Download Geography of the Nile Valley

Every year, as the Nile River flooded its banks, the
people of ancient Egypt sang a hymn of praise. They
honored the river for nourishing the land and filling
their storehouses with food:
“If the Nile smiles, the Earth is joyous
Every stomach is full of rejoicing
Every spine is happy,
Every jawbone crushes its food.”
—“Hymn to the Nile,” quoted in The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians (Erman)
In time, a powerful civilization emerged that depended
on the control of river waters.
Geography of the Nile Valley
“Egypt,” said the ancient Greek historian Herodotus,
“is wholly the gift of the Nile.”
Longest river in the world (4,157 miles)
Flows north
Northernmost 600 miles open to navigation
Rich, irrigated “Black Land,” generally no more than
10 miles wide,
The “Red Land,” a sun-baked desert that stretches
across North Africa.
Farming villages dotted the narrow band of land
watered by the Nile no more than 12 miles wide.
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Geography of the Nile Valley
The desert protected Egypt from invasion, it also
limited where people could settle.
North was the Mediterranean Sea
West was the Sahara Desert
East was the Nubian Desert and Red Sea
South were the CATARACTS – steep canyons with
large rapids
Chains of small farming communities with no
fortifications
Annual flooding from July to October brought new
soil and water to the valley
Farmers used irrigation canals
Egyptian calendar was based upon the flood cycle of
the river of 365 days
GEOMETRY was developed to restore landmarks
wiped out by flooding
HEIROGLYPHICS – Egyptian writing system – was
developed to record property ownership
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The Inundation (Akhet) June to September
When the river Nile flooded, water, mud and silt from the
river was washed up over the river banks creating a
fertile growing area.
During the period of the flood
the Egyptian farmers spent
time mending and making
tools and looking after the animals.
Many farmers also worked for the pharaoh during this
time building pyramids and temples.
Growing (Peret) October to February
As soon as the flood began to recede the Ancient
Egyptians ploughed the soil ready for sowing.
They had hand ploughs or larger
ones that were pulled by oxen.
Seeds were then sown into the
newly ploughed soil. Goats and
other animals then walked over
the fields to push the seeds into the ground.
Crops grown included wheat, barley, flax, onions, leeks,
garlic, beans, lettuce, lentils, cabbages, radishes,
turnips, grapes, figs, plums and melons.
Harvest (Shemu) March to May
Grain was cut using a sickle.
The cut grain was then tied
into bundles and carried away.
Wheat was made into bread, barley was made into beer
and flax was made into linen cloth.
Papyrus reeds that grew naturally along the banks of the
Nile were used to make sandals, boats, baskets, mats
and paper.
Cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, ducks, goats, and oxen were
raised by farmers for their meat, milk, hides and also to
help with farming.
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Geography of the Nile Valley
Geography of the Nile Valley
Farmers took advantage of the fertile soil of the Nile
Valley
They grew wheat and FLAX, a plant whose fibers were
used for clothing.
This tomb painting shows the importance of agriculture to ancient
Egyptian life. The man guides an ox-drawn plow. Then, the woman
plants seeds in the newly turned soil.
YEARLY FLOODS
YEARLY FLOODS
The Nile rises in the highlands of Ethiopia and the
lakes of central Africa.
People had to cooperate to control the Nile floods.
Every spring, rains in this interior region send water
racing down streams that feed the Nile River.
They built dikes, reservoirs, and irrigation ditches to
channel the rising river and store water for the dry
season.
In ancient times, Egyptians eagerly awaited the
annual flood.
It soaked the land with life-giving water and deposited
a layer of rich SILT, or soil.
UNITING THE LAND
Ancient Egypt had two distinct regions, Upper Egypt
in the south and Lower Egypt in the north.
UPPER EGYPT stretched from the first cataract, or
waterfall, of the Nile northward to within 100 miles of
the Mediterranean.
