How the River Nile Informed Every Aspect of Egyptian Civilization - Assignment Example

Discuss how the River Nile informed every aspect of Egyptian Civilization Introduction The Nile, (called “Bahr an-Nil” or “”Nahr an-Nil” in Arabic) is the father of the African rivers and the longest river in the world. It rises south of the equator and flows northward through northeastern Africa to drain into the Mediterranean Sea. It has a length of about 4,132 miles (6,650 kilometers) and drains an area of about 1,293,000 square meters (3,349,000 square kilometers).8 It is the only river that flows directly northward, and has the distinction of being the most intensely studied and most fabled river in our planet. Despite flowing through one of the harshest deserts on earth and traveling its last 1,500 miles without a single tributary, the River Nile never runs dry. Every year it swells to 400 times its dry season size as it rages north towards the Mediterranean Sea.3 Little rain falls in Egypt, and dry, windswept desert covers most of the land. But the River Nile that flows through the desert area serves as a vital source of life for most Egyptians.8 River Nile: River of Mystery that Never Capitulated Throughout human history, rivers and other water bodies have played a very important role in their civilization. There are no peoples anywhere in the world without some historical and cultural legacies wrapped around a water body. A prime example is the River Nile.6 Ancient Egypt was a long, narrow country through which the River Nile flowed.8 The people of Egypt have some sort of spiritual root in this river; they reflect the 8= “The World Book Encyclopedia” (World Book Inc.) Volume 6 3= “Nile” by Holmes Martha, Maxwell Gavin & Scoones Tim 6= “The Nile Histories, Cultures, Myths” by Haggai Erlich & Gershani Israel centrality of the river in the formation and re-formation of their cultures, their histories, their religions, their national identities and in the shaping of their inter-relationships.6 From the beginning of recorded history, the River Nile has been a blessing in an otherwise barren, inhospitable world. Over 5000 years ago, the River Nile’s fertile valley gave rise to one of the world’s first and greatest civilizations: Ancient Egypt.3 The Egyptian civilization thrived for over 2000 years and so became one of the longest lasting civilizations in human history.8 Over these many years, the vital nutrient and silt-laden Nile floodwaters replenished the rich farmland in the late summer and fall. The floodwaters were full of rich black dirt (silt).4 Silt was deposited upon the narrow plain on either side of the river and upon the low lying delta.8 The floodwaters would eventually recede after a few weeks, leaving behind the silt on the fields. This natural fertilizer enabled agriculture and Egyptian civilization to flourish.4 Ancient Egyptians called their country Kemet, meaning Black Land, after the dark soil deposited by the River Nile.8 The presence of the River Nile and the Nile River Valley in Ancient Egypt greatly influenced its civilization.7 Because the land would be a desert without Nile waters, the ancient Greek historian Herodotus called Egypt “the gift of the Nile”.2 Early Egyptian civilization began around 3100 B.C when King Menes of Upper Egypt conquered Lower Egypt and unified the country, becoming the world’s first national government. Memphis was the capital (near present day Cairo).8 The ancient 6= “The Nile Histories, Cultures, Myths” by Haggai Erlich & Gershani Israel 3= “Nile” by Holmes Martha, Maxwell Gavin & Scoones Tim 8= “The World Book Encyclopedia” (World Book Inc.) Volume 6 4= “The Nile” by Collins, Robert O. 7= http://www.ccds.nc.us/History/Egypt/04/haup/hauptfuhrer.htm 2= http://home.cfl.rr.com/cross/and/AncientCivilizations/Ancient_Egypt/ ancient_egypt.html Egyptians began with small settlements along the River Nile. Such settlements were found nowhere in Northern Africa at this period as the surrounding dry forests lacked the two vital necessities for permanent settlement: water and fertile soil. The River Nile provided both these necessities to Ancient Egypt. Its water and silt allowed agriculture, the main economic activity of the Egyptians, to flourish. Crops like wheat, barley, beans, lettuce, figs, grapes, dates and vegetables were