Egyptian Civilization

 Mesopotamian civilization arose in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates, another great civilization emerged in Egypt, centered on the Nile River. From its sources in Lake Victo- ria and the Ethiopian highlands, the Nile flows north some 4,000 miles to the Mediterranean. Ancient Egypt included the 750-mile stretch of smooth, navigable river from Aswan to the sea. South of Aswan the river’s course is interrupted by several cataracts - rocky areas of rapids and whirlpools.

The Egyptians recognized two sets of geographical di- visions in their country. Upper (southern) Egypt con- sisted of the narrow valley of the Nile. Lower (northern) Egypt referred to the broad triangular area, named by the Greeks after their letter  delta, formed by the Nile as it branches out to empty into the Mediterranean. The Egyptians also made a distinction between what they termed the “black land,” the dark fertile fields along the Nile, and the “red land,” the desert cliffs and plateaus bordering the valley.

The Nile alone made agriculture possible in Egypt’s desert environment. Each year the rains of central Africa caused the river to rise over its floodplain, cresting in Sep- tember and October. In places, the plain extends several miles on either side; elsewhere the cliffs slope down to the water’s edge. When the floodwaters receded, they left a rich layer of organically fertile silt. The construction and mainte- nance of canals, dams, and irrigation ditches to control the river’s water, together with careful planning and organization of planting and harvesting, produced agricultural prosperity unmatched in the ancient world.

The Nile served as the major highway connecting Upper and Lower Egypt . There was also a network of desert roads running north and south, as well as routes across the eastern desert to the Sinai and the Red Sea. Other tracks led to oases in the western desert. Thanks to geography and climate, Egypt was more isolated and enjoyed far more security than Mesopotamia. This security, along with the predictable flood calendar, gave Egyptian civilization a more optimistic outlook than the civilizations of the Tigris and Euphrates, which were more prone to storms, flash floods, and invasions.

Making Bread. A hallmark of the early river civilizations was the development of techniques to increase harvests. This statue from the Old Kingdom in Egypt (ca. 2700–2200 B.C.E.) shows a woman kneading dough for bread.

The 3,000-year span of ancient Egyptian history is tra- ditionally divided into thirty-one royal dynasties, from the first dynasty, said to have been founded by Menes, the king who originally united Upper and Lower Egypt, to the last, conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.E. . Ptolemy, one of Alexander’s generals, founded the Ptolemaic Dynasty, whose last ruler was Cleopatra. In 30  B.C.E. the Romans defeated Egypt,  effectively ending the independent existence of a civilization that had lasted three millennia.

The unification of Upper and Lower Egypt was vital, for it meant that the entire river valley could benefit from an unimpeded distribution of resources. Three times in its his- tory, Egypt experienced a century or more of political and so- cial disintegration, known as Intermediate periods. During these eras, rival dynasties often set up separate power bases in Upper and Lower Egypt until a strong leader reunified the land.