Heritage of Western Civilizations - Essay Example

Western Civilization The civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt differ in profound ways. What were these differences and what were the major causes for this to be so? The stories of ancient civilization have always dominated the pages of history. Since the world came into existence, the civilizations have also been into presence and formations. Amongst the numerous societies, Western civilizations are of prominent importance that included the famous Mesopotamian and Egyptian societies. Mesopotamia was a region with a mixture of topography that came under the basis on plains, deserts, and mountains. It also had two rivers that played a significant role in the growth and progress of the economy of the civilization. The citizens invented early agricultural equipments that helped them in cultivating plantation. The heritage of Mesopotamian civilization consists of simple and elegant architectures that include temples where religious leader had a high position and carry out religious ceremonies. At a point in history, due to internal conflicts within the people of the region gave rise to some influential and powerful individuals, which turned out to be the rulers and their position, came under consideration as divine. The people believed that these divine rulers were the messengers of gods who has come under authorization by gods to rule over them. As the region was unprotected from the foreign invasions and attacks based on its topographical features, rich local men established a defense body to protect their land and people (Oakes, pp. 26-30). Egyptian civilization and the territory of Egypt came under situation around the river Nile. The river provided the region with natural security barrier, which protected the area and supported the irrigation and trade activities that were the basis of their economy. Due to the locality of the civilization, it provided them with tranquility and harmony in the region. The pyramids were one of the major parts of the rich heritage of the Egyptian society. In the religious context of the beliefs of the people of Egypt, pharaoh was the dominant figure that came under consideration to be ambassador of the gods with ultimate supremacy and command (Bell & Quie, pp. 6-8). Both the civilizations and cultures have many differences that separate them from each other in many aspects that include their political sector, art, and architecture, although they have played an influential role on one another, yet they are diverse and dissimilar. The language, which Mesopotamian people used to communicate, came under characterization by complex graphical and symbolic representation, whereas the Egyptian people developed the more creative language that represented an uncomplicated usage of characters for their communications. The numerous records from the history proves the fact that abundant information on the Egyptian civilization can come under findings as they made use of materials that were low-priced and economical and more people were able to use it to proof their legacies (Bell & Quie, pp. 6-8). In contrast to the Mesopotamian civilization, less records come under discovery, as they did not used the cheaper materials for the documentation maintenance as the kings and priests were the only concerned people who used to pen down the happenings (Oakes, pp. 26-30). The natives of Mesopotamian were far more in the forefront, leading and successful in their accomplishments than that of the Egyptians. The focal point and center of attraction for the Egyptians has always been in the study of science especially in the field of astronomy and mathematics. Despite the reality, one of the biggest achievements of the Egyptians was the development of the solar calendar, which comprised of months and weeks time span. This forms the basis of the calendar that comes under usage nowadays (Bell & Quie, pp. 6-8). Their studies and accomplishment in the domain of astrology proved their apprehensions and interest on the subject of forecasting the natural disasters such as flood that might bring huge destructions to the civilization. Moreover, with their interest in the field of science, they achieved mammoth success and growth in the area of medicine as well. Religion has always been the foundation stone in the Egyptian culture, multiple gods receive the devotion of its worshipers, and Egyptian culture has endorsed it in many ways. The Egyptians blend and merge the diverse concepts of religious ceremonies and beliefs with worship (Bell & Quie, pp. 6-8). Looking at the other end of the spectrum, the people of Mesopotamians have a strong and firm belief on the concept of death and the life after death. This concept of belief and value differ for Egyptians as they do not give importance to the life after death and do not even have the belief that the life after death can bring and attain bliss, delight, comfort and security, rather, everything lies in the world only (Oakes, pp. 26-30). The Egyptians practiced particular rituals after the death of a person, and preserved the body by using preservatives, salts, and chemicals. These preserved bodies came under storage in especially constructed tombs and pyramids to make their heritage and tradition remembered by future generations (Bell & Quie, pp. 6-8). The differences in both the civilizations did not come under restriction only to their culture and religion, but their political aspects were also unmatchable. The focal point of the political power in the Egyptian civilization was pharaoh who had all the political and religious commands and powers (Bell & Quie, pp. 6-8). On the other hand, the Mesopotamian civilization witnessed a changing political trend. It was first under the influence of priests, then kings and later on took the shape of an area that came under division into multiple territories (Oakes, pp. 26-30). Rome’s population was divided among