Category: Nile River

The word geography in records capability , the bodily environment and how it may also influence an economy and culture . So example may additionally include sandy dessert that encouraged nomads to go between water sources, islands were the surrounding oceans offer the food source, flooding rivers that created fertile farmland and mountains the place useful resource like bushes were used for building. Egypt is the longest standing civilization on the African continent of which over 390 0 square miles that obtained almost no rain. The solely water in Egypt comes from the 4258 mile lengthy Nile that delivered with it annual floods. The Nile delta is a fairm formed phase of the Nile river in lower Egypt and North of Egypt mainly used for farmland. It receives solely ab6 8inches of rain every 12 months due to the fact that it flowed into the Mediterranean sea the Nile became a link to an out standing water exchange root connecting African with Europe and Asia. To the west of the Nile river is the Nubian barren region which is the Niles first natural bathe place shaped within the Nubian region. The Nubian desolate tract is considered as the smallest phase of the Sahara desolate tract just beneath higher Egypt which is south to Cairo. The Nile is feed with two rivers from two rivers ov the south of what is now Sudan. The blue Nile stands from theEthiopuan highlands along the purple sea whilst the white Nile makes the other branch giving its name from the shade of the clay it washes north. South of the white Nile river sets Lake Nassau, one of the largest manmade lake in the world at 600 toes deep.

Now moving on to the political system, the historic Egypt government had a sturdy central government that held absolute electricity .Religion and authorities were inseparable. Egyptians authorities was based totally round a social structure. They thrived due to the giant work force. The very bottom of their social shape lies the farmers and the slave, with craftsmen, retailers ,scribes, soldiers , priest, government officials, nobles and the Pharaoh above them respectfully. The Pharaoh held absolute authority over higher and lower Egypt. Men and women have each held this position. The Pharaoh owned all the land ,made legal guidelines , collected taxes and defended Egypt against backyard threats. The Pharaoh was once considered a divine ruler and used to be additionally regarded as a consultant god on Earth. He was in charge of essential constructing projects, such as temples and pyramids.one of the Pharaohs duty used to be to care for the residents of Egypt instance making positive each person is properly fed. The youngest Pharaoh to rule was King Tutankham who came to electricity after the loss of life of his father at roughly 9 years old. That’s the age of the third gender. He had a very mysterious death, at only 18 years historical . Many suppose he used to be murdered. He is so well-known nowadays due to the discovery of his tomb. The vizier is the easiest authorities official. His authority quick simply below the Pharaoh. He was frequently a member of the Pharaohs family. Some of his duties covered opportunities government officers dealing with prison matters, controlling food provide ,recording water ranges of the Nile ,and accumulating taxes.

The noble and priest fell beneath the Pharaoh and the vizier ,but nevertheless held high positions in the universal government structure. Their major duty was once to oversee scribes and merchants. They ensured each day operations ran smoothly.

The Nile river is simply no longer the longest river in the world however it is also quite per chance the most essential influential river that have ever existed. The Nile is the solely river that floors through Egypt and was the only supply of water for home and business use. The River Nile was life in the historic Egypt presenting a quintessential supply of water and fertile soil and concurrently supplying safety and non secular strives. Ancient Egyptians monitored the Nile and regulated their every day and annual activities primarily based on its waters. From as early as 8000 to 6000 BC human beings commenced to permanently settling in the Nile valley.

Regularity of the Nile flood frequently delivered prosperous slit to area that farming activities went on. This enabled farmers to develop greater grains like weed and berry. This dynamic made Egypt one of the fertile vicinity in the ancient world. As at 450BC Egyptians began tracking the Nile with merometers. Initially merometers had been read on columns which were positioned in rivers to mark water ranges through the priest. The river Nile impacted the Egyptians economically. The Nile flood with came will nice slit inspired the Egyptian farmers to modern the Shaduf. Due to the increasing demand for agricultural produce each inside and externally, the farmers sought to produce this laptop to help them produce more yields. The shaduf was a desktop that uses to fetch water from the Nile into channel that disbursed water to their crops. It help them to evolve themselves in exterior alternate with different surrounding nations because they had many meals surplus to use in that trading. Also the Nile aided shipbuilding.

