Influence of Geographic Conditions of Egypt on its Development as a Civilization

The setup of a nation in the world is a very critical factor in keeping it alive as every civilization is a product of its physical environment in important ways. An in-depth analysis of ancient times will reveal that powerful civilizations always have a source of water. We have the Mesopotamian civilization that depended on Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Indus civilization that counted on Indus and Ganges Rivers, the Chinese relied on their two major rivers: Huang He and Yangtze, and lastly we have the Egyptian civilization that leaned on the longest river in the world, the Nile. The Egypt grew into a powerful nation of the past thanks to Nile as it was the catalyst of growth and development of their civilization.Any assessment of the role of geography in the development of Egyptian civilization must necessarily begin with the Nile. . The mighty river of Nile was truly the life's blood of Egyptian civilization. Its predictable, relatively reliable, and above all fertile annual flooding ensured a sustainable level of agricultural wealth as it helped groom the land for cultivation. With this healthy land, ancient Egypt had an easier time to grow good agricultural products it needed for its survival. Furthermore, Nile was also the primary mode of transportation in and out of Egypt. Travel by the Nile River, a body of water, was much faster and efficient than on land therefore was used to carry goods, news and ideas to the capital to the rest of the nation and vice-versa. However, Nile River was not the only geographical feature that greatly helped the Egyptian civilization. In addition, Egypt also had fairly good mineral resources in the mountains of the Eastern Desert and the Sinai, although iron was not among its gifts. It also had relatively easy access to extensive gold reserves as they were able to defeat the Nubians. Unfortunately, the one important resource that Egypt chronically lacked was a reliable supply of wood, especially of quality hardwoods. This problem was solved as Egypt was able to befriend a neighbouring nation that helped them get hardwoods. Lastly, not only food, fast travel and minerals were the geographys gift to Egypt but it also helped them in times of invasion. Egypts geographic location is a very good and strategic point of view in times of war. South Egypt served as chokepoint for any incursions involving boats. Meanwhile, the narrow coastal passage west of Sinai also created a similar chokepoint for land invasions from the land of Canaan and others. Due to these advantageous

geographic features, Egypt was never successfully invaded and thus was able to live and prosper for a very long time. In todays world, we marvel on how great and influential the ancient civilization of Egypt. Their contribution in politics, art, agriculture, astronomy, science and medicine were the basis or starting point of almost every modern nation in the world. The influence they had on us cannot be denied. And we have to thank the great river of Nile for without it, Egypt would not have flourished and succeeded. It and along with the other geographical advantage of Egypt like its mountains were the main reason why this ancient civilization lived long and developed into one of the most historic culture of the world.