Essay Sample about Geography of Ancient Civilizations

One of the most significant impacts on the ancient civilizations of Greece, Rome, and China was their geography. The landforms guided the evolution and establishment of these civilizations. In fact, geography affected everything from trading to conquering to civilization's safety. The geography of ancient civilizations thousands of years ago, the natural barriers, the water sources, and the mountains shaped their reality.

ROME

Rome’s geography, rivers, and natural landforms were essential to the ancient civilization’s existence. Rome was a civilization in modern-day Italy which is a boot-shaped peninsula in southern Europe. The Ancient Roman civilization was founded in the 8th century BC and survived until its collapse in the 5th century AD. As stated by the supplemental text ‘Geography and Maps Ancient Rome’ ‘It began as a tiny village along the Tiber River. It was an excellent location, with seven hills offering a natural defensive barrier.’ The seven hills were the Palatine, Capitoline, Aventine, Caelian, Esquiline, Quirinal, and the Viminal. Sourced in Mount Fumaiolo, the Tiber River ran between Rome and Florence supplying the largest freshwater source for the civilization. The river provided water for drinking, bathing, and farming. Additionally, the Tiber river bestowed a waterway for trading routes. The Tiber River was one of the keys to ancient Rome's survival. ‘Rome was protected by two mountain ranges, the Alps and the Apennines’ says supplemental text ‘Geography and Maps Ancient Rome.’ The Alps and the Apennines provided a natural barrier preventing numerous invasions. Although they were distinct, Greece and Rome had remarkably similar geographical features. Rome consisted of rocky valleys and steep coastlines where most of the ancient Romans settled, and a hot climate. Rome also had a limited freshwater supply because traveling through all the landforms to get to the rivers was very difficult. The seas around Rome, specifically the Adriatic and Mediterranean seas provided food and communication passages. Rome eventually became an empire that reached all around the Mediterranean Sea and its geography played a big role.

GREECE

The geography, climate, and natural resources of Ancient Greece had a tremendous influence in determining what it is today. Greece sits on the Balkan peninsula of Europe. There are multiple islands and seas that encircle it. Greece's neighbors include Italy, separated by the Adriatic Sea to the north, and the Ionian islands in the Ionian sea, connected to the Mediterranean sea. According to the supplemental text ‘Geography of Ancient Greece’ ‘Greece has lots of mountains. They are not huge mountains like the Alps. Nevertheless, they are big enough to provide two important things - a source of freshwater, running down the mountains in creeks and streams, and a system of natural defense barriers’ The western spine of ancient Greece is the Pindus mountain range. The east of ancient Greece had the Thecily mountain range which includes Mt. Olympus. Two of the rivers sourced in the Pindus mountain range were the Achelous and Mégdhova rivers. Twelve mountain ranges total covered ancient Greece. This caused traveling through Greece to be an arduous task. All the mountains also caused only 20% of the land to be livable. Although this is such a minor amount of land, the ancient Greeks made the best of it. As stated by the supplemental text ‘Ancient Greece ’ ‘The ancient Greek farmers grew crops that would survive in this environment - wheat, barley, olives, and grapes. The many hills and mountains provided shrubs to feed herds of cattle and sheep.’ Because they couldn’t travel through the mountains, the Greeks traded by sea routes on the Black and Aegean seas. They also settled on coastlines and grew crops that require minimal water. The climate in Ancient Greece was hot and humid so as said in the supplemental text ‘Ancient Greece Geography’ ‘Because it was so hot, most people wore lightweight clothing throughout most of the year. They would put on a cloak or wrap during the colder days of the winter months.’ Eventually, under the rule of Alexander the Great, Greece expanded into a large empire

CHINA

The development of China was affected by its geography. China is the 3rd largest country on earth and it has every type of climate from dry to temperate to cold. Ancient China is bordered by 14 other countries but as the supplemental text ‘Geography of China’ says ‘isolated by their many natural barriers.’ At the southwest border of China, are the Himalayas forming a border between them and the rest of southwest Asia. In between the Himalayas is the Tibet Plateau which is China's border at the west and at 14,000 feet, the highest plateau in the world. The famous Mt. Everest, part of the Himalayan mountain range, was first measured at 29,002 feet but has jumped 27 feet to the most recent measurement of 29,029 feet. The Gobi desert, south of the Mongolian plateaus and north of China, was a very vast expanse of land and provided a natural barrier as very few dared to cross it. Some of the other landforms in Ancient China included the Kunlun mountains, the Taklimakan Desert, and the Mongolian plateau. The Kunlun mountains made up around a fourth of the land in Ancient China causing farming to be difficult due to the reduced amount of flat ground. The Taklimakan Desert was in northwest China. It had a cold desert climate and got as low as -4 degrees in the winter. Its name translates to ‘once you get in you will never get out.’ The Mongolian plateau dipped into China at 2 parts of the border in the north. At the east of Ancient China was the Pacific Ocean. According to the supplemental text ‘Geography of China’ ‘The Pacific Ocean is a pretty big place, and few of the early Chinese mariners attempted to explore the Pacific in the early days of China's development,’ proving the ocean to be a successful natural barrier. Although the natural barriers were very successful in keeping invaders out, they also made leaving Ancient China difficult. As the supplemental text ‘Ancient China Geography’ says, ‘major rivers were a great source of freshwater, food, fertile soil, and transportation.’ Most of the agriculture in Ancient Greece was grown between two major rivers that were sourced in the Tibet Plateau. The Huang He, also known as the Yellow River, runs 2,900 miles. Its name comes from the color of the silt that builds every year when the river floods. South of the Yellow River is the Yangtze River. The Yangtze River is the 3rd largest river in the world. Both rivers flowed east into the Yellow Sea. They provided fertile land, soil, fish, hem, rice, and yellow loess/silt which is similar to the black silt in Egypt. Villages settled around the rivers for farming. The Ancient Chinese had all this agriculture and other sources of food too. Beyond the peninsula of Korea, the Japanese Sea collides with the Yellow Sea providing food like fish and crustaceans. 

CONCLUSION

Rome, Greece, and China had a source of water, natural barriers, and food sources which they discovered in their own way. I believe that the landforms in these civilizations were and still are a vital part of a feasible civilization. As much as these civilizations were distinct, they contained specifics that made them alike and prosperous.