Gurgānj Dam

Historic cities of the Amu Darya watershed including Gurgānj (Urgench)

The Gurgānj Dam was a major water engineering project of medieval-era Central Asia. The dam was constructed on the Amu Darya river, near what is now called Konye-Urgench ("Old Gurgānj") in northern Turkmenistan.

History[edit]

The dam stood from about 985 to April 1221, when it was destroyed following the Siege of Gurganj during the Mongol invasion of Khorasan. While it stood, the wooden dam was located about a ghalwa upstream from the town,^[1]^[2] and it diverted the flow of the previously forked river entirely to the Aral Sea.^[3] Our knowledge of the dam comes from both al-Biruni and Yakut.^[4] The dam had gates that controlled the flow of water.^[5] The dam was just one part of the city's waterworks, which included irrigation canals watering expansive agricultural fields.^[1] Destroying the dam washed away the city and any surviving residents, which contributed to the overall death toll from the conquest period of the Mongol Empire.^[6]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b Knobloch, Edgar (2012-05-01). Treasures of the Great Silk Road. The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-9792-1.
^ Bartolʹd, Vasiliĭ Vladimirovich (1977). Turkestan Down to the Mongol Invasion. E. J. W. Gibb Memorial Trust. ISBN 978-0-87991-453-0.
^ Ayni, Sadriddin (2023-09-22). Tajikistan's National Epics: Muqanna's Rebellion and The Tajik People's Hero Temur Malik. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-96328-1.
^ Andrianov, Boris V. (2013-12-31). Ancient Irrigation Systems of the Aral Sea Area: The History, Origin, and Development of Irrigated Agriculture. Oxbow Books. ISBN 978-1-78297-165-8.
^ Starr, S. Frederick (2015-06-02). Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-16585-1.
^ Tucker, Jonathan (2015-03-12). The Silk Road: Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran: A Travel Companion. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85773-926-1.

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[:0-1] Knobloch, Edgar (2012-05-01). Treasures of the Great Silk Road. The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-9792-1.

[2] Bartolʹd, Vasiliĭ Vladimirovich (1977). Turkestan Down to the Mongol Invasion. E. J. W. Gibb Memorial Trust. ISBN 978-0-87991-453-0.

[3] Ayni, Sadriddin (2023-09-22). Tajikistan's National Epics: Muqanna's Rebellion and The Tajik People's Hero Temur Malik. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-96328-1.

[4] Andrianov, Boris V. (2013-12-31). Ancient Irrigation Systems of the Aral Sea Area: The History, Origin, and Development of Irrigated Agriculture. Oxbow Books. ISBN 978-1-78297-165-8.

[5] Starr, S. Frederick (2015-06-02). Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-16585-1.

[6] Tucker, Jonathan (2015-03-12). The Silk Road: Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran: A Travel Companion. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85773-926-1.

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History[edit]

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References[edit]