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Significance of the Nile to egyptian civilization
Significance of the Nile to egyptian civilization
Role of Nile in Egyptian civilization
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The Nile River is the longest river in the world, in fact, the river’s streams go through nine countries including Burundi, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zaire. Although the river runs through in multiple countries, it is mostly known for its history in ancient Egypt. The location of the Nile helped the ancient Egyptians prosper because of the bountiful resources. The Nile helped ancient Egyptians advance in numerous ways such as agriculture and farming, transportation, and the expression of their religion. Furthermore, these factors contributed to ideas used in the arts during this time of advancement. To begin with, the location of the river was beneficial to the advancement of cities across Egypt. In the map
For example, ancient Egyptian art has frequently been found within tombs, this was done to define the connection between the living and the dead. In fact, many included the Nile in their paintings such as Sennedjem, a tradesman. In his painting we can come to the conclusion that the afterlife consists of subjects harvesting plants and crops, and worshipping the sun god Ra, these figures are surrounded by the river. This symbolizes how the Nile shaped ancient Egypt because it shows how the river held the people together and allowed them to work as one. Another example is the song “Hymn to the Nile” because it establishes how the people sang it with passion and joy, not because a king or ruler forced it upon them, but for their love for the Nile River. Thus, confirming that the Nile inspired many new ideas and concepts. To conclude, one of the factors that helped the ancient Egyptians prosper was their geographical position near the Nile. The ancient Egyptians were able to advance agriculturally, economically, and religiously. Moreover, these factors contributed to ideas used in the arts during this time of advancement. This is one example from history using the natural structures and resources around them to adapt
Conscious of the geographical region, Egyptians settled around the Nile, as the Nile provided substance (agriculture, irrigation, trading routes, etc.). The Egyptians noticed that the Nile would flood regularly, and exploited this natural flooding by building an irrigation system to support their agriculture, as well as their society. “Hymn to the Nile” depicts this prosperous age of agriculture, “Lord of the fish, during the inundation, no bird alights on the crops. You create the grain, you bring forth the barley, assuring perpetuity to the temples.” ("Ancient History Sourcebook: Hymn to the Nile, c. 2100 BCE."). However, the Nile might have contributed to the eventual collapse of ancient Old Kingdom Egyptian civilization. The Nile partially destroyed the society that it had once nurtured. A series of low or high floods over the course of a few years immensely impacted their agriculture, which in turn created epidemics of famine and civil unrest. The Egyptian civilization eventually prospered once more, only centuries later and with new social
Finally, the Nile influenced spiritual beliefs. Egyptians believed that the Nile would provide for them even in the afterlife (Doc D). The Nile was reflected in bottom panel of the tomb painting like the one of paradise called Field of Reeds. If it did not exist, there would be nothing to draw in the paintings – no water, the crops, no people, the boat rides. Egyptians sang hymn of praise and thanks to the Nile (Doc E). The hymn shows that Egyptians worshipped the river and believed it had the power to bring happiness or sorrow. The people knew that there was a strong connection between the river and their
The locations of both of these civilizations has guided them through survival and existence. Ancient Egypt was located near the Nile River, which produced a fertile area in the middle of a desert. The people relied on this sector for two effects, which were food and water and the environment
In the “Hymn to the Nile”the author loves and praises the Nile River. He believes that everyone praises or should praise the Nile, which the Ancient Egyptians believed to be controlled by the river Gods. The Nile is there life source, their water, and food supply, also there way of trade. The author may love the Nile, but that doesn't mean everyone does or even should. Let’s say I grocery shop at Walmart, but others may shop at Fry’s, Basha’s, Sprouts, Target. There are other options, everyone has their Nile river per say but it may not all be
According to document C, some of the goods that were transported using the Nile consisted of religious artifacts such as statues with mysterious hieroglyphic symbols and many rocks that were used to build the great pyramids of Giza. So besides the Nile being a regular trade route, it became a religious trade route as well. However, a major part of the religion of the Egyptians was the belief in the afterlife. The afterlife was actually a paradise that is often referred to as the “Field of Reeds.” (Document D) In many tomb paintings, the picture of the Field of Reeds is illustrated with the Nile River making up the entire border of the painting. Consequently, the Nile was believed to be a part of heaven, which made it a very significant resource. Document E shows that the Egyptians even wrote hymns to the Nile, praising and honoring it for exultating their land and bring the people and children
Finally, the last ways that the Nile shaped Ancient Egypt was through Spiritual Life. In document D, the illustration and document E, the song, they had a religious song for the Nile and they painted pictures and hieroglyphics on the tombs. They worshiped gods and Ra was one of them. People based everything on the Nile and if there was no Nile River then there wouldn't be a civilization in Egypt. The Nile was very important. Indeed, spiritual life was an important part in shaping Ancient
Finally, the Nile provided Egypt with a multiplicity of religious beliefs. For example, the rise and fall of the water level led the Egyptians to witness the cycles of birth, death, and re-birth. They believed that the gods controlled the Nile, so this led the river to becoming one of the many things they worshipped. The god of the Nile was known as “Hapi” and the Egyptians thought he provided them with water and fertilization. Furthermore, the belief of an afterlife came from the Nile. They believed that after death they would ride an “underneath” version of the Nile to their afterlife. The river not only impacted people on a physical level, but on a personal level.
