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Ancient Egypt: Difference between revisions
→Nile River: creating subsections for Nile
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===Nile River=== | ===Nile River=== | ||
==== summary ==== | |||
* Nile Valley = ancient Egypt | * Nile Valley = ancient Egypt | ||
* Egypt was accurately described by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus as "The Gift of the Nile" | * Egypt was accurately described by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus as "The Gift of the Nile" | ||
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* Egypt = final 800 miles of the Nile as it runs northward to Mediterranean Sea | * Egypt = final 800 miles of the Nile as it runs northward to Mediterranean Sea | ||
* longest river in the world: 4150 miles long! | * longest river in the world: 4150 miles long! | ||
==== Nile geographic details ==== | |||
* Click EXPAND for [Nile River] characteristics and details: | * Click EXPAND for [Nile River] characteristics and details: | ||
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | <div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | ||
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*** June monsoon rains in Ethiopia = floods that bring silt downstream | *** June monsoon rains in Ethiopia = floods that bring silt downstream | ||
*** see Google Earth coordinates for Blue Nile source region >> todo | *** see Google Earth coordinates for Blue Nile source region >> todo | ||
==== Nile Flooding ==== | |||
** length of river = long, slow flooding season in Egypt | ** length of river = long, slow flooding season in Egypt | ||
** the Nile floods slowly: | ** the Nile floods slowly: | ||
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**** stays high September | **** stays high September | ||
**** slowly recedes in October | **** slowly recedes in October | ||
==== characteristics of the Nile flooding ==== | |||
* Nile floods = predictable | |||
** Nile floods = calm | ** Nile floods = calm | ||
** floods bring silt | ** floods bring silt | ||
** flood plains = farmland, but have to be re-organized every year | ** flood plains = farmland, but have to be re-organized every year | ||
* Nile process formed Egyptian seasons of three, 4 month cycles: | |||
** ''Akhet'' = flooding | |||
*** during flooding season, farmers were displaced and could serve as laborers for large projects such as pyramids and temples | |||
*** also during flooding season, shipment of stone and other goods by boat more extensive due to wider river flow | |||
*** for example, location of the pyramids = just beyond the flood plain | |||
*** during high flood period, Nile depth = 25-33 ft deep and current was more rapid = quicker movement | |||
** ''Peret'' = growing season | |||
** ''Shemu'' = harvest season (no rain) | |||
==== appearance of the star Sirius marks flooding season ==== | |||
* the star, Sirius, announces the arrival off the floods | |||
** also known as the "dog star" | |||
** brightest start in the night sky | |||
** when Sirius appears on the horizon after disappearing during the winter (blocked from earth's view by the sun) | |||
** it marks the flooding season | |||
*** note the Greeks called the summer months the "dog days" when Sirius appears | |||
==== periods of drought ==== | |||
* larger climate patterns led to times of weakened river flow and less flooding | |||
* = periods of famine & political upheaval | |||
* most important example = end of Old Kingdom and into the Middle Kingdom | |||
==== Fayoum Oasis & Lake Moeris ==== | |||
* a basin in the desert to the west of the Nile in the upper part of Upper Egypt | |||
* Nile floods fed the lake over time | |||
** fed by the Nile and eventually connected to the Nile by Middle Kingdom pharaohs who improved irrigation in response to low flooding | |||
** Middle Kingdom c. 2300 BC the lake was widened and the canal connecting it to the Nile deepened | |||
** the lake served as reservoir for dry periods | |||
* Egypt's most important oasis | |||
* principal Neolithic site (early agriculture) | |||
** has archeological evidence of earliest farming in Egypt | |||
** site of the city Crocodilopolis (Greek name) or "Faiyum" (Arabic name) | ** site of the city Crocodilopolis (Greek name) or "Faiyum" (Arabic name) | ||
** oases and water sources plenty by digging wells in lowlands alongside the Nile | ** oases and water sources plenty by digging wells in lowlands alongside the Nile | ||
*** see [http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/fayoumhistory.htm by The History of the Fayoum Oasis] by Jimmy Dunn, TourEgypt.net | *** see [http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/fayoumhistory.htm by The History of the Fayoum Oasis] by Jimmy Dunn, TourEgypt.net | ||
==== Aswan Dam ==== | |||
* completed in 1970, built to control flooding | |||
* located at "first cataract" >> = the northernmost waterfall | |||
==== sources ==== | |||
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Nile Nile River wikipedia article] | |||
* [http://www.touregypt.net/egypt-info/magazine-mag05012001-magf4a.htm The Nile River by Marie Parsons, Touregypt.net] | |||
* [https://news.psu.edu/story/140715/2002/09/01/research/waters-nile The Waters of the Nile, PennState Online] - article about archaeological work at Hierakonpolis with information about the water table at the dig site | |||
===Isolation=== | ===Isolation=== | ||