Traditional water sources of Persian antiquity
Encyclopedia
Most rivers in Iran are seasonal and have traditionally not been able to supply the needs of urban settlements. Major rivers like the Arvand, Aras
, Zayandeh, Sefid
and Atrak were few and far between in the vast lands of Persian antiquity.
With the growth of urban settlements during the ages, locally dug deep wells (up to 100 meters deep) could no longer keep up with the demand, leading to the systematic digging of a specialized network of canals known as Qanat
.
Persia’s Qanat
system dates back many centuries, and thousands of years old. The city Zarch
in central Iran has the oldest and longest qanat (over 3000 years and 71 km long) and other 3000 years old qanats have been found in northern Iran. The Qanats mostly came in from higher elevations, and were split into a distributing network of smaller underground canals called kariz
when reaching the city. Like Qanats, these smaller canals were below ground (~20 steps), and were built such that they were very difficult to contaminate. These underground aqueduct
s, built thousands of years ago suffer no evaporation loss and are ideally suited for drinking water since there is no pollution danger.
But with the further growth of the city in Persian lands, even the Qanats could not respond to the needs of residents. That is when some wealthy inhabitants started building private reservoirs called ab anbar
(Persian آب انبار).
In the middle of the twentieth century, it is estimated that approximately 50,000 qanats were in use in Iran, each commissioned and maintained by local users. Of these only 25,000 remain in use as of 1980.
One of the oldest and largest known qanats is in the Iranian city of Gonabad
which after 2700 years still provides drinking and agricultural water to nearly 40,000 people. Its main well
depth is more than 360 meters and its length is 45 kilometers. Yazd
, Khorasan and Kerman
are the known zones for their dependence with an extensive system of qanats.
In traditional Persian architecture, a Kariz (کاریز) is a small Qanat, usually within a network inside an urban setting. Kariz is what distributes the Qanat into its final destinations.
s have a long history in Iran, and there are still some ab anbars remaining today from the 13th century. These reservoirs would be subterranean spaces that were connected to the network of kariz
in the city. A typical residential ab anbar would be located in the enclosed garden, have the capacity to hold 50 cubic meters, would be filled once every two weeks, and have its inside surfaces cleaned from sediments once a year (called layeh-rubi).
Soon public ab anbars were constructed throughout cities across Persia such as Qazvin
, Yazd
, Naeen, Kashan
, Zavareh
, Ray
, Shiraz
, Heart
, Balkh
, and others. At the beginning of the 20th century, the number of public ab anbars in Qazvin
, for example, was recorded to be 151. Yet Iran still has 30,000 active Qanat systems today.
Accounts differ, but the water quality generally seemed to be satisfactory. Water temperatures of Kashan
’s famous Qanat of Chashmeh-i Soleiman amidst the July heat is typically around 25 degrees Celsius. Furthermore, ab anbars tend to further lower the temperature of the water due to the fascinating heat resistance properties of the construction material used. Near freezing temperatures of the water can readily be observed in the desert central city of Naeen during summer, inside an ab anbar that employs multiple windcatchers. Thus the Qanat/ab anbar system was easily able to supply the needs of many growing cities (such as medieval Qazvin
) year round.
es, ease of accessibility of the public to the ab anbars, and a homogeneous density of the ab anbars in each area determined the size and location of an ab anbar.
As an example, in terms of network coverage, one could classify the karizes of Qazvin
into three groups:
Each of these karizes covered a specific neighborhood and often further branched into sub-karizes as they went along serving private and public ab anbars.
Yet most ab anbars ended up being located in proximity or adjacent to commercial, religious, or other public places of interest. Many ab anbars would be located at busy intersections. Unfortunately the urban fabric of many cities in early 20th century Iran
has changed dramatically over the years. Hence the ab anbars today seem to be situated out of place.
Fully intact surviving ab anbars of Qazvin in order of capacity
Explosive migratory trends in Iran in the past 30 years have led to a wave of hasty urbanization inside the old quarters of ancient cities, destroying their original fabric. Some fare better than others though. Thus for example when comparing Qazvin to Yazd, Qazvin has fewer surviving ab anbars despite the fact that Yazd’s ab anbars have been retired for much longer time spans.
