European International Journal of Pedagogics
228
https://eipublication.com/index.php/eijp
TYPE
Original Research
PAGE NO.
228-230
DOI
3
OPEN ACCESS
SUBMITED
31 March 2025
ACCEPTED
29 April 2025
PUBLISHED
31 May 2025
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue05 2025
COPYRIGHT
© 2025 Original content from this work may be used under the terms
of the creative commons attributes 4.0 License.
Aspects of Scientific Study
of Ancient Hydrotechnical
Structures
Asror Nizamov
Uzbek National Pedagogical University, Professor of the Department of
Geography, PhD., Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Akmal Matnazarov
Uzbek National Pedagogical University, Associate professor of the
Department of Geography, PhD., Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Abstract:
This article analyzes the issues of scientific
study of ancient hydraulic structures, their history of
creation, functional tasks and their relationship with
modern hydrological research. The inextricable link
between the structures and the socio-economic needs,
technological capabilities and natural conditions at the
time of their creation is revealed. Also, their role in
aspects such as water resources management, irrigation
systems and erosion control is shown, and approaches
to their study using archaeological, geological and
cartographic methods are analyzed. The article shows
the relevance of re-evaluating these monuments using
modern geospatial technologies, the prospects for their
preservation and study as a scientific heritage.
Keywords:
Ancient hydraulics, water structures,
irrigation system, archeology, geological research,
historical heritage, hydrology, geospatial technologies,
erosion control, irrigation, cartography, hydraulic
structures, scientific analysis, water resources,
architecture,
geosystem,
hydraulic
engineering,
infrastructure.
Introduction:
Among the people, in addition to
scientists, there were specialists, that is, masters of each
job. They reached the level of a special person-specialist
with great skills, knowing the values of the people
passed down through the centuries. Mirabs or
abishikasandas are the owners of such rare skills. That is
why the Arabs who conquered Sebistan (a region
between Iran and Afghanistan) in the 7th century
deliberately picked up specialists in hydraulic
engineering structures - abishikasandas, took them to
European International Journal of Pedagogics
229
https://eipublication.com/index.php/eijp
European International Journal of Pedagogics
Mecca and used them to create irrigation systems
there (V.V. Bartold, 1965, p. 105). The same story was
repeated by the Arabs in Bukhara. More than a
thousand Bukhara water specialists were exiled to
Arabia as prisoners. This event took place in 677. At
that time, the governor of Bukhara was a woman, and
her son, Tagshoda, who was still a child, ruled the
people in his name. When the city was besieged by the
Arab commander Said ibn Usman, Bukharkhudat
managed to make peace by giving seventy of the noble
princes as hostages to Said. Said promised to keep
them in Merv for a while and then send them back to
their homeland. However, he did not keep his word
and took them all to Medina and ordered the
development of irrigation works there (A. Narshahi,
1991, p. 119). It is no secret that the princes were
undoubtedly educated people who sought to master
every field thoroughly. This sad history also shows that
they were knowledgeable about water science, along
with many other specialties. The master of the Koryz
diggers was called a "miner" in Khorasan (Ovanesov,
1928, p. 135). The Ottoman Turks called such
specialists "kuruk", while the Arabs later called them
"khorim" (Barthold, 1965, p. 120). The ancient Turkic
peoples living in Central Asia and adjacent regions
called the specialist who distributed spring water
equally to the villagers "tuzun" (Mahmud Kashgari, vol.
III, 1963, p. 186). It is known that they expressed every
good, auspicious event with the word "tuzuk". In
Nurota, the masters who mastered the work of digging
kariz were called "karizchi" and "karizgar".
Aspect of the representatives of the ancient
knowledge. The experience of building ancient
hydraulic structures was developed by some
representatives of the ancient knowledge, some types
of which were reflected in their works. Herodotus (1st
century BC), Vitruvius Pollio (1st century BC), Polybius
(2nd century BC), Al-Farghani (9th century), Abu
Rayhan Al-Biruni (11th century), Abu Ali Ibn Sina (11th
century), among them. Al-Farghani (9th century) was
an astronomer who mastered the art of making
astronomical instruments, which were used not only
for skylights, but also for digging and building dams and
canals. The astronomical instrument is “asturlab” in
Arabic, and it is believed that its origin is Greece.
Therefore, it is called “astrolabia” (meaning star
catcher) in Greek. The Greek astronomer Hipparchus
determined the coordinates of 1022 stars with this
instrument in the 2nd century BC. It is difficult to say
anything about the model of the compass used by
Hipparchus, but the original Greek astrolabe may have
been simpler than the compasses used by later
scientists. Because scientific terms such as "alidade",
"almuqatarat", "azimuth", "zenith", "nadir" have
Arabic meanings and undoubtedly spread to the world
of science through the works of Al-Farghoni (A.Azamov-
1998). Although the great scholar was an expert in
astronomy, mathematics, and geometry, we also know
him as a great geographer and a powerful instrument
maker of his time based on his works. In 861, Al-
Farghoni, on the instructions of the Caliph Mutawakkil,
went to the city of Fustat to repair and reinstall the
instrument (nilometer) that measured the changes in
the water level of the Nile River. During that period, Al
Farghani improved measuring instruments. He has
scientific works such as "Al-kamil fil usturlob", ("The
perfect book about usturlobs"), "Tatmim amal al
Usturlob", ("The end of usturlob's work") (A. Nizomov-
2008, p. 99).
