Mesopotamia further advanced its empire by developing ideas for a bureaucracy and laws, by using Hammurabi’s code. It laid down the procedure for law courts and regulated property rights and duties of family members, setting harsh punishments for crimes. This focus on standardizing a legal system was one of the features of early civilization. Also, the political structure there was enforced by none other than the Sumerians, which can be seen in many similar ideas and traits passed on today’s modernShow MoreRelatedArt History7818 Words   |  32 Pagescivilization back any further #61607; All started around same time #61607; Alls started independently #61607; Mesopotamia Ââ€" present day Iraq • Earliest Cradle • Around 4,000BC #61607; Egypt • Around 3,000BC #61607; Southern India • Around 3,000BC #61607; China • Around 2,800BC • Composed of two separated and distinct cradles of civilization • Chapter 2 Ââ€" Egyptian Art o Egypt Ââ€" Latin named coined by Romans o Around 2,800-2,200BC o Originally divided into tow separated kingdoms #61607;