From 3500-1500 BCE, Mesopotamia and Egypt emerged as two of the first river- valley civilizations. Although they came to be around the same time, they became different in their cultural aspects, such as universal views and classes, and economies due to differences in commerce.…
The Nile made farming life in Egypt very simple and uncomplicated, whereas the Euphrates and Tigris provided the Mesopotamians with water, but required intensive irrigation designs and hard work. The Nile was predictable and overflowed onto the dry summer soil every year after August 15th. The harvest had already been gathered by this time, and when the river withdrew in early October it gave the Egyptians the perfect conditions to sow their winter crops. When it was time to sow the summer crops the Egyptians used a simple canal system that directed the water from upstream to their fields. The Mesopotamians were not nearly as lucky when it came to natural irrigation with the Euphrates. The Euphrates flooded Mesopotamian land erratically during the late spring, after they had already sown their summer crops and before they had harvested their winter crops. The flooding of the Euphrates essentially offered no benefits, and the management of the canals used to irrigate became labor intensive.…
Mesopotamia and Egypt are both similar because of their civilizations being located on a river system. The Egyptians had the Nile River and its delta that led in to the Mediterranean Sea. The Sumerians had the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that led into the Persian Gulf. Both of these rivers flooded, depositing silt onto the ground that would fertilize the soil. This would allow for agriculture and for huge populations to settle and grow in these regions. The Nile River flooded annually and the Tigris and Euphrates flooded randomly which could lead to a good or bad crop season. For ancient civilizations to exist, they needed to be located along rivers because they were a source of fresh water that is necessary for life. It also gives the settlement a good form of transportation up and down the river. Also, the water is used for farm animals to drink.…
The ancient world is very unique, and in some ways tough to figure out. The hardest part of solving the mysteries of ancient times is getting in the minds of the people living back then. No one can completely understand the full effect of a regions geography on the shaping of civilization. The only way we can fully comprehend a civilizations reliance on geography is by reading into it. Through documents and maps we can start to understand the impact geography had on a civilizations economical, spiritual and agriculture development.…
Egypt was created with a settlement along a narrow strip of land that was also made fertile by the Nile river. Flooding also occurred but unlike Mesopotamia it was very predictable flooding and create a regular cycle of flooding then planting and lastly harvesting which kept repeating itself with every flood. The settlement had an intricate network of irrigation ditches. Egypt was mostly known for the lower region that focused around the Nile delta which flows directly into the Mediterranean Sea. Another benefit of Egypt’s location was the reliable transportation that the Nile provided the Egyptian settlements.…
The lives of the peoples of the ancient world were shaped by the geography of their region. Document #6 says that the Nile was very important. The Nile would provide them with fresh water for people, livestock, and crops and a means of transportation. Document #5 says that they settled in the area with fertile soil. This area was known as the Fertile Crescent. Document #2 says that China is surrounded by mountains. Therefore, the mountains prevented invaders from taking over China. Document #4 says that Yu provided water to the Chinese people. He did this by digging channels and canals to direct the waters to the people. As you can see, geography greatly shaped the lives of the ancient…
Geography impacts many regions, but my main focuses are on Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia have similarities, but despite that, they also have differences. The culture, religion, and land of both regions have been impacted by geography, and the differences and comparasions of both will explain more of their regions background and how they were impacted over the years.…
Mesopotamia lies between these two rivers. In greek, Mesopotamia is known as “land between the rivers”. These rivers were a huge essential need to the survival of the Mesopotamian civilization. Once a year, these rivers would flood. Floods are usually thought of as bad, but in this case they allowed for farming to thrive. When these rivers flooded, silt (mud/soil) was carried by them, which resulted in rich soil being placed all over the land. This allowed farmers to plant and harvest large amounts of wheat and barley. The rivers also provided food, water, and protection.…
Geography plays a big role in history because the geography of a place resembles where the people have lived or settled for many years. Places have different terrains and climates like deserts, oceans, forests, and more. Back in the Stone Age, thousands of years ago, people didn’t survive very long because of their climates and landscape. Drastically over the years, the world has been changing and it is nothing like it was hundreds and thousands of years ago.…
The two empires had a geographic similarity. Mesopotamia has the legitimate meaning of the land between the rivers, as it had been bordered by the Tigris and the Euphrates. Although little rainfall occured in the region, the two rivers provided a large quantity of fresh water that would be the key to small scale irrigation which would then lead into artificial irrigation. The Mesopotamians figured out a way to use the fertile land provided by the fresh water sources to create an abundance of agricultural harvests and with the success of agriculture, population increased. As the economic advances continued and more people flocked to Mesopotamia, the cities soon became busy marketplaces that attracted consumers and producers from near and far.…
Geography was, and is, a very important part of civilization. Geography is important to our civilizations today for building, location, and transportation. Back in 2500-1500 BCE, when the Indus River Valley tribe lived, they built all of their towns on the Indus River. Water was a source of life. A lake could be a place to do laundry, to take a bath, and to drink out of. It was also important because it meant that the ground around it was well watered and great for growing crops. The Indus people lived on what is called the Indian sub-continent since that stretch of land juts out from the country of India. They had natural boundaries such as mountains, rivers, and dry plains like deserts.…
Geographic factors often play a major role in a nation’s historical, political, social, and economic development. Geography is a study of the earths features such as its land, rocks, oceans, etc. The earth consists of many geographic features such as peninsulas, desserts, mountains, rain forests, archipelagos and etc. Two geographic features that impacted the development of Russia and Egypt are river valleys and lack of warm water ports. The lack of warm water ports has had a negative effect on…
The development of Egypt was essentially impacted by its geographical features. Because agriculture was of significant importance to ancient Egyptians, it was also the foundation of Egypt’s prosperity.…
Mesopotamia was also a civilization that was impacted by its geographic features. The Fertile Crescent was a main part of the Mesopotamian society. It helped with the development of the Mesopotamian society because the crops farmed in the Fertile Crescent could be traded with other countries for goods that the Mesopotamians could not provide for themselves. The Fertile Crescent was the reason that civilizations arose in Mesopotamia. This occurred because it opened up more transportation options and it also improved trading. (Document 5).…
The Tigris river and Euphrates river made civilization possible in ancient Mesopotamia. Having rivers directly next to cities was a pivotal factor of their likelihood to survive, without a source of water the people would perish. The Tigris and Euphrates are well known rivers, mainly because of the historical significance that they hold, in that they were centered around ancient civilizations. The rivers create many possibilities for expansion, trade and growth for the civilizations. Similarly, both rivers offered opportunities for expansion and agriculture to the people living in close proximity to them.…