A fantasy map inspired by Ancient Egypt

[Rene]

First-time map-maker here. I've created a map for an Ancient Egypt-esque fantasy setting, and I'd love your feedback!

The first continent on the upper part of the map was inspired by Africa, but flipped so that north was south and south was north. I wanted a landmass like Eurasia, so I added that to the south of "Africa". I needed islands for a sea-faring people, so I threw in some of those as well.

As far as feedback goes, I'd really love to know, first and foremost, if the map is believable. Does it feel accurate? Have I made any glaring errors with the rivers or the mountains or the climates?

I'd also like any creative suggestions you might have. I need to keep the Egypt-type setting with the Nile and the desert, and I need another nearby continent with colder weather, and I need islands, but other than that, I'm open to ideas! Any advice on making the map more original or interesting?

The map isn't the prettiest thing right now, but I figured I'd ask for opinions on the bare bones before I spend a lot of time making it look better .

Thanks very much in advance!

[Larb]

(The image is rather small)

Hard to say regarding biome especially as this is basically reversed. I feel there should be a lot more upland territory (I know a lot of stuff feeds into the nile - it is a huge river system with a delta at the end that shifted a lot over its history - even causing entire delta cities to be relocated).

Is your "fantasy eqypt" a bronze culture with a focus on chariot warfare or is it a more later version of egypt? I know ancient eqypt benefited from being traditionally geographically isolated but this was also a double edged sword.

[Rene]

(The image is rather small)

Hard to say regarding biome especially as this is basically reversed. I feel there should be a lot more upland territory (I know a lot of stuff feeds into the nile - it is a huge river system with a delta at the end that shifted a lot over its history - even causing entire delta cities to be relocated).

Is your "fantasy eqypt" a bronze culture with a focus on chariot warfare or is it a more later version of egypt? I know ancient eqypt benefited from being traditionally geographically isolated but this was also a double edged sword.

Good point about the delta. I’ll have to think about that when I start placing cities. From my (limited) understanding, the Nile came from two places – the Ethiopian highlands and the rainforests. I tried to mimic that in reverse. If I add more land up north, do you think I should extend the rivers to show how many sources there are to the "Nile"?

I'd say it's set in the iron age, like in the New Kingdom of Egypt, when there was more interaction between cultures.

(Sorry about the image size. When I’d started drawing, it was only later that I realized it was way too small).

[Larb]

Good point about the delta. I’ll have to think about that when I start placing cities. From my (limited) understanding, the Nile came from two places – the Ethiopian highlands and the rainforests. I tried to mimic that in reverse. If I add more land up north, do you think I should extend the rivers to show how many sources there are to the "Nile"?

I suppose it depends on your level of detail - you can probably just indicate the main ones really. I went and looked up "Nile Basin" in google and there are some pretty good but not overly detailed maps of the river system if you are looking for inspiration.

Regarding the delta - I recall reading about things like the capital being moved to Tanis after a branch of the delta had silted up leaving them with no water supply and situations like this happened to towns and cities on more than one occasion. Those sorts of occurrences might be useful in your fictional background.

[Korash]

Looks like a nice start, but I will pull out my badge (A rare occasion I might add) on the river system you have running through that middle part of the map.

From what I see (and the small size might have me seeing it wrong) it looks like it runs the length with a crossing river. It also seems to hit the seas in 4 or 5 places. things like this do not happen in "the real world" as rivers flow from high ground to the low lands and then to sea level. The only time that there would be water connecting both sides of a land mass would be (and I am not a tectonics expert by any stretch so might be wrong in this) where you have a landmass in the process of either splitting apart or moving together. If there was a spine of low mountains or hills along the center of that mass, you could have those rivers starting in that and then run to the sea. Most rivers will have many tributaries, but only the one connection to the sea. Deltas are not really an exception to that rule as the delta itself IS the connection to the sea.

Think of a river as a tree, with the many branches as the tributaries in the high ground and joining together to make the trunk (the main river) which then flows to the ground (the sea), and any roots that you see going into the ground as a delta for that river...

[Rene]

Think of a river as a tree, with the many branches as the tributaries in the high ground and joining together to make the trunk (the main river) which then flows to the ground (the sea), and any roots that you see going into the ground as a delta for that river...

That's got to be the best river metaphor I've heard yet... granted, I'm new and I haven't heard many, but picturing it like a tree really helps me understand the way rivers form.

I'll take a close look at that middle section (and the other rivers as well). It makes sense for each river to have one connection to the sea like you described.

Thanks for the helpful feedback . I can tell you've earned your badge!

I suppose it depends on your level of detail - you can probably just indicate the main ones really. I went and looked up "Nile Basin" in google and there are some pretty good but not overly detailed maps of the river system if you are looking for inspiration.

Regarding the delta - I recall reading about things like the capital being moved to Tanis after a branch of the delta had silted up leaving them with no water supply and situations like this happened to towns and cities on more than one occasion. Those sorts of occurrences might be useful in your fictional background.

Thanks - I Googled "nile basin" and found some good resources.

Yeah, that's a good idea about the delta. If a branch dries up and a city needs to relocate, that'll add more depth to the story, along with the typical worries about whether the annual floods will be too high or too low. Definitely something for me to keep in mind .