Windmill

Timeline

1. 800–900Sistan · SistanThe Sistan region of eastern Persia exploited its persistent strong winds to develop vertical-axis windmills with sails rotating around a vertical axis (sail blades turning in a horizontal plane), mainly used for grinding grain and lifting water, characterized by mud-brick tower bodies and wooden sails.
2. 900–1025Mesopotamia · MesopotamiaArabic-Persian sources of the 10th–11th centuries (such as Mas'udi and Biruni) record the windmills of Sistan; windmills also appear in the Iranian Plateau, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. However, the origin of the European horizontal-axis windmill is mostly regarded as an independent development, and the route of transmission of Islamic windmills to Europe lacks direct evidence.
3. 1100–1400Low Countries · Low CountriesFrom the 12th century horizontal-axis windmills appeared in Europe, with the wind wheel rotating around a horizontal axis; initially these were turnable post mills, later developing into tower windmills. Windmills in the Netherlands and England were widely used for grain processing, papermaking, and draining polders, forming distinctive landscapes and rural industries.
4. 1800GlobalIn the 19th century large steel-framed windmills appeared on the American plains for irrigation and ranching; after the 20th century they developed into grid-connected wind turbines, becoming an important component of renewable energy and continuing a millennia-old tradition of wind power use.