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Both the Egyptians and the Mesopotamians were influential in the history of Western Civ. My question: who had a bigger hand in the history of the West? I know this is kind of cheating because the Mesopotamians encompasses a series of different groups, compared to more or less just one in Egypt, but I think the comparison can still be made given their geography.
Also, are you sure that historians think that Egypt was so influential on Greece? I know of at least one historian who says that Egypt did not leave Western Culture any significant foundations. I think that interest in Egypt really was a hermeneutic exercise, beginning with the Napoleonic expeditions and continuing through the 19th and early 20th centuries.
I forgot to mention the influence Egypt had on the Israelites. There's another connection to Western Culture.
The Mesopotamians had more practical impact. The Egyptians were more insular inside the Nile valley and did not interact with other peoples as much as the Mesopotamians did.
The Mesopotamians had more practical impact. The Egyptians were more insular inside the Nile valley and did not interact with other peoples as much as the Mesopotamians did.
Yeah, that's a good point. Whether voluntarily or not, the Mesopotamian civilizations transferred their ideas to others while the Egyptians did not really do so until they had been established for quite some time. Yes, Egypt became the breadbasket of the Roman Empire, but that's more a discussion of Egypt as farmland rather than Egyptian civilization.
Egypt was affected much more by outside influences than it ever affected others as a power projector.
The Mesopotamians colonized, I don't think the Egyptians did, therefore the Mesopotamians were more important. But I do think the Ancients “studied” Egypt a lot.
The Mesopotamians colonized, I don't think the Egyptians did, therefore the Mesopotamians were more important. But I do think the Ancients "studied" Egypt a lot.
I think they were definitely impressed by them. But did they study them in terms of their institutions or practices so that they could copy them? That is what I am not sure of.
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