Not only did ancient Egypt have a sufficient amount of food to supply for themselves, they also had such a surplus, that they could supply their neighbors with their grain. First and foremost, having a food surplus wasn’t the most common because usually civilizations only had what was necessary, instead of extra. Also, Egypt is in the middle of a desert, so them having a surplus in grains is far from what would be expected. Egypt is sometimes referred to as the “Breadbasket” of the ancient world because of this. Lake Victoria was in the middle of a rain forest, causing a lot of water in the Lake, which eventually flowed North to Egypt. Lake Tana was elevated so high, that snow melted on the mountain, and the water flowed west to the Mediterranean
