The Nile River: The Civilization Of Ancient Egypt

The Egyptians were very lucky to have the Nile River because without it they wouldn’t be able to survive. The Nile shaped Egypt by granting them with almost everything they needed. Where the Nileś source came from may have been a riddle to them but we know that came from Lake Tana which is the branch called the Blue Nile and from Lake Victoria which is the other branch called the White Nile. Egypt has been around for five thousand years and for all of those five thousand years the Nile River helped the Egyptians survive in Egypt. The Nile River shaped Ancient Egypt by setting a calendar, providing food and water,

The Nile was the source of everything in Ancient Egypt. Early people built their lives around a river, eventually developing into Ancient Egypt. The Nile did not shape Ancient Egypt literally, but culturally. The Nile grew Egypt’s crops, created its traditions, making jobs, giving life to and protecting all.

“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.

I believe ancient Egypt was “the gift of the Nile River” because of its location in the Sahara desert, and because of its dry location. The river provided water and soil which irrigated the Nile Delta. All farmers knew when it would flood, and prepare their fields. Ancient Egypt had very little contact with surrounding civilization for many centuries because of isolation. This kept foreign ideas and influences from disrupting their cultural balance and they were free of foreign invasion through most of their history.

Without the Nile River, Egypt today may not have existed. The Nile River helped shape Ancient Egypt’s diverse culture and various philosophies, which is what made it a very successful (if not the most successful) ancient civilization. The Nile did this in numerous ways such as allowing travel, producing art and religion, and flooding so that people could grow crops. Without the Nile, the success of Ancient Egypt would have been debateable. Ancient Egyptians did have the Nile River however, which led to their ultimate success for almost 3,000 years.

I chose the Mesopotamia and the Nile River Valley. These two civilizations are two of the most favorable ancient civilizations. Although these civilizations are similar in many ways, the small, but impacting differences it what makes these two civilizations stand out the most. The Nile River Valley was located in northern Africa in a country called Egypt. Mesopotamia was located in modern day Iraq, Iran, Syria, Kuwait, and parts of Turkey. The origin of Mesopotamia comes from the meaning “between two rivers.” The land is between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Defining moments for human civilization began within these two.

The Nile was a great river that provided good resources enabling the people of Egypt to survive without

Just as the Tigris and Euphrates rivers shaped the worldview of early Mesopotamians, The Nile shaped the world view of the Egyptians. The Nile River was easily navigated and fairly temperate, which made for one of the greatest agricultural regions in the world at that time. Like clockwork, each year the Nile River would flood the land, leaving behind nutrient-rich silt that provided a bountiful harvest the following season. Due to the agricultural success of the land that followed the Nile the majority of Egyptians would settle close to it shores. The Nile Rivers benevolent waters also allowed the Egyptians to transport its most valuable resources to the southern regions of Africa, especially the divine metal that had been endowed by the gods to Egypt's elite. Even today the Egyptians are considered to be the pioneers of water management.

The Nile River was surrounded by the Western Desert on the west, by the Eastern Desert on the east, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north, which provided natural barriers to keep out invaders. (Doc. A). The land hugging the Nile was relatively flat, so it was good for farming. The water from the Nile could be used to bathe in, catch food, and for many other uses. Also, the Nile flooded frequently, so the water was a very important resource. (Doc. B). The flood water provided fertile soil for farming and made it possible for the ancient Egyptians to have a stable food supply. The Nile was very long, so it provided for many people, and it allowed the Egyptians to grow food like date palms and flax. (Docs. A and D).

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.

Also, it allowed Egypt to become what it is today; the gift of the nile. The Nile helped form and shape ancient egypt to become stronger and thrive all the way to present day. The Nile provided fertilized soil after every flood season, helping the agriculture. It flooded once every year during Akhet, and when it flooded, it brought fresh new soil and sediment from the river.

Ancient Egypt is such an interesting and amazing society to study due to the various factors that allowed the city and population to thrive. The culture, quite different to other cultures around the world in ancient times, developed quite unique traditions, technologies and ideas. Small features of this society including aligning the 4 corners of the pyramids and being able to divide the year into 365 days makes it truly fascinating, The main reason that this society was able to thrive and be successful can be attributed to the great Nile River. Due to this people were able to settle which lead to the creation of a surplus, which could be sustained for around 2000 years.

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.

These Americans will go mad over just about anything. Lately there has been so much news coverage about "the West Nile Virus" my head is spinning. What I don't understand is why they are finally becoming concerned with it now! The news reports on the television say that it has been present in animals and humans on other continents for years though it was only documented in 1999.[1] It has taken what seems like a long time to spread across the continent to California. However, being a student of history myself I know that usually epidemics in the past have taken much, much longer to spread such distances. Seeing as this disease was present on all other continents but this one for so long

One of the key areas that the Nile River helped develop in ancient Egypt was agriculture. The Nile River allowed for the Ancient Egyptians the ability to grow their own crops. The predictable annual flooding allowed for ancient Egypt to farm. In the article Sustainable Agriculture in Ancient Egypt, the author J. Donald Hughes states that “The sustainability of Egyptian agriculture was