Irrigation, ancientNear EastBERTRAND LAFONT

Without the Tigris and Euphrates, the

Mesopotamian plain would be largely desert.

Agriculture thus depends entirely on irriga-

tion, even in zones above the 250 mm isohyet

(the theoretical limit of rain-fed agriculture).

Such was the importance of irrigation that

some historians (notably Karl Wittfogel) have

attributed to it a primordial role in the origin

of the state in Mesopotamia.

Very early on, a system of canals branching

directly off the main rivers was established,

making it possible to extend the cultivable

area, especially in the low-lying alluvial plain

of southern Mesopotamia. The main canals,

proceeding downstream by simple gravity,

fed a network of smaller canals, down to simple

ditches surrounding the fields, which were

generally long and narrow. The canals, some-

times enclosed between earthen dikes con-

structed above the level of the plain, made it

possible to irrigate without using water-raising

mechanisms, which are well attested nonethe-

less. It was also necessary to drain the water

from the fields, in order to avoid salinization of

the soil. The flow was regulated by means of

various installations, such as sluices, dams, and

reservoirs, mainly of earth, brick, wood, or

reed. The entire system enabled intensive cul-

tivation of grains and, in the south, of the date

palm, a tree that requires plenty of water but

tolerates high salinity. As described by

a Sumerian text, “The Farmer’s Instructions,”

the land must first be irrigated at the beginning

of autumn, then prepared, sowed, and irri-

gated again, until the harvest took place in

spring, just before the waters of the Tigris and

Euphrates rise. The April-May flood, poorly

timed for cultivation, was anticipated with

dread as much as hope, since the water threat-

ened to overflow into the fields right when it

came time to harvest. Letters from governors

often mention catastrophes resulting from the

breach of poorly-maintained dikes. Damage

caused by negligence on the part of individuals

is addressed by several provisions in the Laws of

Hammurabi (}}53–6).Beyond the alluvial plain of southern

Mesopotamia, irrigation was also practiced in

more arid zones; the realm of Mari, on the

middle Euphrates, furnishes rich information

on this subject. In some piedmont regions of

Assyria, subterranean waters were exploited:

channels (qanat in Arabic, kahriz in Persian)

were dug in the hills, sometimes over consider-

able distances, in order to capture the water and

direct its flow at a gentle slope down to the plain.

If one believes official declarations, such as

royal inscriptions and year names, the digging

and maintenance of canals figured among the

most important duties of kings. In reality,

networks of canals were established and

maintained primarily at the local level, without

systematic recourse to central authority. Only

the largest canals were under the supervision of

governors, who annually organized corvee labor

for repair work and rendered accounts of it to

the king. Substantial manpower was mobilized

for these corvees, which took place in summer,

after the harvest, when the water was at its

lowest level. Specialized personnel were in

charge of supervising, maintaining, and operat-

ing the canal network, as “canal inspectors”

(Akkadian gugallu) or “commissioners of

irrigation” (sekeru).

In times of war, the destruction of canals was

a fearsome tactic. Many royal inscriptions men-

tion the sudden drying-up of the adversary’s

lands, which was done to make the salt rise

from the sub-soils and condemn the land to

desiccation.

One of the richest dossiers of texts pertaining

to irrigation concerns the work undertaken to

divert an entire arm of the Euphrates toward

Larsa (in southern Mesopotamia) during

the nineteenth century BCE, on the occasion of

a major program to bring new lands under

cultivation. This project, which lasted

The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, First Edition. Edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine,

and Sabine R. Huebner, print pages 3500–3501.

© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

DOI: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah01101

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about twenty years, was celebrated in several

year-names and is documented by letters and

administrative texts.

SEE ALSO: Agriculture, Pharaonic Egypt; Fertile

Crescent; Hydraulic civilization; Irrigation,

Greco-Roman Egypt; Irrigation, Greece and

Rome; Irrigation, Pharaonic Egypt; Lifting

devices.

REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

Civil, M. (1994) The farmer’s instructions.

A Sumerian agricultural manual. Barcelona.

Gasche, H. and Tanret, M., eds. (1998) Changing

watercourses in Babylonia. Towards a reconstruction

of the ancient environment in Lower Mesopotamia.

Ghent.

Geyer, B. (1990)Techniques et pratiques hydro-agricoles

traditionnelles en domaine irrigue. Approche

pluridisciplinaire des modes de culture avant la

motorisation en Syrie. Beirut.

Jas, R. M., ed. (2000) Rainfall and agriculture in

Northern Mesopotamia. Leiden.

Postgate, J. N. and Powell, M., eds. (1988, 1990)

Bulletin on Sumerian agriculture, vols. 4 and 5.

Cambridge.

Walters, S. D. (1970) Water for Larsa. An old

Babylonian archive dealing with irrigation.

New Haven.

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