PYRAMIDS ON THE NILE

Setting the Stage:
To the west of the Fertile Cresent in Africa, another river makes its way to the sea. While Sumerian civilization was on the rise, a similar process took place along the banks of this river, the Nile in Egypt. Yet the Eqyptian civilization turned out to be very different from the collection of city-states in Mesopotamia. Early on, Eqypt was united into a single kingdom, which allowed it to enjoy a high degree of unity, stability, and cultural continuity over a period of 3,000 years.

The Geography of Egypt:
From the highlands of east-central Africa to the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile River flows northward for over 4,100 miles, making it the longest river in the world. A thin ribbon of water in a parched desert land, the great river brings its water to Egypt from distant mountains, plateaus, and lakes in present-day Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia. Egypt’s settlements arose along the Nile on a narrow strip of landmade fertile by the river. The change fro...