classes of people who often struggled with one another for power. Identify these classes and their points of contention. Rome is considerably amongst the well-known, oldest, prehistoric, and prevalent kingdoms of the globe that has the existence back from several centuries. Roman Empire and its people have experienced various political shifts and changes in the government empowerments throughout the period of its subsistence. Roman civilization distinguished and differentiated itself with others by the dictatorial supervision, control, and power of the government. The growth and expansion of language, beliefs, architecture, rules and regulations, thinking, way of life and the structure of government has come under intellectual and thoughtful persuasion from the culture of Roman civilization, which has left an indelible imprint with its colossal territory, elongated persistence and bearing hardship.   The residents of Rome came under deliberation to be one of the most urbanized and developed people of that epoch. The lives of the people of Rome encircled in the region of the city of Rome where a number of places existed for the leisure and entertainment of the inhabitants that includes theatres, bars, and many more. Like other civilizations, the populace of Rome also came under the division of social classes, which created a difference between individuals and made them superior and inferior in comparison with each other that based on wealth and social status. The class structure formation was in the design of hierarchy system, although some of them shared the common characteristics (Parkin & Pomeroy, pp. 3-5). The hierarchy in which the Roman Empire came under classification mainly had three classes where the freeborn residents play the dominant and highest rank in the hierarchy. Freedmen are the preceding class people that lay on the second-class status. Moreover, the lowest ranked people were the slaves that came under the categorization as servants who used to work by the sweat of their brow but had little or no importance in the society (Parkin & Pomeroy, pp. 3-8). The classification of the social class of the highest ranked people that were the freeborn Romans came under additional categorizations in further divisions. The sub-division of classes initiated from the people who came under recognition as patricians. Patricians embraced the group of people who were able to footmark, and record the remains of their predecessors. In addition, Plebeians belonged to the group of people who were unable to mark out the relics of their precursors. With the passage of time, a revolution came under notice as few family units of plebeians became rich and prosperous and also became a member in the government and took part in political affairs, which overlooked the fact of their ancestral hunting. The subsequent class of the free-born Romans is a patrician or the plebeian who acts as a representative of an ancestor of the family who constitute and formulate his family as noble along with honoring, praising and dignifying his successors (Parkin & Pomeroy, pp. 357-359). The next class division was primarily and formerly on the source of prosperity, affluence and political advantage and authorization, which came under experience that went beyond the common person. The people who came under placement on the highest positions in the political and defense sector were the richest amongst all, and governed and dictated the political matters. The attainment of the association of this class came under verdict according to the assets, material goods, and belongings that these people possessed. Following to the wealthiest senatorial class were the knights, were the people who shaped themselves in to the business or mercantile class through the involvement in the commerce and trading of goods (Parkin & Pomeroy, pp. 3-8). Citizenship also came under offering to the people who reside outside the Rome but they enjoyed limited and deviating powers, liberties, and advantages. The class played an overriding role and made the voting control reliant to the particular classes of the citizens of the Roman civilization. The impoverished and underprivileged citizens and the women of Rome did not have the authority to project their votes or have occupancy in the political workplace or any political matters. The high-class women of Rome shared some fundamental but inadequate and restricted rights, which came under steady prolongation, where they achieved the rights to own assets together with the legal and administrative privileges. Although, they were subject to rights that prolonged, however the women did not had the power to cast their votes or be a part of politics. The category of the people according to the Roman law who were the slaves, did not shared any kind of authorities and rights and came under deliberation and recognition as a possession for an individual. However, several rules and regulations came under creation that safeguarded the slaves to a certain extent. The citizens who benefitted from the lawful authorities, rights, safety, and security to the fullest were the high-class and elite individuals (Parkin & Pomeroy, pp. 166-170). The democratic environment in the politics provided extravagant powers and rights to the senators but they did not possess any lawmaking or governmental commands and played the role of consultative committee. The government body was not in support of letting a common person attaining authority largely; therefore, selection and appointment of magistrates came under execution on yearly basis where the powers came under distribution amongst more than one individual (Parkin & Pomeroy, pp. 3-8). Works Cited Bell, Michael, Quie, Sarah. Ancient Egyptian Civilization. The Rosen Publishing Group, 2009. Parkin, Tim G., Pomeroy, Arthur John. Roman social history: a sourcebook. Taylor & Francis, 2007. Oakes, Lorna. Mesopotamia. The Rosen Publishing Group, 2009. Read More