Egyptian and Sumerian Civilization

Egyptians and Sumerians are two groups that have undergone civilization which many historians to date credit for their current development. Coincidentally, both groups happen to have settled in areas along rivers/water bodies. Sumerians and Egyptians settled along Tigris and Euphrates rivers and River Nile respectively (Greenblatt, Lemmo, and Glencoe, 2001). As history would have it, when the countries were undergoing tremendous changes, they were presumed to have taken up similar responsibilities and lifestyles which justify their having a lot in common. Though they indulged in some similar activities, they equally varied in some ways. In a period where Egypt and Sumer wanted to adjust their living for a better future, a lot was observed in common and equally much was realized to be different among them.

In their ordinary day to day lives, during the period when they were becoming civil, both the Sumerians and Egyptians picked religion and belief in supremacy and supernatural beings. The most significant belief at the time though was polytheism. These features basically characterized their communal lives. However, there were evident differences in these areas as well. While the Sumerians limited their gods and goddesses to four, which was a relatively small number, it was evident that the Egyptians had more gods which was about two thousand gods (Differencenet, 2010). Besides, being the king, Pharaoh was considered a god accrued to the same benefits as the other gods. The realization of this concept of their lives was as a result of the civilization and increased exposure which changed so much to more advanced states. Regard of Pharaohs as living god also contradicted with the Sumerians who maintained the four they adopted.

During the civilization, Sumerians who as mentioned above were ruled by priests began to experience a reduction of their influence. It is worth noting that besides the rule of the priests, warriors were also significant in the chain of command as an authoritative body (Watkins, and Alley, 2001). This period is also characterized by the emergence of kingship as the new ruling authority for the Sumerians. Similarly, the leadership of Egypt during the civilization was quite adjusted as compared to the period before. It is clear that Pharaohs were the commanders and a very powerful authority in Egypt a factor which diminished with a decline in the Pharaoh’s power. Besides the evident change in leadership, we realize that during this period, the rulers differed in sorting their priority as far as safety of their people was concerned, thus partly influenced the inevitable change (Differencenet, 2010). History has been less defensive on the protection of the Sumer people during the civilization. Though in both cases the popular leadership declined, it is clear that the Egyptian new leadership protected its people as opposed to that of Sumer. Basically, the transition in leadership led to a difference as a result of people becoming more exposed and more critical of ineffective leadership.

In terms of finances, the situation of the two countries before the experienced development was quite at par. As mentioned above, agriculture which included nomads was part of the ways of generating funds for their countries (McNeil, 1986). For instance, benefiting from the water bodies surrounding them was manageable and in this case, assisted towards getting the desired results. However, with the civilization especially at the peak came the need for technological advancements. While Egypt was able to take its operations to the next level, it became quite challenging for Sumer to do the same considering the unfavorable conditions along the Tigris and Euphrates. Significant contrasts were observed from that point onwards since it was challenging for Sumer to catch up with the competitive environment. Thus, they leaned much more towards trading rather than agriculture, (Fagan, 1996).

Conclusion

Though the two groups underwent the same kind of transition, it is evident that some elements of the changes differed. However, it is quite ironical that the Sumerians to date are less popular compared to the Egyptians given the similarity behind their histories. Analysts argue that the civilization period was more beneficial when potential is realized. From a different perspective, chances are that the two groups had similar opportunities which were not fully exploited and due to poor governance or weakened system, opportunities surpassed Sumer which today would have been on the same level as Egypt.

References:

Differencenet. (2010). Difference between Sumerians and Egyptians. Retrieved from http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-sumerians-and-egyptians/

Fagan, B. M. (1996). World prehistory: A brief introduction. New York: HarperCollins.

Greenblatt, M., Lemmo, P. S., & Glencoe/McGraw-Hill. (2001). Human heritage: A world history. New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.

McNeill, W. H. (1986). History of Western civilization: A handbook. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Watkins, T., & Alley, T. (2001). Sumer. Retrieved from www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/sumer.htm