How Did Geography Influence Ancient Civilization

Ancient India’s geography greatly impacted their civilization and way of life. It is one of the best-known subcontinents, and believe it or not, India used to be a small island floating around the world. India later collided with Asia, forming the Himalayan Mountains. India has plenty more interesting history, climate, and physical features.

Ancient civilizations began in areas that had arable land and other features such as rivers. Civilizations succeeded in these environments because they could settle down and not live a nomadic lifestyle. Because the land was arable, agriculture prospered and people relied on the geography to grant them the elements needed for survival. In China and Egypt, geography greatly influenced and affected the lives of the people living there because of the prosperous rivers and large natural barriers.

A country's environment and geographical location has an influence on the people and their way of life. Egypt is an example of this. Egypt is located in the northeastern part of Africa. Egypt's land is mostly desert, so the Aswan High Dam was built. This dam allowed Egypt to have year-round irrigation, and to grow three crops a year rather than just one.

How Did the Nile River Shape Ancient Egypt? The Greek historian Herodotus once wrote, “Egypt… is, so to speak, the gift of the Nile.”(Doc. E) Ancient Egypt was one of the most important river civilizations. It was located around the world’s longest river, the Nile River.

Cyrus Waldrop #27 2-3-16 How the Nile Shaped Egypt The Nile was the most important part of Egypt because it influenced agriculture, created a boundary for safety, and was a highway for travel and trade. It also meant Life or Death for the people of Egypt. They depended on it for things like food, water, a place to wash their clothes,etc. The Nile influenced agriculture for the egyptians because it created fertile land.

Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt were two early human civilizations that lived during the bronze age in harsh desert environments located not far from each other. Both civilizations were built around rivers that they depended on for survival. There is evidence that these rivers had great influence on both the societies politics and culture. Egypt was built around the very strong and reliable Nile River. Ancient Mesopotamia was established in the fertile crescent between the less reliable Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

Ancient Egypt was one of the four preeminent river civilizations in history along with Tigris river and Euphrates river supporting Mesopotamia, China on the Yangtze and India on the Indus. These successful early civilizations actively relied on the rivers for various resources and Egypt was the ultimate testimony. Egypt would just be dry desert land lacking the rich culture of intelligent inhabitants that developed their own literature, machinery, theories, and unbelievably accurate mathematical and astronomical equations/facts if it weren 't for the Niles existence. Without the Nile’s annual flooding cycle enriching the soil with silt, their fruitful agronomics would not have been attainable.

The Maurya empire and the ancient African civilization of Ethiopia were both located near major waterways, which played an important role in their prosperity and success. However, they also both had governments which differently affected the way their people lived. Overall, we understand how both Ethiopia and the Maurya empire used their location to their advantage, but both their rulers set up different governments which influenced the lives of their

1. How did the annual flooding of the Nile River affect this region? What were the advantages? Disadvantages? The flooding of the Nile River varied each year.

Tawantinsuyu, or The Inca empire’s geography drastically affected the culture of the Incas. It “...was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America”(Crystal Links), they lived in the Andes mountains and started as a small tribe. They began to form at around 1200 A.D. They began to be a big empire by conquering other tribes and gaining new members.

Geography had a major impact on Greece's economy. Greece was mountainous, largely infertile and surrounded by the sea. The barren landscape and easy access to maritime trade routes caused the people of Greece to become traders, merchants and fisherman. As Alan Bresson states in The Making of the Ancient Greek Economy, Greece's “commercial calling was virtually imposed by its geography” (p. 379). The landscape of Greece also made travel difficult, this caused the city states of Greece to form their own separate economies.

The Olympics began centuries upon centuries ago. Most people today recognize the Olympics as a game between countries where skilled athletes from many parts of the world come to compete. But, people may not know or understand how the Olympics came to be, and what contributing factors influenced ancient civilizations and society. In these next paragraphs, I will be explaining the benefits of the ancient Olympic games.