When the Egyptians were trying to make the pyramids they were using boats to transport stones from the quarry to the building site. The Mesopotamians kept attacking them and tried to stop the Egyptians from getting stones to the building site. To solve this problem, the Egyptians made battleships to transport cargo and crew from the quarry to the building site in safety. The Egyptians had oars and sails on their battleships, but the Mesopotamian’s battleships had only sails. Oars are good for moving when the wind isn’t blowing, but the sails need wind to work. In battle, the Egyptians could move when the wind was and wasn’t blowing, but the Mesopotamians could only move when the wind was blowing. Because of the sails and oars on the Egyptians battleships, they were able to defend against the Mesopotamians and deliver the stone to the building sites.