Description
Book SynopsisIn A History of Water Engineering and Management in Yemen, Ingrid Hehmeyer describes the three-way relationship between water, land, and humans from ancient to medieval and premodern times. As illustrated in case studies from four sites, individual ecosystems necessitated different engineering and management approaches in order to make good use of the scarce water resources for both irrigated agriculture and domestic consumption. Material remains and written sources provide the evidence for a comprehensive examination of continuity and change; technical and managerial struggles, failures, and successes; the question of technology transfer; the impact of the religion of Islam on water use and allocation; and people’s reactions in times of severe crisis.
Trade Review“This dissertation publication illuminates more than just Old South Arabian names of animals, plants, stones and metals. It also is an excellent source for zoological, botanical and ethnographic data [...] It is well-conceived, the product of discipline and years of research.” Paul A. Yule in Wiener Zeitschrift Für Die Kunde Des Morgenlandes 110 (2020)
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements A Note on Transliteration List of Figures and Tables Photo Credits and Permissions for Reproduction Introduction PART I Irrigated Agriculture in Ancient South Arabia: The Oasis of Mārib Introduction to Part I Case Study 1: Agricultural Practices in the Controlled Irrigation Network of Ancient Mārib PART II The City of Zabīd (Founded 820 ce) and its Agricultural Hinterland before the First Ottoman Conquest in 1539 Introduction to Part II Case Study 2: Sayl Irrigation in the Wādī Zabīd Case Study 3: The Importance of the Agricultural Hinterland to Pre-Ottoman Zabīd Case Study 4: Engineered Water Systems in the Wādī Zabīd Case Study 5: Water and Waste in the City of Zabīd PART III Water and Settlement on the Coastal Plain of Southern Yemen: The Example of Ghayl Bā Wazīr Introduction to Part III Case Study 6: Tapping Underground Water: The Maʿyān System of Ghayl Bā Wazīr PART IV Water-Storage Systems in the Western Highlands of Yemen: The Cisterns of al-Jabīn Introduction to Part IV Case Study 7: The Study and Restoration of Birkat ʿĀṭif, a Public Cistern in al-Jabīn PART V Water and Religious Magic Introduction to Part V Case Study 8: Water and Religious Magic Concluding Remarks Glossary Works Cited Index
