| . | Egyptian Geography |
Indian Geography |
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| Topography |
Very Simple geography consisting of the Nile Valley and bounded on the south, east and west by a impenetrable desert, and on the north by the sea,
Egyptians divided the land into two types:
a) The "black land" - fertile land on the banks of the Nile, black silt was deposited there every year after the Nile flooded.
b) The "red land" -barren desert
Egypt was protected from outside
influences, which allowed it to evolve to a homogeneous culture with slow
change over time. The Nile river flows north from the heart of Africa to
the Mediterranean Sea. Its flood plain were an extensive oasis. Humans
were drawn there because they could grow crops and settle into permanent
villages. The annual flooding of the Nile deposited nutrient rich silt on
the land, creating all the ingredients needed to support life and the
growth of a civilization.
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Complex and diverse topography -
Many rivers also flowed through ancient India such as the Indus river and the Ganga.
The people of ancient India lived in a land of extremes encompassing desert, mountains, forest, and jungle, this resulted in a highly diversified culture with many cultural practices, languages, customs and religions
The Himalaya on the north protected the Indian
subcontinent from foreign invasions, but the subcontinent in itself was
divided internally
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| Climate |
Very dry climate with almost no rainfall on a regular basis.
The people depend on the annual summer floods of the Nile River for water
The floods begin in June and end in October -
small variations in flood levels greatly influenced the whole country and
resulted in good harvests or famines - Storage of grain in central
government granaries became essential for maintaining life in low
floods
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Climate varies from tropical in the south, the Thar Desert in central India and a temperate climate in the Himalayan north, where elevated regions receive sustained winter snowfall.
Extremes of weather such as floods, droughts and
monsoons were also part of life in this land - but unlike Egypt these
extremes generally affected local regions, with good harvests in some
areas and famines in others
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| Transportation |
Only local traffic between villages makes use of land routes, which scarcely exist
Easy transportation by sailing in the Nile - a fusion of culture developed such as could never be achieved in countries like India with natural inland frontiers.
This ease of transportation resulted in a strong
central and united government capable of ruling all the country
easily |
Difficult transportation and communication with many isolated regions - Many independent Kingdoms developed and were
rarely united under a single government.
The subcontinent was first united under the Maurya Empire n 322 BC. by Chandragupta Maurya, but this unity only lasted till 185 BC.
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| Human Settlements |
Country was divided into 42 Nomes (provinces), every Nome had its capital city -
The Nomes not only remained in place for more than three millennia, the area of the individual
Nomes and their order of numbering remained remarkably stable
a) Lower Egypt, from the Old Kingdom capital Memphis to the Mediterranean Sea, comprised 20
Nomes.
b) Upper Egypt was divided into 22 Nomes.
All cities and villages within the Nile Valley -
main cities retained importance through entire history, although some
cities were favored at certain times when ruling Pharaohs established
their dynasties in their home towns, but abandoning cities was very
uncommon (Akhetaten being a rare example)
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Thousands of cities and villages emerged, flourished and declined through the whole country in river banks, forest and mountains
No main settlement retained importance in history,
many cities and settlements where entirely abandoned, buried and forgotten
(such as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa in the Indus Valley)
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