Geography as a Natural Barrier to Invasion: Egypt vs Mesopotamia - Report Example

Geography as a Natural Barrier to Invasion: Egypt versus Mesopotamia Introduction For hundreds and thousands of years man had lived in small groups, hunting and fishing, to survive often in extreme and hostile environments. During these pre historic times, survival was the priority of these ancient men. Survival from nature’s wrath, survival from wild animals, and survival from hunger, thirst, and the fight for daily existence was almost never ending. Later, these ancient men took a step towards progression when they discovered agriculture. This learning how to grow crops, was a major step towards modern civilization. With farming, came the need to settle down in one location, and soon men started living in small, agricultural communities. As more and more people settled down, the communities also started getting bigger finally leading to the formation of towns and cities, and these became the hub of cultural, religious and political activities. In other words ‘civilization’ came into being. The earliest civilizations that came into existence were the Mesopotamian civilization, Egyptian civilization, and the Indo-Chinese civilization, during the 4th- 3rd millennium BCE. All these civilizations had some similar characteristics on which they were formed. As Duiker and Spielvogel points them these characteristics and tell us, “Each developed in a river valley that was able to provide the agricultural resources that was needed to maintain a large population” (Duiker and Spielvogel, 2006, xxxii). Rivers were an important geographical feature that sustained and also very often destroyed the settlements of these ancient civilizations. It was these rivers that gave them food and water, and consequently life. Sometimes these very rivers also formed natural barriers against various invasions and protected the civilizations, and there were also times when these very rivers inundated their banks causing floods and creating heavy losses to crops and lives. Geography formed a very important part of the development of these ancient civilizations, as it gave a sort of natural defense. This article will specifically explore the two ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt, and analyze the geographical barriers that acted as natural defenses against invading armies. It will compare and contrast the two civilizations based on their geographical defenses and find out, as to between the two, which one fared better. Body All the ancient civilizations came into being on the basis of a certain geographical pattern. These were the presence of rivers and fertile alluvial soil for crop cultivation. As Maxwell tells us “The first civilizations arose in river valleys where rivers provided fresh water for raising crops and transportation for moving crops to market.  Beginning in Mesopotamia, civilization spread west to Egypt and east to India…a vast region that lies in a temperate climate zone where most of the world’s people have lived since prehistoric times…Waves of change took longer to reach sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas because they were separated from Eurasia by physical barriers of desert and ocean” ( Maxwell, 2008). Mesopotamia developed on the banks of Euphrates and Tigris; Egyptian civilization had the river Nile, Indus valley developed along the banks of the river Indus, while Chinese civilization grew on the banks of the Yellow river. The Mesopotamian civilization: The Greeks in their writings had described Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) as the land between the rivers, namely the Euphrates and Tigris. It is a part of the Fertile Crescent that includes the valley of the Nile River, the valleys of Tigris and Euphrates, and the Mediterranean coastal regions of the Syria-Palestinian belt. The alluvial rich soil of the Euphrates and Tigris extend for about 600 miles, from the northern tip of the Fertile Crescent to the Persian Gulf. The rivers start their journey from the Armenian mountains which are located in the modern day turkey. The northern region of this civilization is dry and desert like, while the rest of the country consists of marshy flat lands, lagoons and reed banks. In modern times most of the Middle East countries are extremely dry and have desert like conditions but in the ancient time the Fertile Crescent region received heavy rainfall. First urban settlements of this civilization were seen around 3450BC. Fig 1: map showing the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. (ref: Mesopotamia to 2500 BCE). Mesopotamia had its wealth completely created from agriculture, and we see a number of invasions on this civilization, leading to many changes in its rulers. As Haggett tells us “the Akkadian ruler Sargon (reigned c. 2334 – 2279 BC) united these city states in the first of many empires to dominate the region. Babylon which defeated its thousand year old Assyria, in 612, was itself conquered by the Persians in 538BC…Roman, and later Persian, occupation followed, before the region fell to the Muslim Arabs…”(Haggett, 2001). Mesopotamia had trade relations with almost all the contemporary civilizations existing around the world. Since it was the earliest amongst all civilizations in its conception, Mesopotamia is often referred to as ‘the cradle of world civilization’ and had its own form of writing (cuneiform script and Sumerian language) and various literary works. It had well developed astronomical, scientific and mathematical concepts, and religion and philosophy is said to have originated from here. Study in medical sciences were also known and in practice. The Egyptian civilization: The Egyptian civilization, like Mesopotamian civilization was also agriculture based and was dependent on the river Nile for its farming. As an Arab traveler once commented “the Egyptian Nile surpasses all the rivers in the world in sweetness of taste, in length of course and usefulness. No other river in this world can show a continuous series of towns and villages along its banks” (cited in Duiker and Spielvogel, 2006, 16). 