When it comes to historical development, it is worth noting that favourable geographical conditions laid the foundation of the ancient civilizations. Physical geography explained the early appearance of advanced culture in ancient times.
Compared with Egypt and Babylonia, China and India in some respects experienced worse conditions. According to Smith et al. (2012), relatively fertile soil and warm climate made Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indian subcontinent and China favorable for the emergence of civilization. Nevertheless, the geographical distribution of these cultural oases were not that beneficial to their future value in world history. For example, China and India were separated by a number of high mountain ranges. Mesopotamia and Egypt were less divided among themselves, as they were located on the road from one country to another. However, in the southwest corner of Asia and the northeast part of Africa, there were optimum conditions for a transition from a period of river civilizations to the maritime ones (Smith et al., 2012). The same phenomenon with some local peculiarities is connected with Mesopotamian civilization, since it is the remarkable analogy to the geographical location of ancient capitals. Due to natural conditions of Egypt, huge increase in agricultural productivity took place. Rivers connected together different parts of a country, thus creating opportunities for trade with its neighbors.
Geographical peculiarities of ancient civilizations are rather varied. Obviously, not all ancient civilizations were affected by rivers, but each of them faced difficulties associated with the characteristics of the terrain and climate. At the end of the glacial period, African Asian area began to experience severe climate change, leading to desiccation of the land. Thus, the process of desiccation was a challenge that resulted in the emergence of civilizations.
References
Smith, B. G., Van De Mieroop, M., von Glahn, R., & Lane, K. (2012). Crossroads and cultures, volume I: To 1450: A history of the world's peoples. Bedford/St. Martin's.
