Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The importance of the Nile river to the ancient Egyptian society
The importance of the Nile river to the ancient Egyptian society
The importance of the Nile river to the ancient Egyptian society
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Nile River is arguably one of the most important water sources in the world and has an extremely rich history dating back thousands of years. Without the Nile, the ancient Egyptian civilization would have never existed. Egypt is basically a whole lot of sand and not much else, except they have the Nile River flowing through it, on it’s way to the Mediterranean sea. The ancient Egyptians lived along the Nile River and it provided them with abundant water, food (fish) and the opportunity to develop agriculture along it’s banks. The Nile River was also used for transportation and trade with other regions because land travel was more difficult than floating on the river. The Ancient Egyptians were at the mercy of the seasonal flooding and droughts but learned to work within the natural system of the River and weather cycles (Carnegie Museum of Natural History). Modern people, however were more interested in conquering nature, rather than living in harmony with it.
When we think of the Nile River, we typically do think of Ancient Egypt but the Nile River actually flows through 11 countries, now that South Sudan has become an independent nation. pg.2/Streets It is 6,600km long and the Nile River Basin is home to 160 million people. Due to high fertility rates, that number is on track to double in the next 25 years (United Nations Environment Programme). That means that there will soon be 320 million people to support in the Nile River Basin.
Population
Egypt itself currently has a population of approximately 87 million people and a Total Fertility Rate of 2.87 (Central Intelligence Agency). The population of Egypt is projected to be 100 million in 2025 and nearly 126 million in 2050 (Population Reference Bureau). This is a m...
... middle of paper ...
...b. 2014. Web. 07 May 2014.
Night Lights. Digital image. NASA, 28 Oct. 2010. Web. 3 May 2014.
"Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae." UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, n.d. Web. 04 May 2014.
"Population Reference Bureau." Population Reference Bureau. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2014.
Pottinger, Lori. "Environmental Impacts of Large Dams: African Examples." International Rivers. N.p., 1 Oct. 1996. Web. 04 May 2014.
Struggle Over the Nile. Al Jazeera, 2011. Web. 3 May 2014.
United Nations Environment Programme. Environment, Sustainable Development and the Nile River Basin. N.p.: United Nations Environment Programme, n.d. Case Study 1. United Nations Environmental Programme. Web. 3 May 2014.
"The World Factbook - Egypt." Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, n.d. Web. 03 May 2014.
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.
Do you know the name of the mighty, 4,160-mile-long river that runs through eastern Africa? If you guessed the Nile, then yes, you are correct. But other than setting the record of being the longest natural river in the world, the Nile has been of great importance to the people of Ancient Egypt. In fact, without the Nile River, Ancient Egypt as we know it today would never have existed! Therefore, the Nile River shaped life in Ancient Egypt through economy, religion, and government.
The Egyptian civilization relied on the Nile in many ways. The Nile had annual floods which made the land better for growing food; the Egyptians predicted these floods and used it to create bigger harvest and a surplus of food.
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
Was it a gift or a curse? The Nile is the world's longest river at 4,160 miles. Of that total, approximately 660 to 700 miles of the Nile are actually in Egypt. It is one of the four most important river civilizations in the world. Land in Egypt was called Black Land (representing life) and Red Land (representing danger). For Egyptians, the Nile meant the difference between life and death. Today, we know that the Nile influenced ancient Egypt in many areas of life such as providing food, shelter and faith to the people. Specific areas dealing with settlement location, agricultural cycle, jobs, trade, transportation and spiritual beliefs will prove the case.
