Geography Effects On Civilizations

The first reason the Nile River shaped Ancient Egypt was by setting the calendar. The Nile River Flood Cycle Chart shows that Akhet was the flood season and lasted from mid-June to mid-October (Doc B). The flood season flooded the fields and fertilized the the soil with silt. When the fields flooded it was a sign for the farmers that planting season was coming. The Nile River Flood Cycle Chart states, ¨crops in the Lower Nile harvested and sent to the market.” (Doc B). This season was called Shemu and it was from mid-February to mid- June. The farmers knew what to do when that season came because of the Nile’s flood cycle. All in all this is how the Nile shaped

I think that without the past there is no future. The future is very important and in this essay I will explain the Egyptian civilization in mesopotamia and information about their beliefs, way of life and leadership. I will also include the role of pharaoh and priests of Mesopotamia.

Economically, these two civilizations both shared prosperous success in similar manners. One connection between Mesopotamia and Egypt is that they both manipulated their designated rivers to perform critical trade operations by using them as routes. They were able to communicated and send goods with other civilizations in a farther location via the river system. Also, these two civilizations were very productive in the agricultural field due to the strategically created irrigation systems that provided water to their fertile soils to provide lush vegetations in Nile and Sumer. The one difference between Mesopotamia and Egypt in terms of economy is that the Nile government controlled most if not all of the trading monopoly, and they had their citizens pay substantial taxes.

In Greece, the geography affected early settlements in positive ways. An example is Mount Olympus, since it was so high up and covered by clouds, Greeks believed Gods lived there. Document 2 states, ”According to the ancient Greeks, their gods controlled every part of daily life--the weather, crops, money, love, and business, phases of the moon, earthquakes, and even whether a loaf of bread burned in the oven.” This proves that ancient Greeks not being able to see the top of the mountain, made them believe the gods were up there, and it gave them an explanation to everything. Another one is, how hot and dry climates were great for growing olive trees. In document 4 it states, ”Olive oil was as good as money to the ancient Greeks, since they could trade it for other land not available

The people of Mesopotamia also had bad world because of the overload of water that caused them to have a surplus of food. The Nile allowed the Egyptians to work their crops instead of worrying about the river, unlike the people in Mesopotamia. Due to the flooding of the

Geography had a tremendous impact on early civilizations, the topography of the different regions played a key role in their development and formation. This statement by Fernand Braudel “ Geography is the stage in which humanity’s endless dramas are played out” (Getz et al., Exchanges, 26) is a very moving and telling description. The terrain, whether it is natural or man made is not the end all, be all. It does however affect the stage a great deal. Mountainous areas act as blockades, which keep the societies independent, plains open up the area, and rivers enable everything to move around freely. 2

As you can see the Aksum empire was the best and biggest trading empire because of where they were and the geography around them. Ancient Egypt was a smart empire and learn the way the geography around them worked and what it did, so they can plan around it and be successful. Lastly, Ancient Greece was affected and they weren’t able to move and be able to life with a very successful empire where they were. This shows that geography was a huge part of the way the people in the empires lived and if they were successful or

One of the cultures of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia developed into successful civilizations is by their water sources. In document 1, the river Nile in Egypt flooded every year, which gave the land around it soft fertile ground, great for planting crops. Most people lived near the river. In document 2, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which was also called the Fertile Crescent, provided food, transportation, and plants. They were especially populated since the area had deserts and mountains. Another reason is their rulers. As stated in document 3, the ancient Egyptian looked at their ruler, the pharaoh, as one of their gods in a human form, serving them well and deciding what’s best for the country. Quoting document 4, the people of Mesopotamia

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

Ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian agricultural lives were highly differentiated due to their contrasting geographical situations, and also differences in technological processes and developments. Only a small area of Egyptian land (the Delta and Nile Valley) was fertile during the annual inundation of the river Nile. Moreover, harsh natural circumstances created a famine risk for the entire population, thus restricting the freedom to decide for a common citizen. To illustrate, an uneven spillage of the river Nile, when there were insufficient water resources for the agriculture or floods threatening corps, required a unified, or communal, water regulation and distributional system. So, a

Geography and the environment play a monumental role in the establishment and success of a nearly every civilization. For example, rivers bring water and allow for agricultural development, while mountains or deserts provide for protection and create a barrier. Many things, such as the aforementioned deserts and mountains, can offer both positive and negative influences on the society in question. The climate and amount of rainfall is directly related to the success or failure of crop growing, and thus related to the amount of time spent on simply surviving. Civilizations that are able to spend less time on subsistence farming are able to redirect that energy towards the establishment of arts, culture, religion, and science. Where a

The overflow, flooding, or lack thereof of the rivers as well as weather differences contributed greatly to the economic stability of each country. As previously stated, Mesopotamians were farmers. The flooding of the Tigris and the

Dear Hammurabi Ancient Egypt has a lot of similarities to mesopotamia but it is a lot different.They are great farmers and use the nile river for many things. They used it like you used the tigris and euphrates river.. The Egyptians used it for everything like bathing,Farming,Cooking, and they even used it for a barrier.It was a huge part of the Egyptians life.

All civilizations were influenced by their geographical locations. Geography dictates the type of crops that can be grown to the way people travel for trade. As civilizations expanded, cultural characteristics like philosophy, innovative technology, and new forms of government also spread across the lands. Often, expansion was brutal and cost thousands of lives, either in war or from back breaking labor. The Greek and Chinese civilizations in particular were manipulated in completely different ways.

Take a look outside. What do you notice about your surrounding geography? What about the climate? How does this affect your ability to grow as a civilization? You may or may not have known this but geography, climate, and location have a remarkable impact on your food source, animal domestication, immunity to germs, and the development of steel. There is a technical disparity between different countries and civilizations because of their geography and climate. The European’s geography controlled by their agriculture giving them abundant crops, the ability to domesticate animals to increase development, immunity to germs as a result to exposure for animals, and ability to make steel which they used to decimate other civilizations.