How do we know about the Incas? What were Inca towns and cities like? What was the “lost city of the Incas”? Geography Matters in the Inca Empire looks at how the Inca Empire changed through time and gives fascinating insights into many different aspects of Inca life through its geography. Read about how the mountainous Inca geography led to their development of terrace farming, how the Incas worshipped the mountain peaks as gods and how the size of their Empire meant they built thousands of miles of roads and bridges to connect their people.

How did a volcanic eruption put an end to Minoan civilization? What crops did the Ancient Greeks grow? How did city-states form around the Greek empire? Geography Matters in Ancient Greece looks at how the Greek Empire changed through time and gives fascinating insights into many different aspects of Greek life through its geography. Read about how the hot climate affected the crops that Greeks could grow and the housing and clothing they needed, how the Mycenaeans were able to protect themselves from attackers by using the natural features of their landscape and their natural resources of stone and how its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea helped the Greek Empire in trading and in strengthening their military might.

Why did Roman towns have bathhouses? Why was Rome at great risk from fires? What happened to the town of Pompeii in AD 79? Geography Matters in Ancient Rome looks at how the Roman Empire changed through time and gives fascinating insights into many different aspects of Roman life through its geography. Read about how the Romans invented new farming methods such as a harvesting machine called a vallus, how some women in the Roman Empire had more freedom than in other civilizations, even running their husbands’ businesses for them when they were away, and how the Empire was strengthened by the fact that the different climates, soils and terrain produced a huge range of goods and resources.

How did the River Nile shape Egyptian life? What is a shaduf and what was it used for? How did the Ancient Egyptians make papyrus paper? Geography Matters in Ancient Egypt looks at how the Egyptian Empire changed through time and gives fascinating insights into many different aspects of Egyptian life through its geography. Read about how the Egyptians made use of desert oases, how they found and used resources such as limestone and granite for building pyramids in desert areas, and how early Egyptian settlers who had decided to build in areas around the River Nile prevented their houses from flooding.

This fascinating series looks at how the development of various ancient civilizations was largely affected by their physical geography. Presenting facts by asking questions encourages the reader to think about how and why events happened and encourage them to think about how geography affects their own way of life, and the reasons why geography might not be as influential today as it was in ancient times.