Production and the Exploitation of Resources

Aflaj irrigation systems in Oman represent a sophisticated pre-modern hydraulic technology that sustained agricultural productivity and pastoral economies for centuries. This volume synthesizes archaeological, historical, and ethnographic evidence to demonstrate how Aflaj—gravity-fed underground channels—integrated with broader patterns of resource exploitation across the Islamic world. It reveals their origins in Sassanian water-management traditions, their adaptation under early Islam, and their role in fostering agricultural innovation, including the introduction of new crops like rice. Through case studies from Oman, Iran, Syria, and al-Andalus, the research highlights the Aflaj's dual function: as a tool for sustainable land use and a symbol of imperial and religious authority. Methodologically, it combines textual analysis (e.g., agricultural treatises by al-Hamdani or Al-Falaha) with archaeological surveys (e.g., mining sites in Oman’s southwestern province), offering a multidisciplinary framework to trace the diffusion and impact of Islamic hydraulic technology.

Morony, M. G. (2022). Production and the Exploitation of Resources (, Ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315245973