|
|
The Gift of the Nile
 Like a giant snake, the Nile River slithers through some of the driest desert on earth to isolate a narrow green valley. The Nile was also home to one of the earliest civilizations in history. Today, more than seventy million people live along the banks of the Nile, the world’s longest river. The Nile was also home to one of the earliest civilizations in history.
Ancient Egypt could not have existed without the great river. Every year, the snow in the mountains of East Africa melts, sending a torrent of water that overflows the banks of the Nile. The river picks up bits of soil and plant life called silt. The silt is dropped on the banks of the Nile as the flood recedes, and creates excellent topsoil that provides two or three crops every year. The ancient Greeks spoke with envy when they referred to Egypt as “the Gift of the Nile.”
Ancient Egypt was protected from invaders by natural borders
The boundaries of many of the western United States are man-made boundaries. This is easy to see when looking at a map because the lines are straight. The eastern states tend to be bounded by rivers, lakes, or mountain ranges. These are called natural boundaries.
• The land beyond the Nile River Valley is a desert. A desert is a region that receives less than ten inches of precipitation in a typical year. It is difficult to march an army and the provisions they need across a desert.
• There are six large waterfalls called cataracts along the Nile River south of the ancient civilization. The cataracts made it difficult for navies to invade Egypt from the south.
• Not many people ventured into the sea before 1500BC, so the Mediterranean Sea formed a natural border in ancient times. Egypt was not invaded by the sea until a French navy led by Napoleon Bonaparte invaded in 1798.
Invaders from Persia (modern Iran), Greece, Turkey, and Rome conquered Egypt, but the natural borders made it possible for the Nile River Valley to develop without constant fear of attack.
|
| |
|
To cite this page:
Dowling, Mike, "Mr. Dowling's Ancient Egypt page," available from http://www.mrdowling.com/611india.html; Internet; updated Monday, January 1, 2007.
©2008, Mike Dowling. All rights reserved. |
