Food Sources: Earth, Water, and Air - Food Culture and Health in Pre-Modern Islamic Societies - page 34

It should be apparent from the forego-
ing brief discussion that Islamic engineers
were active in the construction and devel-
opment of hydraulic machines for water-
raising and power supply throughout the
mediaeval period and beyond. Similar
activity took place in Europe, India and
East Asia. Each region used the machines
that were best suited to its needs, to the
local hydraulic conditions, and to the
available constructional materials.

sible. Also, lands could not be cultivated
if the Nile did not rise sufficiently to reach
the minimum of the necessary flood (16
cubits). In such cases, the amount of land
covered with water was insufficient, the
size of the crop did not meet the needs
of one year and there was a scarcity of
food more or less great in direct ratio to
the water level above or below sixteen
cubits.
No one in pre-20th century Egypt
felt secure before the flood reached the
height of 16 cubits and when all neces-
sary land had been naturally irrigated by
the Nile. Until it reached that level, the
news of its height was kept secret from
the common people. It seems that this
was a custom introduced by the Fāimid
Caliph al-Muizz in 362/973, when he
prohibited the announcement in the
streets of Cairo of the exact rising of the
Nile before it had reached 16 £ irā s. This
was to prevent tension, fear and financial
crises among the inhabitants. The person
who was in charge of the Nilometer ( āib
al-miyās ) used to call the increasing level
of the Nile water in fingers without telling
the exact cubit. Only when the water level
reached the height of 16 cubits, normally
in the Coptic month Misrā ( July-August),
could the āib al-miyās proclaim it to the
people in Cairo, and the sultan then had
the right to impose the ¶ arā ¡ on the cul-
tivated land.
Pre-20th century irrigation in Egypt
did not rely only on the floods, but also
on the yearly digging and cleaning of the
irrigation canals and the maintenance of
the irrigation dams. Both al-Nuwayrī and
al-Marīzī state that without such main-
tenance there would be little benefit from
the Nile. Al-Marīzī (i, 74-5) traces the
importance of canals and irrigation dams
in controlling the Nile in pre- and early
Islamic periods. It was one of the most
important functions of both the sultans

(D.R. Hill )

4. Pre-20th century
Irrigation in Egypt
Until the 20th century, irrigation in
Egypt remained much as it had been in
Pharaonic times. The continuity of prac-
tice stemmed from the dependence on the
annual Nile floods, which provided Egypt
not only with water for irrigation but also
with the alluvial soil deposits to renew the
fertility of the cultivated lands. The great
river, however, does not only bestow its
gifts, but may also be the cause of mis-
fortune to the country. Up to modern
times and before major dams and irriga-
tion projects were undertaken, a high Nile
promised the richest increase to the fields,
while with a low Nile came the inevitable
dread of a year of famine.
Abd al-Laīf al-Ba ∞ dādī (d. 629/1231)
discussed this phenomenon and the rôle
of the Nile in the irrigation and the agri-
cultural situation in mediaeval Egypt. He
states that after the water of the Nile over-
flowed and covered the soil for several
days, it receded to let the peasants plough
and sow the fields. No further irrigation
was needed until the crops were ready to
be harvested. If the Nile exceeded some
fingers beyond 20 cubits ( £ irā s), some
areas became submerged like lakes for a
long time and the proper time for sow-
ing passed without calculation being pos-