So normally for me the most important thing about Egypt is Mummies and the Gods and Goddesses. But what we see on movies or other readings may not be true. For this class I was interested more in the inundation of the Nile river. The annual inundation of the Nile made the floodplain and Delta were very fertile mostly in the Near East. But, it was not always like that. The high floods can be destructive but there was also disease that could have affected crops as well. In June the Nile begins to rise between Cairo and Aswan. August the waters look red. September the water continues to rise and in December they start to recede. Those behavior patterns in the river were categorized into three seasons of four months each. They were named Akhet, which means flooded, Peret which means coming forth, and Shomu which means deficiency of water. When the Nile receded, it was full of nutrients that were left and allowed farming to flourish and because of that was the start of Egyptian civilization.

When there was a low flood it resulted in the floodplain remaining dry or lacking fertile sediment which lead to many things. A few would be the starvation, livestock destruction, and marginal lands would be abandoned. That caused fear for the surrounding people. High flood reduced crop yields be in favor of plant parasites, delaying harvest, destroy stored food and many other things as well. Because of the importance of the Nile river then began to measure the rise of the water to predict the harvest. Which they called the Nilometer. Started from marks on the riverbank then evolved into marked stairs, pillars or wells. Nile Floodplain is also the source of much of Egypt’s wealth.

The reason why this topic was so interesting to me is that it was something I have never heard of before. I find it interesting on how they feared the Nile but kind of worshiped it as well because they needed it to survive. I also never knew of the Nilometer. How it measured the rise and that is how they predicted their harvest. They relied on this information to survive. I also didn’t realize how the Nile affected their crops so much. When the Nile goes back down it left nutrients for the crops to really thrive. I come from a small town where agriculture is really important, and I know a lot about it. It’s so different when they relied on really the only water source they have and how much that water helped but also didn’t help in other ways.