Araks River
The Aras , is a river located in and along the countries of Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. Its total length is...
, Zayandeh, Sefid
Sefid River
The Sefīd-Rūd is a river approximately long, rising in northwestern Iran and flowing generally northeast to meet the Caspian Sea at Rasht. The river is Iran's second longest river after the Karun....
and Atrak were few and far between in the vast lands of Persian antiquity.
With the growth of urban settlements during the ages, locally dug deep wells (up to 100 meters deep) could no longer keep up with the demand, leading to the systematic digging of a specialized network of canals known as Qanat
Qanat
A qanāt is a water management system used to provide a reliable supply of water for human settlements and irrigation in hot, arid and semi-arid climates...
.
Qanat and Kariz
Qanat
A qanāt is a water management system used to provide a reliable supply of water for human settlements and irrigation in hot, arid and semi-arid climates...
system dates back many centuries, and thousands of years old. The city Zarch
Zarch, Iran
Zarach is a city in the Central District, of Yazd County, Yazd Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 9,979, in 2,447 families....
in central Iran has the oldest and longest qanat (over 3000 years and 71 km long) and other 3000 years old qanats have been found in northern Iran. The Qanats mostly came in from higher elevations, and were split into a distributing network of smaller underground canals called kariz
Kariz
Kariz refers to water supply - kareez In its early beginnings, Samarkand occupied part of Mount Afrasiab , which rises to the north of today’s Samarkand. As the city grew, it expanded its borders, and by the 9th century it occupied the entire hill...
when reaching the city. Like Qanats, these smaller canals were below ground (~20 steps), and were built such that they were very difficult to contaminate. These underground aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
s, built thousands of years ago suffer no evaporation loss and are ideally suited for drinking water since there is no pollution danger.
But with the further growth of the city in Persian lands, even the Qanats could not respond to the needs of residents. That is when some wealthy inhabitants started building private reservoirs called ab anbar
Ab Anbar
An āb anbār is a traditional reservoir or cistern of drinking water in Persian antiquity. The Persian phrase literally translates as "water reservoir".-The structure:...
(Persian آب انبار).
One of the oldest and largest known qanats is in the Iranian city of Gonabad
Gonabad
Gonabad is a city in and the capital of Gonabad County, in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 34,563, in 9,789 families.It is mostly well-known because of the Gonabadi Dervishes and for its qanats, also known as kareez...
which after 2700 years still provides drinking and agricultural water to nearly 40,000 people. Its main well
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
depth is more than 360 meters and its length is 45 kilometers. Yazd
Yazd
Yazd is the capital of Yazd Province in Iran, and a centre of Zoroastrian culture. The city is located some 175 miles southeast of Isfahan. At the 2006 census, the population was 423,006, in 114,716 families....
, Khorasan and Kerman
Kerman
- Geological characteristics :For the Iranian paleontologists, Kerman has always been considered a fossil paradise. Finding new dinosaur footprints in 2005 has now revealed new hopes for paleontologists to better understand the history of this area.- Economy :...
are the known zones for their dependence with an extensive system of qanats.
In traditional Persian architecture, a Kariz (کاریز) is a small Qanat, usually within a network inside an urban setting. Kariz is what distributes the Qanat into its final destinations.
Ab anbar
Ab AnbarAb Anbar
An āb anbār is a traditional reservoir or cistern of drinking water in Persian antiquity. The Persian phrase literally translates as "water reservoir".-The structure:...
s have a long history in Iran, and there are still some ab anbars remaining today from the 13th century. These reservoirs would be subterranean spaces that were connected to the network of kariz
Kariz
Kariz refers to water supply - kareez In its early beginnings, Samarkand occupied part of Mount Afrasiab , which rises to the north of today’s Samarkand. As the city grew, it expanded its borders, and by the 9th century it occupied the entire hill...
in the city. A typical residential ab anbar would be located in the enclosed garden, have the capacity to hold 50 cubic meters, would be filled once every two weeks, and have its inside surfaces cleaned from sediments once a year (called layeh-rubi).
