Food Sources: Earth, Water, and Air - Food Culture and Health in Pre-Modern Islamic Societies - page 38

However, using the primitive imple-
ments of the naāla , the dāliya , the sāiya
and the tābūt , the pre-20th century peas-
ant in Egypt irrigated the land and man-
aged to produce the necessary crops to
maintain the economy of the country.
Many of the techniques and implements
that he devised or used have proved to
be efficacious to such a degree that they
are still extant.

ancient system of customary law regulated
the amount and the periods of water used
amongst the holders of land along the
banks, and specially-appointed officials
had the task, through the manipulation
of sluices and water-gates, of securing
this regulation. The interest shown about
irrigation questions by mediaeval authors
arises from the fact that, both for the land-
tax and for local dues, irrigated land was
distinguished from non-irrigated land.
The anonymous author of the Kitāb
al-āwī (5th/11th century) has provided
us, in the shape of mathematical prob-
lems, with some interesting details about
the administration of the canals and
about hydraulic machinery in mediaeval
Irā. He describes various kinds of water-
wheels, dawlāb, ∞ arrāfa, ª ā £ ūf , giving
their capacity for drawing up water and
then spreading it for irrigation purposes,
according to the season, and the numbers
of men and animals required to work
them. Then he moves on to the “balanc-
ing out of ground” intended to fix the
levels of canals which have to be dug out.
Finally, he raises the question of the con-
struction and upkeep of the raised canal
banks, which he calls bazand , a pre-Islamic
term not listed in the classical dictionaries,
hence often wrongly read. It is necessary
to know the volume of earth, reeds and
brushwood which has to be transported,
which is counted according to a special
unit, the azala = 100 cubic cubits “of bal-
ance”, and it is to be understood that an
azala is procured by 33 “spade loads”,
handled by two men, one digging and
the other transporting the earth, etc. in
sacks. The provision of materials and the
labour, which seem never to have been
done by slaves, are paid according to an
official tariff.

(Hassanein Rabie)

5. Irrigation in Irq_
Since it is impossible here to look at the
use of water in all its aspects and in regard
to all the problems which it raises, the
present section merely deals with irriga-
tion in the same way as is done for other
regions of the Islamic world.
Taken as a whole, Irā is a flat plain
irrigated by two great rivers, whose risings
and fallings lack however the comparative
regularness of the Nile. Since the Euphra-
tes (al-Furāt) flows at a higher level than
that of the Tigris (Di ¡ la), the canals which,
from ancient times, have connected them
run at an oblique angle in relationship to
them. Aerial photography, together with
other sources of information, has allowed
Adams to supplement and complete, for
the left bank of the Tigris, the information
of the mediaeval authors and, especially,
of Ibn Sarafyūn (Serapion). In regard to
the zone between the two great rivers,
periods of neglect before and after the
coming of Islam have transformed part
of central Irā into a marshland, the
Baīa, the drainage of which has not
been possible. The rivers and the great
canals, constructed and maintained by
the state, were important routes for com-
munication, which were not impeded by
the bridges of boats across them or by the
mills. The upkeep of the smaller canals
was the responsibility of local people. An

(Cl. Cahen)