I thought it was because land around the river is more fertile than in the rest of the desert
Comment on Who cleans the toilets in Gault's Gulch?
impairedimperator@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
There was a theory (disputed and in some cases discredited) that basically said this is why most historical empires started around a river surrounded by desert. Their subjects were more willing to put up with oppression because going somewhere else was hard.
boonhet@sopuli.xyz 1 day ago
rbos@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
It’s really easy to think of examples of that, wow. I don’t fully buy it but i can see how it could be a factor in some civs.
rumschlumpel@feddit.org 1 day ago
My first thought is that that kind of location also makes invading harder. For thousands of years, armies had to acquire most of their provisions on the road because logistics are hard when you’re marching thousands of people on foot, and “acquire” usually meant “steal” even on home territory.