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Ploughing with a yoke of horned cattle in ancient Egypt. Painting from the burial chamber of Sennedjem, c. 1200 BC. The civilization of ancient Egypt was indebted to the Nile River and its dependable seasonal flooding. The river's predictability and fertile soil allowed the Egyptians to build an empire on the basis of great agricultural wealth.
The customs of ancient Egypt, the daily routine of the population, the cities, the crafts, and the economy derive their importance from agriculture, its needs, and its benefits. Herodotus emphasized that Egypt is the gift of the Nile and that the Nile River is the source of all aspects of life, including the religion of the ancient Egyptians ...
Farming in Egypt was dependent on the cycle of the Nile River. The Egyptians recognized three seasons: Akhet (flooding), Peret (planting), and Shemu (harvesting). The flooding season lasted from June to September, depositing on the river's banks a layer of mineral-rich silt ideal for growing crops.
The civilization of Ancient Egypt was indebted to the Nile River and its dependable seasonal flooding. The river's predictability and the fertile soil allowed the Egyptians to build an empire on the basis of great agricultural wealth.
An aerial view of irrigation from the Nile River supporting agriculture in Luxor, Egypt A felucca traversing the Nile near Aswan. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that "Egypt was the gift of the Nile". An unending source of sustenance, it played a crucial role in the development of Egyptian civilization.
Ancient branches of the Nile, showing Wadi Tumilat, and the lakes east of the Delta. People have lived in the Nile Delta region for thousands of years, and it has been intensively farmed for at least the last five thousand years. The delta was a major constituent of Lower Egypt, and there are many archaeological sites in and around the delta. [6]
The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1970 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honoured place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy.
The Nile is also important for navigation, especially for tourism, which makes it necessary to maintain a minimum flow of the Nile year-round. Ecology. Last but not least the Nile River also has ecological functions that require minimum flows to be maintained, especially for the brackish lakes in the Delta (see below under biodiversity).