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Nile Floods
The flooding of the Nile has been an important natural cycle in Egypt since ancient times. It is celebrated by Egyptians as an annual holiday for two weeks starting August 15, known as ''Wafaa El-Nil''. It is also celebrated in the Coptic Church by ceremonially throwing a martyr's relic into the river, hence the name, The Martyr's Finger (, ). The flooding of the Nile was poetically described in myth as Isis's tears of sorrow for Osiris when killed by their brother Set. Flooding cycle The flooding of the Nile is the result of the yearly monsoon between May and August causing enormous precipitations on the Ethiopian Highlands whose summits reach heights of up to 4550 m (14,928 ft). Most of this rainwater is taken by the Blue Nile and by the Atbarah River into the Nile, while a less important amount flows through the Sobat and the White Nile into the Nile. During this short period, those rivers contribute up to ninety percent of the water of the Nile and most of the sedimentati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atbarah River
The Atbarah River ( ar, نهر عطبرة; transliterated: Nahr 'Atbarah), also known as the Black Nile, is a river in northeast Africa. It rises in northwest Ethiopia, approximately 50 km north of Lake Tana and 30 km west of Gondar. It then flows about 805 km (500 mi) to the Nile in north-central Sudan, joining it at the city of Atbarah (). The river's tributary, the Tekezé (Setit) River, is perhaps the true upper course of the Atbarah, as the Tekezé follows the longer course prior to the confluence of the two rivers (at 14° 10' N, 36° E) in northeastern Sudan. The Atbarah is the last tributary of the Nile before it reaches the Mediterranean. For much of the year, it is little more than a stream. However, during the rainy season (generally June to October), the Atbarah rises some 18 ft (5 m) above its normal level. At this time it forms a formidable barrier between the northern and central districts of the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Besides the T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Antiquity
Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English has generally been credited to historian Peter Brown, after the publication of his seminal work '' The World of Late Antiquity'' (1971). Precise boundaries for the period are a continuing matter of debate, but Brown proposes a period between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Generally, it can be thought of as from the end of the Roman Empire's Crisis of the Third Century (235–284) to the early Muslim conquests (622–750), or as roughly contemporary with the Sasanian Empire (224–651). In the West its end was earlier, with the start of the Early Middle Ages typically placed in the 6th century, or earlier on the edges of the Western Roman Empire. The Roman Empire underwent considerable social, cultural and organizational changes starting wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when dry, and lacks plasticity when wet. Silt also can be felt by the tongue as granular when placed on the front teeth (even when mixed with clay particles). Silt is a common material, making up 45% of average modern mud. It is found in many river deltas and as wind-deposited accumulations, particularly in central Asia, north China, and North America. It is produced in both very hot climates (through such processes as collisions of quartz grains in dust storms) and very cold climates (through such processes as glacial grinding of quartz grains.) Loess is soil rich in silt which makes up some of the most fertile agricultural land on Earth. However, silt is very vulnerable to erosion, and it has poor mechanical properties, making construction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cataracts Of The Nile
The Cataracts of the Nile are shallow lengths (or whitewater rapids) of the Nile river, between Khartoum and Aswan, where the surface of the water is broken by many small boulders and stones jutting out of the river bed, as well as many rocky islets. In some places, these stretches are punctuated by whitewater, while at others the water flow is smoother but still shallow. The Six Cataracts Counted going upstream (from north to south): In Egypt: *The First Cataract cuts through Aswan (). Its former location was selected for the construction of Aswan Low Dam, the first dam built across the Nile. In Sudan: *The Second Cataract (or Great Cataract) was in Nubia and is now submerged under Lake Nasser. () *The Third Cataract is at Tombos/Hannek. () *The Fourth Cataract is in the Manasir Desert, and since 2008, is submerged under the reservoir of Merowe Dam. () *The Fifth Cataract is near the confluence of the Nile and Atbarah Rivers. () *The Sixth Cataract is where the Nile cuts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egyptian Calendar
The ancient Egyptian calendar – a civil calendar – was a solar calendar with a 365-day year. The year consisted of three seasons of 120 days each, plus an intercalary month of five epagomenal days treated as outside of the year proper. Each season was divided into four months of 30 days. These twelve months were initially numbered within each season but came to also be known by the names of their principal festivals. Each month was divided into three 10-day periods known as decans or decades. It has been suggested that during the Nineteenth Dynasty and the Twentieth Dynasty the last two days of each decan were usually treated as a kind of weekend for the royal craftsmen, with royal artisans free from work. Because this calendrical year was nearly a quarter of a day shorter than the solar year, the Egyptian calendar lost about one day every four years relative to the Gregorian calendar. It is therefore sometimes referred to as the ( la, annus vagus), as its months rotated a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sirius
