Atbara, the Astaboras of Strabo, a torrential stream which brings into the Nile an immense quantity of dirty red water containing valuable deposits of mud. The Cataracts, or series of rapids, on the Nile are six in number: the first is between Aswân and Philae, the second is a little to the south of Wâdi Halfah, the third is at Hannek, the fourth is at Adramiya, the fifth is at Wâdî al-Hamâr, and the sixth is at Shablûkah. On the White Nile is a series of cataracts known as the "Fôla Falls," and on the Blue Nile there are cataracts from Rusêres southwards for a distance of 40 miles. The most important characteristic of the Nile is its annual flooding or Inundation. By the end of May, in Egypt, the river is at its lowest level. During the month of June the Nile, between Cairo and Aswân, begins to rise, and a quantity of "green water" appears at this time. The cause of the colour is said to be myriads of minute algae, which subsequently putrefy and disappear. During August the river rises rapidly, and its waters assume a red, muddy colour, which is due to the presence of the rich red earth which is brought into the Nile by the Blue Nile and the Atbara. The rising of the waters continues until the middle of September, when they remain stationary for about a fortnight or three weeks. In October a further slight rise occurs, and then they begin to fall; the fall continues gradually until, in the May following, they are at their lowest level once more. The cause of the Inundation is, as Aristotle (who lived in the fourth century B.C.) first showed, the spring and early summer rains in the mountains of Ethiopia and the Southern Sûdân; these are brought down in torrents by the great tributaries of the Nile, viz., the Gazelle River, the Sobat (the Astasobas of Strabo), the Giraffe River, the Blue Nile, and the Atbara. The Sobat rises about April 15, the Gazelle River and the Giraffe River about the 15th of May, the Blue Nile at the end of May, and the Atbara a little later. The united waters of these tributaries, with the water of the Upper Nile, reach Egypt about the end of August, and cause the Inundation to reach its highest level. The Nile rises from 21 feet to 28 feet, and deposits a thin layer of fertilizing mud over every part of the country reached by its waters. Formerly, when the rise was about 26 feet, there was sufficient water to cover the whole country; when it was less, scarcity prevailed; and when it was more, ruin and misery appeared through over-flooding. In recent years, the British irrigation engineers in Egypt have regulated, by means of the Aswân Dam, the Barrage at Asyût, and the Barrage near Al Manâshî, a little to the north of Cairo, the supply of water during the winter, or dry season, with such success, that, in spite of "low" Niles, the principal crops have been saved, and the people protected from want. In connection with the adoration of the Nile, two important festivals were observed. The first of these took place in June and was called the "Night of the Tear," o e , Qerh en Hatui, because it www TA was believed that at this time of the year the goddess Isis shed tears in commemoration of her first great lamentation over the dead body of her husband Osiris. Her tears fell into the river, and as they fell they multiplied and filled the river, and in this way caused the Inundation. This belief exists in Egypt, in a modified form, at the present time, and, up to the middle of last century the Muhammadans celebrated, with great solemnity, a festival on the 11th day of Paoni (June 17th), which was called the "Night of the Drop," Lêlat al-Nuktah. On the night of this day a miraculous drop of water was supposed to fall into the Nile and cause it to rise. The second ancient Nile-festival was observed about the middle of August, and has its equivalent in the modern Muḥammadan festival of the "Cutting of the Dam." A dam of earth about 23 feet high was built in the Khalig Canal, and when the level of the Nile nearly reached this height, a party of workmen thinned the upper portion of the dam at sunrise on the day following the "completion of the Nile," and immediately afterwards a boat was rowed against it, and, breaking the dam, passed through it with the current. The history of Egypt shows that in all periods the country has suffered from severe famines, which have been caused by successions of "low" Niles. Thus a terrible seven years' famine began in A.D. 1066, and lasted till 1072. Dogs, cats, horses, mules, vermin fetched extravagant prices, and the people of Cairo killed and ate each other, and human flesh was sold in the public markets. In Genesis xli, we have another example of a seven years' famine, and still an older one is mentioned in an inscription cut upon a rock on the Island of Sâhal in the First Cataract. According to the text, this famine took place in the reign of Tcheser, a king of the IIIrd dynasty, about B.C. 4000, because there had been no satisfactory inundation of the Nile for seven years. The king says that by reason of this, grain was very scarce, vegetables To these must now be added the Barrage at Esna. and garden produce of every description could not be obtained, the people had nothing to eat, and men were everywhere robbing their neighbours. Children wailed for food, young men had no strength to move, strong men collapsed for want of sustenance, and the aged lay in despair on the ground waiting for death. The king wrote to Matar, the Governor of the First Cataract, where the Nile was believed to rise, and asked him to enquire of Khnemu, the god of the Cataract, why such calamities were allowed to fall on the country. Subsequently the king visited Elephantine, and was received by Khnemu, the god of the Cataract, who told him that the Nile had failed to rise because the worship of the gods of the Cataract had been neglected. The king promised to dedicate offerings regularly to their temples in future, and, having kept his promise, the Nile rose and covered the land, and filled the country with prosperity. Egyptian Geography. From time immemorial Egypt has been divided into two parts, viz., the Land of the South, Ta-Resu, , and the Land of the North, Ta-Meḥt, I The Land of the South is Upper Egypt, and its northern limit in modern times is Cairo; the Land of the North is Lower Egypt, ie., the Delta, and its southern limit is Cairo. The ancient Egyptians divided the Land of the South into twenty-two parts, and the Land of the North into twenty parts; a word which each such part was called Hesp Each nome was to all intents the Greeks rendered by nome. and purposes a little complete kingdom. It was governed by a heq, 4, or chief man, and it contained a capital town in which was the seat of the god of the nome and the priesthood, and every heq administered his hesp as he pleased. The number of the nomes given by Greek and Roman writers varies between thirty-six and forty-four. In late times Egypt was divided into three parts, Upper, Central, and Lower Egypt; Central Egypt consisted of seven nomes, and was therefore called Heptanomis. The nomes were: POLIS. 13. Am-f-khent. Saut. LYKOPOLIS. Asyût. Ap-uat. 14. Am-f-peḥ. 15. Unt. 16. Maḥetch. 17. Anpu (?). 18. Sept. 19. Bu-tchamui. 20. Am-Khent. 21. Am-peḥ. 22. Maten. 1 Names printed in heavy type are Egyptian; those in capitals are Greek, and those in italics are the names by which the places are known by the modern Arabs. |