How Did The Nile River Affect Ancient Egypt

Egypt. A word that triggers thoughts of mummies, pyramids, and King Tut in almost everyone. But there is a lot more to this ancient and great civilization than that. Ancient Egypt is also known for its mighty military, extensive trade routes and goods they exported, and engineering. All of these accomplishments were not due to, but certainly aided by, the Nile river, which runs through the center of Egypt and plays a significant role in the culture of ancient egyptian society. IT almost begs the question; what if nature had taken a different course? What would have happened if the Nile were a great lake instead of a great river? This rewrite of history would have dramatic changes on Ancient Egypt, almost obliterating its rich culture that we

One thing that Egyptian polity is famous for is it’s ancient Pharaohs. Ever since Howard Carter’s famous discovery in 1922 of the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun, also known as ‘King Tut’, Pharaoh has become a household term. Pharaohs in Ancient Egypt were given high standards of behavior to achieve. The Nile river was calm and flooded reliably every year, so, like the Nile, Pharaohs were expected to be calm, collected, and reliable (Lost Civilizations: Ancient Egypt). If the Nile was a lake instead of a river, the expectations of the Pharaoh would be changed. Depending on the behavior of the lake the Pharaoh could be expected to be unpredictable, rash, and unforgiving, like a wave crashing against the beach, or deep, unknown and scary, like the depths of a gorge. While the Pharaoh was the supreme leader, his right hand advisors were the high priests of Amun. Religion played the most important role in Ancient Egyptian politics. Ancient Egypt had theocratic states, which meant that their states were religiously run (Egyptian Religion And the Priesthood). And whether you were liked or not largely depended on if you payed a nod to religion. An example of this can be seen in Akhenaten, originally Amenhotep IV, who led a political and religious revolution that crumbled to pieces at his feet. His new government placed himself and his wife, Nefertiti, as the high priests, which led to a fallout with the high priests of Amun. The populace quickly turned against him and his religion fell apart. If the Nile was a lake instead of a river this revolution would have been strangled in it’s crib because all of the high priests would have had easier access to the Pharaoh. Ancient Egyptian military was also very well accomplished. They plundered modern day Sudan and their natural geographical borders