Ancient Egypt flourished as one of the earliest civilizations in human history largely due to its geographic location and features on the Nile River valley. Along the riverbanks of Mesopotamia and Egypt grew the development of agriculture, cities, and writing, all essential elements of ‘civilization.’ Egypt, situated in northeastern Africa, is home to a civilization that thrived between the fertile Nile riverbanks and the harsh impenetrable Sahara Desert.
The Nile River’s calm flow made it easy for shipments to travel into and within Egypt. The smooth current also allowed the Egyptians to build ships with a flat and open design, which in turn made it easier and quicker to load cargo. Transporting raw materials, food, and labor was, therefore, more efficient. So ancient Egypt amassed an abundance of raw materials and produced a food surplus.
Egypt’s survival rests on the fertile riverbanks, which explains why agriculture was the central industry and produced an agrarian society. Unlike in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt rarely experienced dramatic weather changes or unexpected flooding from the Nile River. The flooding was predictable, the harvest season came in spring, and crops grew under simple irrigation systems.
The Sahara Desert surrounding the Nile riverbanks is quite uninhabitable and acts as a natural barrier to foreign invaders. The Egyptians were spared from spending substantial costs, time, and manual labor on building fortifications to protect themselves. Consequently, funds were directed towards building Egypt itself. Thanks to the Nile, efficient gathering and transporting of raw materials made it easier to build infrastructure. The Egyptians left behind magnificent structures including the Great Pyramids of Giza and Abu Simbel.
During the Middle Kingdom, Egypt’s capital moved south from Memphis to Thebes, facilitating better control of Nubia, a region with waterfalls and gold deposits, which brought additional material wealth to Egypt to be funneled into public building projects and military campaigns in the Levant and Sinai. The reconquering of Nubia in the New Kingdom established new trade routes in the Red Sea.
Since Egypt was physically isolated and reliant on its immediate environment, Egyptian society developed a conservative outlook on life. The “Loyalist Teaching” was a set of instructions advising offspring to maintain order and loyalty to the pharaoh and society: “One must long for the Nile flood, then one profits by it…The shepherd will be a plentiful flock, without number! To God, these are excellent professions.” The people must be content and grateful for their participation in a harmonious and prospering Egypt.
Egyptians were guided by Ma’at or justice, a principle that resulted in a strict social hierarchy. Social classes were divided based on profession and while equality existed in theory the reality was based on the role of the individual in society, so laborers and farmers were of lower status than scribes and priests. Consequently, Egyptians developed moral values based on avoiding doing bad rather than actively doing good. In the Book of the Dead, the Negative Confession is an oath to Osiris that a person has not committed a list of sins, for example, “I have made no man suffer hunger” rather than giving food to those hungry. Due to the ease of working with nature, there was no need for innovations, inquiries, or radical change.
It could be argued that this conservatism hindered the ancient Egyptians from making more scientific and technical advancements. However, the geographical accessibility of the Nile for trade and Egypt’s proximity to another ancient people, the Sumerians, aided in the development of writing in Egypt. Initially, writing was used for record-keeping, mainly commercial records of domestic and foreign trade. Papyrus was the main writing parchment and was easier to write on than clay so the Egyptians wrote more extensively.
The pattern of agriculture shaped the main themes of the ancient Egyptian religion. The cycle of flood, seeding, and harvest is mirrored by the spiritual journey of life, death, and the afterlife. The connection between human life and agriculture is evident in ancient Egyptian religious texts such as the “Hymn to the Nile”, and the “Great Hymn to the Aton”: “Thou makest the Nile in the underworld, Thou bringest it forth as though desirest To maintain the people of Egypt.” For this reason, Egyptians did not fear death since it was seen as a continuation of the blessed life they already possessed.
Ancient Egyptian religion was polytheistic due to its relationship with nature. The river and sun were vital to Egypt’s survival so the gods embodying these two elements were among the most exalted. In the coffin texts of the Book of the Dead, the afterlife was described as a fertile Egypt. In the “Tale of Sinuhe”, despite Sinuhe’s blessed life in a new land, he still yearns for Egypt: “The sun shines for love of you; the water of the river is drunk when you wish; the air of heaven is breathed when you say”. The Egyptians sought burial in their homeland because it meant their lives would continue in prosperous Egypt.
Since a desert surrounds the Nile, the only arable land is found on both banks of the river. The population remained concentrated along the banks of the Nile, which enabled rulers to maintain control and oversight. At first, Egyptians were spread out in villages but assembled in cities around 3150 BCE. The narrow strip of fertile land in the desert gave rise to a highly centralized political system. The king was glorified as a god, whose decisions were the law; consequently, a law code was never established and the state functioned around the king or queen. The nomarchs throughout Egypt directly reported to ministers in the capital Memphis. This kept the territory under tight control most of the time.
A key feature of Egypt’s geography is the Nile Delta. As the Nile moves closer to the north of Egypt, the river splits to form a large delta that empties into the Mediterranean Sea. The delta led to the development of port cities, which facilitated trade with other Mediterranean entities. But the Mediterranean coast was also an open frontier, which put Egypt at risk of invasion. It is through the Mediterranean that the mysterious ‘Sea People’ and Hyksos invaded. This geographical weakness led to the militarization of Egyptian society at the advent of the New Kingdom.
The paradox of Egypt’s geographical isolation and its trading ties to other civilizations shaped ancient Egyptian civilization. The relative tranquillity of the Nile is reflected in the social and political stability of ancient Egypt. Egyptians were grateful to the Gods including the pharaoh, but above all to the Nile River: the provider of wealth and prosperity. Preserving this prosperity was ultimately the central focus of life in ancient Egypt.