After all, without the Nile the Egyptians civilization would no longer have reached its apex . The Egyptians civilization mounted itself and flourished on the Nile base. They had been surely aware of the River’s for their own livelihood and due to such paramount importance the river was once considered sacred to them.

Egyptian civilization started along the banks of the Nile around 3300 BCE. The Ancient Egyptians were polytheistic and believed that if they pleased the gods and goddesses, they would live in peace. Temples and pyramids were built to honor the gods and people worshipped regularly. Its famous and biggest pyramid was Great Pyramid at Giza built by King Khufu. It took 100,000 and 20 years to complete it. A great sphinx was used to protect the pyramid. It had a lion’s head and a human body. The Egyptian civilization had a dynasty that consisted of a family whose ability to rule is passed within the family. Pharoah was the common title for the Egyptian monarch. The Egyptian civilization had Pharaohs such as Pharoah Khufu who built the largest pyramid, and Pharoah Djoser who led the Egyptians through a period of remarkable trade, agriculture, and development of cities, he fought invaders and expanded Egypt. A large rock monument, The Famine Stela marks Djoser`s work to end the seven-year drought. Pharoah Akhenaton changed religious beliefs. Egypt also had female Pharaohs, Pharaoh Hatshepsut, Pharaoh Cleopatra, Pharaoh Mennath, Pharaoh Sobekneferus, and Pharaoh Nefertiti.

These Pharaohs developed a system of bureaucracy that enabled them to rule. Mummification was used to preserve the body of death from decaying. A system of writing was developed which was known as Hieroglyphics. Egyptian history was categorized into three periods; the New Kingdom, the Middle kingdom, and the Old kingdom. The intermediate period was characterized by chaos and violence which disrupted the peace of the Egyptians. This period lasted over hundred and fifty years. Egypt was greatly suppressed by the Syrians and Persians.

Egypt is wholly the gift of the Nile means; the Nile River made civilization in Egypt possible. The Nile is really two rivers, the white and blue that met with Sudan and travels through nine countries before exiting into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the largest river in the world (4.187 miles). The Greek historian Herodotus claimed that Egypt was the gift of the Nile. Unlike most rivers, the Nile flows in a northern direction from Lake Victoria because of the many mountains located in central Asia. Some other famous northern-flowing rivers are the Indus River, St. Johns River, and Yukun River.

The Nile River played a very crucial role in the civilization of Egypt. That cannot be forgotten or relegated to the background. The three geographical features listed are oases, quarries, and mires. An oasis is a land in the desert with a natural water source. Quarries use stone (limestone, sand, granite) to make structures such as statues, temples, and pyramids. Finally, mines were places in the eastern desert that produced resources like gold and semi-precious stones that ancient Egyptians used to make jewelry and spread gifts for the Pharaoh, the royal family member of the nobility, and for temples.

Agricultural-wise, ancient Egypt fished for food. Also, fruits from the trees were collected that grew around the Nile, due to the fertile soil called silt that filled the river banks as a result of the annual flood. They invented the simple machine called shaduf. People had access to good portable drinking water since little or no rainfall was recorded. The shaduf was a long pole with a bucket attached to the end of it that controlled the rise and fall of the Nile River.

Economically, the Egyptians had access to the easy routes which enable them to transport all the goods that the Nile produced, and therefore farming as a source of trade become one of the most important aspects of the Egyptian economy. It was believed that Egypt traded with various civilizations such as the Assyrians, Persians, and Sumeria among others. It also served as a source of transport which made it easier for the movement of individuals and goods and services.