Soon public ab anbars were constructed throughout cities across Persia such as Qazvin
Qazvin
Qazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821, in 96,420 families....
, Yazd
Yazd
Yazd is the capital of Yazd Province in Iran, and a centre of Zoroastrian culture. The city is located some 175 miles southeast of Isfahan. At the 2006 census, the population was 423,006, in 114,716 families....
, Naeen, Kashan
Kashan
Kashan is a city in and the capital of Kashan County, in the province of Isfahan, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 248,789, in 67,464 families....
, Zavareh
Zavareh
Zavareh is a city in and the capital of Zavareh District, in Ardestan County, Isfahan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 7,806, in 2,197 families....
, Ray
Ray, Iran
Rey or Ray , also known as Rhages and formerly as Arsacia, is the capital of Rey County, Tehran Province, Iran, and is the oldest existing city in the province....
, Shiraz
Shiraz, Iran
Shiraz is the sixth most populous city in Iran and is the capital of Fars Province, the city's 2009 population was 1,455,073. Shiraz is located in the southwest of Iran on the Roodkhaneye Khoshk seasonal river...
, Heart
Heart
The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
, Balkh
Balkh
Balkh , was an ancient city and centre of Zoroastrianism in what is now northern Afghanistan. Today it is a small town in the province of Balkh, about 20 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, and some south of the Amu Darya. It was one of the major cities of Khorasan...
, and others. At the beginning of the 20th century, the number of public ab anbars in Qazvin
Qazvin
Qazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821, in 96,420 families....
, for example, was recorded to be 151. Yet Iran still has 30,000 active Qanat systems today.
Accounts differ, but the water quality generally seemed to be satisfactory. Water temperatures of Kashan
Kashan
Kashan is a city in and the capital of Kashan County, in the province of Isfahan, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 248,789, in 67,464 families....
’s famous Qanat of Chashmeh-i Soleiman amidst the July heat is typically around 25 degrees Celsius. Furthermore, ab anbars tend to further lower the temperature of the water due to the fascinating heat resistance properties of the construction material used. Near freezing temperatures of the water can readily be observed in the desert central city of Naeen during summer, inside an ab anbar that employs multiple windcatchers. Thus the Qanat/ab anbar system was easily able to supply the needs of many growing cities (such as medieval Qazvin
Qazvin
Qazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821, in 96,420 families....
) year round.
Location
Public ab anbars were often built wherever demand dictated. But factors such as accessibility of ab anbars to karizKariz
Kariz refers to water supply - kareez In its early beginnings, Samarkand occupied part of Mount Afrasiab , which rises to the north of today’s Samarkand. As the city grew, it expanded its borders, and by the 9th century it occupied the entire hill...
es, ease of accessibility of the public to the ab anbars, and a homogeneous density of the ab anbars in each area determined the size and location of an ab anbar.
As an example, in terms of network coverage, one could classify the karizes of Qazvin
Qazvin
Qazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821, in 96,420 families....
into three groups:
- Northwest karizes. The major ones were:
- Kariz of Khomar e Tashi (a famous vizier).
- Kariz of Akhund
- Kariz of Shah
- North Karizes. The major ones being:
- Kariz of Halal Abad
- Kariz of Asghar Khani
- Kariz of Teifuri
- Kariz of Khiyaban
- Northeast karizes. The major ones being:
- Kariz of Hatambeig Khatuni
- Kariz of Mirza Rasuli
- Kariz of Agha Jalali
- Kariz of Sheikh Ahmadi
Each of these karizes covered a specific neighborhood and often further branched into sub-karizes as they went along serving private and public ab anbars.
Yet most ab anbars ended up being located in proximity or adjacent to commercial, religious, or other public places of interest. Many ab anbars would be located at busy intersections. Unfortunately the urban fabric of many cities in early 20th century Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
has changed dramatically over the years. Hence the ab anbars today seem to be situated out of place.
