The amazing structures of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt truly showed their values ​​in society and their exceptional capabilities as a civilization. In ancient Mesopotamia, ziggurats were built by kings to show their devotion to the god of the city-state. A ziggurat is a massive, stepped rectangular tower that is sometimes surrounded by a temple. They were built in ancient Mesopotamia, starting around 2000 BCE (Head). One of the most famous ziggurats is the Ziggurat of Ur built in the Sumerian city-state of Ur. The Ziggurat of Ur and the temple at the top were built around 2100 BCE by King Ur-Nammu. Reigning for eighteen years, he was the king of the Third Dynasty of Ur. The ziggurat was also built with the help of Ur-Nammu's son Shulgi. He completed the construction of the ziggurat, which was one of his greatest achievements, upon the death of his father, Ur-Nammu (chief). An equally important structure was the pyramid. They were built in ancient Egypt as a tomb for the pharaoh. A pyramid is a monumental structure with a square or triangular base and sloping sides that meet at a point at the top. Most of the pyramids were built during the Old Egyptian Kingdom. One of these pyramids was the Great Pyramid of Giza built in the Giza Necropolis. A necropolis is a large area, similar to a cemetery, designed with elaborate funerary monuments. Pharaoh Kufu started building the Great Pyramid of Giza around 2550 BCE and completed this pyramid around 2560 BCE. Khufu was the second pharaoh of the 4th dynasty, preceded by Snefru, and he reigned for approximately twenty-three years. Hemiunu was the vizier during the reign of Khufu. As vizier, he was one of the most important members of the court and was responsible for all royal works. He was the architect of the Great Pyramid, hence he designed, planned and developed this pyramid from scratch. While the ziggurats of Mesopotamia and the pyramids of Egypt demonstrate the incredible wealth, power and intelligence present in ancient societies, they were built and used for very different reasons. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayThe ancient Mesopotamians and Egyptians had very different societies that were clearly displayed in their architecture. The Mesopotamians were polytheists. They worshiped several major gods and thousands of minor gods while each Mesopotamian city had its own patron god or goddess (Woolley). The king and nobility made up the highest class, followed by priests and priestesses. Next came the upper class, the lower class, and then the slaves. The government of Sumer was led by kings who ruled only a single city rather than the entire civilization. This government was a combination of monarchy and democracy; composed of a king and nobles who made laws, declared war, and decided how to honor the gods. In addition, there was an assembly of wise men, elected by the people, who could overthrow the king. Each city-state had its own king and assembly. Similar to that of the Mesopotamians, ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals that were an integral part of their society. It focused on gods linked to the forces and elements of nature. Ancient Egypt was divided into two kingdoms, Upper and Lower Egypt. Lower Egypt lies to the north and is where the Nile Delta flows into the seaMediterranean. While Upper Egypt extends south from the Libyan Desert to beyond Nubia. The pharaoh ruled all of this land and stood at the top of the social hierarchy, followed by government officials, nobles and priests, soldiers, scribes, merchants, artisans and farmers, and slaves. Their government was a theocratic monarchy. The pharaoh ruled by mandate from the gods and was believed to represent the will of the gods through laws passed and policies approved. They owned all the land, legislated, collected taxes, and defended Egypt against foreigners. Although Egypt and Sumer were different from each other, both represented aspects of their societies through architecture. The Great Pyramid of Giza or the Pyramid of Khufu is a massive architectural work that still amazes scholars today with its construction methods. It was completed during the Fourth Dynasty (2560 BCE) in the Giza Necropolis, located in present-day Cairo, Egypt. The Great Pyramid of Giza has more than five million limestone blocks cast with agglomerated limestone concrete. At its greatest height, it measured 481.4 feet in height and 755.55 feet in width. These pyramids were built for the pharaohs who ruled at the time, to serve as their tombs when they died. Additionally, Egyptian pharaohs were believed to become gods in the afterlife. To prepare for the next world, they erected immense pyramidal tombs. These were filled with everything every leader would need for guidance and support in the world to come. The pyramid was built by moving huge stones from a quarry, then