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The importance of the river Nile in Ancient Egypt
Culture of ancient Egypt
Culture of ancient Egypt
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Recommended: The importance of the river Nile in Ancient Egypt
Situated in the north east of Africa, the Nile is the blood, life and backbone of Egyptian existence and culture, for without it, Egypt would just be a wasteless continuation of the Sahara Desert. In this essay, I will explain the environmental and geographical factors as well as some of their influences upon the political and social structure of the Ancient Egyptians. My references come from a wide range of different books and internet websites.
With its natural borders - the vast Sahara Desert and it's few scattered oases to the west, the mountainous Eastern Desert and the Red Sea to the east, the narrow coastline of the Meditteranean Sea edging the marshy Delta to the north and the black and red granite rocks of the Cataracts to the south, ancient Egyptians were reasonably free from aggressors. This gave Egypt time to develop its unique culture, religion, and political state.
The land was divided by the ancient Egyptian state into two parts. Upper Egypt - the narrow valley area of the Nile south of Memphis down to Abu on the First Cataract was called ta-shema. The king of the Upper Egypt wore the White conical crown [hedjet] which ended in a bulb and was protected by the goddess Nekhbet. A flowering sedge plant represented the south. Lower Egypt or the Delta area was called ta-mehu and its representation was the papyrus plant. The king of Lower Egypt wore the chair shaped Red Crown [deshret] which had a coil or plume protruding from it and was protected by the goddess Wadjet. When the pharaoh is seen as the 'King of the Two Lands', he is shown wearing the combined crown called the 'The Two Mighty Ones' [pschent], which can be best described as the White Crown inserted into the top of the Red Crown.
The two lands were subdi...
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...the boy of the lower class family may have got an opportunity to learn the trade of the scribe. Girls were not allowed to go to school and study this profession, although Queens and some ladies of upper class society, could read and write. The lower class person could also move up to the middle classes, by means of marriage or success in their farming or chosen profession.
The Nile was unarguably the main reason for the existence of Ancient Egypt. With no river to break the expanse of desert, settlement would have been impossible. In reality, the Nile was the starting heartbeat of the growth of the Ancient Egyptian culture. Egypt's geographical positioning in the north east of Africa was not a fortunate placement, but it was fortunate for the growth of this civilization that man learned to harness the power and agricultural riches of the longest river in the world.
During the years of 3500 BC to 2500 BC, the geography of a land often impacted a civilizations development in great measures. Depending on the resources available or the detriments present due to certain topographical characteristics like rivers or deserts, a civilization could flourish or collapse. By studying the geographic features of growing societies like the Nile, Euphrates, and Tigris Rivers as well as the Mediterranean Sea of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the link between developing cultures and geography will be examined through sources, including Egypt: Ancient Culture, Modern Land edited by Jaromir Malek and Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization by Paul Kriwaczek. To determine the extent of its influence, this investigation will attempt to compare and contrast the role of geography in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, focusing on the civilizations’ various periods of development and settlement.
In document B, the chart and document C, the illustration, people had seasons based on the Nile and farming. In document B it states, “ Crops in the lower Nile harvested and sent to market.” So therefore, without the Nile crops wouldn't grow. Also, people used the Nile for transportation. They had a flood season, a growing season, and a harvest season. If the Nile flooded more than 30 feet, it would flood the villages and if it flooded under 25 feet then it wouldn't be enough water. They transported food, tombs, and obelisks on large barges. Not only did the Nile shape Ancient Egypt through economics but also spiritual life.
One of the ways that the Nile shaped Egypt was through economy. According to document A, the Nile’s location was perfect for trade and interaction with other nearby ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia and the Indus
2. The Nile River was probaly the biggest reasons why communities and tribes stayed where they did during this time period. The Nile River served them for everything from clean water, fish for food, and transportaion.
The Nile River is an important part in the decision of choosing where to settle in the future. The Egyptians were multi-taskers and it was important for them to choose the right environment to place their home. For example, in Document A, the map shows many
The Nile River helped shape Ancient Egypt into the civilization we know of today. There were a lot of contributing factors that the Nile had on Egypt. For example, the Nile allowed for transportation between the surrounding cities. The Nile River could be navigated all year long, and this was a way that the cities could communicate. Egypt is located in Northeastern Africa and has the Libyan and Arabian deserts surrounding the river. Without the river, Egypt would have remained a desert and not been transformed into the civilization that we know it as. The Nile River was truly considered “the gift of Egypt” because the Nile economically, socially, and spiritually provided support for Egypt; without the Nile, Egypt would have remained a desert
Egypt is situated in the Nile valley in the north east of Africa. Ancient Egypt included two regions a southern region, and northern region. The southern region is called Upper Egypt, and the northern region was called Lower Egypt. The life around Ancient Egypt centers on the Nile River and the fertile land around the banks of the river. Farmers created an irrigation system to control the water flow, so the crops can grow in both the rainy and dry seasons. This irrigation system made a surplus in crops.
