Britannica Sources used in this answer

How did Darius I connect the Nile River to the Red Sea?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

View of Utrecht's Oude Gracht canal lined with historic brick buildings, arched doorways at water level, and boats moored along the canal edge in the Netherlands. — canals and inland waterways The *Oudegracht* (Old Canal), Utrecht, Netherlands.

In the 5th century BCE, the Persian king Darius I constructed a canal that linked the Nile River to the Red Sea.1

While this specific project is attributed to Darius, it was part of a long history of hydraulic engineering in the region. The initial infrastructure, often referred to as the Canal of the Pharaohs, originated around 1850 BCE as an irrigation channel in the Wadi Tumelat. This channel was later extended by the Ptolemies to reach the Red Sea via the Bitter Lakes, with a northward arm connecting to a former branch of the Nile.2