1. Geography of EGYPT Land of the Pharaohs

2. Prior Knowledge
What do you know of Egypt and ancient Egyptians?

3. 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

4. “Gift of the Nile”
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.

5. Irrigation and The Nile
While some civilizations had to struggle with its irrigation methods the Egyptians were lucky enough to have a consistent flow of water and a more manageable flooding season. These ease of farming through irrigation freed up time to devote themselves to other activities, namely math and science and building colossal monuments and structures for which they are famous for today. Ie. Pyramids.

6. irrigation
The shadoof is an ancient device used for lifting water from the Nile in places where irrigation could be slightly difficult or to obtain smaller quantities of water. There devices are still used today.

8. The “Creator of all good”
The Nile, like the Euphrates and the Tigris, was fundamental to the development of Egyptian civilization as it brought food and other riches.
Reflection Question: How does the growth of Fredericton compare to the early civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt?

9. THE NILE RIVER
Every year floods cover the banks of the Nile River with rich soil- which makes it a perfect spot for growing crops.
It provided drinking water.
It was a “natural highway” that linked communities together.
This flood was typically in September and, like Mesopotamia, deposited rich fertile soil for miles along it’s banks. Unlike the Tigris and the Euphrates, the Nile didn’t experience sudden disastrous floods. The flooding of the Nile was very predictable and farmers based their agricultural calendar around the river’s schedule.

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

11. Redland/deshret
Wadi Natrun
To the west of Egypt is the Libyan Desert that contained six fertile oases called wadis.
These Wadis were under Egyptian control and two of these became important suppliers of wine and salt which was used for embalming the bodies for burial.
Wadi Natrun was the oasis that provided much of the salt for embalming.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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?