grown by Ancient Egyptian farmers.7 They used wooden ploughs pulled by oxen to prepare the fields for planting. Great harvests year after year helped make Ancient Egypt rich.8 In the Old Kingdom (Pyramid Age) of Egyptian history (2686 B.C to 2200 B.C), the Pharaohs (the word ‘pharaoh’ comes from words that mean ‘great house’ in Egyptian) appointed viziers or chief ministers to look after farming and take care of the needs of farmers.2 The Egyptians did not have a money system; instead, they traded in goods or services directly for other goods or services (called the ‘barter system’). Agricultural workers were paid in wheat and barley.8 Water from the Nile also attracted thirsty animals like camels and water buffalo. The River Nile also provided abundant fish, a major source of food for the people. The river mud was used to make bricks to build Egyptian homes.7 The bricks were made of dried river mud, and trunks of palm trees were used to support the flat roofs of houses. Ancient Egyptians also used the Nile for swimming; sailing on the Nile was a popular activity.8 River Nile served as a trade route and waterway for travel.2 It provided transportation for the Egyptians, enabling them to interact with other civilizations along the Nile such as the kingdom of Kush.7 Travel within Ancient Egypt was chiefly by boats 7= http://www.ccds.nc.us/History/Egypt/04/haup/hauptfuhrer.htm 8= “The World Book Encyclopedia” (World Book Inc.) Volume 6 2= http://home.cfl.rr.com/cross/and/AncientCivilizations/Ancient_Egypt/ ancient_egypt.html and barges on the River Nile. The earliest Egyptian boats were made of papyrus and powered by rowers with oars; later, sails were invented and Egyptians began to rely on the wind for power; around 3000 B.C they began using wooden planks to build ships. Ancient Egypt developed a large navy consisting of long ships called ‘galleys’. Memphis and Thebes – the main capitals of Ancient Egypt – and many other cities developed along the River Nile.8 As Egyptian civilization grew, it became even more dependent on the Nile and its role in their economy.7 When the annual summer flood failed, Egypt suffered badly.4 Failure of crops was the main reason for the collapse of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. This happened again in the Middle Kingdom period of Egyptian history (2050 BC to 1800 BC) which led its invasion by the Hyksos.2 The Ancient Egyptians never understood how the River Nile’s flood was generated and why it occasionally failed. Instead, they invented a complex mythology to explain the cycles of the river, and rarely ventured beyond their safe, god-given valley to explore up stream.3 The dark ages of dynastic Egypt, and the successes of invading outsiders are linked to these sometime prolonged periods when the Nile withheld its renewing gift.4 The mystery of how the Nile came to be such a powerful fluctuating force tormented people for thousands of years. Huge natural barriers south of Egypt restricted knowledge but as the centuries passed, in the middle of the 1800’s, great explorers like British John Hanning Speke, German Georg August 8= “The World Book Encyclopedia” (World Book Inc.) Volume 6 7= http://www.ccds.nc.us/History/Egypt/04/haup/hauptfuhrer.htm 4= “The Nile” by Collins, Robert O. 2= http://home.cfl.rr.com/cross/and/AncientCivilizations/Ancient_Egypt/ ancient_egypt.html 3= “Nile” by Holmes Martha, Maxwell Gavin & Scoones Tim Schweinfurth, British Samuel White Baker and Ango-American Henry Morton Stanley started created history. They braved rapids, swamps, jungles, wild animals and disease to push further and further up the river, each time bringing back new clues in their race to solve the riddle of the river’s source deep in the heart of Africa. In fact, the Nile was not fully navigated and its source not known until the mid 19th century.3 Egyptians tried their best to subdue and harness the power of the mighty Nile.4 Ancient Egyptians first used the ‘basin irrigation system’ whereby a series of basins on farm land lining the banks of River Nile trapped the river’s floodwaters and silt. After the flood waters withdrew, farmers planted their fields. Starting from the 1800’s, the basin irrigation system was replaced with a system of year-round irrigation. Canals, reservoirs and dams were built by administrators with