Qanat Irrigation System

Timeline

1. c. -700–600Iranian Plateau · IranQanat technology matured in the arid basins of Iran from the Achaemenid through Sasanian Persian periods, using underground tunnels to convey groundwater for field irrigation, avoiding evaporation losses, and becoming the infrastructure of oasis agriculture.
2. c. 650–1000Khorasan · Iran/AfghanistanAfter the Arab conquest, qanats continued to be expanded in Islamic jurisdictions such as Khwarazm and Khorasan, and together with land tax and water-management systems supported cotton and melon cultivation and supplied water to Silk Road relay towns.
3. c. 1001–1010Bukhara Oasis · UzbekistanBetween 1001 and 1010 CE, oases of Central Asia under the Ghaznavids and local polities still relied on qanats (kārīz) to irrigate cotton fields and orchards, with water maintenance and allocation forming an important part of local administration and community governance.