Exploring Egypt
By Shane & Hunter
Geography
A map of modern day egypt, some cities like Luxor have been around since ancient egypt!
How did geography impact the ancient egyptians
picture from goway.com
Geography impacted the ancient because of the climate, isolation, and the Nile River. The climate in Egypt was hot and dry in the summer and wet in the spring. This was key to the Egyptians survival because they needed water for their crops, and the sun for the crops to grow. Isolation played a key role in the survival of their civilization for so many years, the desert to the south and east and the mountains to the west helped protect Egypt for thousands of years. Furthermore the Nile River is what brought life to Egypt. "The Nile River valley was ideal for human settlement because of its fertile land" (Textbook) The waters were key for transportation and they also would help to water the fields in the spring. Without these key geographical factors there would be no Egypt.
How did the geography of ancient Egypt help agriculture develop?
Some things that helped agriculture in Egypt were the terrain and the Nile River. The terrain was flat and the soil was fertile, this helped by making it easy for crops to be grown. But the waters of the Nile were also very important, In fact the textbook mentions that the early people in Egypt called the land Kemet which means “black land” for the rich soil.
Why was the Nile important to the ancient Egyptians?
The Nile was important was important because of the transportation, natural resources, and the floods. To start the Nile provided a great way for transportation and trade, Egyptian merchants could easily get to the Mediterranean Sea with the Nile, “The Nile was the quickest and easiest way to travel from place to place” (Barrow). Also the Nile provided natural resources to the Egyptians like papyrus, which was used to make paper, Fisherman could also catch fish in the Nile. Furthermore, flooding provided the Egyptians with water for their crops, which where key to survival. The Egyptians also learned to predict and measure the floods so they could predict if it was going to be a good year or not.
"You create the grain, you bring forth the barley,
Assuring perpetuity [survival] to the temples.
If you cease your toil and your work,
Then all that exists is in anguish [suffering]."
- "Hymm the nile" (Primary source)
This poem helps capture how much the egyptians really relied on the nile, it shows how if there was no nile then there would be no egypt.
How were the Egyptians protected by their physical environment?
The physical environment of ancient Egypt gave them protection by stopping invaders from getting to Egypt easily. There was the Mediterranean Sea to the north and mountains to the east with only a small strip land connecting the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, there were also deserts to the west “These deserts separated ancient Egypt from neighboring countries and invading armies” (The British Museum) All of this made it very hard for the Egyptians to be successfully attacked by an enemy
Here is a map of ancient egypt, notice the temples and pyramids?
maps.com
This map shows elavation, as you can see the nile was surround by mountains on the east.
How did the flooding of the Nile help the ancient Egyptians
The flooding of the Nile helped the ancient Egyptians by providing water for their crops and fertilizing the soil. When the Nile would flood each spring it would provide water that would be used to water the fields, the mud that was left behind was also good for growing crops in. Furthermore, the rivers floodwaters would carry silt down from the mountains, silt is very good for farming and is what helped make the farming along the Nile so great. In Conclusion, the Nile was very important to Egypt.