Changes

== Geography ==

== Geography ==

Ancient Egypt was a culture focused around the [[Nile Valley]], and it was here the Predynastic confederacies and petty chieftains were finally united to begin the Dynastic period at the end of the fourth millennium BC.  

Ancient Egypt was a culture focused around the [[Nile|Nile Valley]], and it was here the Predynastic confederacies and petty chieftains were finally united to begin the Dynastic period at the end of the fourth millennium BC.  

The Nile Valley had a profound impact upon Egyptian culture and thinking. Its natural boundaries of almost empty deserts to east and west, the first cataract in the south, and [[Mediterranean]] sea in the north fostered the early adoption of a nation-state identity. These boundaries also protected Egypt in times of strife elsewhere in the region. Despite this, Egypt was not an island, and traded with neighbours in [[Nubia]], [[Libya]] and the [[Levant]], as well as further afield.

The Nile Valley had a profound impact upon Egyptian culture and thinking. Its natural boundaries of almost empty deserts to east and west, the first cataract in the south, and [[Mediterranean]] sea in the north fostered the early adoption of a nation-state identity. These boundaries also protected Egypt in times of strife elsewhere in the region. Despite this, Egypt was not an island, and traded with neighbours in [[Nubia]], [[Libya]] and the [[Levant]], as well as further afield.

Egypt’s climate varied over time and location, through during the Dynastic era was, as it is today, predominantly a [[desert climate]], with long, hot summers and short, relatively mild winters, with rainfall being insignificant, with a Mediterranean climate prevailing in the Delta and far north.   

Egypt’s climate varied over time and location, through during the Dynastic era was, as it is today, predominantly a [[desert climate]], with long, hot summers and short, relatively mild winters, with rainfall being insignificant, with a Mediterranean climate prevailing in the Delta and far north.   

The inundation defined the seasons. The [[Nile]], swollen by rains in [[Ethiopia]], never failed to rise each summer, though the level of rise varied greatly. As it rose, the water spread over the flood plain, depositing large amounts of mud, silt and organic matter, laying down a nutrient rich layer, replenishing the soil and soaking it. For three months the water remained before retreating, leaving enough moisture in the ground that no further irrigation would be necessary on the first harvest. It was this inundation that would be the foundation for Egypt’s great wealth, built not on gold, but on grain.  

The inundation defined the seasons. The [[Nile]], swollen by rains in [[Ethiopia]], never failed to rise each summer, though the level of rise varied greatly. As it rose, the water spread over the flood plain, depositing large amounts of mud, silt and organic matter, laying down a nutrient rich layer, replenishing the soil and soaking it. For three months the water remained before retreating, leaving enough moisture in the ground that no further irrigation would be necessary on the first harvest. It was this inundation that would be the foundation for Egypt’s great wealth, built not on gold, but on grain.

== Chronology ==

== Chronology ==