quixotic goals of taming the Nile.8 It culminated with the building of the Aswan High Dam in 1970. The Aswan High Dam was constructed across River Nile by President Gamal Abdel Nasser. With its 300-mile lake (Lake Nasser) and an ancillary dam at Roserives in Sudan, it seeks to regulate the Nile forever, smoothing out the years of high and low water. But the mighty Nile has refused to capitulate to the impoundment of its water by the Aswan High Dam.4 The Aswan High Dam allows Egyptians to cultivate usable farm land more efficiently; the dam increased the amount of land irrigated all year to about 910,000 hectares. But the dam also collects a huge amount of valuable silt. As a result, this silt is no longer deposited by the Nile on farm lands that border it, and less of silt reaches the Nile Delta coast; because of this, the Nile Delta is receding in places.8 Decreased flooding of River 3= “Nile” by Holmes Martha, Maxwell Gavin & Scoones Tim 4= “The Nile” by Collins, Robert O. 8= “The World Book Encyclopedia” (World Book Inc.) Volume 6 Nile has led to increased erosion and greater salt content in the water and soil. Local communities and ancient sites were submerged or relocated because of the dam.4 River Nile: Its Influence on Gods and Religious Beliefs of Ancient Egypt The River Nile greatly affected the religion of Ancient Egypt whose religion was based primarily on nature, and the existence of sun and land in nature. This belief was due to the economic dependence of Egyptians on River Nile; the river was so important to them that they felt the need to base their religious beliefs somewhat on the Nile.7 Various mythological gods of Ancient Egypt are strongly associated with River Nile.5 In fact, the various gods belonging to the many shrines along the Nile were joined into a single pantheon of gods with whom the Pharoahs associated themselves, claiming that they were the reincarnation of the Sun God ‘Re’.1 The most prominent god worshipped by Ancient Egyptians is Osiris, the god of the underworld. Osiris is also known as ‘Serapis’, meaning ‘Osiris of the Nile’. Osiris is traditionally identified with ‘Apis’ and ‘Hapi’, both considered to embody the Nile.5 Ancient Egyptians believed that Osiris was a god of nature, a god of imperishable life; that he exercised expanded magical powers; and that he granted new life including the sprouting of vegetation. They believed Osiris made the annual flooding of the River Nile and they believed that all people had been cannibals until Osiris taught humanity how to make agricultural tools and grow crops.1 A picture in the tomb of Egyptian queen Horemheb pays tribute to Isis, the mythical sister-wife of Osiris. Her tears are said to nourish the waters of the Nile, helping 4= “The Nile” by Collins, Robert O. 7= http://www.ccds.nc.us/History/Egypt/04/haup/hauptfuhrer.htm 5= “The Nile Decoded” by Adachi Goro 1= http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/ch02.htm these waters to rise and bestow prosperity on the people.3 This strong connection between Osiris and the Nile moved the Greek Herodotus to say the famous words: “The Nile is the gift of Osiris, but Egypt is the gift of the Nile.”5 Another part of Ancient Egypt’s religion was their belief in the After-Life. The Nile played a role in this belief by symbolizing life and after-life.7 Ancient Egyptians mummified (embalmed and dried) corpses of their Pharoahs, believing that so long as the king’s body survived – and so long as his spirit was fed by offerings of food – his spirit would survive and he would continue to watch over their safety. They believed that their dead king remains with his body in the underworld, so they provided the body grand burial chambers that were put into great pyramids. Smaller pyramids were built for queens and for the king’s officials.1 All the tombs and burial places of Ancient Egyptians including the pyramids are located on the west bank of River Nile. This is because Ancient Egyptians knew that the sun rose in the east, symbolizing birth, and set in the west, symbolizing death. Thus, the west bank of the River Nile turned into a symbol of the connection of life on earth and the after-life.7 River Nile: The Heart of present-day Egypt Today, Egypt’s economy is heavily dependent on River Nile. The immense River Nile is a source of