Imperial irrigated landscapes in the Balikh Valley

Abstract

This research presents the results of an interdisciplinary study which examined how increased adoption of water management technologies from the Hellenistic-Early Islamic period transformed the formerly marginal and rain-fed Balikh Valley of Syria into a productive landscape. Data including CORONA satellite images, topographical models and archaeological surveys were used to identify and analyse systems of canals, qanats and tunnels. Analysis of this identified a peak in the use of irrigation in the later imperial period, especially at the time of the Early Islamic empire when the city of Raqqa attained enhanced political significance, with indications that ancient systems were able to utilise most of the available water resources in the valley. Water management activity also appears to have led to changes in the environment of the Balikh, such as the formation and drainage of marshes and rerouting of existing hydraulic networks.

A Remote Sensing Approach for Mapping the Development of Ancient Water Management in the Near East

“…Qanats extended the range of cultivable lands in Syria and Iraq. [11,15,16] Qanats, a tunnel, and canals around Raqqa [11,15,16] Canals alongside the Habur [53] Nahr Dawrin, Nahr Sa'id: Large embanked canals on both banks of the Euphrates between the Balikh and Mari [13][14][15][16] Some of the large embanked canals in northern Iraq, Tarbisu canal and Nahr Qanausa [8,32] Qanats on the Sinjar Plain [15,16] We mapped pre-Islamic water management features in Northern Mesopotamia, including rock-cut conduits near Jerablus (investigated during fieldwork, see References [16,48]) and Hellenistic qanats around Membij (dated by a historical source, see Reference [54]). Although some of the traces of large embanked channels alongside the Euphrates have been attributed to the pre-Islamic era (e.g., Reference [14]), it can be argued the technology capable of facilitating this may not have been widely applied until the medieval period [55] (p. 115).…”

“…Although some of the traces of large embanked channels alongside the Euphrates have been attributed to the pre-Islamic era (e.g., Reference [14]), it can be argued the technology capable of facilitating this may not have been widely applied until the medieval period [55] (p. 115). Tributaries such as the Balikh and the Habur were easier to irrigate from, attested by a likely Assyrian origin for canals alongside the Habur [33] and some Hellenistic-late Roman canals in the Balikh dated through excavation, radiocarbon dating, surface survey, and association with dated sites (e.g., the Sahlan-Hammam canal, Figure 6; References [9,11]). The Neo-Assyrian canals in northern Iraq are already well-known, although it is important to note some of the canals in northern Iraq have been attributed to the Early Islamic period (see References [8,32]).…”

“…We have found that in some cases these can be identified through an analysis of imagery and DEMs. The early Islamic Nahr al Abbara in the Balikh Valley north of Raqqa in Syria is a good example of a well-preserved reticulated layout as it was at the time of CORONA [1, 11,15,16], which has been visited in the field [9]. However, in many cases only a main canal remained visible in the imagery: Smaller distributaries do not usually leave traces.…”

“…2nd millennium BC), and especially by the Early Islamic period (ca. 8th century AD), water management technology was widespread [1, 2,11], including alongside the difficult-to-control Euphrates [12][13][14] as well as intensive cultivation in tributaries such as the Balikh and the Habur [1,11,15,16]. Increased uptake of water management technology at this time may have been related to specific Early Islamic policies of bringing more land into cultivation [17] (pp.…”

“…The present study addressed this gap, generating a map of ancient irrigation systems across northern Syria and Iraq and revealing particularly dense irrigation in the Balikh Valley of Syria. The existing literature and detailed archaeological and historical implications of this research have been discussed in additional publications [1,11,15,16]. This paper outlines our methodology, which used remote sensing to map the ancient landscape, and presents the key results.…”