LOWER EGYPT covered the delta region where the
Nile empties into the Mediterranean.
A DELTA is a triangular area of
marshland formed by deposits of
silt at the mouth of some rivers.
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UNITING THE LAND
About 3100 BCE, MENES, the king of Upper Egypt,
united the two regions.
UNITING THE LAND
UNITING THE LAND
About 3100 BCE, MENES, the king of Upper Egypt,
united the two regions.
The Nile was used as a highway
linking north and south.
Pharaohs could send officials or
armies to towns along the river.
The Nile thus helped make Egypt
the world's first unified state.
The river served as a trade route.
Egyptian merchants traveled up and down the Nile in
sailboats and barges, exchanging the products of
Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean world.
The history of ancient Egypt is divided into
three main periods:
OLD KINGDOM
MIDDLE KINGDOM
NEW KINGDOM
Although power passed from one DYNASTY, or
family of rulers, to another, the land generally
remained united.
The Old Kingdom (about 2700 BCE–2200 BCE)
Also known as the AGE OF THE PYRAMIDS
A STRONG GOVERNMENT
Egyptian rulers called PHARAOHS (fair ohz)
organized a strong, centralized state.
Pharaohs claimed divine support for their rule.
Egyptians believed the pharaoh was a god.
The pharaoh thus had absolute
power, owning and ruling all
the land in the kingdom.
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The Old Kingdom (about 2700 BCE–2200 BCE)
The Old Kingdom (about 2700 BCE–2200 BCE)
Pharaohs took pride in preserving justice and order.
One wise vizier, Ptah-hotep (tah hoh tehp), took an
interest in training young officials. Based on his vast
experience of government, he wrote a book,
Instruction of Ptah-hotep. In it, he advised his son on
how to avoid the errors he had seen in other officials:
A pharaoh depended on a VIZIER,
or chief minister, to supervise the business of
government.
Under the vizier, various departments looked after
such matters as tax collection, farming, and the allimportant irrigation system.
Thousands of scribes carried out the vizier's
instructions.
“If you are sitting at the table of one greater than
you, take what he may give when it is set before you.
Let your face be cast down until he addresses you,
and you should speak only when he addresses you.”
—Instruction of Ptah-hotep
The Old Kingdom (about 2700 BCE–2200 BCE)
The Old Kingdom (about 2700 BCE–2200 BCE)
THE PYRAMIDS
THE PYRAMIDS
The pyramids were tombs for eternity.
Egyptians believed in an afterlife, they
preserved the bodies of their dead rulers and
provided them with everything they would
need in their new lives.
To complete the pyramids:
workers hauled and lifted millions of
limestone blocks, some weighing two
tons or more.
The Old Kingdom (about 2700 BCE–2200 BCE)
The Old Kingdom (about 2700 BCE–2200 BCE)
THE PYRAMIDS
THE PYRAMIDS
To complete the pyramids:
builders had no iron tools or wheeled
vehicles.
To complete the pyramids:
Workers quarried the stones by hand,
pulled them on sleds to the site, and
hoisted them up earthen ramps.
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The Old Kingdom (about 2700 BCE–2200 BCE)
The Old Kingdom (about 2700 BCE–2200 BCE)
THE PYRAMIDS
THE PYRAMIDS
Building a pyramid took so long that often a
pharaoh would begin to build his tomb as soon
as he inherited the throne.
The pyramids suggest the strength of ancient
Egyptian civilization.
These costly projects required enormous planning
and organization.
Thousands of farmers, who had to be fed each day,
worked on the pyramids when not planting or
harvesting crops.
The Middle Kingdom (2050 BCE-1800 BCE)
The Middle Kingdom (2050 BCE-1800 BCE)
The Middle Kingdom was a turbulent period.
Also known as the CULTURAL AGE
The Nile did not rise as regularly as it had.
Power struggles, crop failures, and the cost of the
pyramids contributed to the collapse of the Old
Kingdom.
