Week 1 Essay

          This first week of history, I did a “world tour”, exploring the world at this specific time. I learned about the Mediterranean around Asia and Africa, which is nowadays Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, et cetera. I also learned about Greece and Africa. In this essay, I will talk about the civilizations and worldwide influence of Africa.

          Africa has kept its same name throughout history, and it contains some of the most famous landmarks and structures in the world. It is home to the longest river in the world, the Nile River, which is unique because it is one of the only rivers that runs North and South.

          I will start with Egypt. Egypt takes up much of Africa, and is located around the middle of the continent, where it became an agricultural civilization, growing plants on the Nile River. It was ruled by Pharaohs for many generations, and it built most of the pyramids during “The Old Kingdom”. Egypt had its “golden age” during the “New Kingdom”. This was when it was the strongest and richest, at its peak you might say. Alexander the Great took over Egypt after this, then a family ruled over Egypt called the Ptolemies, and they ruled for about 300 years. Cleopatra VII was the last ruler of this family before Rome took control. The Egyptians are also known for inventing Hieroglyphs and papyrus.

          North Africa, and North of Egypt was the Sahara Desert. Almost no one lived in the Sahara Desert due to heat. It is the hottest place in the world, so mostly no people and some animals (like fennec foxes that are built to withstand heat) live there.

          South of Egypt was the country of Nubia. Nubia is known for trading with nearby civilizations like Arabia. There was also Axum, which was along the coast of the Red Sea. This was great for trading with India and other countries surrounding the Red Sea.

          Although I will not this year, I love learning about Ancient Africa and how people survived in such a hot climate. Although, desert is not the only geography in Africa. It also contains jungles, mountains, and plains. The people and geography of Africa is so interesting to learn about, and I hope you learned something in this essay too!