The Nile River history and civilization

The Nile River history and civilization

The Nile River in the foot

It is known that the Nile has a prominent role in the emergence
of the ancient Egyptian civilization, as it is the artery of Egyptian life, as The Greek historian Herodotus defined Egypt by saying (Egypt is the gift of The Nile), so we find that it is one of the most important pillars of that the civilization that was named after him the civilization of the Nile Valley, which was established on its banks On its course, ancient Egypt included forty-two regions, including twenty in the northern region, and the Lower The Kingdom of Egypt was formed and twenty-two of them in the southern region that formed the Kingdom of Upper Egypt, until the unification of the two kingdoms in four thousand BC at the hands of the Pharaonic king Mina.

The importance of the Nile River to the ancient Egyptians

The ancient Egyptians sanctified the Nile and worshiped the Nile, and named it its flood with the god (Habi) because it is the basis of their existence. From it, they derived the organization in the facilities of their lives. Its great flood, ancient Egyptian manuscripts are full of legends and stories about the Nile, which is the symbol of life, fertility and mobility, and the abundant good of Egypt, and one of the texts says: (Whoever pollutes the waters of the Nile, the wrath of the gods will strike him). , And grant life, and bring good things, Creator of beings, the Lord of the living was also associated with the river concepts of the other world, have were leaving the boats and nets, and fishing tools for the deceased in cemeteries, and at the same time, they write in the records of die of them if he had detained the Nile water in his life, or contaminated.

What is the Nile?

The Nile River is the longest river in the world, with a length of about 6853 km, but its precise length is still not specified. In East Africa, the river flows through the tropical climate in the north, and in The Mediterranean, and passes through eleven countries: Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt. There are varieties of wildlife in the Nile River, such as rhinoceros, hippopotamus, African tiger, large catfish, wild birds, frogs, turtles, and sea turtles, and there are also more than 300 species of birds, as hundreds of thousands of birds die. Aquatic is its winter in the Nile Delta and this includes the largest concentrations of small seagulls and hybrid terns in the world. The Nile crocodile is also one of the most famous animals in it, and it has a frightening reputation for being human eater, and its length can reach 5.5-6 meters

Source of the Nile River

 

Headwaters of the Nile

The finding of the source of the Nile River was a major subject of research in the nineteenth century, and there are two main tributaries in the Nile River: the Blue Nile, which originates from Lake Tana in Ethiopia, and the White Nile, and it is difficult to find its source; it is usually referred to Lake Victoria as its source, but Lake Victoria has many tributaries, and the Nyungwe rainforest in Rwanda is the most distant tributary of Lake Victoria, and thus the most distant tributaries of the Nile River.

The importance of the Nile River

The Nile River plays a big role in life in Egypt because of most of the country's population resides on its banks, and Khartoum, Aswan, Cairo, and Luxor are among the most famous cities on its banks. The Nile-Kagera system also supports the agricultural sector of the regions it passes through, as it is It provides large areas of African land with the necessary water, which would have been turned into a desert wasteland without this water, and the Kagera River the basin itself supports about 14 million people, and goods can be transported along the Nile River, which helps people avoid isolated areas of deserts as alternative roads Single for him to reach their destinations, and benefit a country Others in Africa such as Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania are from the Nile-Kagera system in terms of their people relying on agriculture, transportation, and fishing activities related to river water.

The Nile for agriculture by the ancient Egyptians

Agriculture flourished around the Nile River, especially in the fertile the soil of the Delta, which was formed by the confluence of the tributaries of The Nile, which led to the accumulation of layers of alluvial soil on its banks, which the Egyptians alerted to and knew its benefits, so they took advantage of it in agriculture, and they were waiting for the great flood that was happening once In the year, they recorded its days and monitored its water level in terms of the high and low levels in which the value of taxes that were collected from the farmers were linked. When their fields were covered with water and silt, their the agricultural season began, so they built dams around it and dug the canal for irrigation, such as the long canal J was the river water is drawing them to the Fayoum area, known as the (Sea of ​​Joseph), has been known Shadow and used for the transfer of Nile water and irrigating lands distant areas, the ancient Egyptians were the best peoples of the earth and adapted to exploit environmental abilities.

The Nile River and its role in the establishment of the ancient Egyptian civilization

The Egyptians called the Nile “invent”, meaning “the great river,” and from that word, the word “canals” that the Egyptians read throughout their minds was derived to take advantage of the waters of the Nile for agriculture and life. The ancient Egyptian took several heads of the Nile, the strongest and most important of which was “Habi”, the idol of the great Nile of the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians portrayed him in pictures of several statues, all of which were to attain the status of life and goodness of the ancient Egyptians. It has color in black, and sometimes in blue, as a symbol of the Nile. Blue are the color of the Nile water and black is the color of silt that the flood brings, renewing life to the Egyptian soil and increasing its fertility every year.

At other times, the ancient Egyptians were depicting “Habi” carrying flowers, fruits, vegetables, fish, poultry, and palm fronds all as a symbol of the good that the Nile brings. He is also depicted as sometimes carrying a lotus flower (symbol of the northern region of Egypt) and papyrus plant (symbol of the southern region). The ancient Egyptian built temples on the banks of the Nile, and they set up all with me. A scale of the Nile engraved on its walls. The measures are calculated by the arm to calculate the height of the Nile during the flood. It is worth mentioning that there is a scale for the Nile attached to the Temple of Philae in Aswan, and the timing of the flood and its levels were engraved on its walls. Peaceful and easy to measure water level.

Attention to the Nile in the modern era:

In the Islamic era, the Arab rulers in Egypt paid great attention to the Nile, so they split canals and canals, constructed bridges, and were interested in measuring floods and water levels, and monitoring planting and harvest times to acquire zakat and rent on agricultural crops. In the modern era, Muhammad Ali and his family realized after him the importance of the Nile River to Egypt.

 In visualizing the relationship between the Nile and man and his role in building civilization in the Nile Valley, he wrote a lot. From the book, like the orientalist "Emil Ludwig", who wrote the story of the epic the revolution of the river and the stages of taming the person of the Nile Valley throughout the ages in a fun book entitled "The Nile is the life of a river"