How would the History of Africa changed if the Sahara did not become a gigantic desert?

**Roderick F** · 07-06-2009, 04:08 PM

10,000 years ago, the Sahara desert was a grassland with lakes and was teeming with animals

**Nobody Special** · 07-06-2009, 04:35 PM

That would have had such a colossal impact that I don't think there's any way to determine what might have been. I mean, prehistoric humans might not have felt so pressing a need to migrate to the rest of the world if the conditions in so large a part of Africa were livable. That would have resulted in a completely different history of the world as a whole, never mind just Africa.

**imported_Naz F** · 07-06-2009, 05:35 PM

Not just Africa, but Europe would be impacted as well by such a change; for the climate of southern Europe is heavily influenced by hot, dry winds from the Sahara. With the climate considerable cooler because of this, and receiving more cloud-cover, they would be able to produce less food...which would heavily impact on the strength of the Greek and Roman civilizations.

The civilization of ancient Egypt would be heavily impacted as well; as the Sahara served as a natural protective barrier for her.

Do you feel this going somewhere? With Egypt, Greece, and Rome strongly reduced in strength, that meant the ancient world would be dominated by....Persia. The whole battle of Thermopylae would have been an empty skirmish; all of Western civilization would have a definitely more 'eastern' look.

(Not to mention, without the influence of Greece and Rome
in northern Europe, Celtic culture would be more important.)