=254. Egypt, the Land of the Nile and the Pyramids.= Egypt has always
been a land of curious things. It lies across the Mediterranean,
southeast of Europe. It is a land of sunshine day after day. Were it
not for the Nile River, it would be a part of the Great Sahara Desert.
Every year for ages, the Nile has risen in a great flood and its waters
have spread out over Egypt. In coming down from their mountain home
these waters carry rich earth which they spread over a part of Egypt.
The result is that Egypt, in an early day, became the garden spot for
nations less favored.
[Sidenote: =Egypt in Bible times=]
Many of you can recall the Bible story of Joseph's brethren who were
sent down into Egypt to buy corn because there was a famine in their
land. Thanks to the Nile, there was plenty of corn in Egypt. The people
of Egypt were among the first of the world's farmers and gardeners of
which history has any record.
[Sidenote: =Carrying the waters of the Nile to the land=]
=255. Irrigation Systems of the Egyptians.= In a great many parts of
western United States where little rain falls, how do farmers and
gardeners get water for their plants? "Irrigation" is the word that
tells the story. The Egyptians taught the people of the world how to
save water for irrigation by building great dams in the Nile. This
water they carried in ditches throughout the land so that the thirsty
crops would have the moisture they needed for growing.
[Sidenote: =The tombs of the kings=]
=256. Egypt Ruled by Kings.= For several thousand years Egypt was ruled
by kings. The most famous of these rulers was a great warrior called
Rameses II. He built great tombs or monuments called "pyramids." These
were built out of huge blocks of stone much larger than any now used in
buildings. For many years he had the common man or the slave doing this
work for him.
[Illustration: THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZEH AND THE SPHINX]
The Bible tells us about Moses, who became a great leader among the
Israelites. The Israelites were slaves to the kings of Egypt. Moses led
them forth from Egypt to escape the hard tasks of one of their kings.
=257. What the Egyptians Gave to Other Nations.= Among the Egyptians
there were great students for that early time. A few men among them
studied the stars and learned about the movements of the heavenly
bodies. In arithmetic they could count up to millions. They could weave
cloth, cut jewels, and make most beautiful objects out of glass.
[Sidenote: =Egyptian hieroglyphics=]
But above all the Egyptians could write. Not as we do, of course, but
they used letters, not rude pictures as seen in most early writings.
Scholars have named the characters used in writing by Egyptians and
other ancient peoples "hieroglyphics."
=258. Babylon and Nineveh.= Asia, too, had early peoples. Perhaps some
of them were older than the Egyptians. There lived in southwestern
Asia, in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, two mighty
nations whose chief cities were Babylon and Nineveh.
[Sidenote: =The hanging gardens of Babylon=]
Babylon on the Euphrates was a splendid city. It had great walls to
protect it against enemy nations. Its hanging gardens were the wonders
of the ancient world.
To the north, on the banks of the Tigris, lay the great city of
Nineveh. The fierce kings of Nineveh conquered many nations and forced
them to pay tribute.
In this region, nature furnished the kings no building stone such as
was found in Egypt. But they made their homes and their palaces out of
sun-dried brick. This soft material, as the years rolled on, fell into
decay, and now men can find the ruins of these wonderful cities only by
digging where they lay.
[Sidenote: =How the Babylonians wrote=]
The Babylonians did their writing upon bricks or clay tablets before
they dried them. They had their own way of writing, using a sharp piece
of metal for making wedged-shaped lines instead of letters. They used
a sort of picture-writing too, making rude cuts of birds, animals,
and man. On these clay tablets, buried centuries ago, we may read the
stories of what they did and how they lived.
=259. How Jews and Phoenicians Helped Mankind.= Along the eastern end
of the Mediterranean lies Palestine, which was conquered by the Jews
early in their history, and became their home. The Jews as a people
interest us because they have given us our religious ideas. They have
never been a warlike nation, but at times they could fight. David was
one of their great kings, and Solomon another.
During long years this people has held faithful and true to the idea
of one God. Although the Jews were driven from Palestine and scattered
among the nations of the world they have never given up their religion.
They have always looked forward to the time when they might return to
Jerusalem and set up a Jewish nation once more. As a result of the
World War that time seems to have come.
[Illustration: TYPES OF EARLY ALPHABETS]
[Sidenote: =Phoenicians helped to advance learning=]
The Phoenicians were akin to the Jews. They lived near the Jews on the
Mediterranean and were a sea-going people, the traders of that early
time. In their ships, driven by oar and sail, they braved the dangers
of the Atlantic and reached Spain and England. To these people must
be given the credit of carrying to the Greeks and Romans much of the
learning of Egypt and Asia. To the Phoenicians also belongs the honor
and fame of inventing an alphabet much like the one we have to-day,
although with fewer letters.