The Geography of Egypt...
...It's Been The Nile All The While
The geography of Egypt can be quite confusing because it's very much related to the Nile. In fact, ancient Egypt's other name is "The Nile Valley".
Oh and what about the ancient Egyptian name for the Nile Valley you say? It's called "Kemet", which means the black land.
Why is it called the black land? That’s related to... yes, the Nile. It's always about
the Egyptian Nile.
There was a black silt that made up the fertile soil along the banks of the Nile, which is pretty much the only place that was inhabitable by the ancient Egyptians. This black silt was a product of the yearly Nile flooding that was so essential for agriculture, and therefore for life.
The geography of Egypt also makes it a coveted land. Egypt takes up the north-eastern corner of Africa, with the Mediterranean Sea on its north coast and the Red Sea on its east coast. The Nile River runs vertically through the middle and splits the land in two.
The Divisions of Ancient Egypt
The geography of ancient Egypt is divided into 4 main parts, although there are many other subdivisions.
Check out this map of ancient Egypt to understand more.
First there is the north and south. Lower Egypt is the northern part of the land and Upper Egypt is the southern part. This used to confuse me a great deal back in primary school because I associated the word "upper" with north and the word "lower" with south, not the other way around!But the reason it's named this way is related to the Nile River. The Nile runs from the source (which is in the south) up to the north and flows into the Mediterranean Sea. So the beginning part (upper part) of the Nile is in the south, and vice versa... ...And as you now know, Egypt is all about the Nile. Check out the page about ancient
Thebes
, a New Kingdom capital of Egypt located in Upper Egypt. It is now the modern city of Luxor. The other division of the geography of Egypt is (I hate to say it) also related to the Nile. We've got the east and west banks of the Nile River. The ancient Egyptians thought of the east bank as "the land of the living" since that's where the sun rose every morning. They built their temples and homes on that side. They thought of the west bank as "the land of the dead" since that's where the sun sets. Many of the tombs and funerary temples lay there. Other than these 4 main divisions, there were 42 nomes, or provinces. 22 of them were in Upper Egypt, 20 in Lower Egypt. The ancient Egyptians called these nomes "sepat". Each nome had a mayor, a local temple, a capital, a deity and religious beliefs and rituals. There were no flags to represent all the different nomes however, but there were staffs with the local deity's statue for each. As for Upper Egypt, it was represented by the white crown, the sedge and the Goddess Nekhbet. Lower Egypt was represented by the red crown, the bee and the Goddess Wadjet.
Ancient Egypt as a Unified State
In 3100 BC King Narmer proceeded to unify the most important division, to merge the "Two Lands" (Upper and Lower Egypt) into one.
Ancient Egypt's first battle was that of the unification, and it started the new era in kingship. Any true king of Egypt must rule both Upper and Lower and wear the combined white and red crown.
He then was named "King of Upper and Lower Egypt".
The Geography of Egypt was a major aspect of its rule, with the king keeping the unity as well as choosing Egypt's capital city.
Click here to learn more about the geography of ancient Egypt.
- its different capitals, population and the characteristics of the people from different areas.
We can say that the real history of ancient Egypt began with this unification; it brought about the magical pharaonic period that lasted over 3,000 years.
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