Mesopotmia Vs Egypt

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Civilization can be described as a high level of cultural, social, and political developments. The oldest two civilizations are Mesopotamia and Egypt, which appeared along great river systems. These two civilizations both survived the test of time. They developed political organizations, education, religion, architecture, and art. Even though Mesopotamia and Egypt were similar, they were also different in many ways. Mesopotamian civilization emerged about 3500 B.C.E. It developed features characteristic of many civilizations, including writing, large cities, social stratification, and economic specialization. Sumerian political organization was based on city-states that controlled the surrounding agricultural fields. The city- states were ruled by kings who set boundaries, regulated religion, provided justice, and led the armies. The elite kings, priests, and nobles controlled much of the land, which was worked by slaves. Sumerian civilization established the basic traditions for all Mesopotamian civilizations. Although larger political empires occasionally merged, the city-state remained the elemental principle of political organization in Sumeria. The economy continued to rely on slave labor.
Technological advances facilitated agricultural development and trade. Economic expansion produced large cities. The Sumerians developed a writing system, cuneiform, around 3500 B.C.E. to make possible records of trade and property. Writing also had a religious function of granting scribes power over the natural world. 
Around 2000 B.C.E., the Sumerians recorded the oldest literary epic, the story of Gilgamesh. Sumerian sculpture and painting were used to decorate religious precincts. The Sumerians were particularly advanced mathematicians who used their calculations to help understand the movement of the sun and stars. Sumerian religion was essentially gloomy. Gods
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