Turning the Sahara Green: The Potential Impact on History and the World

🌿The Sahara Desert has transitioned between a desert and a grassland multiple times in the past few hundred thousand years.

🌍Turning the Sahara green would have a significant impact on human history and the world, enabling the expansion of ancient empires and opening up new colonization opportunities.

📚Ancient empires, including Egypt, Carthage, and the Islamic empires, surrounded the Sahara but failed to control or expand beyond the desert.

🔬Scientific evidence suggests that the next natural greening of the Sahara will occur in about 15,000 years, based on long-term changes in Earth's rotation.

🌊A plan developed nearly 100 years ago aimed to create an artificial sea in Egypt to turn the Sahara green, but the idea was never fully realized.

Has the Sahara always been a desert?

—No, the Sahara has switched back and forth between a desert and a grassland multiple times in the past few hundred thousand years.

When will the next natural greening of the Sahara occur?

—Based on scientific evidence, the next natural greening of the Sahara will occur in about 15,000 years.

How would turning the Sahara green impact human history?

—Turning the Sahara green would enable the expansion of ancient empires, allowing them to extend their influence deep into the African heartland.

What challenges did ancient empires face in expanding beyond the Sahara?

—The Sahara Desert acted as a significant barrier to travel between the Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan Africa, preventing ancient empires from expanding beyond the desert.

What was the plan to turn the Sahara green?

—A plan developed nearly 100 years ago involved creating an artificial sea in Egypt as a means to turn the Sahara green. However, the plan was never fully realized.

00:00The Sahara Desert, an expansive area almost the size of the United States, was once a green grassland.

00:31The Sahara has switched between a desert and a grassland multiple times in the past few hundred thousand years due to long-term changes in Earth's rotation.

01:19In an alternate history scenario where the Sahara is green, ancient empires like Egypt, Carthage, and the Islamic empires could have expanded their influence deep into the African heartland.

01:37The Sahara Desert has always been a formidable barrier for travel between the Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan Africa, hindering ancient empires' expansion beyond the desert.

01:50A plan developed nearly 100 years ago proposed creating an artificial sea in Egypt to turn the Sahara green, but the idea was never fully realized.