Siddiqi Lecture in Religious Studies - D. Fairchild Ruggles

A Social History of Water in Early Islam

The landscape of the Islamic Mediterranean (from greater Syria to the Iberian Peninsula) differed significantly from the Roman landscape upon which it was built. Islamic water management, laws regarding individual land ownership and labor, and even the crops that were cultivated reflected a new perspective on the land that encouraged investment and innovation. One of the most profound changes was the construction of canal networks to introduce irrigation into dry land. Despite the large scale of such networks, they were generally not top-down endeavors, but shared projects undertaken by the community that benefited most from the water. In addition to irrigation and expanded agricultural productivity, the collaborative effort gave shape to a social structure based on the sharing of environmental resources.

Co-sponsored by The Marco Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, The Department of History, The School of Art, The Department of Anthropology and The Middle East Studies Program.

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