Over thousands of years, many civilizations have thrived because of their geographical features. The accomplishments of the societies are all impacted by the geography proving that it is the mother of history. Furthermore, the Egyptian River Valley flourished in the Middle East from 3200 to 1640 B.C. While, In the Mediterranean Region, Greece was a group of city-states in 750 to 338 B.C. Meanwhile, in 100 C.E. to 750 C.E., Aksum empire was a huge success on the Horn of Africa. Egypt would not have been as successful without the Nile River because of the transportation and natural resources the river provides. The mountains that surrendered cities in Greece, saved Greece from wars and invaders. Because of Aksum’s outstanding location, it was …show more content…
Egypt’s terrain has more benefits than disadvantages. These few land features helped Egypt be the successful river valley it was. The Nile River helped Egyptians with trade, transport and uniting Upper and Lower Egypt. Egyptians and their trading partners used the Nile River for trade. Egyptians would sail from place to place to trade things like cotton for grain. Also, the river drops slits the same time every year which led Egyptians to make a calendar. This helped Egyptians plan ahead. Nonetheless, the desert acted as a natural barrier to keep out invaders. The deserts provide a natural protection. No one could handle the extreme heat in the deserts, so there was no way to make it over. It was impossible to live in the desert so the Egyptians were forced to live by the river. This helps them because it provides them with protection and freshwater. At the same time, the Nile Delta provided natural resources. The delta gave them fertile land for farming, which helps the Egyptians have more food and crops to trade. The delta also gave them a source for hunting and fishing. Egypt topography help ancient Egyptians by, the Nile River for trade, transports and united Upper and Lower Egypt, the Nile Delta provide natural resources, and deserts as natural …show more content…
The reason is that there were separate city states is that the mountains made it hard to travel. Greece had so many mountains which divided up the land, making it hard to travel between each city. Because the cities could not connect with each other, it was hard to have a centralized government. Since each city was different, they had different beliefs and values. Separate civilizations had different governments and wanted different things. For example, Athens and Sparta had different beliefs which caused them to go to war. On the other hand, Greece’s oceans and seas gave them a way to trade and provided a way of transportation. In comparison, Egypt had natural barriers too, the deserts. Natural barriers helped shield kingdoms from attacks. Additionally, city-states that were established near an ocean or sea could trade with Egypt and other places around them. Greeks could travel to other cities that were also on the water. Sailing made connections to other places and positively impacted them by meeting new people. Not only the mountains, but a small portion of Greece’s land was fertile. They could farm foods like olives and grapes but not enough food to sustain their cities. This caused them to have to find a way to trade for food. Many people died of fatigue and starvations because the cities could not grow enough food. Greeks
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 of its influence, this investigation will attempt to compare and contrast the role of geography in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, focusing on the civilizations’ various periods of development and settlement.
Egypt officially the Arab Republic associated with Egypt, is a transcontinental nation spanning the northeast portion of Africa and also southwest corner associated with Asia. It would be the world's only contiguous Eurafrasian nation. Most of Egypt's territory lies inside Nile Valley. Egypt is a Mediterranean country. Egypt has one of several longest histories associated with any modern area, arising in the particular tenth millennium BC as one of the world's first nation states. Ancient Egypt experienced lots of the earliest developments associated with writing, agriculture, urbanization, organized religion plus central government in history. Egypt is the predominantly Sunni Muslim area with Islam given that their states hope. The percentage
These states were either known for their political, military, or economical strength. These states were Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, and Argos. All of these states were established on the eastern side of Greece, with Thebes and Athens being the central areas. Athens and Sparta were the two most well known states due to their roles in the fifth century B.C. so those are the two I will go into some detail about. Sparta was different from other Greek states because of its size, recourses, and historical development. Laconia, which was controlled by Sparta, was much larger than an ordinary Greek state, and contained some of the most fertile land in Greece. For the government Sparta citizens that could perform military services created what was known as an assembly, there was also a council of elders made up of senior representatives that were from twenty-eight noble clans, and Sparta had an unusual two royal families, and two different kings. Private ownership of land was taken away and all the land was state controlled and was evenly distributed. Sparta soon became strictly militarized and every man became a soldier starting at the young age of seven. This made Sparta’s army indestructible but the political, economical, and cultural evolution ended for Sparta due to the military reforms. Athens on the other hand was not as big of a state as Sparta, and they were a sea power state instead of focus on land military. Also Athens went from a Monarchy to being controlled by archons, which were chosen actually by the aristocrats. Disagreements and many other factors between the states lead to the Peloponnesian war, which began in 431 B.C. no one, won the war but it seemed Athens suffered the biggest loss. Greek civilization hit its full maturity between 500 and 362 B.C. sculpture, architecture, and painting began to flourish along with
It was one of the main environmental factors that helped them achieve a sense of sustainability. It is their source of existence. The river helped the region cope with the fact that they are overwhelmed by desert land, and henceforth a very dry climate. The reason being is that the Nile tended to flood annually, but in a way that eventually allowed for the grounds and land to be suitable for agriculture. Egypt as a whole also has three supposed “defensible” borders. The east, west, and the south consists of connections among suitable and strong land. The north, which entails the Nile valley is filled with deserts ad is therefore unfitting for defenses to walk along/amongst them. In contrast, Mesopotamia was vast and open, obtaining fewer boundaries. Mesopotamia is defined by the Tigris and Euphrates River. Their flowing of water provided well enough nutrients to the land and the people around it. There was no regular cycle of flooding like the Nile; however, whenever there was flooding, there was massive destruction. Mesopotamia also has mountains that are unfortunately seen as one of their weaknesses. The routes along these mountains allowed for attacks and invasions on the civilizations. Because of this reason, there was much influence from the outside; therefore, Mesopotamia consisted of different kinds of cultures and people, such as Sumerians, Elamites, Mittanni, and much more. Whereas in Egypt, although not entirely monolith, consisted of a majority of the Egyptian
The Nile was a crucial element to the Egyptian way of life because it influenced settlement patterns, religion and economics in many different ways. This river, not only provided the Egyptians with security, but with ambition.
