Abstract
Hydraulic engineering projects in ancientAssyria (nowadays, northern Iraq) have beenwitnessed for many centuries, from the end ofthe second to the middle of the firstmillennium BC. The use of both philologicaland archaeological evidence enables us toreconstruct the different stages of thehydraulic enterprises in Assyria, as well asthe specific terminology used in this fieldof technological knowledge. The Assyriankings changed the location of their capitalseveral times, either by founding newcities or by converting older settlementsinto royal residences. Establishment ofthese new capitals included theconstruction of canal systems, whichbrought water drawn from rivers or thesurrounding mountains to irrigate theirfields and gardens. This paper focuseson these projects and reviews their mainfeatures. It also points out themethodological difficulties encounteredwhen using the available sources.
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Bagg, A.M. Irrigation in Northern Mesopotamia: Water for the Assyrian Capitals (12th–7th centuries BC). Irrigation and Drainage Systems 14, 301–324 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006421000423
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006421000423