Find out why the ancient Egyptian Empire owed its success to to the River Nile. People and places - Physical geography - Rivers Learning Points The fertile floodplain of the River Nile allowed ancient Egyptians to grow their own food. The River Nile provided Egyptians with drinking water, fish, reeds, and papyrus. A Twig Context Film. Reinforce and extend the learning required by the curriculum. Twig’s context films show abstract concepts in action in the real world.