What is the significance of the nile river?

Answer 1

Sustenance played a crucial role in the founding of Egyptian civilization. The Nile was an unending source of sustenance. The Nile made the land surrounding it extremely fertile when it flooded or inundated annually. The Egyptians were able to cultivate wheat and crops around the Nile, providing food for the general population. Also, the Nile’s water attracted game such as water buffalo; and after the Persians introduced them in the 7th century BC, camels. These animals could be killed for meat, or could be captured, tamed and used for ploughing — or in the camels' case, travelling. Water was vital to both people and livestock. The Nile was also a convenient and efficient way of transportation for people and goods.

Egypt’s stability was one of the best structured in history. In fact, it might easily have surpassed many modern societies. This stability was an immediate result of the Nile’s fertility. The Nile also provided flax for trade. Wheat was also traded, a crucial crop in the Middle East where famine was very common. This trading system secured the diplomatic relationship Egypt had with other countries, and often contributed to Egypt's economic stability. Also, the Nile provided the resources such as food or money, to quickly and efficiently raise an army, whether the army was to take on a defensive or offensive role.

The Nile played a major role in politics and social life. The Pharaoh would supposedly flood the Nile, and in return for the life giving water and crops, the peasants would cultivate the fertile soil and send a portion of the resources they had reaped to the Pharaoh. He/ she would in turn use it for the wellbeing of Egyptian society.

The Nile was a source of spiritual dimension. The Nile was so significant to the lifestyle of the Egyptians, that they created a god dedicated to the welfare of the Nile’s annual inundation. The god’s name was Hapi, and both he and the Pharaoh were thought to control the flooding of the Nile River. Also, the Nile was considered as a causeway from life to death/afterlife. The east was thought of as a place of birth and growth, and the west was considered the place of death, as the god Ra, the sun, underwent birth, death, and resurrection each time he crossed the sky. Thus, all the tombs were located west of the Nile, because the Egyptians believed that in order to enter the afterlife, they must be buried on the side which symbolized death.

The Greek historian, Herodotus, wrote that ‘Egypt was the gift of the Nile’, and in a sense that is correct. Without the Nile River, Egyptian civilization would probably have been short lived. The Nile provided the elements that make a vigorous civilization and contributed much to its lasting three thousand years.

Answer 2

Significance Of The Nile River

Answer 3

The Nile River begins in the highlands of Eastern Africa. During the rainy season, the rivers that feed into the main Nile branch gush downward, carrying silt (tiny bits of dirt, essential nutrients). Downstream the river floods and these waters are captured in canals and holding ponds to later water crops. As the water recedes, it leaves behind silt, which makes the soil rich for farming. As this narrow strip of good soil for crops is most of the farming area of otherwise dry, desert Egypt, the yearly flooding is vital. The water continues down to the Mediterranean Sea, causing the Delta to grow as more silt is deposited. There is good farming there as well. The Nil flows from South to North. The Nile provides fresh water, a means to fish, a means for transportation. This enabled the original Egyptian kingdoms to grow and flourish.

Answer 4

What is the significance of any river? They are sources of transportation, water for cities that invariably build along their banks, water for crop irrigation and farming, power generation, etc., etc.
But perhaps for the Nile, it is unusual because it is one of the few rivers in the northern hemisphere to flow north.

Answer 5

It is a source of life for the people in Egypt. Since Egypt is a desert, the Nile provides water for crops, for drinking, bathing, cattle and livestock, and other uses.

Answer 6

It is the longest river in the world

Answer 7

very important...especially during ancient egyptian times.
-source of water: irrigation for crops, water for animals and people, etc.
-travel
-the nile overflows...enriching the soil...good for the crops
-source of fish & food/water for local birds...=food for the egyptians