The Civilizations of Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt

Here is another of Virgil's recent school essays. Admittedly not his best, it was written in something of a hurry; critiques are welcome.

Ancient times are fascinating in their many-faceted rivets of unknown, thus unrecorded history. What is recorded must be carefully studied in an attempt to understand the past. Two cultures – ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, are especially interesting, and quite comparable. That is to say, both share several similarities, whilst varying in their differences. This paper will attempt to compare their political, social, and economic differences and similarities, and should allow the reader to draw what conclusions they might.
The political aspects of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt will be first compared. To begin, war was constant in ancient Mesopotamia – it was centrally located, and quite exposed, urging itself to battle, it may seem. Thus, the fortunes of its city-states were ever changing over time: primarily there were the Sumerians, who developed much of the original Mesopotamian culture; then in 2340 BCE, an Arcadian leader took precedence for a time, losing the power quickly, and Mesopotamia reverted to another period of warring city-states. At length, by 1792 BCE, a new empire was established under Hammurabi. Egypt, however, had natural barriers that protected it from war, and the culture was one of very little change; these barriers included deserts, rapids, and the Mediterranean Sea. Now, in Mesopotamia, larger cities were constructed, with government-observed irrigation; in Egypt, many small populations existed along the Nile, but also employing irrigation, a similarity. The two had a set of laws which they would follow (though Mesopotamia's was in its latter half –) that was Hammurabi's Code, and for Egypt, Ma'at. And to employ these laws were kings in either culture: these rulers, Mesopotamian and Egyptian, were seen as divine in nature, or concerning natural order. Priests and priestesses also held much power in Mesopotamia.
Next, social aspects of life for the Mesopotamians and Egyptians will be compared. The first culture of Mesopotamian society was the Sumerians, who established several city-states, and set many traditions for future Mesopotamians. The other periods of Mesopotamia had innovations of their own, as well. Egypt, like Mesopotamia, can be split into different time periods – the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms. The Old, akin to its Sumerian equivalent, developed many of Egypt's traditions and its basis of technology. Literal social groups will now be tried. Sumerian city-states contained three major social groups: nobles, who were royal and priestly officials and their families; commoners, nobles' clients, who worked for the palace and temple estates, and also other free citizens who worked as farmers, merchants, fishers, and craftspeople; and slaves, who belonged to palace officials, using them in building projects, belonged to temple officials, who used mostly female slaves to weave cloth and grind grain, and were the property of rich landowners who used them for farming and domestic work. Egypt's social structure deviated slightly from this: it was organized along hierarchical lines with the god-king at the top. The king, then, was surrounded by an upper class of nobles and priests – this ruling class ran the government and managed its own landed estates, which provided much of their wealth. Below the upper classes were merchants and artisans, but by far the largest number of people in Egypt simply worked the land (the king apparently owned all land but granted out portions of it to his subjects; large sections were in the possession of nobles and the temple complexes). Most of the lower classes were surfs or common people, bound to the land; they cultivated estates, and lived in small villages or towns, providing military service and forced labor for building projects.
And now, the economic portions of the two familiarized cultures should be compared. Of course, taking into account the positions of these two civilizations, within river-valleys, that is, it seems natural to state that both were heavily based on farming. In fact, it was Egypt's immense surpluses of food that brought it some portion of its success. Both civilizations also used systems of irrigation, a near necessity for any farming culture. The Sumerians, like the Egyptians, traded over great distances, the Egyptians up and down the Nile and in markets; in fact, evidence has been found of bartering relationships between Mesopotamia and Egypt themselves. The Mesopotamians imported copper, tin, and timber in exchange for dried fish, wool, barley, wheat, and goods of metal; they largely produced wooden textiles, pottery, and the metalwork for which they were especially well-known. The Egyptians, however, traveled great distances for ivory, incense, and spices, as well as wood and other products; artisans made an incredible variety of well-built and beautiful goods: stone dishes, painted boxes made of clay, wooden furniture, gold, silver, and copper tools and containers, paper and rope made of papyrus, and linen clothing.
From this, it is clear that the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt are indeed comparable in their political, social, and economic qualities. Both were wildly successful cultures and made deep impacts as civilizations; it seems traditions and rites are upheld still, in the present day, whose origins can be found to be rooted within these; and though similar in this respect, both were quite varied amongst each other. Indeed, they compare well.