The river also surrounded and protected the Egyptians from outside invaders. This means that whenever an invader tried to invade the Egyptian civilization, they spotted them so they could easily attack and fight them. In the same vein, the Nile river attracted invaders. Another great feature was that the Egyptians could adapt to their environment and from this various ideas and methods about how to survive were learned. In Ancient Egyptian people were very skillful and found extraordinary in order to control their surroundings and use them to their advantage. Concepts like fishing, irrigation systems, and creating calendars to keep track of floods saved the Ancient Egyptians. All this was made possible as a result of the presence of the River Nile. Egypt will forever be remembered as an intelligent and important civilization to the development of the current society. From the above discussion, it can be realized that the Greek historian and traveler Herodotus in the fifth century B.C.E who described Egypt as a ‘Gift of Nile’ was not wrong

Historians and scholars all agree that to understand the development of the Egyptian civilization one must attribute due credit to the Nile River and its role.

Early settlers in the northern Nile River Valley settled along the river’s banks. They found that in the thin fertile region near the Nile was suitable agricultural soil. The Nile also served as an effective route of trade and communication for Egypt across their expansive, rugged land. Moreover, with the river valley only stretching about ten feet wide, it provided more protection from the outside for the blossoming population. It is recorded from historical accounts that the Nile routinely (and predictably) flooded on a set timeframe.

In order to strategically manage this situation, they enacted a central government to for the task of organizing settlers to prepare the land for the best results through the flooding. One such way in which they took advantage of it was to build long embankments that would hold the floodwater in reserve for future use in irrigating the cropland. This proved to be of immeasurable benefit and by 1000 B.C.E. the population would reach numbers of 3-4 million.

The Old Kingdom is the initial period of ancient Egyptian history (2686-2181 B.C.E). This era is notably referred to as a “golden age” for Egypt. Their government and fiscal interests would reach peak success. They would build the pyramids and begin trade with Nubia to the south, and ultimately with the Arabic state to the east, and Palestine and Syria to the northeast. Workers lived with their families in villages; they received food rations and supplies from the government to keep them content in all their toiling. By 3000 B.C.E. the Egyptians would invent hieroglyphic s; the language of alphabetic and syllabic elements and about 2,000 very distinct characters, would become their formal writing system. Knowledge could grow and spread; literacy was not a luxury for the few but a right granted for all.

It is purported that the lavish cost of erecting the pyramids was what weakened the Egyptian Old Kingdom considerably. A weakened central government equated to weakened pharaohs. Regional rulers often emerged to pick up the slack in power, and the political upset from this took its toll on the land. The Old Kingdom met its demise and from 2181 to 2055 B.C.E. it was a dark period; the century that marks this breakdown in central order is referred to as “The First Intermediate period.

The Middle Kingdom, from 2040 to 1786 B.C.E., saw the reintroduction of Egyptian culture and life to the global stage. New pharaohs of a dynasty reborn reinstituted a central government (a stronger government). Its capital quarters were relocated south to Thebes, and greater order was implemented in regard to the control regional rulers had. It was in the Middle Kingdom that Egypt would commence foreign conquests of land stretching into Palestine as well as southward to Nubia. They would also travel for the first time into Sinai in search of gold and copper. Unfortunately, with this expansion of their borders and conquest, they would open their land to foreign invasion.

Originating from the region around Syria and Palestine, the Hyksos invaded through the Nile Delta region and would conquer this land. Their rule from 1786 to 1575 B.C.E. marks “The Second Intermediate period.” Their invasion and assertion of regional power brought about increased trade between Egypt and Mediterranean and Mesopotamia. They also engineered many military tools and utilities such as metal body wear, iron weapons, and horse-drawn chariots. Interestingly though, the Hyksos would adopt many of the same customs and practices of the Egyptians.

