Introduction
The Assyrian Empire was a kingdom in Mesopotamia known as the Levant in today’s Northern Iraq. It existed from 25BC until between 612BC and 609BC after its collapse (Radner, 2017). The New Kingdom is the period in Egypt’s history that began in 1570BC and preceded the central government’s dissolution (Schneider, 2020). These kingdoms’ civilizations were marked by significant political, religious, social, and military similarities and differences.
Similarities
The political structure of Mesopotamia and the New Egyptian Kingdom was a monarchy, and kings ruled them. Additionally, both domains consisted of three social classes based on their status in society. For example, Radner (2017) explains that Mesopotamia had a pyramid-like structure with essential people such as government officials, kings, and priests being at the top. The common class individuals, including the artisans, fishers, farmers, and merchants, were classified in the middle (Xianhua, 2019). The bottom of the structure consisted of the slaves who worked in elite people’s farms. These social statutes significantly affected the livelihood of individuals.
The three social classes in the New Kingdom consisted of doctors, accountants, and scribes at the top. Builders, soldiers, and artisans were classified beneath the first class, while the very bottom consisted of farmers, slaves, and servants who mainly worked for the upper-class individuals (Schneider, 2020). Both kingdoms had trained and robust military, which played a crucial role in their safety. For example, the Pharaoh led the Egyptian army into wars and conquered the surrounding areas. Additionally, Mesopotamia and the New Egyptian Kingdom believed in many gods, which is referred to as Polytheism (Xianhua, 2019). Although Mesopotamia and the New Kingdom had similarities, they also exhibited some differences.
Differences
The Egyptian government was centralized, with the Pharaoh at the top. Schneider (2020) explains that the Egyptian king was superior because he acted as an intermediary between the gods and people. In contrast, Radner (2017) explains that Mesopotamia was decentralized, with priests and kings as rulers. Socially, the empires were patriarchal, although Mesopotamia was stricter to women than the New Kingdom. The freedom given to Egyptian women made them innovative (Xianhua, 2019). These females played a primary role in the civilization of Egypt.
Although both empires practiced Polytheism, their interpretation of the gods was distinct. The gods of the New Egyptians were in animal and human forms, while Mesopotamian people worshipped elements. For example, the consistency of floods in Mesopotamia adversely affected individuals, making them pessimistic (Xianhua, 2019). Moreover, even though the empires believed in life after death, Mesopotamian people focused on living one day at a time. On the contrary, the Egyptians were more concerned about the afterlife (Schneider, 2020). The Mesopotamian military worked together as a team, while Egypt had two soldiers: the chariotry and the infantry, which performed different duties and responsibilities (Radner, 2017). These differences significantly affected the economic, political, and social factors of the two empires.
Conclusion
The New Egyptian Kingdom and Mesopotamian Assyria civilizations presented similar and distinct characteristics in the political, social, religious, and military sectors. The similarities include a monarch’s system of government, polytheism religion, three social classes, and a strong military. However, Egypt’s government was centralized, while that of Mesopotamia was decentralized. Also, Egyptian women enjoyed more freedom than Mesopotamian ones who covered their bodies, except for the face. Moreover, both empires had varying interpretations of the gods.
References
Radner, K. (2017). Economy, society, and daily life in the Neo-Assyrian period. In E. Frahm (Ed.), A companion to Assyria (pp. 209-228). John Wiley & Sons.
Schneider, T. (2020). Language contact of Ancient Egyptians with Semitic and other Near Eastern languages. In R. Hasselbach‐Andee (Ed.), A companion to ancient Near Eastern languages (pp. 421-437). John Wiley & Sons.
Xianhua, W. (2019). State and empire in Early Mesopotamia. Social Evolution & History, 18(1), 195-216.