Ancient Egypt

Herodotus called Egypt "the gift of the Nile." Strip away the river and Egypt is just Sahara. With it, Egypt became one of the most enduring civilizations humans have managed to build.

Every year between June and September, monsoon rains in the Ethiopian highlands swelled the river until it spilled across its banks, leaving behind a thick layer of dark silt. When the waters pulled back, farmers planted in soil so rich it barely needed working. The The annual flooding of the Nile River, caused by monsoon rains in East Africa. The predictable cycle of flood, planting, and harvest shaped every aspect of Egyptian life — from agriculture and religion to the calendar itself. was so regular that it determined the Egyptian calendar, structured the Egyptian religion, and shaped what you might call the Egyptian temperament.

The The divine ruler of ancient Egypt. More than a king, the pharaoh was considered a living god — the intermediary between the human and divine worlds. The word originally meant 'great house,' referring to the royal palace. was not merely a king. In Egyptian theology, the pharaoh was a living god, the earthly manifestation of Horus, the falcon-headed deity. Upon death, he became one with Osiris, god of the underworld. The Egyptians did not treat this as metaphor. They meant it.