However, their rule of the land come to an end in the mid-1500s B.C.E. when a more unified Egypt had suffered enough from these foreign invaders, and more powerful rulers displaced the Hyksos. Egyptian regional power was reinstated in “The New Kingdom,” and they also now had the military strength to expand and conquer other countries. In this period, they conquered peoples in western Asia and Mediterranean. This time marked an ultimate peak in power, as well as wealth with Egypt establishing a line of access to gold from Nubia.

In modern times, rivers are generally regarded as a source of entertainment, fishing, or rarely, water. This was hardly the case in Ancient Egypt, where the Nile River was the key to the very existence of the greatest ancient empire of all time. The Nile River is a major northward flowing river in northeastern Africa. It empties into the Mediterranean Sea, in Egypt. It is generally regarded as the longest river in the world. In the times of Ancient Egypt, it was one of the most critical factors to the prosperity of the Ancient Egyptian empire. The two reasons that the Nile River provided that were essential to the growth and development of Ancient Egyptian civilization were the provision of transportation and the abundance of natural resources.

First, one way that the Nile was important to the growth of Ancient Egypt was how it was used as a source of transportation. In the text “Gift of the Nile”, the text states that, “The river was always full of boats carrying visiting friends, traders sailing between riverside towns or into the Mediterranean, or builders moving the great stone blocks and statues from the quarries to new temple sites.” This suggests that the river was used for a wide variety of transportation purposes, including trade, freight, and general passage. This shows that the Nile River was very close in nature to the interstate highway system of modern times. Ultimately, the Nile River was an important transportation system for the Ancient Egyptians. Of course, it was not the only way through which the Egyptians utilized the Nile.

In addition to transportation, another way that the Ancient Egyptians utilized the Nile River is by taking advantage of the natural resources around it and the capability of turning these into everyday items. In the text piece, “The Gift of the Nile”, it asserts that, “In the marshes [of the Nile] people picked lotus flowers for making perfume, picked vegetables, and caught wild ducks for food. They gather papyrus reeds from which they made boats, paper, sandals, rope, and baskets of all kinds.”This shows that the Ancient Egyptians relied on the Nile for a variety of different reasons, including raw materials for cosmetics, elements of constructing objects, and as a source of food. This vast array of resources allow for the Egyptian empire to grow and expand.This conclusively made the Nile a very important resource for the Egyptians.

In conclusion, the two reasons that were essential to the growth and development of Ancient Egyptian civilization were the means of transportation and the ubiquity of raw materials. These are essential in the growth and development of Ancient Egypt due to the potential trade and expansion the transportation on the Nile offers, and the omnipresence of easy to reach natural resources, therefore securing valuable products and necessities for the Egyptians. Although with contemporary technologies and enterprises, it would not be necessary to depend on the Nile River for many of the above reasons. But in the days of Ancient Egypt, civilizations had to survive with what they could find or grow, and the Nile was a perfect place for both. Without the Nile River, the Ancient Egyptian empire could not have existed.

Not only is the Egyptian climate peculiar to that country, and the Nile different in the way it behaves from rivers elsewhere, but the manners and customs of the Egyptians themselves seem to be the opposite of the typical practices of mankind’. – Herodotus.

When Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian, wrote these words, Egyptian civilization had been going successfully for thousands of years without foreign interference. These unusual people, thanks to the uniquely protective Nile River Valley, had the opportunity to develop differently from Europe and the East. Long periods of isolated growth without foreign invasion occurred because Egypt had natural borders that were impossible, or very difficult to cross.

So immense is the significance of the Nile River to the development of Egyptian civilization, that we cannot separate the history of Egypt from its geography and other natural aspects. The Nile was very important as a communication and trade route across a vast and harsh land. Also, its annual flooding renewed farmlands that would otherwise be arid desert.

Since before written history, people have built their homes in towns and cities made along the banks of the Nile. But it wasn’t always this way. The earliest inhabitants of this region were Stone-Age hunter-gatherers who roamed an immense area rich in wildlife, which is now a desert. With radical changes in climate, these people gradually replaced their nomadic culture with the settled life of agriculturalists.