Salman, Salman MA. "The New State of South Sudan and the Hydro-politics of the Nile Basin." Water International 36.2 (2011): n. pag. Taylor and Francis Online. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
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
The Nile is the longest river in the world, cuts a swath of green and life through the bareness of the giant Sahara desert in northern Africa. It is almost 4160 miles long from its remotest head stream, the Lavironza river in Burundi, in central Africa to its delta on the Mediterranean sea north east of Egypt. The river flows northward and drain 1100100 square miles, about tenth the size of Africa, passing through ten African countries. It has many tributaries but there are two main ones: the White Nile fed by lake Victoria and the Blue Nile coming from Ethiopian mountains. These two main branches join near Khartoum, the capital of Sudan and they continue together as Nile proper until meeting the Mediterranean Sea and forming the Nile delta in northern Egypt.
In Ancient Egypt they use the Nile River and the Sahara Desert in some many ways that benefited them. Ancient Egypt was divided into two land different land, the black land and red land. The black land was the fertile land that the Nile River made and the red land was the desert of Egypt. They use the Nile River for the fertile soil that was left after the river was not flooded, so that they could use that fertile soil for growing crops. They would also use the Nile River for fishing, washing their clothes, and sometimes they would trade with others for resources that they needed. The Sahara Desert was used for protection against other invading armies. The climate was always hot and very dry; this is what made it really hard for farming if you lived in the desert area.
The Nile, is the longest river in the world, and is located in northeastern Africa. Its principal source is Lake Victoria, in east central Africa. The Nile flows north through Uganda, Sudan, and Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea, with a total distance of 5584 km. From its remotest headstream in Burundi, the river is 6671 km long. The river basin covers an area of more than 3,349,000 sq km. Not only is the Nile considered a wonder by Herodotus, but by people all over the world, due to its impotance to the growth of a civilization.The first great African civilization developed in the northern Nile Valley in about 5000 BC.
It is also has some extremely large cities, it is hard to believe that all this started with a albeit very advanced but secluded civilization in a little patch of life stemmed from the Nile and ( as this has most likely been nailed permanently into your mind) the Nile river, the longest river in Africa and the second longest river in the world only 87 miles behind the Amazon which is 4,345 Miles long ( can not belive I forgot to mention that until now) but yes the Nile is 4,258 miles long which is 1,338 miles longer than the second longest river in Africa the Congo which is 2,920 miles
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
...el. This caused the building of boats from resources found along the rivers edge. This made travel easier for the Egyptians and opened up more trade with other civilizations. From all these gifts, the ancient Egyptians created a god for the river. So not only did the Nile River provide the resources to sustain life but it also provided a religious belief system. This gave the Egyptians something to believe in and work towards in their life. The Nile River is the reason ancient Egyptians survived. It provided everything for the families within the community. The river is the only way large civilizations could survive the dry desert climate. Without the Nile, Egypt would be a barren desert with little civilization. There development of Egypt would have been much smaller if the Nile did not exist. This shows just how significant the Nile River was to ancient Egyptians.
Egyptians began to settle along the banks of the Nile River, Starting as far north as to the city of Alexandria all the way down south to Aswan. They developed into a well-structured society as Far East to the Red Sea and west to Dakhia, Oasis among many (Figure 1.). The Nile River reached far lending a hand in creating a well-known civilization that consisted of building pyramids and producing crops for their pharaoh. Evolving from hunters and gatherers into agriculturalists throughout history, Egypt has claimed to be one of the earliest and most spectacular civilizations of ancient times. One could wonder if, what led to the collapse of this great society resulted from the Egyptians interaction with the environment by overusing natural resources, seasonal flooding of the Nile River can play a role, or even worse feuding wars of rulers that see value in the great Egypt soil that are continuing well into the present day?
The Nile is the longest river in the world which is located in Africa. It spans itself from Lake Victoria in east central Africa to Egypt. It flows generally north through Uganda, Sudan, and Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea, for an approximate distance of 5,584 km From its remotest headstream, the Luvironza River in Burundi, the river is 6,695 km long. The river basin has an area of about 3,350,000 sq km. Its average discharge is 3.1 million litres per second. The lower course of the river in Egypt has become centrally important to tourism, linking as it does to all the major sites of Ancient Egypt.