Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 ut
2 university of Tehran
3 Tarbiat Modares University, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Department of Archaeology
Abstract
The irrigation network of the Mianab Plain in Khuzestan represents a unique example of ancient local efforts to optimize water resources, embodying a long-term interaction between humans and their environment. In certain periods, extensive irrigation systems led to significant expansion in both the area and number of settlements. Most previous research emphasizes unprecedented expansion of irrigation infrastructure during the Sassanian period and assumes its collapse following the empire’s fall. The aim of this study is to examine the trajectory of irrigation network changes in ancient Iran (from the proto Elamite to the advent of Islam) and to analyze their relationship with political developments and settlement patterns, using a descriptive–analytical approach and drawing on three main categories of sources: archaeological data, historical texts, and remote sensing datasets.
The findings of this research indicate that significant transformations in water management—marked by the construction of complex man-made canals—began in the Parthian period, with the Dariun canal, and continued into the Sassanian era through the maintenance and optimization of the existing network. Contrary to the traditional assumption of collapse in irrigation systems following the Islamic conquests, evidence of agricultural prosperity during the Islamic period and the continued use of irrigation infrastructure underscore the prominent role of elites and local communities in sustaining and preserving those systems. These results emphasize the need to revise classical models of civilization collapse caused by regime changes and to recognize the social adaptation mechanisms within communities in relation to hydraulic networks.
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