‘We are content with our Black land ”¦ the heartland is with us’. – A Pharoah’s inscription on a wall in the Temple of Karnak in Thebes, referring to Egyptian appreciation of the fertile soil.

The Sahara desert, the Nile River and the abundance of rock greatly influenced where and how the ancient Egyptians settled and built their civilization. These factors combined: landforms, climate and water, are looked at in detail.

Ancient Greeks said that Egypt was the gift of the Nile. The Ancient Egyptians settled themselves on the narrow strip of alluvial soil along both banks of the Nile. This came about for two reasons: excellent agricultural soil in the thin fertile zone next to the river. Beyond this was barren land and rugged cliffs, followed by arid desert. The Nile is the biggest river in Africa, and is the result of the joining of three rivers from Sudan, Uganda and Ethiopia. It starts in south (Upper) Egypt and ends at the country’s northern border with the Mediterranean Sea (Lower Egypt). This separation of the country into two regions stems from ancient times. It also reflects the distinctly different higher ground and narrower river valleys in the south, from the flat flood plains of the delta in the north by the sea.

In its lower (northern) part, the Nile River splits itself many times and spills into the Mediterranean Sea across a huge delta plain. To the east another natural boundary, The Red Sea, extends roughly parallel to the Nile. Because of these two seas, the Egyptians were the only people of the ancient world to be able to control both western and eastern foreign trade.

The Nile is one of the most important parts of Egypt to date. The river is 6695 km long and runs through the countries of Tanzania, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt. The Nile has two main streams that are much smaller, these streams are called the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The history of the Nile is very important as around 5000 years ago the ancient Egyptians relied on the Nile as a source of fresh water, food, and transportation. During the inundation season which was during august the Nile almost always flooded which was a good and bad thing. However, nowadays the Nile does not flood anymore since in 1970 the Aswan high dam was built which allowed the flood water to be used as water for homes. The Nile provided things like freshwater for drinking, beer making, cooking, washing items and irrigation. Lots of wildlife lived in the river such as fish, birds, frogs, crocodiles, eels, hippopotamus and snakes.

The climate in Egypt was a very hot and dry as it laid in the hottest desert in the world, the Sahara Desert. Due to having this large desert Egypt inhabited some animals which include gazelles’ hares and foxes. Minerals, Rocks, and metals were also somethings that ancient Egyptians sourced from the desert to help construct things like the pyramids, houses, weapons, and tombs. The desert was also used in a positive economic way as by trading these objects money was made or new items were purchased. Due to the hot weather conditions the Egyptians lived an outdoors lifestyle, people did most things outside. The things ancient Egyptians did outside included cooking and sleeping which was most commonly done on the roof of the house. Due to the sandy desert sometimes when there was wind the sand could blow up to people and commonly cause eye infections. Two different areas of Egypt were constructed due to the Nile River, there was the red land and the black land. The red land was where it all desert, not near the Nile and hardly anyone lived here. Then there was the black land, which was right near to the Nile River, the land was fertile and covered in rich, dark soil. This is where most people lived so they could have access to necessities.

Many weapons used as fighting tools were also used when farming. For example, a spear could kill an animal to eat but could also kill an enemy soldier. Axes were used to chop up bodies and spears were used to chase down and kill men. Hunting sticks were useful when you wanted to kill a bird that’s in the air. The mace which is a heavy stick object with a heavy and powerful steelhead and many other weapons were important to the ancient Egyptian religion. Weapons were used when fighting and when fighting the Nile was used to get places quickl