dragging and lifting them into place. Building a pyramid required thousands of workers (20,000 to 30,000). The Egyptians built a giant ramp against each pyramid and workers used this ramp to raise the stones and used levers that helped move the stones into place. They transported the stone by boat from the quarry to the construction site through canals and also used sleds. A sleigh was excavated by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Egyptian Expedition. It was made around 1961-1917 BCE during the Middle Kingdom under Senwosret I. The sleigh was used to build the pyramids and shows the tools used during this period. Sleds were first used in the Old Kingdom to build pyramids, such as the Pyramid of Giza, and used throughout the Middle Kingdom as demonstrated by this sled. The stone blocks rested on sleds (like modern sleds) and their runners were designed to roll over wet mud scattered on tracks constructed from wooden frames. A wooden lever beam was also used, which allowed the user to lift heavy weights attached to the shorter arm with relatively little force by moving the longer arm of the lever. The stones were transported from one layer of blocks to the next by means of ramps which rose as the building increased in height. To build the pyramids, they needed precise schedules, sophisticated infrastructure, producing adequate materials, and finding sites for shipping the materials and building the pyramid. All these tasks required an experienced and well-organized team. They had a leader whose job was to plan the pyramid and give orders to the workers. The most common type of worker out of three, namely miners, stone carriers and builders, were porters. The transporter's job was to transportthe stone from the quarry or the port using sleds. Another popular job was that of a scribe. They recorded the materials used, the days it took to build certain parts of the pyramid, and noted the pharaoh's orders. The construction techniques of the Great Pyramid of Giza are still relatively unknown to this day. But scholars are aware that this pyramid required immense planning, skilled workers and complex techniques to become the spectacle it is today. The Great Ziggurat of Ur has a rather simple design, but it required careful preparation and meticulous construction procedures. The ziggurat and the temple at its summit were built around 2100 BCE in the city of Ur, near Nassiriya, in present-day Iraq, by the then king Ur-Nammu. Kings built ziggurats to demonstrate their religious devotion to the community and the gods. The entire building was made of sun-dried bricks in all interior areas, with glazed fire-dried bricks facing outwards, with each step slightly smaller than the step below (Head). A ziggurat would have two to seven levels, and a series of stairs led to the top of the ziggurat which was only accessible to priests. The mud bricks were stacked using wet mud and bitumen to seal them together. Bitumen is a black liquid obtained naturally or as a residue from petroleum distillation. It is similar to modern asphalt. If the bricks had been stacked with only mud between them, they would not have lasted long. They used tools such as copper axes, chisels, knife blades, early hammers and ax heads. They even used tin to make saws, goads, axes and daggers. Prods were spiked sticks that were traditionally used to drive livestock, but were also used to stack bricks when building ziggurats. Ziggurats were originally a platform usually oval, rectangular or square. As it was built, it began to resemble a mastaba-like structure with a flat top. Mastaba refers to a type of ancient Egyptian tomb that is rectangular in shape with sloping sides and a flat roof. The mastabas were built around 3000 BC, while the ziggurats were built around 2000 BC, so the mastabas were created first. When fully constructed, the Ziggurat of Ur measured 210 feet in length, 150 feet in width, and over 100 feet in height. The ziggurats built in Mesopotamia truly demonstrated their abilities as builders and as a society, as well as their cultural values. The ancient Egyptians built pyramids as afterlife tombs for their pharaohs and queens, while the ancient Mesopotamians built ziggurats to honor their local god. The Egyptians were one of the first civilizations to believe in life after death. They believed that their soul, or ka, enjoyed eternal life after their physical body expired. They had to pass a test, called the Trials of Osiris, which allowed them to either live comfortably in the underworld or be brutally eaten by a monster. To pass the test, the Book of the Dead was necessary. It contained spells that allowed the person to successfully enter the Western Paradise of Osiris, or the Underworld. The Book of the Dead could only be acquired by royals or wealthy nobles due to its high cost. Along with this book, pharaohs and queens have.