Ancient Egypt The land of the pharaohs Unit 2: The First Civilizations Social Studies 10 Saunders

Outcome 2.1 and Essential Question Identify the geographic factors which encouraged settlement in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and the Nile Essential Question: What were the significant characteristics of Ancient Egypt? Complete Map handout

Where is Egypt? Google Earth First thing to understand is that Egypt is located in the Sahara Desert, looking at it from above it is essentially a barren wasteland with a few pockets of life found along the northern coastline. Google Earth

Egypt’s civilization began along the Nile River in North Africa Ancient Egypt Egypt’s civilization began along the Nile River in North Africa

“Gift of the Nile” Northern Africa Herodotus was a Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus in the Persian Empire and lived in the fifth century BC, he stated that Egypt was a “Gift of the Nile” Looking at the images above you can see that near the water we have an abundance of greenery and growth but it the background we have…nothing but sand. Essentially without the Nile we don’t have an Egypt.

Egypt was bordered on both sides by miles of scorching desert These natural barriers isolated Egypt and protected it from outside invasion The Geography of Egypt From the highlands of East Africa to the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile River flows northward across Africa for over 4,100 miles, making it the longest river in the world. A thin ribbon of water in a parched desert land, the great river brings its water to Egypt from distant mountains, plateaus, and lakes in present-day Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia. Egypt’s settlements arose along the Nile on a narrow strip of land made fertile by the river. The change from fertile soil to desert—from the Black Land to the Red Land—was so abrupt that a person could stand with one foot in each. The Gift of the Nile As in Mesopotamia, yearly flooding brought the water and rich soil that allowed settlements to grow. Every year in July, rains and melting snow from the mountains of east Africa caused the Nile River to rise and spill over its banks. When the river receded in October, it left behind a rich deposit of fertile black mud called silt. Before the scorching sun could dry out the soil, the peasants would prepare their wheat and barley fields. All fall and winter they watered their crops from a network of irrigation ditches. In an otherwise parched land, the abundance brought by the Nile was so great that the Egyptians worshiped it as a god who gave life and seldom turned against them. As the ancient Greek historian Herodotus remarked in the fifth century B.C., Egypt was the “gift of the Nile.”

The Nile River’s annual floods were predictable and provided fertile soil for farming (a perfect place to start a civilization) The Nile flooded so predictably that the Egyptians designed their calendar around it The Geography of Egypt From the highlands of East Africa to the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile River flows northward across Africa for over 4,100 miles, making it the longest river in the world. A thin ribbon of water in a parched desert land, the great river brings its water to Egypt from distant mountains, plateaus, and lakes in present-day Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia. Egypt’s settlements arose along the Nile on a narrow strip of land made fertile by the river. The change from fertile soil to desert—from the Black Land to the Red Land—was so abrupt that a person could stand with one foot in each. The Gift of the Nile As in Mesopotamia, yearly flooding brought the water and rich soil that allowed settlements to grow. Every year in July, rains and melting snow from the mountains of east Africa caused the Nile River to rise and spill over its banks. When the river receded in October, it left behind a rich deposit of fertile black mud called silt. Before the scorching sun could dry out the soil, the peasants would prepare their wheat and barley fields. All fall and winter they watered their crops from a network of irrigation ditches. In an otherwise parched land, the abundance brought by the Nile was so great that the Egyptians worshiped it as a god who gave life and seldom turned against them. As the ancient Greek historian Herodotus remarked in the fifth century B.C., Egypt was the “gift of the Nile.” Egypt has been called the “Gift of the Nile”; there would be no Egyptian civilization without the Nile

Red Land Deserts lie to the east and west of the Nile Valley. The Egyptians called this the Deshret or Redland. Provided protection from invasion. A source of copper, gold, and granite- used for building, jewelry, tools, weapons…etc…

Redland/deshret Wadi Natrun To the west of Egypt is the Libyan Desert that contained six fertile oases called wadis. Two of the wadis were significant suppliers of wine and salt. The salt was used for embalming the bodies for burial. Wadi Natrun was the oasis that provided much of the salt for embalming.

black land The fertile land surrounding the Nile River was known as the Kemet or Blackland because of the rich, black mud left on the banks after a flood from heavy rains in central Africa.

Upper and Lower Egypt Upper Egypt was marked by the Nile River Valley, and was surrounded by the deserts. It was referred to as Ta- shema. What about this map seems odd? The river is this region varied in width from 6 to 20 km wide. Egyptians thought of upper Egypt as the beginning of the river, which starts in the mountainous regions of Nubia or modern day Sudan, Lower Egypt is where the river empties into the Mediterranean.

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt is quite mountainous and the Nile has cut deep trenches into the banks of the river, some banks reach hundreds of meters high.

Lower Egypt Lower Egypt is located near the present city of Cairo. The Nile, in lower Egypt, branches out to the NE and NW before it reaches the Mediterranean Sea. This branching out creates a fertile triangular plane called the Nile Delta.

The Nile Delta Lower Egypt was marked by different branches of the Nile River which created a fertile triangular plain. It was referred to as The Nile Delta or the ta-mehu. It was important for trade routes and emptied into the Mediterranean Sea. This delta region was abundant in ducks, geese, ibis and the heron.

Nile Cataracts Cataracts are shallow parts of a river that can be classified as rapids. During the dry season these rapids are impassable by boat but during the flood season boats can pass easily. These cataracts also served as a defensive barrier as larger boats couldn’t pass because of the shallows and smaller boats struggled because the rapids were dangerous to traverse.

Egypt & Mesopotamia Unlike Mesopotamia which was subject to constant invasions, Egypt was blessed with the natural barriers of the desert to protect from invasion. Because of this protection, and isolation, Egyptian society and culture was marked by a remarkable degree of continuity over thousands of year.

Question To Consider Did Mesopotamia experience similar consistencies with culture and societies like the Egyptians? Explain. Based on what we have learned about Mesopotamia and Egyptian geography, what might historians look for when searching for ancient civilizations or developments?