We present high-resolution records for oxygen isotopes of the planktic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber (δ18Oruber), and bulk sediment inorganic geochemistry for Holocene-age sediments from the southeast Mediterranean. Our δ18Oruber record appears to be dominated by Nile discharge rather than basin-scale salinity/temperature changes. Nile discharge was enhanced in the early- to mid-Holocene relative to today. The timing of the long-term maximum in Nile discharge during the early-Holocene corresponds to the timing of maximum intensity of the Indian Ocean-influenced Southwest Indian summer Monsoon (SIM). This coincidence suggests a major influence of an Indian Ocean moisture source on Nile discharge in the early- to mid-Holocene, while, presently, the Atlantic Ocean is the main moisture source. Nile discharge was highly variable on multi-centennial timescale during the early- to mid-Holocene, being strongly influenced by variable solar activity. This solar-driven variability is also recorded in contemporaneous SIM records, however not observed in an Atlantic Ocean-derived West African summer monsoon record from the Holocene. This supports the hypothesis that the Indian Ocean moisture source predominantly controlled Nile discharge at that time. Solar-driven variability in Nile discharge also influenced paleoenvironmental conditions in the eastern Mediterranean. Bulk sediment Ba/Al and V/Al, used as indicators for (export) productivity and redox conditions, respectively, varied both in response to solar forcing on multi-centennial timescales. We suggest that changes in Nile discharge on these timescales have been concordant with nutrient inputs to, and shallow ventilation of, the eastern Mediterranean.