regular refreshment to the villages, towns and cities of Egypt that lie on its banks.4 The fertile farm lands (estimated to be 2.6 million hectares) of the Nile 3= “Nile” by Holmes Martha, Maxwell Gavin & Scoones Tim 5= “The Nile Decoded” by Adachi Goro 7= http://www.ccds.nc.us/History/Egypt/04/haup/hauptfuhrer.htm 1= http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/ch02.htm 4= “The Nile” by Collins, Robert O. Valley and Nile Delta helps agriculture to flourish. Agriculture provides jobs for more Egyptians than any other economic activity – 40% of the total workforce. Crops like cotton (Egypt’s most valuable cash crop as well as its most important export), rice, wheat, oranges, dates (Egypt is the world’s leading producer of dates) and sugarcane are grown. Agriculture accounts for about 18% of Egypt’s GDP.8 The principal river ports of Luxor and Aswan both lie on River Nile and are the important hubs of valuable trade. Tourism, a huge foreign exchange earner for the country, is important around ancient Egyptian sites near River Nile such as the great pyramids at Giza, and the magnificent temple built in honor of god Re at Al-Karnak, which is the country’s largest temple.8 River Nile: River of Time It has often been said that “a river is like the flow of time”. The River Nile is looked upon as a literal “River of Time”. Its latitudinal length is almost exactly 30 degrees. The number ‘30’ is closely attached to the notion of time. Saturn, the god/planet of time has a orbital period of 30 years. One month (the moon’s orbit around Earth) is approximately 30 days. In ancient Egypt, each month was exactly 30 days. The path of the sun in the sky is divided into 12 zodiacal signs, 30 degrees each, corresponding to the sun’s movement in 2 hours. The seb festival of ancient Egyptians to commemorate the death/renewal of the king, was held in the 30th year of the reign.5 8= “The World Book Encyclopedia” (World Book Inc.) Volume 6 5= “The Nile Decoded” by Adachi Goro So the implication here is that the Nile is to be viewed as a “river of time”.5 River Nile: An Inter-dimensional Gateway River Nile is distinctively vertical (longitudinal), beginning at the equator and then, near its halfway point, takes a turn southward called the “Great Bend”. The northern peak of this bend is at 19.5 degrees North Latitude and 33 degrees East Longitude. Richard Hoagland, leader of the team “The Enterprise Mission”, is the promoter of “hyperdimensional physics” model, and to him, this angle represents an inter-dimensional “gateway” of some sort. Indeed, 19.5 and 33 are said to be two ritual numbers repeatedly encoded into various aspects of NASA space missions. This idea was earlier put forward by researcher Livio Catullo Stecchini in Peter Tomkin’s ‘Secrets of the Great Pyramid’: “The Egyptians believed that when the Gods created the cosmos, they began by building Egypt, and having created it perfect, modeled the rest around it….Egyptians put great stress also on the geographic peculiarities of the course of the Nile.”5 Ancient Egyptians developed a calendar of 365 days a year based on the annual flooding of the River Nile.8 Did the Gods literally construct the Nile and encode into its layout their cosmic knowledge? Throughout history much has been said about ancient monuments like the Pyramids and the Sphinx bearing very advanced knowledge. But this pales in comparison to the crazier possibility emerging here…that the mighty River Nile maybe a gigantic ‘monument’! Are we to believe that the Nile is a ‘monument’ carrying some sort of message? Only time will tell!5 5= “The Nile Decoded” by Adachi Goro 8= “The World Book Encyclopedia” (World Book Inc.) Volume 6 References used: 1) Africa & Egypt, to 1750 B.C http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/ch02.htm 2) Ancient Egypt http://home.cfl.rr.com/cross/and/AncientCivilizations/ Ancient_Egypt/ancient_egypt.html 3) “Nile” by Holmes Martha, Maxwell Gavin & Scoones Tim 4) “The Nile” by Collins, Robert O. 5) “The Nile Decoded” by Adachi, Goro 6) “The Nile Histories, Cultures, Mythis” by Haggai, Erlich & Gershani, Israel 7) The Nile River and its Effect on Ancient Egypt (Barnes Hauptfuhrer) http://www.ccds.nc.us/History/Egypt/04/haup/hauptfuhrer.htm 8) “The World Book Encyclopedia” (World Book Inc.) 1992-1996. Volume 6 Read More