Comparison of the Civilizations of Mesopotamia and Harappa
Mesopotamia and Harappa were both early river valley civilizations that boasted power and progress in their peaks. Beginning around 3000 BCE, Mesopotamia flourished between the Tigris and and Euphrates Rivers and the Harappa developed along the Indus River in South Asia. While Mesopotamia and Harappa were similarly geographically positioned on water sources, there are significant differences and similarities in the respective societies’ cultural developments in terms of architecture and technology.
Mesopotamia and Harappa were both able to make advancements in architecture as evidenced by the construction of the architectural forms. Similarly, most of the buildings and homes of Mesopotamia and Harappa were comprised of mud bricks. Due to the civilizations’ locations near rivers, mud, which could be dried into uniform bricks, was an abundant resource. Architecture between the civilizations have differentiations as evidenced by their cities and their construction. In Mesopotamia, cities were built around temples, or ziggurats, dedicated to a god/goddess in order for the city to receive the protection from that deity. Ziggurats were multi-staged pyramids dominated and represented Mesopotamian architecture, indicating the emphasis and importance of the polytheistic religion in Mesopotamian culture. In Harappa, similar religious structures to the ziggurats were not present. Rather, the noteworthy dominating structures of the cities were the overlooking and protective citadels of the cities. The citadels were raised to around 40 feet high and were fortified with towers and walls. In addition, Harrapan towns were on a well designed grid, exemplifying practicality and security being valued by the Harappan culture. In contrast with the patterned grid of Harappan cities, Mesopotamian cities were