Page 99 - Perished Nations

ter without being dependent on rainy seasons. The historian Ernst H.
Gombrich states in his writing that Africa is very hot and sometimes it do-
es not rain there at all for months. For this reason, many areas in this hu-
ge continent are extremely dry and as a consequence are covered with vast
desert. Both sides of the River Nile are also covered with desert, and it
hardly rains in Egypt. But in this country, rain is not needed so much, be-
cause the River Nile runs through the middle of the whole country. 33
So, whoever has control of the River Nile, which is of such great impor-
tance, is also able to control Egypt’s biggest source of commerce and ag-
riculture. The pharaohs were able to establish their dominance over Egypt
in this way.
The narrow and vertical form of the Nile valley did not allow residen-
tial units situated around the river to expand much, and therefore Egypti-
ans formed a civilisation made up of small-scale towns and villages inste-
ad of big cities. This factor also fortified the dominance of the Pharaohs
over their people.
King Menes is known to be the first Egyptian Pharaoh who united the
whole of ancient Egypt, for the first time in history, in one state around the
third millennium BC. In fact, the term "pharaoh" originally referred to the
palace where the Egyptian king lived, but in time, it became the title of
Egyptian kings. This is why the kings, who were rulers of Old Egypt star-
ted to be called "Pharaohs".
Being owners, administrators and rulers of the whole state and its lands,
these pharaohs were accepted as reflections of the biggest god in the dis-
torted polytheistic religion of old Egypt. The administration of Egyptian
lands, their division, their income, in short, all the estates, services and pro-
duction within the country’s borders were managed on behalf of the Pha-
raoh.
The absolutism in the regime had given the Pharaoh such power that
he could have anything he wished for. Right from the establishment of the
first dynasty, at the time of Menes who became the first King of Egypt by
uniting Upper and Lower Egypt, the River Nile started to be delivered to
the public through canals. In addition, production was taken under cont-

Perished Nations
91