Ancient Egypt is still a source of mystery to many of us and scientists keep discovering new information every single day. A new study connected Egyptian rebellions with natural disasters which took place many years ago. A team of researchers from Trinity College lead by historian Francis Ludlow conducted a study which analyzed meteorological phenomenon, natural disasters and life in ancient Egypt and their conclusion was that natural disasters were the cause of many changes, including revolutions.
Ancient Egypt
During the Ptolemaic Dynasty, Egyptians revolted several times in 200 years and if in the past historians believed it was due to the fact that they were ruled by a Greek family, a new result shows that it was due to volcano eruptions. The Trinity College research team believes that the volcanic eruptions in the 200s BCE were responsible for the civil uproar due to the fact that ashes and particles caused the temperatures to cool all over the globe. This fact resulted in less rain and thus less agricultural productivity. The Egyptian agriculture was dependent of the Nile River.
During years with low rainfall, the people of Egypt would suffer from hunger as they were absolutely dependent on the river. Therefore, this situation caused rebellions such as the “Theban revolt” in 207 BCE and the “Egyptian revolt” between 245-238 BCE.
How did the researchers reach this conclusion?
Before reaching this result, Ludlow and his team gathered data from many sources such as historical records, edicts issued during the Ptolemaic government and several others. Their research led to volcano eruptions and to make sure they were right, they analyzed the records of the Nile river in the 20th century, the one kept by the Islamic Nilometer from 622-1902 BCE and the connection became more than clear.
