of enormous mud-brick fortresses to control the gold extrac-
tion and drive back the Nubians. Th e Second Intermediate
Period (ca. 1640–1532 b.c.e.) also marks a period of Nubian
independence; in fact, at this time the kingdom at Kerma
was thriving. With the advent of the Eighteenth Dynasty
(ca. 1550–1307 b.c.e.) there was renewed domination of the
area, reaching as far south as Kurgus, past the fourth cata-
ract. Th e Egyptian presence in this area was important for
later Egyptian history because the culture that emerged from
the Upper Nubian site of Napata was later responsible for the
Tw e n t y- F i ft h Dynasty (770–712 b.c.e.) in Egypt proper. At
this late point, some of the ancient Egyptian customs and
traditions were dying out, and the Nubian Dynasty helped to
reestablish them. Th e Napata-Meroitic Empire remained in
existence until the fourth century c.e.
UPPER EGYPT
Th e Nile Valley, or Upper Egypt, is long and narrow, and the
width nowhere exceeds 13 miles. At some points the fl ood-
plain is very thin, and the rocky cliff s of the eastern desert hit
the water’s edge. At other points the cultivable land is more
substantial. Th e ancient Egyptians called this area kemet,
or black land, in reference to the color of the soil. Th ey con-
trasted this with deshret, or red land, which referred to the
desert. Th e boundary between these two areas is very abrupt.
One can actually stand with one foot in the vegetation and
the other foot in the desert.
Th e summer monsoon rains, occurring in Ethiopia be-
tween the months of June and September, trigger an increase
in the water levels of the Blue Nile. In the past this caused an
inundation in Egypt between July and October. Th e inunda-
tion occurred earlier in the south and later in the north. In
Cairo the river was at full height around the end of Septem-
ber. Th e Nile remained high for another two weeks, and then
the water began to subside. Th e Nile was at its lowest in April.
Any part of the land that was not inundated by the Nile was
desert. Th e Nile waters brought tons of soil and rock frag-
ments, which would have washed over the riverbanks. Th is
annual event left fresh layers of silt on the fl oodplain, making
the soil fertile. Th is rich soil made the use of fertilizer un-
necessary since new soil was being deposited annually. Th ere
was much variation in the water amount and the dates of its
deposition on the surrounding land. A low Nile would have
had a drastic eff ect on the ancient culture, possibly leading
to famine. Th is situation, however, is no longer the case in
modern Egypt.
Since the 1830s a series of dams have been erected that
allow for perpetual irrigation between Sennar in the south
and the apex of the delta. Due to the construction of the
Aswān High Dam, the course and pattern of the Nile in-
undation have changed considerably since ancient times.
Th e dam was fi nished in 1971, and with its completion Lake
Nasser was created and Lower Nubia destroyed. Between
1934 and 1960 the population of Egypt grew to almost 28
million inhabitants. Th is growth proved to be too much for
the available agricultural land. Because of necessity the de-
cision was made to build a dam that would span the entire
width of the Nile. Th is dam prevents the annual inundation
from occurring in Egypt proper and allows for consistent
irrigation patterns and constant agriculture. Th ese circum-
stances prevent observation of the seasonal patterns that
would have existed earlier; historical documents need to
be relied upon in order to determine the old fl ood patterns.
Because the Nile’s course has changed over time, some of
the ancient monuments, which originally lay on the banks
of the Nile, now appear to be fl oating in the desert with no
means of access from the waterway.
Th e inundation was extremely important to the an-
cient Egyptians—so important that they worshipped it in
the form of the god Hapy. Th e inundation is not to be con-
fused with the river itself, which was called itrw. Th e ancient
Greek philosopher Herodotus remarked that “Egypt is the
gift of the Nile.” Th e Egyptians even created their calendar
based on the stages of the Nile’s transformation. Th e Egyp-
tian year was divided into three seasons: akhet (inundation),
peret (growing season), and shemu (drought season). Th e
names of the seasons were associated with the stages of the
inundation. Th e inundation began in July with the peak wa-
ter levels occurring in the middle of August. Th e inundation
did not completely overfl ow the banks but instead ran off
through channels into the fi elds beyond the riverbanks. Th e
banks of the Nile would have been raised so as to prevent the
fl ooding of nearby villages. Th ese channels, or canals, were
then blocked off in order to keep the water for future use.
Th e dikes would then be cut when necessary. However, even
up to the end of the 19th century the river at times would
have overfl owed and fl ooded the surrounding areas, except
for the roads that were raised above it. When the waters had
receded in October or November, the farmers plowed their
fi elds and laid their seed. In the months from January to
April the crops matured. Th e main crops were barley, em-
mer, einkorn and spelt.
It is possible that the employment of these canals dates
back as early as the Predynastic Period, as evidenced by the
macehead of King Scorpion (ca. 3150 b.c.e.). Th e area of cul-
tivable land was increased in New Kingdom times by the in-
vention of the shaduf, an irrigation tool, and increased again
in Ptolemaic times with the advent of an animal-powered
waterwheel (sakkia). With improved methods of agriculture
more land was cultivated, and the marshy areas disappeared.
Th e reduction in marshy land is one of the reasons for the
extinction of the papyrus plant, which used to grow in the
marshy delta regions.
Th e Nile also functioned as the primary mode of trans-
portation. If people wanted to travel north, they could go
with the fl ow of the Nile. If they wanted to travel south, then
they would simply hoist their sails, since the wind blew south.
When looking at ancient Egyptian nautical depictions, the
modern scholar can discern which way the boat was traveling
simply by noting whether the sails were up.240 climate and geography: Egypt