The Land of the River
Why is Nile so important to the people of
Egypt?
The Red Land & the Black
Land
The ancient
Egyptians called their country the black land. Because black was the color of
the rich soil in the Nile Valley. The valley had once been a swamp, but as the
climate changed only the Delta retained large areas of marshland.
Every year summer rains in Africa cause the waters of the Nile to rise
along its length, flooding the low-lying fields in Egypt for about two
months. The area covered in water was known as the flood plain.
When the waters went down they left a layer of
fertile mud ideal for growing crops. A low Nile meant that only part
of the flood plain would be covered and not enough crops could be grown to
feed everyone. A very high Nile might flood villages and towns.
To the east and west of the Nile valley lie the
deserts, which the Egyptians called the Red Land.
The valley dwellers thought of the Red Land as a dangerous and sinister
place.
South of Egypt the Nile becomes difficult to
sail because of the rapids known as the Cataracts. To the North, Egypt was
protected by the marshes of the Delta. These natural barriers made Egypt a
difficult country to invade. Its isolation from the rest of the ancient
world helps to explain its unique culture.
Egypt Before the
Pharaoh's
The first inhabitants of
Egypt were nomadic hunter-gatherers who lived on the savannah. Gradually
people moved down the Nile valley and adopted a settled way of life based on
agriculture. We know very little about the way these people lived but there
were separate groups with different cultures.
The Two Kingdoms
The
rulers of ancient Egypt were known as the Lord of the Two Lands--the King of
Upper and Lower Egypt, or simply Pharaoh.
The nile
river flows South to North Upper, it is the only river in the world to do
this, as well as being the longest. Egypt was the narrow Nile valley.
Lower Egypt was the north, particularly the Delta.
The Two Lands were the first united under one ruler about 2920 BC. The site
of the capital of the union changed as families from different areas cam to
the throne. Several of these capital cities are located near the boundary of
Upper and Lower Egypt, an area sometimes known as Middle Egypt.
Administrative
Centers
Until later times the
population if ancient Egypt was probably never much higher than four million
people. Both Upper and Lower Egypt were divided into districts called
Nome's, each with its own administrative center. These centers would not
have been large. Most Egyptians lived on farms or in small villages.
Each village had a headman and each nome a governor,
or nom arch. The nomarchs ruled their districts on behalf of the kings but
if the central government was weak they often tried to take power for
themselves.
Each nome had a symbol. These symbols
or end signs were often derived from the form of a local god or goddess. In
temple reliefs the symbols are worn on the heads of figurines who represent
the nomes.
Some nomes had more than one capital town
during their history. In others the site of the capital is uncertain. Lower
Egypt was divided into 20 nomes. Nome boundaries in the Delta were formed by
the branches of the Nile.