The Nile’s geography impacted Ancient Egypt and its civilization. There were the deserts surrounding the Nile, the Sea, and the Nile River itself. To the east and west of the Nile there were deserts that could help protect the Ancient Egyptians and prevent
Conscious of the geographical region, Egyptians settled around the Nile, as the Nile provided substance (agriculture, irrigation, trading routes, etc.). The Egyptians noticed that the Nile would flood regularly, and exploited this natural flooding by building an irrigation system to support their agriculture, as well as their society. “Hymn to the Nile” depicts this prosperous age of agriculture, “Lord of the fish, during the inundation, no bird alights on the crops. You create the grain, you bring forth the barley, assuring perpetuity to the temples.” ("Ancient History Sourcebook: Hymn to the Nile, c. 2100 BCE."). However, the Nile might have contributed to the eventual collapse of ancient Old Kingdom Egyptian civilization. The Nile partially destroyed the society that it had once nurtured. A series of low or high floods over the course of a few years immensely impacted their agriculture, which in turn created epidemics of famine and civil unrest. The Egyptian civilization eventually prospered once more, only centuries later and with new social
"All of Egypt is the gift of the Nile." It was the Greek historian Herodotus who made that observation. The remarkable benefits of the Nile are clear to everyone, but through history he was the first to talk about it and consider its fascination. Through history, the Nile played a major role in the building of civilizations. The first civilizations to appear in history started on a river valley or in a place where resources are numerous and example of these are in India where Indus river is found and Tigris where Euphrates is found and many other places (cradles of civilization).
In Egypt, the Nile River overflowed its banks annually, creating fertile, mineral-rich soil. The yearly rise of the Nile in Egypt was gentle and predictable. The Egyptian’s found security in the Nile’s 365-day cycle of inundation and Egypt’s perimeter of sea and desert
The early Dynastic Period was Egypt?s era of initial unification and state building under the guidelines of its first three royal dynasties. In the years between 2660 and 2180 B. C. the basic marks of the cultures of Egypt arose. Egypt was one kingdom and it was divided into provinces, or the names of provinces. Ruling over the kingdom was a pharaoh, who was not only a king but was also seen as a god. Provinces were ruled by nomarchs better known as provincial governors. The Egyptians devised themselves into classes, upper class, middle class, and a lower class. The pharaoh and his family were at the top of the Egyptian class system. People could move from one class to another depending on their situations.
Egypt is known as the gift of the Nile, but why well that is what this paper is all about. For starters Egypt would not be the place it is today without the Nile it would be reduced to a dry uninhabitable desert. The Nile provides water to the entire land and as we all know water is a necessity for all life to exist. Another thing that the Nile supplies is silt, this silt is full of nutrients that makes farming not only possible but actually a lot easier than it is here in the states . The Nile also makes trade with nearby cities and towns possible so supplies are never short.
The Nile River had great influence on Ancient Egyptian culture. The Nile is the longest river in the world, that is located in Africa, was the source of livelihood for the ancient Egyptians as it was used for trade and hunting, as well as, drinking and fishing. It was also used for bathing and other hygiene purposes. It was the source of Ancient Egypt’s wealth, treasures, and the greatest arteries supplied the land with blessings and drown ancient Egyptians in various graces through the ages as the emitter of life in Egypt and the source of its existence, because it watered ancient Egyptian’s lands. The Nile had the greatest impact on timeless civilization that originated on it in the past ages, the Nile held oldest civilization immortalized in history. Ancient Egyptians could not have survived without the Nile River, which in essence, inspired their way of living, “The country’s verdant green fields and bountiful food resources depended on the fertile soil of the Nile flood plain” (Silverman 12). In turn, many ancient
Providing extremely fertile soil is one, if not the most important, roles the Nile River played in the life of the ancient Egyptians. By providing fertile soil, the Nile made it easy for cities and civilizations to grow alongside the banks of the river. This fertile soil comes from the annual flooding of the Nile. This replenishes the top soil with silt deposits that hold much needed nutrients for crops to grow. Ancient Egyptians developed highly complex irrigation methods to maximize the effect of the Nile waters. When the Nile overflows in mid summer, Egyptians divert the waters through the use of canals and dams. As the water seeped into the farm land, rich deposits of silt ensured a good harvest for the year. This allows the civilizations of Egyptians to grow enough food to feed the community. Without the annual flooding of the Nile, Egyptians would have a very difficult time growing necessary amount food to sustain life. Most of the land in the Egyptian nation is dry desert. Very little rain falls year round here. The river provides the needed water to grow the crops as well as provide drinking water for the people. Th...