How Did The Nile River Affect Ancient Egypt

In Ancient Egypt, rainfall is almost nonexistent, making the Nile River essential for Egyptians. The Nile River is important because it was the primary source to water and sustain crops for Ancient Egypt. It is the longest river in the world that is located in Africa and is about 4, 160 miles long. This river flows from the north of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile river is essential in Ancient Egyptians lifestyle and without it, Egypt would not have existed.

Every year, the Nile river would flood, leaving fertile soil in its wake. Egyptians were able to grow crops because of the fertile soil. Some crops that they grew were wheat, flax and papyrus. This was the only source of water in this desert region. Without this annual

flood, the Egyptians would die from starvation. Furthermore, without the silt that was deposited every year from the floods, the Ancient Egyptian civilization would not have existed.
Annual flooding also effected religion.

Ancient Egyptians believed that gods controlled these floods. Primarily, they believed the god Hapi, god of the Nile, controlled the waters during these annual floods. To appease Hapi, the Egyptians would put sacrifices and other offerings into the Nile River. This would ensure that Hapi would provide them with enough water for the fields. On the tomb of Nebamun, it showed the Ancient Egyptians giving offerings such as rabbits and foods like grain. A Tomb- Chapel is also depicted in the painting which is where Ancient Egyptians would come to make offerings to the gods. The hymn of the Nile reflected the importance of the Nile River to the Ancient Egyptians. It states "O Hail to thee, o Nile! Who manifests thy self over this land, and comes to give life to Egypt( Halsall 20). This shows how the fertile soil gave life to Egypt gifting them with the ability to grow crops. The hymn also mentions how the gods brought them all sorts of gifts. "You create the grain, you bring forth the barley, assuring perpetuity to the temples"( Halsall 2). This provided evidence that they believed in gods, such as the god Hapi and they believed he controlled the waters in the floods in Egypt. "They believed the Nile River was the river way that was taken from life to death and then enter the afterlife" (Castro 2). The Nile River was very important to the Egyptians and was even part of their religion. As Geography impacted religion , it also

impacted Government.
The Nile River was impacted Government because it created unity. Since there was fertile soil along the banks of the Nile, most of the population resided in that area. This made it easy to control everybody because the population was all in one place. "The river was so vital to Egyptians that it fostered political unity. Kings organized the cultivation and storage of crops along the Nile, and this organization caused a disciplined work force to develop"( Stewart 3). The Palermo Stone contained a list of the kings who ruled in Ancient Egypt. Among those king were Menes. It shows him wearing white and red crowns for Upper and Lower Egypt. This shows the unification that occurred under Menes' rule. It also enabled people to work better together. Without the Nile River, the people would not be united or be able to work together so nothing would be able to get done. The Nile River also kept the economy going in Ancient Egypt.
The Nile River served as a transportation system between upper and lower Egypt. This made trade much easier for them getting them to get goods very quickly. The Ancient Egyptians transported crops, consumer goods, and heavy objects. The Nile River also provided them with many resources such as building materials. They used sundried bricks to make homes and many other buildings. The Egyptians used spears and nets to catch fish. Without the Nile river, the Egyptians would not be able to trade with other countries and they would lack in resources. Also, the Ancient Egyptians would not have the resources to build efficient buildings such as homes. The Nile river also created many improvements and advancements in Ancient Egypt.
One advancement the Ancient Egyptians made was the Irrigation system. With practice, they learned to dig canals leading to the Nile river providing fresh water. Archaeologists know about the irrigation system by the tools that they used. Farmers used tools such as the twelfth dynasty spindle, thirteenth dynasty spindle, and a model hoe. These were all found during the nineteenth dynasty at Gurob. Along with a Irrigation system, they developed a calendar based on when the Nile flooded. Ancient Egyptians also found new uses from papyrus. Papyrus were reeds that grew along the banks of the Nile. Egyptians created paper out of papyrus. They also made inventions such as boats, baskets and sandals out of papyrus. An example of a document on papyrus is the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus which was the most well known mathematical papyrus in Ancient Egypt. It contained 84 mathematical problems along with other formulas. These advancements allowed Ancient Egypt to develop.
As you can see, without the Nile River , Egypt would not exist. The Nile River is the backbone of Egyptian Existence. Without the Nile River, Egypt would just be continuation of the Sahara Desert. Without the annual flood, Egypt would have a famine forcing everybody to go to another country. Also, Egypt would have no mode of transportation on water, or even drinking water as the Nile River provided that. The Nile River affected so many aspects of Egyptian culture such as economy, government, and religion. Clearly, A civilization would have never existed in Egypt without the gift of the Nile River.