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Every human civilization has always needed two basic resources to develop itself up to the highest levels, even in the most ancient times; the first was water and the second was fertile land.
Wherever there's the water, there's also fertile land for agriculture and animal breeding and this is possible just along the valleys of the main rivers that provide people with water for all their needs, directly from the river or, better, from the underground layers by means of wells, natural water sources and minor rivers.

Fundamental was the role of great rivers like the Nile, the Tigris and the Euphrates in Mesopotamia, the Indus and Ganges in India, the Mekong in Indochina, the Seine for Paris and the Rhine and Danube for Central Europe, especially starting from the Middle Age until today and also not very long rivers like the Tiber were important for Roman civilization.

A river was also an important communication way for the commercial activities of the ancient civilizations, fundamental for their economy; through the rivers, the agriculture, breeding and mineral products and their derivatives (like amphorae, jewels, fabrics, can be carried, sold or exchanged in other Countries around the same river or transported toward the sea, where they could be embarked to reach the farthest regions of the Mediterranean Sea and even India and China from Mesopotamia.

In the ancient Egypt, all the products of its economy were carried along the Nile to the Delta and from there, embarked to get every land of the Mediterranean Sea.
Let's remember that the fertile land strip around the Nile were only 10-20 Km wide (except for the Delta area); elsewhere, there was only the desert, except for only few oasis.

When Egypt become a Roman province (31 B.C.), it was the main wheat producer of the Empire and this product was carried to the sea along the Nile.
Also the precious Egyptian marble was carried to the Mediterranean Sea through the same way, then, embarked in Alexandria and sent to Rome for the building of its splendid palaces, villas and temples.

We can understand, at this point, why the relations of many civilizations with their rivers have always been very deep.
The river was considered a divinity, a life generator and everything was made to manage and predict its behaviour.
Rivers, in fact, could give pacifically their energy or unchain it with violent floods spreading death along their valley, after having given the life.
At the opposite, the river's drought could cause a terrible

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