Jonathan Hagerman

P. 3 AP World History
Compare/Contrast Essay Mesopotamia and Egypt
Throughout the various nations of earth, many underlying themes have been present.
Mesopotamian society and ancient Egypt were both similar civilizations, but they had many
distinct differences. Their social and political systems were very individual and had many
disparities, but had many similar underlying themes in both. These similarities are noticed in
their writing, their rulers, and their populations but there were many differences between their
social systems, treatment of women, and their economies.
The social systems of Mesopotamia and Egypt had many premises that were shared, but
some structures were very different. The Sumerians of Mesopotamia had a wedge-shaped writing
system known as cuneiform with which they kept records and documented history. Likewise,
Egypt had a system of hieroglyphics, which they used for fictional tales, religious hymns, and
manuals of instruction, along with ever-important record keeping. The two societies were greatly
similar in this manner. However, there was a key difference. In Mesopotamia, a three-class
system arose, and only privileged, educated scholars in the aristocracy knew how to write. In
Egypt, while many were still illiterate, no distinct class system arose. While there was an
informal class system in Egypt, it was very different from Mesopotamia in its structure.
Another similarity arose in the populations of the two civilizations. In Egypt, a diverse
population of light-skinned peoples from Western Asia and Northern Africa mixed with subSaharan Africans in Egyptian society; in Mesopotamia, the migratory Semites assimilated into
the already established Sumerian culture, forming a varied population. Yet, a distinction arose in
Mesopotamia that was not as present in Egypt. Women lost many rights in Mesopotamia, due to
the increased importance of agriculture. Laws in Mesopotamia favored mens rights, and with the
importance of bearing and rearing children in agrarian societies, the status of women declined.
However, in Egypt, women were treated with relative equality; they could inherit from their
parents, and could own and will their property. Marriage could be dissolved by either husband or
wife, and while the women were treated as if their appropriate sphere were indoors, they were
treated with more respect and had more freedom and rights in Egypt than in other societies.
In both Egypt and Mesopotamia, the governments ruled with absolute power. There was
no democracy present; leadership was passed from father to son. The law was absolute,
exemplified in Hammurabis Code of Laws, which readily employed the death penalty. Egypts
government closely ruled and documented the lives of citizens. However, Egypts government
closely controlled long-distance trade and maintained a monopoly over key sectors of the
economy. Conversely, Mesopotamian societys commerce fell into the hands of the citizens.

Egypt was the only country with papyrus, and exported it in great quantities, and the government
taxed a significant amount of annual revenues, sometimes as much as 50%, to fund the palace,
bureaucracy, army, building maintenance, monuments, et cetera. The king of Mesopotamia
largely left economic affairs to the general population, and powerful guilds of merchants became
present in Mesopotamia. The economic and governmental affairs of Egypt and Mesopotamia
shared some, but varied greatly.
Both civilizations had early writing systems, but Egypt avoided a formal class structure.
Both populations were very diverse, but in Mesopotamia, women did not get the same equality
that they did in Egypt. Finally, while both governments ruled with total power, Egypt controlled
trade much more heavily than Mesopotamia. While both Egypt and Mesopotamia shared much in
their society and politics, they had their own distinct traits.