History of Egypt
The rich history of Egypt is tied very closely with the Nile River’s fertile banks and existence as a source of water. Flowing south to north, this massive river has had a tremendous impact on agriculture, transportation, religion, migration of populations, and culture as a whole. The narrow Nile Valley as well as the surrounding deserts provided defense and isolation from the arising cultures of the time. Over many centuries, the rainfall has affected the levels of flooding on the Nile and therefore the way in which the Egyptians had to live. This region is rich with cultural and historical records of the ongoing relationship of culture and society with the environment and the Nile.
Cairo is the capital of Egypt
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Over the next 1,000 years the settlements along the Nile grew from small villages living primarily off of wheat and barley with the occasional sheep or pig to larger villages with constantly developing irrigation. The Nile was becoming an increasingly important element in the lives of those settled in Northern Africa.
Ancient Egypt
Egypt began its first dynastic period with the unification of Upper (southern) and Lower (northern) Egypt by King Menes. Menes established the 1 st Dynasty of Ancient Egypt by declaring himself Pharaoh and assuring that his son, Har-Aha, would rule after him. What many consider “Ancient Egypt” began in the 3 rd Dynasty in which the Pharaoh Zoser built the first surviving pyramid. In 2600 BC, Khufu (Cheops) built the Great Pyramid of Giza, the largest pyramid still standing. The following Pharaohs, son and grandson of Khufu, Chephren and Mycerinus also built pyramids in Giza. The famous statue of the Sphinx was also built during this time period but without slave labor as many historians once believed (www.scinet.cc/articles/egypt/historyofegypt.html). The capital city, known as Memphis at the time, was located about 25 km south of today’s Cairo. The “Capital of the Pharoahs” grew over the next few centuries but the power of the Pharaohs declined due to the increasing power of the Nomes, which were similar to modern Mayors or Governors. 2200 BC marked the end of the Old
To start off, one area of life the Nile River affected was transportation and farming. The Nile River affected transportation by allowing people to be able to trade, and to
The purpose of this journal was to inform scholars and readers about the country of Egypt and its origins: the Ancient Egyption civilization and how it was built upon nature itself. The value of Hansen’s journal gives the perspective of a whole new world and geographical features. Egypt is surrounded by harsh unlivable climats, but the civilization was able to last over 500 years by using their geographical resources to their advantage to create faith, protection, and life as described by Kathy. Kathy has a PHD that she gained from Union University and is an associate publisher of Quintessential Careers. Despite the highly informative ideas, a limitation of the book is that it was written to describe Egyptian environmental aspects for readers to learn more about Egypt and maybe the desire to someday travel to Egypt. The book may have the perspective of a sort of travel guide showing a small bais while, trying to persuade people to travel to
There is a place where not far from my hometown, which, since my childhood, still holds the secrets to life. It was a place where we were free. Free to do whatever we wanted to do, say whatever we wanted to say, it was our place, our river. It was a simple place, no paved or asphalt roads for the commotion of busy traffic, no tall buildings to block out the sunlight, no sense of time to feel rushed or anxious, no effects from the outside world. It was a beach on the coast of Lake Sakakawea called “Little Egypt.”
Religion was not a monolithic institution, it consisted of a large variety of different beliefs and practices, all of which were linked by the common focus on the interaction between the Egyptian people and the divine realm, as the gods of this realm linked the Egyptian understanding of the world. As the Ancient Egyptian Religion was an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. Polytheism the belief of multiple deities usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses along with their own mythologies and rituals was an essential aspect of ancient Egyptian religion. As the Ancient Egyptian religion included a large and diverse pantheon of gods and goddesses, and around these deities arose a rich mythology that helped explain the
Ancient Egypt is a civilization of wealth and structure that flourished along the Nile River in northeastern Africa from about 3300 B.C to 30 B.C. In over 3,000 years, one of the most sophisticated and creative societies advanced where no other civilization did. 2,000 years later, it would be hard to think about the world without the impact of ancient Egypt, because it seems to have significantly affected every field of our American culture. The Egyptians have heavily influenced our culture’s literature, architecture, art, film, and politics.
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
Life is like a river they way of life is to flow with the current. To turn against it takes effort, but the current will carry you if you let it. - Anonymous. The Nile flows South to North, it flows through Africa and crossed many civilizations, including Egypt. The Nile is over 4,000 miles long it is one of the longest rivers in the world. The Nile is unique because of the way it flows. The Nile Shaped Egypt by giving the people transportation, it also gave them protection and the Nile gave Them fertile soil for farming.
Trading was a big thing for Egyptians because they were all about they money so trading a lot meant a lot of money for them. Also traveling in the Nile was easier than feet so the Egyptians were getting to places they needed to go fast and easier. In document C it says, “Boats traveling downstream to the north often just flouted but with the floods it the Nile current was about four knots.” The Egyptians really depended on the flood cycle because without it they wouldn’t be able to cross the Nile River without taking more than a couple of days, so it would be hard for them if the floods stopped because they wouldn’t be able to make anymore money.Also traveling was something they also need the Nile for because it was way faster by boat than feet, if they didn’t have the Nile to cross over it would take forever to trade and get the money that they wanted.It would be easier for Egyptians to do traveling and trading with the
Documents B, D, and E all seek to highlight the embodiment of the river in every part of Egyptian culture. To start, Document B is a factual chart with the purpose of describing the Nile River Flood Cycle. Egypt had very little rainfall, so the lives of the Egyptians revolved around the Nile’s patterns. During Akhet, the flood season of the summer and autumn, the fields were fertilized by new silt from the great river, allowing the farmers to perform tasks other than farming. Crops were planted and grown in the winter season of Peret and were harvested during Shemu, the spring period.
The Civilizations that flourished in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Hebrew, and Palestine were located in river valleys or along the Mediterranean coast. These civilizations developed highly complex cultures that shared many common characteristics. In Ancient Egypt, a good job to become is a scribe. Becoming a scribe gives you vast opportunities.
Stretching across ten countries and spanning over four thousand miles, the Nile River became the heart of Egyptian civilization. The lower (northern) Nile overflowed its banks several months out of the year before the creation of the Aswan High Dam in 1970. When the floodwaters receded, they left a new layer of rich silt behind, making the surrounding valley and delta a fertile and desirable habitat. As early as 8000 BCE, the people who inhabited the valley of the world’s longest river became relatively sedentary and in 5000 BCE they adopted the agricultural village life commonly associated with Neolithic culture. Throughout the Predynastic period, the North African climate was immensely dry. In order to combat this problem, many villages formed alliances that worked to control the river’s flow. Over time, these small federations of villages conquered and absorbed other weaker ones. As communities grew into chiefdoms, they began to advance rapidly toward refined civilization shortly after 3600 BCE.
Thesis: The Nile River undoubtedly shaped the Egyptian’s lives -- for the better. It affected every aspect of their lives, which included economics, government, culture, and agriculture.
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
Egypt today can be a viable market for the foreign investor, especially the investor who has the ability to see the rewards of in investing in the region for the long haul. The world and Egypt both realize that the region is the gateway to the Middle East. Egypt is leading the way for Arabic countries to embrace a new way of doing business and opening their borders to the ‘global village’ concept.
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.