The lack of geographical barriers makes it difficult for the most powerful cities to retain their power; how a succession of empires rise and fall, leaving behind legacies ranging from the use of intimidation in warfare to seafaring and astrology.

An introduction to Egypt reveals a civilization shaped by geography; how the Nile's annual flooding, though creating a fertile strip amounting to three percent of Egypt, permits civilization to thrive in an otherwise uninhabitable desert.

How Egyptian views of death and tombs change with the kingdom's occupation by, and eventual expulsion of, the Hyksos; examining how the differences between the Egyptian and Mesopotamian environments may influence their visions of the afterlife.