The Laws of Nature - Egypt's Natural Advantage

Jewels of the Nile

The fertile Nile delta, which represents less than six percent of the land mass, is the bread basket which has sustained Egypt for five thousand years, and the birthplace of the world's greatest civilisation. It could be said that geography, more than any other factor, determined the growth and evolution of Ancient Egypt - and this is what King Tut Virtual's 'Life on the Nile' recreates in vivid colours.

The dominant feature of the Nile with its reliable annual flooding created the perfect environment for a sustainable and rich agricultural community.  The barren wastes of the Western Desert, the Eastern Desert and the Sinai Desert even further east serve to protect the area. The inhospitability of these areas presented a formidable obstacle to invasion by aggressive neighbouring states. This security led directly to the political stability of the civilisation for a period of time unequaled before or since. The deserts also provided the ancient Egyptians with incredible mineral wealth - most notably, with gold.

Law and Order

The civilization of ancient Egypt thrived from its ability to adapt to the conditions of The Nile Valley.  Controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which fueled social development and culture. With resources to spare, the administration sponsored mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding desert regions.

They encouraged the early development of an independent hieroglyphic writing system, which was eventually deciphered by the French linguist and explorer Champollion in 1824. Their organisation abilities enabled massive, collective construction and agricultural projects, resulting in the great monuments of Ancient Egypt that survive today such as the Great Sphinx, the pyramids, and temples. These capabilities were supported by trade with surrounding regions, and a military that protected Egypt and asserted its dominance.

A complex bureaucracy of elite scribes, religious leaders, and administrators under the control of a Pharaoh managed these activities, ensuring the cooperation and unity of the Egyptian people through an elaborate system of religious beliefs that framed most aspects of daily life. In fact, the evolution of the concept of an Afterlife became a driving force of Egyptian political and religious culture which resonates to this day through the beliefs of modern religions such as Christianity.

Art as a Reflection of Life

These fundamental drivers of geography and religion are reflected in the art of Ancient Egypt which has had such a significant impact on modern western cultures. Both are clearly reflected in abstract depictions of gods and the afterlife, and in extraordinarily naturalistic renditions of the ebb and flow of natural life dominated by the Nile.

This close and accurate observation of nature led to an intimate knowledge and understanding of animal and plant life which, some claim, led to a concept of the structure of nature not dissimilar to Darwin's Origin of Species. These observations are wonderfully reflected in a rich and beautiful body of drawings and paintings recording the life of the river as illustrated in the remarkable painting of the Geese of Maydum (above), and in the paintings found in the tomb of Seti I (below). See if you can find some of the Nile's rich wildlife in the virtual experience.

 

Roman Invasion

For over three thousand years, the Egyptians maintained a rich and relatively stable civilization, comprising a series of stable periods, known as kingdoms, separated by periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods. After the end of the last kingdom, known as the New Kingdom, the civilization of ancient Egypt entered a period of slow, steady decline, during which Egypt was conquered by a succession of foreign powers.

The rule of the Pharaohs officially ended in 31 BC when the early Roman Empire conquered Egypt and made it a province, effectively ending this great civilization. It is clear from the legacy they leave behind that the land that sustained them was intimately woven into their beliefs, leading to the construction of a highly organised and well protected society that thrived more than any other.

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