Preservation
In Qazvin, which was once dubbed as the city of ab anbars, today less than 10 ab anbars remain intact from the destructive forces of hasty modern urban development. Of the other 100 or so ab anbars that used to be scattered throughout Qazvin, only parts (such as the steps, the entrance, or the storage) remain. Most have been destroyed by housing projects and private developers. In Qazvin, none are functional anymore. However ab anbars continue to be used in some areas in rural Yazd and urban Naeen. Qanats are mostly used in rural areas and/or for agriculture.| Ab anbar name | Dimensions (m) | Capacity (m3) |
| Sardar-e Bozorg | 17 x 17 x 17 | 4900 |
| Jame’ Mosque | 37.5 x 10 x 10 | 3750 |
| Nabi Mosque | 36 x 10 x 10 | 3600 |
| Sardar-e Kuchak | 20 x 19 x 5.5 | 2090 |
| Haj Kazem | 26 x 7.5 x 10 | 1950 |
| Hakim | 18 x 18 x 6 | 1944 |
| Agha | 11.5 x 10.25 x 5.5 | 648 |
| Razavi Caravanserai | 14.5 x 6.5 x 5 | 471 |
| Zobideh Khatun | 11.5 x 2.65 x 6.5 | 198 |
Explosive migratory trends in Iran in the past 30 years have led to a wave of hasty urbanization inside the old quarters of ancient cities, destroying their original fabric. Some fare better than others though. Thus for example when comparing Qazvin to Yazd, Qazvin has fewer surviving ab anbars despite the fact that Yazd’s ab anbars have been retired for much longer time spans.
Further reading
- Memari e Islami e Iran. M. K. PirniaKarim PirniaMohammad Karim Pirnia was a prominent architectural historian and architect.Born in Naeen, Iran, he studied at what came to be Tehran University School of Fine Arts....
. ISBN 964-454-093-X - Minudar or Babuljanne. Gulriz, Mohammad Ali. Taha publications. 3rd printing. Qazvin. 1381 (2002). ISBN 964-6228-61-5
- Qazvin: ayinah-yi tarikh va tabi’at-i Iran. Hazrati, Mohammad Ali. Sazeman e Irangardi va Jahangardi publications. Qazvin. 1382 (2003). ISBN 964-7536-35-6
- Saimaa-yi ustaan-I Qazvain. Haji aqa Mohammadi, Abbas. Taha Publications. Qazvin. 1378 (1998). ISBN 964-6228-09-7
- Memari-ye ab anbar haye shahr e Qazvin. Memarian, Gholamhosein. Asar. Vol 35. Iran Cultural Heritage Organization publications. Tehran. (p187-197).
- Sair e Tarikhi e banaayi Shahr e Qazvin va Banaha-yi an. Siyaghi, Dr. Seyd Mohammad Dabir. Iran Cultural Heritage Organization publications. Qazvin. 2002. ISBN 964-7536-29-1
- Old ways of water management spring up again in arid regions. M.J. Strauss. International Herald TribuneInternational Herald TribuneThe International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
. Aug 20, 2005.
See also
- Iranian architectureIranian architectureIranian architecture or Persian architecture is the architecture of Iran . It has a continuous history from at least 5000 BCE to the present, with characteristic examples distributed over a vast area from Turkey to North India and the borders of China and from the Caucasus to Zanzibar...
- Ab anbarAb AnbarAn āb anbār is a traditional reservoir or cistern of drinking water in Persian antiquity. The Persian phrase literally translates as "water reservoir".-The structure:...
- List of famous ab anbars of Qazvin
- QanatQanatA qanāt is a water management system used to provide a reliable supply of water for human settlements and irrigation in hot, arid and semi-arid climates...
- KarizKarizKariz refers to water supply - kareez In its early beginnings, Samarkand occupied part of Mount Afrasiab , which rises to the north of today’s Samarkand. As the city grew, it expanded its borders, and by the 9th century it occupied the entire hill...
- YakhchalYakhchalYakhchāl is an ancient type of refrigerator. The word also means "glacier" in Persian.In 400 BC Persian engineers had already mastered the technique of storing ice in the middle of summer in the desert....
- HowzHowzIn traditional Persian architecture, a howz is a centrally positioned symmetrical axis pool.If in a sahn of a mosque, it is used for performing ablutions. If in a traditional house or private courtyard, it is used for bathing, aesthetics or both....
- International rankings of Iran