As is known from the pseudonym of Soghani Usturlobi
(10th century), the instruments created and improved
by Usturlobi played an important role not only in
observing the movement of celestial bodies, but also in
complex processes such as leveling, and therefore were
also used in complex hydraulic engineering works such
as the construction of aqueducts, cisterns, reservoirs,
and gulfak ponds. Abu Rayhan Beruni (1973-1048), a
scientist who, along with mathematics, astronomy,
geodesy, pharmacology, mineralogy, geography,
hydrology, geology, and philosophy, studied the nature
of groundwater, in particular, the construction of
certain hydraulic structures such as wells and springs.
Natural observation, vision, experiment, analysis of oral
traditions, careful study of written monuments, critical
attitude to information and sources, comparison,
knowledge of different languages and writings were
characteristic of many advanced scientists of the Middle
Ages, and Beruni was not far from these qualities. As a
result, a number of his works, such as “Monuments of
Past Peoples” and “Mineralogy”, were created, and they
still have not lost their value and scientific value. In
these works, Beruni deeply analyzed the situations that
occur in connection with the normative indicators,
pressure, and direction of groundwater flow. As a result,
solutions to some problems faced by specialists in the
formation of pressurized groundwater (boilers), canals,
culverts, and wells were discovered for the first time in
science thanks to Beruni's ideas (A.Nizomov-2018).
Although most of the works of Abu Ali Ibn Sina (980-
1037) are related to medical science, he also provides
valuable scientific information about normative
indicators of ancient hydrotechnical structures,
especially their drinking level, medical significance, as
well as literature, music, and philosophy.
Tourism aspect. Ancient hydraulic structures were
recognized by the first traveling scientists as wonderful
structures and water sources and were recorded in
"Travelogues". The works of Chang-Chun (13th century),
European International Journal of Pedagogics
230
https://eipublication.com/index.php/eijp
European International Journal of Pedagogics
Nasir Khisrav (11th century), Istakhri (13th century),
Maqdisi (10th century), Ibn Battuta (13th century),
Rashiduddin (13th century), Juvaini (13th century),
Badriddin Kashmiri (16th century) are among them.
"Travelogues" are written only in very short lines about
some types of ancient hydraulic structures located
along caravan routes, such as cisterns, wells, and
ponds, but they are significant as the earliest works (A.
Nizomov-2008, p. 23).
Some detailed information about ancient hydraulic
structures belongs to the work of the traveler Nasir
Khisrav (1004-1088). Nasir Khisraw traveled to Iran,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Syria, Egypt, Arabia, Iraq, Tabriz,
Cairo, Jerusalem, Mecca, Medina, Lakhsa, Yemen,
Basra, Isfahan and a number of other cities and regions
for seven years, describing his impressions in his work
"Safarname". Along with the wonderful nature and
unique economic features of those countries, he also
wrote about their ancient hydraulic structures.
According to the traveler, the most characteristic
feature of all of them, even in those times, was the
presence of wells, underground reservoirs, ponds, as
well as cisterns of various sizes.
Regional studies aspect. Representatives of this group,
which was mainly composed of European citizens, such
as N.V. Khanikov (1843), A. Lehmann (1852), A.
Tatarinov (1865), M.N. Galkin (1868), L.F. Kostenko
(1871), A. Arandarenko (1874), N. Mayev (1879), V.V.
Krestovsky (1887), A. Burns (1893), I.I. Geyer (1909), V.
Ereshenko (1911), D.N. Lagofet (1913), V. Masalsky
(1913), V.N. Gorteveld (1914), along with various
unique monuments specific to the region, also made
the impression of a system of crypts built along
caravan routes as extremely interesting monuments.
Therefore, most of these researchers left important
information in science by describing the state of the
cisterns at that time. In particular, the Austrian
biologist A. Lehmann (1852) drew a black pen drawing
of the Raboti Malik cistern and the Raboti Malik
caravanserai, which stood opposite it and has survived
in ruins to our time, of great scientific importance.
After Uzbekistan gained independence, its ancient
hydraulic structures, like all its valuables, and in
particular some of their types, such as cisterns, began
to be studied by local historians (teachers, journalists,
etc.). A. Khotamov, Sh. Khalilov (1995), O. Jurakulov
(1996), M. Bozorova (2000) are among them. However,
all of these works are characterized by their general
informational value.
REFERENCES
Bartold V.V. Jui Arziz (on the history of irrigation in
Turkestan) Work. Vol. III. M., Nauka Publishing House
1965.
Bartold V.V. On the history of irrigation in Turkestan,
Works, Vol. III. M., Nauka Publishing House 1965.
Mahmud Qashgari Divanu lutatit turk 1 vol. T., Uzb. SSR
F.A. Publishing House. 1960. p. 433.
Mahmud Qashgari Divanu lutatit turk. Uzb. SSR F.A.
Publishing House. T., 1963.
Nizomov A. Beruni's hydrologica
l heritage. T., “Science
and Technology” 2018.
Nizomov A. Geography of ancient hydraulic structures
of Uzbekistan. T., “HYDROINGEO” 2008.