Mummification was the process of persevering a body for it to go to the afterlife. Mummification was a big part of the ancient Egyptian spiritual beliefs and traditions. The whole point of mummification is to send a soul to the afterlife so it can live on there. This process was firstly a special hooked tool used to remove bits of the brain through the nostrils. The organs were removed by cutting the left side of the abdomen open with an embalmer knife and put into a canopic jar. All organs were removed and placed into canopic jars. After this, the corpse would be wrapped up placed in a coffin or wooden box then stored in a tomb. In the coffin, the corpse would have with it everything it needed for the afterlife. When the corpse was ready to go into the tomb before it went in a priest would perform some rituals. Such as the opening of the mouth ceremony was with an axe-like tool the priest would touch all the head openings of the body. Which was thought to wake up the dead person senses. To reach the afterlife, it was said that magic spells and prayers had to be recited to guide them through any dangers. These spells and prayers were read from a book called the book of the dead, a copy of this book was often buried with everyone. Egyptians were buried with the good they thought they needed for the afterlife which sometimes included clothing, jewellery, pots/vases, furniture, wigs, tools/weapons, chariots, boats, food and even sometimes real servants.

Merchants boats were used to move traded goods to markets or move goods ready to be traded to a different part of the Nile. These boats also transported huge stones blocks that were used to help build and construct the pyramids. Used to get food small fishing boats were made from bundles of papyrus reeds. Pleasure boats moved traveling people up and down the river and were also used as funeral boats to carry the coffin with a pharaoh in it to its tomb. The Nile was an important part of boats because without the water boats couldn’t be in use and sources wouldn’t be in access to the ancient Egyptians.

The ancient Egyptian form and language of writing were called hieroglyphics. But in saying this only about 1% of Egyptians knew how to read and write and these people were usually always men. The people who called read and wright were highly respected in society and were known as scribes. Hieroglyphics included over 750 different symbols but as years past Egyptians developed a smaller and simpler alphabet, which was used for everyday writing and was easy to use. This writing was a small and specific picture, sign or symbol used as a form of writing.

King Tutankhamun is one of the most well-known pharaohs of all time and one of the most studied people ever. He was only 9 when he became pharaoh in 1332 BCE and died at the young age of 19. He did not live long enough to do something life-changing, but it did make the citizens of Egypt only believe in one god which was Aten. He also restored lots of priests, festivals and temples. Despite living a short life his tomb is significant has it is the only tomb to date that hasn’t been broken into or stolen from by robbers. His tomb contains 5300 pieces of evidence of life and burial ceremonies. But still to this day, nobody knows how he died but there are lots of potential theories about what could have happened.

The two gods we have chosen to discuss are Isis and Osiris who are husband and wife. Isis is a protective goddess who uses magical spells to help the people in need. Her headdress was in the shape of a throne and a sun disk with the horns of a cow. She was the mother of Horus. She is often seen with her son on her lap and she is associated with thrones because her lap was the first throne Horus sat on. Osiris was the God of the dead and ruler of the underworld. Osiris was the husband of Isis and He too was the father of Horus. He looked like a mummified man wearing a white cone headdress with feathers. He was also the God of resurrection and fertility, in fact, ancient Egyptians supposedly thought that Osiris give them on of their most important crops, barley. A large temple was built to honour him.

Pharaohs were very high up on the social hierarchy and were known as kings or gods. They had lots of money and were considered the highest priest in Egypt, they also kept everything in balance. The pharaoh was almost always a man and was the head or ruler of Egypt. They were respected so much when people meet them, they had to get on their knees and kiss the ground as a sign of respect. As they were very wealthy the owned all the land and all the resources within it. The pharaoh wanted people to pay high tax which could be paid with grain or other crops. Not only did they have power they had many important jobs to do, which some were made by law and others by religion. Pharaohs had different outfits compared to everyone else they wore a crown that showed their position as ruler and different coloured crowns meant different parts of Egypt they ruled. They wore a gold cobra headpiece that represents power, a fake beard made from goats’ fur and a very jewelled collar that means wealth. A whip was also held to show they had power over everyone, a crook symbolized that he was a shepherd and the animal tail the wore meant they were strong.