Essay on Development of Ancient Egypt

The Nile shaped Egypt by influencing its geography, popular distribution, and settlements. The majority of settlements in Ancient Egypt were located around the Nile River Delta (Doc. A), where land was fertile, trade was good, and there were many natural resources. Because of geography in this civilization, Egyptians could easily protect and defend themselves, as well as settle down and have good lives.

“Whatever we do or fail to do will influence the course of history” once announced by Arthur Henderson. So you want to be educated about the Nile and ancient Egypt, here are a few facts to get you started. Egypt is a very old, ancient place, the first pharaoh began ruling around 2920 BCE. Almost 5,000 years ago. The famous Nile River, almost everybody knows about, is located in Egypt. The Nile River shaped life in ancient Egypt in several areas of Egyptian life. Three of these ways were transportation and farming, spiritual life, and population and settlement.

In addition, Dynasties tended to be clustered under three kingdoms Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. The Old Kingdom was 3100-2200 BC. It was fundamentally productive and successful period of ancient Egypt. During this period many accomplishments were made, for example, art and architecture, divine kingship, religion, social and economic stability, and prosperity. This was the period that saw the construction of the most important sights to the Pharaohs of Egypt, the pyramids of Giza.

Architecture: During the Old Kingdom, the existing peaceful period provided an opportunity for the construction of the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx of Giza. The Pyramids were originally created as a step design but were later converted to smooth sides by the 4th dynasty. By the 5th dynasty, the pyramids grew smaller, but the carvings inside the temples were of greater quality. This period was characterized by advanced architecture and was referred to as the Age of the Pyramids. Archeologists indicate that the pyramids discovered in the Middle Kingdom were not as well constructed as those of the Old Kingdom. This explains why only a few of them are still in existence. During the New Kingdom, there were two types of temples constructed: cult temples referred to as the Mansion of the gods and mortuary temples referred to as Mansions of Millions of Years. During this period, pyramids were not built, and the Pharaohs were buried in rock tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

The Nile River is approximately 4,260 miles long. It holds the record for being the longest river in the world. The Nile was a life source for Egyptians. The fertile land from the frequent flooding was very beneficial for Egyptians. They began to grow crops alongside the Nile. Beans, wheat, and cotton were among the crops being grown. However, the amount of crops grown was limited because the land did not extend very far. The land good enough to support farming was composed of two thin strips of land on either side of the river. Farming opened the door to a critical advancement in human life.

The people groups in ancient Egyptian were very different than our societies social groups today. Ancient Egyptians were grouped in a hierarchical system with the Pharaoh at the top and farmers and slaves at the bottom. The groups of people nearest to the top of society were the richest and most powerful. The Pharaoh was believed to be a god on earth and had the most power. He was responsible for making laws and keeping order. Ensuring that Egypt was not attacked or invaded by enemies and for keeping the gods happy so that the Nile flooded and there was a good harvest. The Vizier was the Pharaoh's chief advisor

The Nile River was the life force of ancient Egypt. People from all over the region immigrated to the area for its irrigation waters and rich silt deposits. The geography of the region played a huge role in the way the inhabitants and civilization in general was formed. The main core of Egypt covered 386, 560 square miles, of which only 11, 720 were cultivable (Tignor et al., Worlds Together, 62). The Nile differed itself specifically from the Tigris and Euphrates in that its waters did not irrigate or fertilize nearly as well but it did create green belts along the water. This created a society that flourished along the river. The Nile unlike Mesopotamia did not have a bountiful borderland but did have a desert rich in materials. The Niles predictability as the source of life and abundance shaped the character of the people and their culture. (Tignor et al., Worlds Together, 63). The Nile was peaceful and calm unlike the vicious Tigris And Euphrates Rivers. Egypt with its natural borders, which included the Mediterranean Sea, Deserts, and Large Waterfalls, was very isolated. This helped to achieve

Despite the ancient Egyptians' conservative nature and keeping to their core values, there were many changes within the infrastructure of their society during the middle kingdom. When Historians and scholars study the Old Kingdom, and the Middle Kingdom, One will notice that alterations to their religion, art, and architecture changed through both periods in history. Internal forces, as well as outside influences, shaped ancient Egyptian civilization. One would argue that the terms Old, middle and knew Kingdoms were of a hellenistic idea, instead of a Ancient Egyptian Ideology. The Old Kingdom founds its reign lasted from 2700- 2200 B.C. This time period consisted of the third through the sixth dynasty, beginning with Djoser and ending

Without the ebb and flow of the great Nile River, Egyptian civilization might not have ever existed. The Nile, the longest river in the world, led to prosperity like no other waterway before. Flowing northward, the river was the foundation of Egypt’s economy and lifestyle. The Nile shaped Ancient Egypt through providing stability as a civilization, offering agricultural success, and influencing Egyptian culture. Egypt became a long-lasting civilization as a result of the Nile’s ability to support the needs of the people, including settlement and trade.

As Egypt thrives and becomes stronger everyday as a whole, it gets help from one special and important geological feature, the Nile. How did the Nile shape Ancient Egypt? Ancient Egypt was a civilization in Northeastern Africa that settled along the longest river in the world, the Nile. Ancient Egyptians civilized along the Nile helping them advance their city. The Nile allowed the ancient Egyptians to have fertile soil for agriculture, and trade from the help of transportation.

Did you know that the Nile River is the longest river in the world and flows for over 4000 miles? With the last 660 miles of the Nile River flowing through Lower Egypt and the Nile Delta, it played a big role in ancient Egypt from the time of the first pharaoh in 2920 BC through 30 BC. The Nile River shaped Ancient Egypt in at least 3 ways. It provided for their food supply, transportation and trade, and spiritual beliefs.

Egypt is the most iconic of the river valley civilizations and it is also one of the most significant civilizations of all. The trade mark of Egypt is the Nile River. It was the most Important part of the geography. The predictable and cyclical flooding of the Nile was what helped agriculture thrive in Egypt. Agriculture emerged in Egypt by 5,000 BCE. The flooding of the river acted as a perfect irrigation system for plants and silt that cam from the river was nutrient rich and helped grow plants at a great scale. Egyptian agriculture was so successful that there was a great surplus of food.

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

Within the society of ancient Egypt, having a good Pharaoh was considered to be absolutely vital for the functioning of the country; and it was for this reason that Egypt had been ruled by these supposedly half gods half humans for over three thousand years. The position of the Pharaoh was auspiciously passed down through the royal family and traditionally to the eldest son when his father died. Hatshepsut was a significant individual who thwarted this convention by depicting herself as a male so that after her husband/brother Thutmosis II died suddenly she could become Pharaoh instead of the rightful successor, who was Thutmosis III. Because of the male-governed society of which she had lived in, Hatshepsut had to indeed subvert the

There are many civilizations in history that contributed to the rise of modern day society. All of the things that we see today have been in some way shape or form improved upon to stand the test of time. From the structures of buildings, religion and pyramids, to the influence of art, it all played a part. The ancient civilization of the Egyptians was one of the most significant and well known cultures to ever have existed and technology wise, they were light years ahead.