Egyptian Civilization

There are a number of civilizations wrapped up in the history of the world. Among those lies one prominent, The Egyptian Civilization. Today’s people may associate Ancient Egypt with huge pyramids, heavy slave labor or even the popular movie “The Prince of Egypt”. However, the reality is, very few people know the real make up of this empire or that this civilization holds great weight in Black History because it originated in Africa. Some believe it to be a place of chaos and brutality, while others view it as a huge desert place with nothing but camels walking around. Either way it is obvious that light must be shined on this civilization in order to obtain a clearer understanding of what it is. To fully comprehend this empire questions like; Where is Egypt? Who are the Egyptians? and What was daily life like for the people of this place? must be answered. Then and only then can this part of history be truly appreciated. The Egyptian Civilization resided in Africa and was centered on the Nile River. The Nile is popular because it is the longest river in the entire world. Beginning at the center of Africa, “the Nile flows north some 4,000 miles to the Mediterranean” (Craig, Graham, Kagan, Ozment & Turner, 2011). Because the length of the Nile was so great the people geographically divided it into two. For example the “Upper (southern) Egypt consisted of the narrow valley of the Nile [and] Lower (northern) Egypt referred to the broad triangular area, named by the Greeks after their letter delta, formed by the Nile as it branches out to empty into Mediterranean” (Craig, Graham, Kagan, Ozment & Turner, 2011). With that being said the Nile served as a “highway” as it connected Upper and Lower Egypt. Furthermore, Not only did it serve as a major water or transportation source but it “was responsible for creating an area several miles wide on both banks of the river that was fertile and capable of producing abundant harvest”(Duiker & Spielvogel, 2004). This

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