After more than a century of disunity, new pharaohs
reunited the land, ushering in the Middle Kingdom.
Corruption and rebellions were common.
Strong rulers did organize a large drainage project,
creating vast new stretches of ARABLE, or
farmable, land.
Egyptian armies occupied part of NUBIA, the goldrich land to the south.
Traders also had greater contacts with the peoples
of the Middle East and the Mediterranean island of
Crete.
The Middle Kingdom (2050 BCE-1800 BCE)
The New Kingdom (about 1550 BCE-1100 BCE)
Catastrophe struck about 1700 BCE when foreign
invaders, the HYKSOS (hihk sohs), occupied the
delta region.
Also known as the AGE OF EMPIRE
They awed the Egyptians with
their CHARIOTS, two-wheeled
horse-drawn vehicles.
The Hyksos, soon adopted
Egyptian customs, beliefs, and
names.
even
After more than 100 years, new Egyptian leaders
arose. They drove out the Hyksos and set up the
New Kingdom.
During the New Kingdom, powerful and ambitious
pharaohs created a large
empire.
At its height, the Egyptian
empire reached the
Euphrates River.
This age of conquest brought
Egypt into greater contact with
southwestern Asia as well as
with other parts of Africa.
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The New Kingdom (about 1550 BCE-1100 BCE)
The New Kingdom (about 1550 BCE-1100 BCE)
POWERFUL RULERS
POWERFUL RULERS
HATSHEPSUT c. 1540 BCE–1482 BCE
HATSHEPSUT c. 1540 BCE–1482 BCE
Hatshepsut was the daughter of one pharaoh and
the widow of another
On the walls of her funeral temple, Hatshepsut left
behind a record of her 20-year reign.
Like some earlier Egyptian queens, she began ruling
in the name of a male heir who was too young to take
the throne
From 1503 BCE to 1482 BCE, she encouraged trade
with eastern Mediterranean lands and along the Red
Sea coast of Africa.
She took the bold step of declaring herself pharaoh
and won the support of key officials.
Because Egyptians thought of their rulers as male,
she wore a false beard as a sign of authority
The New Kingdom (about 1550 BCE-1100 BCE)
The New Kingdom (about 1550 BCE-1100 BCE)
POWERFUL RULERS
After years of fighting, the Egyptians and Hittites
signed a peace treaty, the first such document
known to have survived in history.
RAMSES II was the most powerful pharaoh of the
New Kingdom
Between 1290 BCE and 1224 BCE Ramses II pushed
Egyptian rule northward as far as Syria
It declared that Egypt and the Hittites “shall be at
peace and in brotherhood forever.”
On temples and monuments, he
boasted of his conquests
The New Kingdom (about 1550 BCE-1100 BCE)
EGYPT AND NUBIA
DECLINE
The Nile kingdom of NUBIA (also known as Kush)
developed to the south of Egypt.
After Ramses II, Egyptian power slowly declined.
Invaders, such as the Assyrians and Persians,
conquered the Nile region.
For centuries, Egyptians traded or fought with their
southern neighbor
The Egyptians acquired gold, ivory, cattle, and slaves
During the New Kingdom, Egypt conquered Nubia
Later, Greek and Roman armies came from the north.
Each new conqueror was eager to add the fertile Nile
Valley to a growing empire.
Ramses II used gold from Nubia to pay charioteers in
his army.
Nubians served in Egyptian armies
Much Egyptian art of this period shows Nubian
soldiers, musicians, or prisoners
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EGYPT AND NUBIA
As Egypt declined, Nubia regained its independence
In 750 BCE, Nubian kings marched north, adding
Egypt to their own lands
Nubians saw themselves
as restorers of Egyptian
glory
Respected ancient
Egyptian traditions
About 650 BCE, Assyrians, armed with iron weapons,
conquered Egypt
They pushed the Nubians back into their original
homeland, where Nubians ruled for 1,000 years more
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