River Valley Civilizations - Essay Example

the flooding led to the need for leadership especially in Mesopotamia where there was a lack of natural borders and lack of natural materials. Mesopotamia was also characterized by irregular flooding that disrupted the way of life and caused dependence on foreign natural resources, political instability, and strict law codes whenever necessary in order to instill leadership. Ancient Egypt was characterized by plenty of raw materials and rivers that isolated the kingdoms from invaders. The unique geography contained soapstones that facilitated the building of fortresses and plenty of human labor due to the high population. Ancient Egypt did not have contact with external invaders and experienced political stability due to uniform culture. There was a high focus on the afterlife or immortality due to beliefs in various gods and thus pyramids were constructed in order to store the remains of the kings. The old kingdom of Ancient Egypt (2500-2100 BC), Middle Kingdom (2000-1600 BC), and new kingdom (1500-1100 BC) experienced political unity and stability due to the high importance placed on the Pharaoh. The old and middle kingdoms were characterized by unprecedented cultural and technological revolutions such as Hieroglyphic writing, the use of Rosetta stone in building Pyramids, and unified belief systems such as prayers to gods such as Osiris, Amon-Re, and Isis.

            The sense of insecurity in Mesopotamia led to the establishment of detailed legal codes such as the code of Hammurabi that was inscribed in a stone pillar in order to unite Mesopotamia in 1792-1750 B.C.E.  The sole purpose was to promote the welfare of the people through justice and eliminating any evil by protecting the poor. The code comprised of written decisions by the King in various injustices thus allowing for equity in the eighteenth-century Babylonian society. The status of women and children in Mesopotamia society was different since underage sons could not administer their deceased father’s affairs while divorced women spouses could not be given silver of the bride price. Mesopotamia was a parochial society since a captain, soldier or official could not give a house or garden to his wife and different laws applied for different classes of people such as peasants, soldiers, free men, physicians, captains, and officials. The collection of decisions reveals the worldwide, basic values, and ideals of Hammurabi’s Babylon was to maintain unity in the society through creating law and order. The decisions reveal that the society was parochial while women and children had limited rights in owning property. The decisions aimed at enforcing contractual arrangements in trade and commerce and outlined the classes of people who could open a wine shop or enter a wine shop for a drink.

Conclusion

            However, the new kingdom (1500-1100 BC) saw political instability due to the Hyksos invasion (1600-1500 BC), the reestablishment of the Egyptian dynasty, and the desire to expand territory to the Gold-rich Levant and Nubia region. Ancient Egyptian civilization is self-generated and cultural patterns differed from those of Mesopotamia, but the two shared myth-making as a means to perceive reality