Egyptian agriculture drew upon
wheat and barley, which reached Egypt from Mesopotamia, as well as
gourds, watermelons, domesticated donkeys, and cattle, which derived
from Sudan. Some scholars argue that Egypt's steep pyramids and its
system of writing were stimulated by Mesopotamian models. The practice
of divine kingship seems to have derived form the central or eastern
Sudan. Ind-Europeans Hittites—and pastorals—Hyksos-- influenced
both Egypt and Mesopotamia (Babylonia) by bringing with them the
domesticated horse, wheeled carts, and chariot technology, which were
introduced into their own military forces. The Egyptians absorbed
foreign innovations, such as the horse-drawn chariot; new kinds of
armor, bows, daggers, and swords; improved methods of spinning and
weaving; new musical instruments; and olive and pomegranate trees. After
expelling the Hyksos, the Egyptians went on to create their own empire,
both in Nubia and in the eastern Mediterranean regions of Syria and
Palestine. The Babylonian and Egyptian Empires were also bound together
by marriage alliances as part of an international political system.
