Читать книгу A History of Ancient Egypt - Marc Van De Mieroop - Страница 22

Hemmed in by deserts and the sea, Egypt has a degree of isolation many other countries lack. In the west, access is mainly restricted to a narrow strip along the coast; in the east, the high desert separates it from the Red Sea coast. The Mediterranean coast was also a frontier, and no harbor is known on it before the 1st millennium BC. Previously, boats had to sail inland before they could anchor. The 1st cataract delineated Egypt’s southern border on the Nile. Traffic in and out of the country was thus easy to control, and from early on kings established border posts at the 1st cataract and on the eastern and western points of the Delta to monitor it.

On the other hand, by its very location, Egypt was at a crossroads. Any overland movement between Africa and Asia had to pass through it. Thus early hominids from Africa crossed Egypt during their migration across the globe, while in the Middle Ages and later Egypt was the bridge between the heartland of the Middle Eastern empires and their North African possessions. Through the Mediterranean, Egypt was connected by sea to Southern Europe. In the late 2nd millennium BC, ships sailing along the eastern Mediterranean coast went from Egypt to Greece and the Aegean islands passing by the Syrian coast. In later times, overseas traffic between Egypt and Europe was intense, with huge cargo ships securing Rome’s grain supply. The Red Sea, reached through valleys in the eastern desert, gave access to regions of east Africa, the Middle East, and farther east. Such contacts are especially well attested in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, but recent explorations of harbors on the Red Sea coast have shown that they did not start then. The ancient Egyptians liked to portray themselves as separate from the rest of the world, with a long local pedigree and immune from outside interference, but that was a false image. Throughout its history Egypt was exposed to external influences as foreigners were drawn to the country. The longevity of ancient Egyptian culture was partly due to the readiness of others to absorb it.