In Ancient Greece they use many of their geography to help them be the civilization that they wanted to be. The mountains help them be isolated and separate from other city-state making them more independent. They use the Mediterranean Sea to provide farming to provide additional crops, but they became master sailors and developed a large trading network to be able to trade with others. The climate was always hot and dry, which sometimes affected the growth of the crops for that season.
Rain was very scarce in Egypt because a large part of Northeast Africa is dry, desert land. The Nile river was a huge natural resource to the Egyptians and allowed them to have Agriculture. The Nile river would frequently flood, leaving fertile and moist soil which was a tremendous advantage for agriculture.
In ancient Egypt, the physical geography of the surrounding region played a vital role in the development of its long lasting civilizations. With the extremely barren and harsh climates of the Sahara and Eastern deserts Egypt was safe from invasion on its west and east sides. The Mediterranean and Red Seas and the inability to sail on open water in the ancient era, kept Egypt safe on its North side. The Sudd, which is known as the largest swamp on Earth and is almost impossible cross, and the cataracts which are aggressive rapids and waterfalls along the Nile kept Egypt safe from invasions in ...
Every complex society needs a well organized government. In Egypt there are many important people in the government. The pharaoh rules is the head of the government The Pharaoh was the king and the Pharaoh was very important to the government. Ancient Egypt had a very complex civilization and they also have the oldest civilization dating back to 3100 BCE. If the Pharaoh failed to protect their kingdom the Egyptian believed the world would fall into chaos.If the Pharaoh had a son, the son would have to be Pharaoh when his dad died.Even if the pharaoh’s son didn’t want to be Pharaoh. The Egyptians had no say and only the Pharaoh could make the final decision. The Pharaoh could even fight in the war with his soldiers and Pharaoh had complete
For almost 30 centuries, from around 3100 B.C. to its conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. ancient Egypt was the preeminent civilization in the Mediterranean world. From the great pyramids of the Old Kingdom through the military conquests of the New Kingdom, Egyptian majesty has long entranced archaeologists and historians and created a vibrant field of study all its own. Around 3400 B.C., two separate kingdoms were established: the Red Land to the north, based in the Nile River Delta. 3200 B.C. A century later, King Menes would subdue the north and unify the country, becoming th...
Ancient civilizations, including Egypt and Mesopotamia, thrived in the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Although both civilization’s lands surrounded the same sea the geography was distinctly different. Geography has more of an influence on regions than most people realize. This difference results in the people of each being exposed to different types of influences, religions, and invasions. Both have contributed greatly to human education through achievements, failures, religions, philosophies, and many other things.
Egypt and Mesopotamia, two of the most important cradles of civilization, emerged in parallel to one another. Both beginning around 3,000 B.C.E., these cultures were instrumental in paving the way for more advanced societies. Each civilization had its own unique blend of geography, religion, social structure, and economy, lending future peoples the tools necessary to develop new technologies and communities. Just as Mesopotamian civilizations began between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Egyptian civilization was born on the Nile River. The Nile is the longest river in the world and is unique in that it flows south-to-north.
Providing extremely fertile soil is one, if not the most important, roles the Nile River played in the life of the ancient Egyptians. By providing fertile soil, the Nile made it easy for cities and civilizations to grow alongside the banks of the river. This fertile soil comes from the annual flooding of the Nile. This replenishes the top soil with silt deposits that hold much needed nutrients for crops to grow. Ancient Egyptians developed highly complex irrigation methods to maximize the effect of the Nile waters. When the Nile overflows in mid summer, Egyptians divert the waters through the use of canals and dams. As the water seeped into the farm land, rich deposits of silt ensured a good harvest for the year. This allows the civilizations of Egyptians to grow enough food to feed the community. Without the annual flooding of the Nile, Egyptians would have a very difficult time growing necessary amount food to sustain life. Most of the land in the Egyptian nation is dry desert. Very little rain falls year round here. The river provides the needed water to grow the crops as well as provide drinking water for the people. Th...
The Nile waters made farming and food production possible in Egypt. These waters provided the minerals, humidity, and irrigation that the Egyptians needed to grow their fields, as well as the drinking water necessary for animals. Literally speaking, the Nile made life possible in Egypt. The Nile tended to follow a constant cycle of flooding and receding. This pattern was particularly important for Egyptian agriculture.
In the south-western section of the area known as the Fertile Crescent, a civilization arose around 3500 BC. Known by most for their enormous works of construction, the pyramids, this civilization called the Egyptians, contributed largely to ancient society and the general development of the human race. Centralized around the Nile River, this civilization rose and fell, experience triumphs and catastrophes, and gradually created a legacy for themselves which we still remember and study today. The history of the ancient Egyptian civilization consists of five eras: the Pre-Dynastic period, the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, the Hyksos Era, and the New Kingdom.