The name "Egypt" is of Greek origin. The Greeks alter the ancient capital of the Egyptians - Memphis. The inhabitants themselves in ancient times called their country "Kemet", which means "Black". It was considered a noble color, as it symbolized plowed land. Herodotus wrote about the inhabitants of an African country that "the Egyptians are all those who drink water from the Nile." It was this river that gave life to the ancient people who created a developed civilization here. This was facilitated by the climatic conditions of Egypt. We will try to understand what was so unusual in it, that this particular piece of land, several kilometers wide, is considered the cradle of mankind. What natural conditions in ancient Egypt contributed to this? We will try to answer these questions.
Natural conditions of Ancient Egypt: natural boundaries
Ancient Egypt had natural borders that made its inhabitants an indigenous population. It was a huge oasis among the dead deserts. From the first Nile threshold to the Mediterranean Sea, its length was about 1200 km. Rocky mountains and deserts in the west and east, impassable rapids in the south, and the sea in the north - all this allowed the country to isolate itself from the outside wild world, calm on the development of the territory.
Climate
Scientists believe that the modern climatic natural conditions of Egypt were formed about 5 thousand years ago. The weather was deserted hot in the afternoon and cool with frost at night.
From March to May, the most “terrible” time came for residents. For almost two months, sandstorms raged. The fields were covered with a thick layer of sand. The "red desert wind" burying entire settlements. Sometimes he covered the sun in such a way that it was difficult to distinguish between evening and morning; the Bible has a metaphor “Egyptian darkness” that characterizes this phenomenon.
Rains did not play any role in agriculture and were considered natural disasters. To survive, the population had to build irrigation systems. Thus, the natural conditions of Egypt pushed people into a large economic association.
So different neil
The Nile River, due to which there was an opportunity to develop civilization here, is heterogeneous throughout the country. From the first threshold to the city of Memphis (territory near modern Cairo), the width of a habitable valley ranged from several kilometers to 40, north of Memphis the rocks parted, and the Nile fell into many branches, forming a wide valley in the north of the country in the form of a triangle - this is a delta rivers. If you look at the maps, the river resembles a tree with one trunk with a branch at the top. The difference between the north (Lower Egypt) and the south (Upper Egypt) was distinctly different: in one the climate was Mediterranean, in the other - African. This influenced the history of the country, as two different states were created here, and subsequently still united.
Nature miracle
A single Nile is formed by the confluence of two different rivers. One is calm (White Nile), originating from Lake Victoria, which is located in Equatorial Africa. The other is swift (Blue Nile), flows from the high-mountain Ethiopian Lake Tana.
The river is a real miracle of nature. She created favorable natural conditions of Ancient Egypt for the development of agriculture. This was due to the Nile laying off fertile and unpretentious silty soil. Its volumes reached 100 million tons of the richest alluvium for mineral fertilizers. The level of such soil reached up to 18-20 meters, on which it was possible to grow various crops. To grow any crop, it was enough just to slightly loosen the soil with a primitive hoe at hand and throw a seed into the mineral soil. Such a gift of nature made it possible to stay in this tiny territory and leave thoughts of any relocations in search of a better life.
Compare the difficulties of our Slavic ancestors. In order for even unpretentious rye to grow on the ground, they needed to free the forest from trees, burn them, uproot the roots, plow the soil deep, and search for the forest again next year, as the soil was depleted and did not produce the next crop.
Why did the Nile spill
Modern floods in Russia are associated with winter precipitation, while the Nile floods, on the contrary, with summer tropical rains in Equatorial Africa. They began steadily at the same time with an accuracy of one day, so the Egyptians quickly adapted to the calendar.
In early June, the water turned green due to the swamp algae, subsequently the river became dark brown from a huge mass of volcanic dust. It fell into the Blue Nile due to heavy rains that carried rocks from the mountains into the river. The water level here rose to 15 meters, which was reflected in the delta, the depth of which increased by 7-8 meters.
The peak of water in the valley of Egypt was in late September - early October. In December, the river was back on track.
In the East, Egypt is not the only civilization that lived off a river spill. Another such place was Mesopotamia, living at the expense of the Tigris and Euphrates.
The main problem of Mesopotamia was the flood, which created many problems, including subsequent famine and pestilence.
In Egypt, on the contrary, there was a lack of moisture at low floods.
"It seemed that the monster wanted to destroy all living things ..."
The ancient inhabitants idolized the Nile, as well as everything that was somehow connected with its ebbs and flows. But did the natural conditions of Egypt really affect life so much?
The story of an Arab historian in the 12th century, based on materials from historically preserved sources, answers this question. In one year the drought was severe, "it seemed that the monster wanted to destroy all life and livelihoods." People lost hope of a spill, causing food prices to jump. The population rebelled, it knew about imminent hunger and possible death.
The situation was aggravated by intense heat, which caused an epidemic from numerous corpses. The poor began to eat dogs, cats, dead animals and people, their own feces and dung. Some cooked and baked little children.
The story, of course, causes horror, but it becomes clear why the ancient Egyptians idolized the river so much and rejoiced greatly when it spilled.
Transport artery
The river served as the main transport artery in the state, as it flowed through the whole country. It was possible to sail not only with the flow from south to north, but also vice versa, since the north and north-west wind often blew, allowing the sail to be used in the opposite direction.
What natural conditions of ancient Egypt were favorable in addition to the Nile and the spills? Next, we will answer this question.
Oases
The Egyptians lived not only in the Nile Valley, but also in small oases scattered around it - paradise islands of greenery and moisture in the middle of an endless lifeless desert. The largest of these are the Fayum oases in the east of the country. They had an area of about 2 thousand square meters. km
The oases were autonomous territories within the state, since it was easy not to reach them through kilometers of dead desert. Many died in them, trying to find them or, conversely, get out. This proves that the Egyptians sent their criminals to oases and kept them there without any protection.
Natural conditions of Egypt (Grade 5, history): ancient flora and fauna
The flora and fauna in ancient times was completely different, richer than now.
In spring, wild donkeys, bison, giraffes, wild boars in Nile swamps, gazelles and giraffes, leopards and lions, and Barbary sheep were found in the valley. Crocodiles, hippos, and numerous species of fish were found in the river. All this made it possible to diversify the diet of residents, to put game and fish on the market.
Palms, lotuses, papyri, acacia, tamarisk, fig tree grew from plants . This made it possible to eat dates, figs, make paper (papyrus), and use plants in medicine.
Useful resources
Nature awarded Egypt not only favorable soil, flora and fauna, but also inexhaustible reserves of building stone: limestone, sandstone, granite, basalt, translucent alabaster, natron (mica used in embalming). In Nubia and in the East, there were rich deposits of gold, not far from the Egyptians in the Sinai - significant deposits of copper ore.
There were few materials that were imported into the country: tin, silver and cedar.
Conclusion
We answered the question what natural conditions in ancient Egypt allowed civilization to exist. To summarize. The rich resources of the country and the floods of the Nile greatly simplified the life of the Egyptians.
That is why civilization quickly developed here, in contrast, for example, from other areas, whose inhabitants were constantly on the verge of life and death. But at the same time, such conditions conserve the development of science and technology.
The harsh living conditions of other nations compel us to find other, more advanced tools of labor, to seek new materials, and move science forward. This leads to the development of military equipment, the improvement of weapons. All this influenced the history of Ancient Egypt, whose wars in light armor with copper peaks and axes encountered more advanced weapons from other countries.