The Persians used qanats for irrigation because these underground systems allowed water to be transported over long distances, while reducing losses from evaporation and preserving the quality of the water, essential for agriculture.
Ancient Persia was largely dominated by an arid to semi-arid climate, with vast desert or semi-desert regions. The terrain varied from mountain ranges to dry, dusty plains. Precipitation was rare or highly seasonal, making agriculture difficult almost everywhere except around a few oases or rare rivers that were always full. A significant portion of the water came from snowmelt in the mountains, particularly from the Zagros mountain range — a true natural water tower — occasionally feeding fragile, precious, but irregular waterways.
The Persians lived in dry and hot regions, where finding fresh water was a real challenge. As a result, they came up with the clever idea of building qanats. These slightly sloping underground channels captured water from the aquifers located near the mountains and transported it several kilometers to the fields and villages. To prevent the water from evaporating under the scorching sun, everything was done underground: simple but brilliant. The water flowed by gravity, eliminating the need for pumps or crazy efforts to move it. This ingenious system provided a regular supply of fresh and reliable water in places where the surface was often arid and hostile.
Qanats allowed water to be transported from mountainous areas to arid regions without wasting this precious resource through evaporation, which was an obvious ecological advantage. As the water flowed underground, it remained cool and clean, avoiding the massive evaporation of open irrigation systems. The result was that it helped preserve aquifers and protect the local environment. Economically, the system was clever: no need for pumps or expensive mechanisms, water simply flowed due to gravity, leading to significant savings in energy and money. By facilitating regular access to water, qanats enabled more stable and productive agriculture, thus helping to increase crop yields and stabilize the local economy over time.
Qanats were not only practical for bringing water, but they truly structured the life of communities. Their construction and maintenance required constant cooperation, forcing residents to work together. This strengthened social ties and solidarity. Everything revolved around this precious resource: collective access to water, preservation of the qanat, fair distribution according to agricultural and domestic needs. Some residents known as mirab managed the qanats and resolved water-related conflicts, proving that these systems played a crucial role in community organization. Qanats also served as meeting places to discuss and exchange news from the village. In short, beyond water, it was mainly social life that flowed through these underground tunnels.
In addition to bringing water, the qanats also served as natural refrigerators: The Persians built towers called 'Yakhchals', which used the cool water from the qanats to produce and preserve ice, even in the desert.
Each qanat was a collective work managed by entire communities, thereby strengthening social ties and traditional mechanisms of collaboration and sharing of natural resources.
Some qanats, built more than 2500 years ago, are still in use today in Iran, attesting to the remarkable durability of this ancient technology.
The qanats can extend over 30 kilometers underground, connecting mountainous regions to villages or oases located in desert areas.
The qanats limited water evaporation, which is a significant issue in arid regions. They also helped prevent the excessive depletion of groundwater through controlled flow. Thus, qanats represented a sustainable and environmentally friendly ecological system.
Qanats often served as the social and communal heart of villages. The maintenance and management of qanats promoted community cooperation, creating connections between families and neighboring villages. They thus had a significant impact on the social structures of ancient Persian communities.
A qanat is an underground system of channels used by ancient Persians to transport water from groundwater sources located on the mountainside to agricultural lands and inhabited areas situated lower down. This system ingeniously utilizes gravity, thereby ensuring sustainable irrigation.
Yes, although they date back several millennia, qanats continue to be used in certain arid regions of modern Iran as well as in Afghanistan and other countries with a desert climate. These traditional irrigation systems remain effective and environmentally friendly.
The construction of qanats was carried out by specialized artisans called muqannis, who employed very precise digging techniques. They first created a main well to identify an underground water source, followed by a series of vertical wells connected horizontally to create an efficient gravity-fed channel, using only simple tools.
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