The development of cities is essential in the development of a civilization. Egypt’s cities began close to the Nile River. The Nile ran directly through the land and was the main attraction to settlers. It flooded every year, and in doing so, it fertilized the ground and allowed the growth
"All of Egypt is the gift of the Nile." It was the Greek historian Herodotus who made that observation. The remarkable benefits of the Nile are clear to everyone, but through history he was the first to talk about it and consider its fascination. Through history, the Nile played a major role in the building of civilizations. The first civilizations to appear in history started on a river valley or in a place where resources are numerous and example of these are in India where Indus river is found and Tigris where Euphrates is found and many other places (cradles of civilization).
...el. This caused the building of boats from resources found along the rivers edge. This made travel easier for the Egyptians and opened up more trade with other civilizations. From all these gifts, the ancient Egyptians created a god for the river. So not only did the Nile River provide the resources to sustain life but it also provided a religious belief system. This gave the Egyptians something to believe in and work towards in their life. The Nile River is the reason ancient Egyptians survived. It provided everything for the families within the community. The river is the only way large civilizations could survive the dry desert climate. Without the Nile, Egypt would be a barren desert with little civilization. There development of Egypt would have been much smaller if the Nile did not exist. This shows just how significant the Nile River was to ancient Egyptians.
The Nile River did not play a big role in ancient Egypt’s afterlife. The people of the Nile River Civilization were polytheistic, which means they worshipped multiple gods. The
Another way Egypt can be called the gift of the Nile is because they believed that there many gods had control over the river. For example they believed that the water that flows in the Nile comes from the mouth of their most powerful god Ra. They also believed that certain animals such as cats, jackals and ibises were actually gods in disguise watching over them so these animals were sacred to the people and mummified after death . In fact it was
Civilizations in close proximity to a river had a source of water for drinking, bathing, cooking, and irrigation purposes. As salt water accounted for the majority of the Earth’s water supply, people had to dig a well or live near a freshwater river or stream to have access to life-giving water and survive. The Nile River, located in Egypt, is the world’s longest river. It provided for the Egyptian’s water requirements in abundance. This plentiful supply of fresh water was a constant source of enrichment to the people’s lives.
The Nile, is the longest river in the world, and is located in northeastern Africa. Its principal source is Lake Victoria, in east central Africa. The Nile flows north through Uganda, Sudan, and Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea, with a total distance of 5584 km. From its remotest headstream in Burundi, the river is 6671 km long. The river basin covers an area of more than 3,349,000 sq km. Not only is the Nile considered a wonder by Herodotus, but by people all over the world, due to its impotance to the growth of a civilization.The first great African civilization developed in the northern Nile Valley in about 5000 BC.
The Nile River had great influence on Ancient Egyptian culture. The Nile is the longest river in the world, that is located in Africa, was the source of livelihood for the ancient Egyptians as it was used for trade and hunting, as well as, drinking and fishing. It was also used for bathing and other hygiene purposes. It was the source of Ancient Egypt’s wealth, treasures, and the greatest arteries supplied the land with blessings and drown ancient Egyptians in various graces through the ages as the emitter of life in Egypt and the source of its existence, because it watered ancient Egyptian’s lands. The Nile had the greatest impact on timeless civilization that originated on it in the past ages, the Nile held oldest civilization immortalized in history. Ancient Egyptians could not have survived without the Nile River, which in essence, inspired their way of living, “The country’s verdant green fields and bountiful food resources depended on the fertile soil of the Nile flood plain” (Silverman 12). In turn, many ancient