The Nile River

 Neilos? It means Nile in Greek.  People living in ancient Egypt depended on the Nile River for almost everything they did.  The Nile River is the longest river in the world, stretching 4,160 miles. In ancient Egypt, June-September was the time the Nile overflowed and flooded their land and villages.  In October, farmers planted crops, and in March they would be harvested.  The Nile River shaped many aspects of ancient Egyptian society including it’s settlement, agricultural system, and spiritual life.

First of all, the Nile River provided ancient Egyptians with their Population Distribution.  Ancient Egypt was protected with geographical barriers such as deserts (toward the West and East), the Mediterranean Sea (toward the North), and Nubia + Cataracts (toward the South).  The geographical barriers protected  the country from intruders, keeping them safely protected.  When the Nile would overflow, the water would sink into the soil, making it perfect for farming and planting crops.  Some of the Egyptian’s settlements also clinged to either the water-delta or narrow valleys so that they could fulfill their daily needs, keeping them protected at the same time (document A).  The Population Distribution provided Egypt with highways (for traveling), trade routes, food (especially fish), and mud (for brick houses).  Without the Nile’s help, Egypt would not have been kept safe and provided with resources needed to survive.

The Nile also helped Egypt with their Agricultural Cycle which was needed for keeping track of when the floods would come.  Ancient Egyptians made the first version of our calendar which kept track of their main flood months, when they would plant crops, and when they would be harvested.  Their calendar had 3 seasons, each of them being 4 months long.  They also used boats to help with trading, moving heavy materials, leisure trips, and pilgrimages (or a trip to the shrine of gods).  The boats would be sailed along the Nile and to the destination needed for that specific task.  During flood seasons, instead of farming, farmers would work off labor tax which was paid in crops (document b,c).  Their calendar of flooding, planting, and harvesting helped them predict and get ready for what they had to do.  The Nile helped Egyptians with their food resources, paying off taxes, and living life in general.

 Finally, the Nile helped Egyptians with their spiritual/afterlife.  In order to have eternal life, the Egyptians believed that you had to be mummified, had to have a funeral, and buried with a tomb.  The Nile played such a huge role in Ancient Egypt that they believed without it, their civilization and growth would not have risen.  In Ancient Egypt, they treated the Nile like a supernatural being, like a giver of life.  But honestly, would there have been life without it?  Since the Nile heavily impacted whether or not the Egyptians would have lived or not, they considered it heaven when it did provide them with resources, or when it did help them survive.  The Nile helped shape all of Egypt’s afterlife, most of their beliefs, and gave them places to pray to their gods.

Ancient Egyptians depended on the Nile River to shape their settlement, agricultural system, and spiritual life.  If the Nile provided so many resources for the Egyptians, would life have been gone if the Nile was?  Even if the Nile helped the Egyptians, they still had to do a lot of work to keep their community running, even if it meant working for days nonstop.