Sirius is the list of brightest stars, brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek language, Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinisation of names, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Alpha CMa or α CMa. With a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, Sirius is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. Sirius is a binary star consisting of a main-sequence star of spectral type A-type main-sequence star, A0 or A1, termed Sirius A, and a faint white dwarf companion of spectral type DA2, termed Sirius B. The distance between the two varies between 8.2 and 31.5 astronomical units as they orbit every 50 years. Sirius appears bright because of its intrinsic luminosity and its proximity to the Solar System. At a distance of , the Sirius system is one of Earth's List of nearest stars, nearest neighbours. Sirius is gradually moving closer to the Solar S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heliacal Rising
The heliacal rising ( ) or star rise of a star occurs annually, or the similar phenomenon of a planet, when it first becomes visible above the eastern horizon at dawn just before sunrise (thus becoming "the morning star") after a complete orbit of the earth around the sun. Historically, the most important such rising is that of Sirius, which was an important feature of the Egyptian calendar and astronomical development. The rising of the Pleiades heralded the start of the Ancient Greek sailing season, using celestial navigation. Cause and significance Relative to the stars, the sun appears to drift eastward about one degree per day along a path called the ecliptic because there are 360 degrees in any complete revolution (circle), which takes about 365 days in the case of one revolution of the earth around the sun. Any given "distant" star in the belt of the ecliptic will be visible at night for only half of the year, when it will always remain below the horizon. During the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Season Of The Harvest
The Season of the Harvest or Low Water was the third and final season of the lunar and civil Egyptian calendars. It fell after the Season of the Emergence (') and before the spiritually dangerous intercalary month ('), after which the New Year's festivities began the Season of the Inundation (''Ꜣḫt''). In the modern Coptic calendar it falls between Tobi 11 and Paoni 11. Names The Season of the Harvest was known to the Egyptians themselves as "LowWater" ( egy, Šmw), variously transliterated as Shemu or Shomu, in reference to the state of the Nile before the beginning of its annual flood. It is also referred to as Summer or the Dry Season. Lunar calendar In the lunar calendar, the intercalary month was added as needed to maintain the heliacal rising of Sirius in the fourth month of this season. This meant that the Season of the Harvest usually lasted from May to September. Because the precise timing of the flood varied, the months of "Low Water" no longer precisely re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Season Of The Emergence
The Season of the Emergence ( egy, Prt) was the second season of the lunar and civil Egyptian calendars. It fell after the Season of the Inundation (') and before the Season of the Harvest ('). In the modern Coptic calendar, the season falls between Paopi 10 and Tobi 10. Names The pronunciation of the Ancient Egyptian name for the Season of the Emergence is uncertain as the hieroglyphs do not record its vowels. It is conventionally transliterated Peret or Proyet. The name refers to the emergence of the fertile land beside the Nile from its annual flood and to the growth of vegetation and crops over the following season. It is also known as Winter. Lunar calendar In the lunar calendar, the intercalary month was added as needed to maintain the heliacal rising of Sirius in the fourth month of the Season of the Harvest. This meant that the Season of the Emergence usually lasted from January to May. Because the precise timing of the flood varied, the months of "Emergence" no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Season Of The Inundation
The Season of the Inundation or Flood ( egy, Ꜣḫt) was the first season of the lunar and civil Egyptian calendars. It fell after the intercalary month of Days over the Year ('). and before the Season of the Emergence ('). In the modern Coptic Calendar, this season lasts from Paoni 12 to Paopi 9. Names The pronunciation of the ancient Egyptian name for the Season of the Inundation is uncertain as the hieroglyphs do not record its vowels. It is conventionally transliterated Akhet. The name refers to the annual flooding of the Nile. Lunar calendar In the lunar calendar, the intercalary month was added as needed to maintain the heliacal rising of Sirius in the fourth month of the season of the Harvest. This meant that the Season of the Inundation usually lasted from September to January. Because the precise timing of the flood varied, the months of "Inundation" no longer precisely reflected the state of the river but the season was usually the time of the annual flooding. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aswan
Aswan (, also ; ar, أسوان, ʾAswān ; cop, Ⲥⲟⲩⲁⲛ ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city has expanded and includes the formerly separate community on the island of Elephantine. Aswan includes five monuments within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae (despite Aswan being neither Nubian, nor between Abu Simbel and Philae); these are the Old and Middle Kingdom tombs of Qubbet el-Hawa, the town of Elephantine, the stone quarries and Unfinished Obelisk, the Monastery of St. Simeon and the Fatimid Cemetery. The city's Nubian Museum is an important archaeological center, containing finds from the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia prior to the Aswan Dam's flooding of all of Lower Nubia. The city is part of the UNESCO Cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
