Similarities Between Egypt And Mesopotamia

With the Agricultural Revolution came the flourishing of many ancient civilizations. Two of these civilizations, the ancient Mesopotamians and the ancient Egyptians have provided modern day historians to uncover what life was like during these times. While these two civilizations are located in different areas and have their own distinctive culture, the two have similarities which come from a geographical influence. According the texts that have been discovered and provided, Egyptian rulers generally were not seen as oppressive as the Mesopotamian rulers were, rather, Egyptian rulers were revered as Gods in their culture. As a result of this God-like status, pharaohs, with the assistance of prayers were allowed access into an afterlife. These prayers, found in the Book of the Dead has given an insight to how dangerous and terrifying the afterlife is for those who enter. In ancient Mesopotamian culture, even though kings are also viewed as divine, they do not easily receive enteral life. According to the Epic of Gilgamesh, a Mesopotamian tale, eternal life is reserved for Gods and …show more content…
For instance, according to these texts Egyptian Pharaohs were not negatively portrayed; however, according to the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Mesopotamian kings were oppressive. It is possible to assume that in these times, the kings were granted access to the afterlife based off of how they ruled their lands. Another oppressive ruler in the Mesopotamian civilization was Hammurabi. Based on his codes which included, economics, crime and punishment, and social order, it can be deducted that Hammurabi was an oppressive ruler while still being fair in a sense. This oppressiveness could be what the people used to determine and understand the fate of the people. If even the kings were not allowed access into the afterlife, than any other subject would not have permission