Difference Between Sumerians and Egyptians

While both are ancient civilizations, the Sumerians are less known and existed somewhere around 4000 B.C in the areas around and near the mighty Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Meanwhile, the Egyptians are very famous due to the ancient Pharaohs, and settled on the banks of the Nile River. While Egyptians now have their own country named Egypt, the Sumerians are the people of the areas which are part of Iraq. Both these middle-eastern civilizations were very advanced and years ahead of the rest of the world. The major differences between the two were their religious beliefs and their vision of death. The Sumerians worshiped four deities while the Egyptians believed in 2000 gods and goddesses with the pharaoh as the living god, who was worshiped by them. Scroll down to read the rest.


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    Meanwhile, Sumerians had less complicated methods for the passage of their dead ones into the afterlife. On the other hand, the Egyptians used to make grand preparations to mark their passage into the life after death.

    The Sumerians were also technologically more advanced than the Egyptians.


    The Sumerians developed the system of writing called the cuneiform. The Sumerian system of government allowed suggestions and input from the nobles, which meant that the wishes of the people were taken into consideration before the deliberation of any law or verdict. The Sumerians had tough conditions around them which made them more vulnerable.  According to historians this civilisation was formed in the fourth millennium BC. The Sumerian area was economically very stable which allowed the people to have enough food to stay settled in one place instead of moving around as hunters. The region where most of them lived was known as Mesopotamia.

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    While Egyptians have a rich history and are one of the oldest civilisations in the world, their religion and culture underwent many changes and today almost 90% of the Egyptian population is Muslim and almost 10% is Christian.  Meanwhile, Egyptians are also settled in North America, Europe and Australia as minorities.

    Egypt is known as the land of the pharaohs and the pyramids. While many slaves gave their lives building these huge pyramids, today, Egypt’s economy heavily depends on its tourism industry, focussing the pyramids.

    The official language of modern Egypt is Arabic and is known as Egyptian Arabic. Egypt is now a major players in the Arab League and also one of the most developed and prominent countries in the African continent.

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