Does Geography Determine Destiny?

Government and Law

Before 3100 BCE, Egypt was two separate kingdoms with a huge desert between them. Deserts can be like a fence or wall protecting people from invasion. Joining forces with your neighbor builds an even bigger advantage: larger population, more land, additional resources, and the sharing of traditions and talents. Upper Egypt, in the south, had a ruler who wore a white crown while the ruler of the northern kingdom called Lower Egypt wore a red crown. A double crown was created with the combination of these two kingdoms.

King Menes united the two main regions of Egypt and founded its first capital, a headquarters for government, at Memphis in about 3100 BCE.

”He became the first pharaoh, the Egyptian name for the ultimate ruler, and he wore the pschent, a crown that symbolized the union of the two regions of Egypt,” According to authors Sara Pendergast, Tom Pendergast, Drew D. Johnson, and Julie L. Carnagie.

Menes ruled Upper Egypt in the south, yet he saw the great trade potential in Lower Egypt, which was located to the north at the fertile delta region. The highway of the Nile connected not only the trade routes, but it allowed transport for their military and travel for all. The Nile’s waters allowed much of Egypt to venture down their treasured river to the Mediterranean Sea.