Guns Germs and Steel Quotes “History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among peoples' environments, not because of biological differences among peoples themselves” (p. 39). This quote has a very strong message that is proven correct not only in the past but also today. Because of that message I chose to write about this quote. When we look at the most powerful communities today we see that they are all located near areas with ample natural resources. When the first community was found to have been located in Mesopotamia, near the Tigris and Euphrates river, it was no coincidence that the settlers remained in that location, but because of the rich and workable environment.
The governing authorities again like to use culturally significant figures in the tales of innovation and invention and discovery. Even with such advanced politics and thought, a class distinction still persisted, and though they had seen the benefit of all this technology, there were those in the upper class who felt it was beneath them to use such tools in any way. T Innovation was of great value to both the Han and Romans. The Han placed a higher attribution to culturally relevant creators. For example, Huan Tan, an upper-class Han philosopher wrote in New Discourses (Document III) of an emperor of myth inventing and refining the pestle and mortar for all people.
Although Cyrus conquered many nations, organized governments and gained respect from others, one of his best achievements was freeing the Jews from Babylon, there by then earning their respect. Cyrus found the great empire Persia and unified the Persians under one rule. His goal after uniting the Persians was to take over the Western portion of Iran.The section of Iran included several trade routes that crossed Iran and continued through Anatolia. Anatolia was also known as Turkey. The western of Iran is where the Medes lived.
Darius also gained the favor and praise of many Jews for allowing them to return to Jerusalem and rebuilding a temple destroyed by Babylonian conquerors in 587 B.C.E. While Persians acknowledged the traditions and cultures of those they ruled, the rulers of Han dynasty did the opposite. Han Wudi, an emperor of China, pursued a policy of expansion and had a great desire to expand his territories further. North Vietnam and Korea are two lands he invaded and subjected under the Han rule. He ruled both these lands through a Chinese-styled government, a centralized government that relied on Legalist principles, and imposed Confucian values.
The Unique Culture of Egypt While the Sumerian civilization was developing, a similar process took place along the banks of the Nile River. Yet, the two civilization’s culture was very different. Egypt was united into a single kingdom, which allowed it to enjoy a high degree of unity, stability, and culture continuality over a period of 3,000 years. The geography, writing, architectural structures, society, and their process of mummification made the Egyptian culture unique compared to the other civilizations of the time. The Ancient Egyptians thought of Egypt as being divided into two types of land, the “black land” and the “red land.
It included many historically important city states, including Assyria to the north, Elam to the south-east and Babylonia towards the centre. Today, most of Mesopotamia lies in Iraq but parts can also be located in Kuwait, Syria, Turkey and Iran, with Babylonia’s capital city Babylon (whose name translates to Gate of the Gods) lying 94 kilometres southwest of Baghdad. Babylonia, and particularly Babylon, soon rose quickly in power and status thanks to the early reign of a ruler known as Hammurabi. The sixth king of the first dynasty of Babylon forged coalitions between the separate city-states of Mesopotamia, and promoted science and scholarship. Hammurabi made Babylonia into an empire and the society was thriving - he also created the earliest written set of laws called The Code of Hammurabi.
Egypt and Mesopotamia All great civilizations that thrive with success and power usually differ in many ways but are also alike in many ways as well. Such as Egypt and Mesopotamia, much alike but different were very successful at their peaks. Sharing similar geographic locations, similar culture aspects, but differing in religion and social standards. To begin, Egypt was known as the “gift of the Nile” due to the fact that it was isolated by the longest river in the world, the Nile River. Whereas, Mesopotamia was known as the “land between the river” due to the fact that it was stuck right between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
AP World History 18 September 2012 Egypt and Mesopotamia Egypt and Mesopotamia were two great ancient civilizations that were similar in some ways, but also had many differences. Because of each civilizations relationship with the rivers they became powerful in the ancient world. Through, geography, religion and social structure, these ancient civilizations became two of the greatest civilizations of their time. The geography of Egypt and Mesopotamia probably played the biggest role in the people’s everyday lives. Both Egypt and Mesopotamian societies depended so heavily on their surroundings that they most likely would not have been able to survive without it.
Therefore, each city state had its own deities, kings, laws and culture. Conflicts and friction started for the dominance of the region because of the overlapping of these growing cities. Sumerian society showed a distinct social system with a ruling class formed by nobles and priests, a middle class of merchants, scribes and artisans, and finally a lower class made up mainly of farmers (1). Sumerians were creative and likely may be the first on developing a writing system to record diverse events such as taxes, agricultural records, codified set of laws and epic novels. They also established a numerical system that they used to build from calendars to pyramids.
Though Mesopotamia and Egypt were alike there were some differences between the two. With Mesopotamia gaining all the wealth from agriculture and with a few natural defenses, this made the people susceptible to have more invasions and to have internal conflicts. Egypt on the other had didn’t have as many interruptions as Mesopotamia, because of the high mountains and deserts helped to protect the Nile Valley. In Egypt their main focus was the funerary practices. The rulers devoted their time to the design and decoration of extensive funerary complexes, as well as the pyramids and subterranean tombs.