Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Impact of geography on civilization
Ancient egypt geography essay
Greece culture and geography
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Impact of geography on civilization
Many empires have risen and fallen from the beginning of human origins, they all have mutual features that led to their success. The river valley of Ancient Egypt in Northern Africa thrived from 3200 BCE to 1640 BCE. Right above that The Ancient Greece empire began in 750 BCE and ended in 338 BCE. The Aksum empire started its reign in 100 CE and ended in 750 CE. All three of these empires rose and fell because of geography, which demonstrates how geography truly is the mother of history. The river valley of Ancient Egypt had plentiful resources and a stable river that delivered steady supply of silt. Ancient Greece had control over the sea and land that led them to great prosperity. The Aksum empire was an economic powerhouse because of its strategic location and resources. These three prosperous societies all owed their success to one thing, geography.
Geography affected the River Valley of Ancient Egypt in many ways. The flooding of the Nile River left behind a rich black silt along its river banks, that was used for farming. The Nile River was very predictable and flooded every year from June to September. This lead to a food surplus and a stable society. Also, it was easy to travel on the Nile which helped King Mene unify Egypt for the first time in 3100 BCE. Egypt had the best natural boundaries of all the river valleys. They were surrounded by the Saharan desert to the east, west, and south. To the north lay only the Mediterranean Sea. This lead to protection from attackers. Egypt had bountiful natural resources. They had gold, metals, stone and salts. But they lacked fine wood. There resources gave them the ability to trade away some of their resources for what they lacked. Egypt had great geographical conditions and th...
... middle of paper ...
...hich they used for building structures like canals to channel water from mountain streams to the fields. The civilization of Aksum lasted over 800 years and the center of a massive trading empire which flourished in wealth.
The river valley of Ancient Egypt had abundant resources and an established river that delivered steady supply of fertile soil. The ancient Greek civilization had influence over the sea and land that led them to great prosperity. The Aksum empire was an economic center because of its strategic location and resources. These three societies may have been very different from one another but they all shared one thing in common, their utilization of the geographic resource provided which the used to each become great societies.These civilization were all great in their own ways and all had many achievements that made them remembered forever.
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.
The Ancient Egypt and Ancient Mesopotamia grew up to be successful civilizations. The surroundings of where they are located assisted them in survival. Although their lifestyles were different, both civilizations became successful in their own ways. Finally, their similar belief was a very helpful guidance when their rulers governed. Without these factors, the two civilizations might not have been
Egypt and Mesopotamia were two of the world’s earliest city-based civilizations, creating the basis for Middle Eastern and Western history. Both Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations existed on the banks of major rivers. While Egyptian civilization thrived along the Nile, Mesopotamia settled between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Although they shared this characteristic, it was also the cause of many of their differences in political systems, religions, and social stability.
All civilizations require advanced cities, complex institutions, record keeping, specialized workers, and advanced technology. Mesopotamia and the Indus River Valley were two of the earliest civilizations that had all five of these qualities. Mesopotamia or “the land between two rivers” was between the two major rivers, Tigris and Euphrates, and is now modern day Iraq. Mesopotamia was founded around 3500 B.C, although people started settling there around 4500 B.C. The Indus River Valley was between the Ganges rivers and the north-western area of what is now India and Pakistan. Although, geography is only one similarity between the two civilizations, they also had many similar political, social, and economic qualities.
Before the beginning of history, people from across the land gradually developed numerous cultures, each unique in some ways while the same time having features in common. Mesopotamia and Egypt are important to the history of the world because of religious, social, political and economic development. Mesopotamia was the first civilization, which was around 3000 B.C., and all other countries evolved from it. Mesopotamia emerged from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The soil was rich and agriculture was plentiful. The Semitic nomads occupied the land around Akkad. The Sumerians established the city-states. Villages became urban centers. Because of the formation of the city-states everything flourished. However, Mesopotamian agriculture lacked stones; therefore mud brick became their major building block. Their diet consisted of fish from the rivers. The rivers were flooded frequently destroyed the cities. Mesopotamians made their living from crops and pottery.
One of the ways that the Nile shaped Egypt was through economy. According to document A, the Nile’s location was perfect for trade and interaction with other nearby ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia and the Indus
The first way that the Nile shaped Ancient Egypt was through population distribution. According to document A, the map of Ancient Egypt, a lot of people lived among the Nile. But a majority lived by the delta. Living among the Nile and by the delta gave people fresh drinking water, good farmland, and ways of trading and transportation. The Red Land was land desert area that protected
The ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt began to develop circa 3,000 B.C. Located near rivers, the lands offered fertile soil and an excess of crops that drew in many people. As more people arrived, the small settlements flourished into large, thriving civilizations. Many aspects of Mesopotamia and Egypt, such as their cities, their strongly organized government, and their religion, greatly contributed to the success of these two civilizations.
Most of the civilizations throughout history have been taken over or replaced by other civilizations due to disunity and chaos. Although an empire might seem prosperous, the decline and fall of empires are sometimes inevitable. Even though an empire might seem invincible, there are many factors that could lead to the sudden decline or fall of an empire. Over many centuries, historians have composed many reasons, such as weak militaries, economic burdens, dynastic successions, and external enemies, which have been known to contribute to the rise and fall of many once successful empires.
The emergence of civilizations came with first cities, states, and unequal societies. For instance, Sumer developed as a river valley civilization along with Nubia, which developed on the Nile, closer to the Great Riff Valley, with high elevation. Egypt, however, lived in isolation. On the upper hand, they had a stable community and strong economical power.
Egypt was one of the first River Valley Civilizations. In Egypt there were big advances in art, math and science and also pottery. We still use the same number system and they even had fractions back in that time. During the Old Kingdom times the pyramids were built. The pyramids were tombs for the pharaohs of Egypt. These pyramids are one of the most popular historical sites in the world.
Approximately 5500 years ago four of the worlds' most prestigious ancient river civilizations had emerged. Our world has been left in astonishment and awe wondering how these civilizations were developed. Egypt and Mesopotamia were the first ancient river civilizations to create cities and their own ways of living. Society, geography, and religion played an enormous role in the development of the ancient cities. Although there is evidence of early Sumerian contact with the Egyptians, Egypt's civilization was largely self-generated and its history and cultural patterns differed from Mesopotamia.
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...
An Empire is a group of states or different ethnic groups brought together under a single sovereign power. They have varying degrees and types of centralized distant regions through common languages, unifying political systems, trade and shared religious beliefs (Pollard, Rosenberg, Tignor). But what contributed to the formation of Empires?
Ancient civilizations had to have very important elements to be able to thrive and be successful. Some of the world’s greatest civilizations had things that in common that helped them become what they have become and what they are known for to this day. Some of the greatest civilizations were ancient Egypt, China, India and others. Three of the main key points that I considered important to help these civilizations grow were agriculture geography and leadership most of these ancient civilizations had this in common. The differences were the location and their beliefs.