Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The importance of the Nile River in ancient Egypt
Impact of ancient egypt contribution in modern world
Pdf indus valley and beginning of agriculture
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The importance of the Nile River in ancient Egypt
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.
The people of Ancient Egypt settled along the Nile in two major parts, Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt. Lower Egypt was the place where most settlements were found and we can infer that was because the ground was vastly fertilized. In Document A, we see the settlement patterns of the Ancient Egyptian people in relation to the Nile. Where the land is more fertile and where we see tributaries, there are more settlements. This not only provided the citizens with greater amounts of fertilized land, but provided them with trading
…show more content…
The waterway also provided for a means of travel. When the Nile would flood, it would fertilize the ground, then making wonderful farming soil. If there was good soil, they had more trading opportunities because the crops were better and there were more of them. The Nile also provided the Egyptians with trading routes. The people could travel to any and every other settlement via boats. In Document B, we can read about the Nile’s flood cycle. The season referred to as, “Akhet” is the time in which the fields are entirely covered in water. This season lasts for about 5 months and gives farmers a time to contribute to the government and pay off their public-labor tax. They did this by working to repair the canals and quarrying. Those who were not farmers, also played a huge role in the economic success of Ancient Egypt. These jobs included, rowers, bowmen and people who loaded the ships. In Document C, we see a picture of what we can assume are Egyptians traveling downstream to another settlement with the intent of trading. Their boats appear to be transporting lumber and boxes of crops or some other type of trade …show more content…
Both of these civilizations were extremely innovative and learned to embrace the problems around them and made something utterly astonishing. The major geographical happening that they had in common was a flooding river. Though it was the same problem, the two civilizations went about it different ways. The Indus River Valley civilization chose to build their buildings and homes on elevated structures so the river could simply flow beneath them, still doing its job of fertilizing the land. Ancient Egypt, on the other hand, chose to build canals that directed the water and determined how much would reach each
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
The Egyptians had three four-month seasons (Doc B). The seasons were flooding (Akhet), planting (Peret) and harvesting (Shemu). The Nile set the Egyptian calendar and the agricultural cycle for farmers’ work activity and crop growth. Several occupations depended on the Nile River (Doc C). Sailors, boat builders, fishermen and farmers depended on the river transport to market crops and make money. The Egyptians used sailboats, barges and tugs for transportation and trade (Doc C). The Nile was like the superhighway of ancient Egypt. It helped them move crops and goods up and down the river and sell beyond their local market. Nothing could happen without the Nile.
In Egypt, the Nile River overflowed its banks annually, creating fertile, mineral-rich soil. The yearly rise of the Nile in Egypt was gentle and predictable. The Egyptian’s found security in the Nile’s 365-day cycle of inundation and Egypt’s perimeter of sea and desert
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
In document B, the chart and document C, the illustration, people had seasons based on the Nile and farming. In document B it states, “ Crops in the lower Nile harvested and sent to market.” So therefore, without the Nile crops wouldn't grow. Also, people used the Nile for transportation. They had a flood season, a growing season, and a harvest season. If the Nile flooded more than 30 feet, it would flood the villages and if it flooded under 25 feet then it wouldn't be enough water. They transported food, tombs, and obelisks on large barges. Not only did the Nile shape Ancient Egypt through economics but also spiritual life.
The Nile River helped shape Ancient Egypt into the civilization we know of today. There were a lot of contributing factors that the Nile had on Egypt. For example, the Nile allowed for transportation between the surrounding cities. The Nile River could be navigated all year long, and this was a way that the cities could communicate. Egypt is located in Northeastern Africa and has the Libyan and Arabian deserts surrounding the river. Without the river, Egypt would have remained a desert and not been transformed into the civilization that we know it as. The Nile River was truly considered “the gift of Egypt” because the Nile economically, socially, and spiritually provided support for Egypt; without the Nile, Egypt would have remained a desert
Then by some chance, the river Nile formed and allowed Egypt to fructify into a populous civilization. Evidently, the river Nile affected a number of factors in Egypt’s development. Agriculture became widespread and possible due to the stable periodic inundation of the Nile, while the art and culture of the Egyptians became much more sophisticated and refined by the influences of the Nile. Commerce was manifest by the Nile when foreign countries sailed by the Nile to make their trades. Despite the Nile not being the only factor in affecting ancient Egypt’s trade and culture, the river itself is satisfactory enough, in that removing it from Egypt’s geography will significantly change the course of Egyptian trade and culture. Therefore, it is certain to declare that the Nile river has indeed substantially affected the agriculture, trade, and culture of ancient
Agriculture- farming in Egypt was completely depended on the Nile River. If you were to go a couple miles farther away from the Nile River you would see nothing but bone dry desert so the Nile was very important to the Egyptians. Flooding season lasted from June to September, depositing a layer of silt beside the river. After the flooding season was over growing season lasted from October to February Egypt had very little rain fall so farmers made canals and ditches to the field.
They went by river using boats, and dependent on the direction they were traveling they needed to use a different style boat. The Nile River flowed south to north because northern Egypt had a lower elevation than southern Egypt. When a boat was traveling upstream, or against the current smaller boats were used to pull larger boats. When boats were traveling downstream, with the current, they typically went with just oars, and no smaller boats pulling them along (Document C). Food was probably one of the main items being pulled by the tugboats and sailboats, along with popular trade items. One of the trade items could include silk. The boats went four knots during flood season and even slower the rest of the year (Document C). Given that the Nile River is the world’s longest river traveling from one city to another and back at such a slow speed would have taken a long time, and was likely not an occupation that only occurred during the flood season. The Nile River itself, again contributed to the ways of life in Ancient Egypt, as a source of transportation from one location to another.
"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).
The Nile River is arguably one of the most important water sources in the world and has an extremely rich history dating back thousands of years. Without the Nile, the ancient Egyptian civilization would have never existed. Egypt is basically a whole lot of sand and not much else, except they have the Nile River flowing through it, on it’s way to the Mediterranean sea. The ancient Egyptians lived along the Nile River and it provided them with abundant water, food (fish) and the opportunity to develop agriculture along it’s banks. The Nile River was also used for transportation and trade with other regions because land travel was more difficult than floating on the river. The Ancient Egyptians were at the mercy of the seasonal flooding and droughts but learned to work within the natural system of the River and weather cycles (Carnegie Museum of Natural History). Modern people, however were more interested in conquering nature, rather than living in harmony with it.
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...
Egypt is known as the gift of the Nile, but why well that is what this paper is all about. For starters Egypt would not be the place it is today without the Nile it would be reduced to a dry uninhabitable desert. The Nile provides water to the entire land and as we all know water is a necessity for all life to exist. Another thing that the Nile supplies is silt, this silt is full of nutrients that makes farming not only possible but actually a lot easier than it is here in the states . The Nile also makes trade with nearby cities and towns possible so supplies are never short.
The flooding surges of the land, and leaves behind water for the people, and fertile land, which can be used for agriculture. The impact the Nile has on Egypt during the ancient times and present are consierably apparent. The influence the Nile has is so extensive, that even the speech is transposed. For example, "To go north" in the Egyption language is the same as, "to go down stream"; "to go south" the same as "to go upstream." Also, the term for a "foreign country" in Egypt would be used as "highland" or "desert", because the only mountains or deserts would be far away, and foreign to them. The Nile certainly had an exceptional influence on Egypts, both lifestyle and thinking.The Nile also forced a change on the political system and ruling in Egypt.
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