Free Essay On Why Was The Nile River Important For The Rise Of Successful States In North Africa?

River Nile is the greatest river found in the northeastern Africa. The river originates from the tropical regions along the equator and flows northwards through the Sahara desert before finding its delta in the Mediterranean Sea. The river is estimated to be 4100 miles long, which makes it the longest river on earth. The only river that rivals river Nile in terms of length is the Amazon River found in South America. Both the Nile’s source and mouth lie within one degree of longitude. The river crosses over thirty degrees of latitude equivalent to the width of the United States and flows through very different from each other than any other river anywhere. The river is among the physical features that define the East and the North Eastern Africa. The length of the river cannot allow anybody to jump, the only mode of transport one can use is a canoe or a boat. The great river serves more than 7 countries that are in the East and the North of African. It is one of the rivers that show a great miracle by taking water from a lake (Victoria) and delivering it to the sea (Mediterranean sea).
Around 5000 BC, the first African civilization originated from the northern part of the Nile valley. The Nile has provided water for and new soils from wherever it passes, which has enhanced Egypt’s agricultural sector. It has made Egypt a dominant state in the region yet it is located in the desert. After Egypt had dominated for a long time, in the 18th century northern Sudan called Kush conquered. Egypt has got historical sites and monuments such as temples, pyramids and others. The river Nile contributed to the development of pyramids and other monuments in the country.
On the other hand, another school of thought asserts that River Nile is the world’s most important river. It makes quite an inspiring story and surprises not only for its past but also for the present mysteries. It is so certain that the mismanagement of the Nile’s water is enough to cause disaster in North Africa. Egypt is regarded as “gift of the Nile” ever since the existence of the Nile and the rich Ethiopian mud that has made it rich for almost 3000 years. The Nile also occupies parts of the biblical sites such as places that witnessed Moses’ life and the holy family. It was until the construction of the Aswan High Dam the Nile always flooded its banks every summer. Together with other dams the river is very instrumental in generating hydro electric power used in companies and homesteads.
The first question asked by Alexander the great by the time he came to the temple of Jupiter in the Luxor was “what caused the Nile to rise? Then Julio’s Caesar said that he mostly wanted one thing, and it was to know about Nile's source and the world. This source mystery was not solved till 1859 when the explorations and the controversy that was surrounding them captured the western world imagination and much of the middle part of the last century. There was a quote that Egypt is the gift of the Nile, and Herodotus and he quoted this frequently since. He expresses his admirable brevity and the appropriateness and the character of Egyptian country. It is definite that without River Nile the Egyptians could be in great danger in terms of food security. Alexander the great had read the river in the ancient time and wanted to find its source.
The vast which was almost waterless and expanse of the desert plateau that occupied all the two branches from the extensive lake of the equatorial Africa and the snow clad mountains of the Abyssinia. This was painfully through the endless ages and excavated out of the sandstone or limestone that was a deep valley and on the lower end of which laid the land of Egypt. By its regular and annual deposits, it had alluvium transformed into one of the most fruitful areas on the entire earth. After the length people had settled in this valley, they were in search of pasture for their herds and also had an aim of cultivating the soil. This impelled it to civilization and the culture. Abundant flow of water rushed to the northward on each summer and this was after the copious rainfall that was at the sources of both the Nile branches and to inundate the land it had to be very systematically and regularly conducted on the fields. It was necessary to construct the dams and the dikes which could provide the canals and the sluices.
The swamps were drained and hence converted to meadows. These operations, however, could not be possibly accomplished by the peasants working individually. These obliged the inhibitors of the land to organize themselves into large communities that could be under the leader who could lend a guiding hand in assisting them to centralize their efforts towards the direction of the common interest. This awakened the Nile’s demand to and adequate law code and this ordered commonwealth. On the trial to reckon with the rise retreat of the floods in Nile and of determining the cultivation season in the fields, and this was imperative to observe all the changes of the season and courses of the stars. Each time as frequently occurred, the unusual high Nile inundation was obliterated to the boundaries that were between the neighboring plots of the land and the fields were premeasured in order to record the new survey in the registry. It’s again the same Nile that gave the encouragement of developing of writing, study of the astronomy and the reckoning time by the symmetric calendar.
Later on, when the geological period colossal pyramids and powerful temples were built, or huge statues and obelisks were put up as an honor to the kings and the gods, the Nile was again the one that facilitated the transportation of the heavy materials for building; on its broad blossom the enormous granite blocks were formed to the north from the boarder to the south of Egypt up to Memphis or far-off Tanis in the far corner that is in the northeast of the Delta. The woe of the inhabitants was dependent on the great river that made up the country’s essential source of life.
The Europeans were motivated to explore Africa in the 19th century by the fact that they had found the origin of the White Nile. The explorers tried again to penetrate the Sudd in 1800, but they failed. Two explorers from Britain, Speke and Burton, left the coast of present Tanzania, Zanzibar and went to the inland to look for lakes that were mysterious inside Africa. They fought frequent sicknesses. Speke and Burton separated, and Speke went to the north to search for a lake that was thought to be there. In July 1858, Speke noticed a water body that was later named after the present Queen of England, Victoria. Speke presumed that this was the source of White Nile and hurried back to give Burton the good news. Burton gave an argument that what Speke had seen was not enough for him to be sure about it. Both Speke and Burton went back to Zanzibar and Speke went back to England, and there he claimed that he had discovered the source of White Nile and started planning for a 2nd mission. This time he was accompanied by Grant. In 1960, they arrived in Zanzibar and traveled inland. Fellow explorers raised arguments for some years, but the White Nile’s origin was resolved.
In conclusion, the Nile plays a very important role in the new and old testaments. The mud of the Nile was used by the Hebrew captives to make bricks and also Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus used its banks as a place of safety. The interpretation of pharaoh’s dream by Joseph and the finding of baby Moses by pharaoh’s daughter are the two most interesting stories about the Nile. Therefore, it is evident that the Nile was very crucial in the growth of many states in the North of Africa. The Nile is very instrumental in bringing cohesion and good relationship in the United States. The countries adjacent to the river have benefited a lot and will continue to benefit in the years to come because of the rich flow of water from the source. It is therefore, important for people to continue guarding the water.