100 miles before reaching the Mediterranean Sea the Nile River forms a huge deltoid region demarcating the country into Lower and Upper Egypt (Fig. 2). Development of ancient Egypt was mainly concentrated along the Lower Egypt, near the delta region. This civilization had an advanced construction mechanism that enabled them to build the pyramids and temples, well developed medical practices, concept of mathematics, well planned irrigation system and advanced methods of crop cultivation and a well formed writing system. Compare and contrast: When we compare the geographical conditions of Egypt and Mesopotamia, we find that the former was more fortunate in having favorable ecological conditions. One important difference is in the rivers, based on which these two civilizations were developed. The Nile in Egypt, unlike the rivers of Mesopotamia, was regular and predictable in its flooding and inundated the entire region with rich-fertile, alluvial soil after each flood. The Nile River was more of a life giver than a destroyer. Organized irrigation systems that were not very extensive and relatively simple, could be made without any state help, thus making Egyptian civilization more rural oriented. Mesopotamia on the other hand had Euphrates and Tigris flooding their banks every year destroying crops, human lives and livestock. These floods were also unpredictable and would occur at any time of the year making life extremely Fig 2: Map of ancient Egypt showing the course of the river nile the major cities of the Dynastic period (3150 BC to 30 BC) - ref: Attic designs, 2008) difficult for the Mesopotamians. Extensive and long water canals were also required for irrigation in Mesopotamia, which could only be done with the intervention of the state, thus making Mesopotamian lifestyle more urban oriented. Tigris and Euphrates waters were also not very suitable for internal transportation and constant fall in their levels often caused landslides. The Nile River was not very easy to navigate near the delta region, with numerous cataracts in the places where the tributaries crossed each other and produced cross current rapids, making invasions through this region almost impossible. The western part of Egypt had the Great Sahara desert, which also made invasion from that part impossible. The eastern part was also well protected by presence of high cliffs and desert regions. The Mediterranean Sea on the southern part also gave protection to this ancient civilization, while the northern part of Africa during these ancient times, was very sparsely populated, making chances of invasion from that part almost nil. Mesopotamia on the other hand had no such geographical protections. The Arabian Desert in the western part, and the Zagros and the Taurus mountains in the eastern and northern parts of Mesopotamia respectively, instead of protecting it became the vantage points for all invaders to launch their attack against the Mesopotamians. Thus, unlike Egypt, Mesopotamian civilization saw a series of invasions from outside like those of Assyrians and Amorites, and there were also internal feuds between city-states. The various invasions and unending internal squabbling made life in Mesopotamia unstable and did not allow the civilization to have a long lasting and constant ruling empire. The various invasions that constantly plagued Mesopotamia are: 1800 BCE – The Assyrians invade and overthrow the first ruling empire of Mesopotamia, the Akkadian which was established by Sargon the great, in 2340 BCE, and made Babylon their capital. 1000BCE- The Amorites invade and capture Mesopotamia and made Nineveh their capital city. 612 BCE – The Chaldeans invaded Mesopotamia and started the neo-Babylonian empire. 539BCE – The Persians under Cyrus the great capture Mesopotamia and this empire ruled till the capture of Mesopotamia by the Arabs in the seventh century. Thus we find that geographical protections isolated Egyptians from the rest of the world in terms of invasions (trade routes were open), and created a civilization that embodied stability and security and changelessness. For many thousands of years till its decay and destruction, this civilization showed an air of continuity that fostered its own native culture and heritage without any foreign influence. In contrast Mesopotamia, owing to its open regions that encouraged invasions, was a picture of constant turmoil and changing social structure. The various invaders brought their own culture along with them, and did allow the native culture of Mesopotamia to grow on its own. Conclusion A close exploration and comparison of the Geography as a Natural Barrier to Invasion in case of Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations, we can easily come to the conclusion that Egypt was better protected than Mesopotamia. The deserts, high cliffs, the river Nile and the Mediterranean sea, all afforded protection to this ancient civilization making life easy here and allowing it to lead a stable and secure existence for thousands of years. Mesopotamia on the other hand was not so fortunate. Its rivers Euphrates and Tigris, its surrounding deserts, its neighboring mountains, all made invasions easier, making life in Mesopotamia extremely difficult and ever changing. It was almost as if all nature conspired against the civilization of Mesopotamia, while raining blessings on the ancient land of Egypt. References Duiker, W and Spielvogel, J. (2006). World History: To 1800. CA: Cengage Learning. Haggett, P. (2001). Encyclopedia of World Geography, Volume 1. Vicenza: Marshall Cavendish. 2040. Maxwell.M. (2008). World history and Geography111. ‘Overview: Waves of History’. Retrieved from  http://www.studentsfriend.com/sf/wp/part1v3.DOC. Maps: Fig. 1. (nd). Mesopotamia to 2500 BCE. Retrieved from http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/map01mes.htm Fig. 2. (2008). Map of ancient Egypt shows the major cities of the Dynastic period (3150 BC to 30 BC). Retrieved from http://www.ancient-egypt-online.com/ancient-egypt-map.html Read More