It is impossible to talk about ancient Egypt without talking
about the Nile River, the center of Egyptian life. Just as a per-son’s body is built around their spine, the Nile was the spine of
Egypt; without it, there would have been no pharaohs or pyramids
or any Egyptian civilization of any kind—only desert.
Not only is the Nile the world’s longest river, at 4,160
miles (6,695 kilometers), it is also the only major river on Earth
that flows northward. From its source deep in the African continent,
in the present-day nation of Burundi, the Nile flows
into Lake Victoria, crosses the Equator, and spans half the
length of Africa, running through the countries of Uganda and
Sudan before entering Egypt.
More than halfway along its course, near the Sudanese
capital of Khartoum, the Nile changes in two important ways.
The first of these changes is the beginning of the cataracts, or
rapids, which interrupt the smooth flow of the river. Just above
Khartoum is the Sixth Cataract. As the Nile snakes gradually
northward, it passes through several more of these rapids, each
numbered in descending order. The First Cataract lies near the
modern city of Aswan; above this point, Egyptian civilization
developed.
Even more important than the cataracts, however, is
the second change. At Khartoum two rivers come together to
form the Nile as the ancient Egyptians knew it. These two bodies
of water are the White Nile, which flows up from the south;
and the Blue Nile, which originates to the southeast, in
Ethiopia. The White Nile has a relatively stable flow, whereas
the Blue Nile experiences a dramatic rise and fall during the
course of the year because it comes from an area prone to
heavy summer rains.
In ancient times, the Blue Nile caused flooding from
July to September. These floods, rather than being disasters,
were essential to the life of Egypt. As the floodwaters receded
each year, they left a deposit of silt, a type of soil rich in minerals.
Silt has a consistency somewhere between that of sand and
clay. The enriched earth was perfect for growing wheat and barley.
Most years the farmers of Egypt had bountiful harvests.
Thanks to the Nile, Egypt was known as the Black
Land—that is, a place of black earth good for crops. Beyond the
Nile Valley, however, lay the Red Land. This was the desert,
which covered more than ninety percent of Egypt. With the
exception of a few scattered oases (green areas), this area was and is a hellish place where no living creature could long survive.
No wonder, then, that the Egyptians’ religion depicted
the red god of the desert, Set, as an evil deity (DEE-ih-tee).
Even with the Nile, Egypt is a hot, dry, country; without
it, the climate would be almost unbearable. Although the
modern nation of Egypt is more than 700 miles wide at its
widest point, virtually all of Egyptian civilization—both now
and in ancient times—focuses on a narrow strip of land that
spreads out for a few miles on either side of the Nile. This land
is the Nile Valley, which forms the rim of the river as it flows
for some 500 miles through Egypt.
Cairo, the modern capital, is close to the site of Memphis,
one of ancient Egypt’s capitals. Near Cairo the Nile begins
its final stage before flowing into the Mediterranean Sea. This
region is the Nile Delta, an area perhaps 100 miles long and
about as wide. Most major rivers have a delta, a triangle-shaped
region where the river slows down before emptying into the
sea. In a delta, the river’s waters fan out, depositing great loads
of silt and creating particularly rich soil for farming.
Not only was the Nile the source of all life in ancient
Egypt, it was also the principal highway for commerce and
other transportation. If people wanted to go from southern
Egypt (Upper Egypt) to the north, the currents would carry
their boat. If they wanted to travel from the north (Lower
Egypt) to the south, they had only to rely on the Mediterranean
winds to push a sailboat. Thus the river formed the
framework of Egyptian civilization. A later historian would
describe Egypt as “the gift of The Nile.” The Egyptians in turn
believed that the Nile came from the source of all life and the
source of all things both good and bad: the gods.