The Menua Canal, also known as the Semiramis Canal or as the Shamiram Canal, is a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

joined with a series of hydraulic works such as

aqueducts Aqueduct may refer to: Structures *Aqueduct (bridge), a bridge to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley *Navigable aqueduct, or water bridge, a structure to carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railw ...

constructed by King Menua of Urartu (). It is located to the east of

Van, Turkey Van (; ; ) is a city in eastern Turkey's Van Province, on the eastern shore of Lake Van. It is the capital and largest city of Van Province. Van has a long history as a major urban area. It has been a large city since the first millennium B ...

and runs , supplying a large region and flowing into

Lake Van Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...

. It has been continuously used by the local inhabitants for irrigation purposes up to this day, more than 2500 years after its construction. It is considered a masterpiece of

hydraulic Hydraulics () is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counterpart of pneumatics, which concer ...

and

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

by regional and global standards. Despite the fact that this canal stands out for its technicality and the importance of the works undertaken to complete it, it was part of a larger policy of hydraulic constructions carried out by the Urartian rulers aimed at ensuring adequate water supply in the region. It is believed to have provided sustenance for up to 50,000 people in the capital of

Tushpa Tushpa ( ''Tosp'', ''Tushpa-Van'', Akkadian: ''Turuspa'', from Urartianbr>tur-, ''to destroy''i.e. victorious) was the 9th-century BC capital of Urartu, later becoming known as Van which is derived from ''Biainili'', the native name of Urartu ...

(Van) alone. Although it was thought to be from

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

n mythical queen

Semiramis Semiramis (; ''Šammīrām'', ''Šamiram'', , ''Samīrāmīs'') was the legendary Lydian- Babylonian wife of Onnes and of Ninus, who succeeded the latter on the throne of Assyria, according to Movses Khorenatsi. Legends narrated by Diodorus ...

by medieval historians, who remembered it from a legendary past, it was built by the Urartian King Menua, according to Urartian inscriptions found in some of the structures. These fourteen inscriptions serve as valuable resources for researchers translating

Urartian Urartian or Vannic is an extinct Hurro-Urartian language which was spoken by the inhabitants of the ancient kingdom of Urartu (''Biaini'' or ''Biainili'' in Urartian), which was centered on the region around Lake Van and had its capital, Tushp ...

History

Background

The construction of the Menua Canal seems to have occurred parallel to the introduction of the qanat system to

Urartu Urartu was an Iron Age kingdom centered around the Armenian highlands between Lake Van, Lake Urmia, and Lake Sevan. The territory of the ancient kingdom of Urartu extended over the modern frontiers of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Armenia.Kleiss, Wo ...

from neighboring

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. This method, using underground canals, revolutionized the hydraulic and architectural practices in the region. Later, one of Menua's descendants,

Rusa II Rusa II was king of Urartu between around 680 BC and 639 BC. It was during his reign that the massive fortress complex, Karmir-Blur, was constructed.Ian Lindsay and Adam T. Smith, ''A History of Archaeology in the Republic of Armenia'', Journal ...

, added an artificial lake, Lake Rusa (now known as Lake Kechich), to the hydraulic works. King Menua () is known for other

works, including approximately five smaller canals in the region and towards

Manazkert Malazgirt (; ; ), historically known as Manzikert (), is a town in Muş Province in Turkey. It is the seat of Malazgirt District. The reasons for erecting such a significant structure are still not well known, but political motives aimed at gaining the approval of his subjects by portraying himself as a benevolent and magnanimous king cannot be ruled out.

Construction

King Menua of Urartu built the canal, according to his inscriptions, which are still visible by the canal. It brought fresh water to the capital city of

. This canal was part of a broader set of pipelines and structures aimed at improving irrigation in the

Armenian highlands The Armenian highlands (; also known as the Armenian upland, Armenian plateau, or Armenian tableland)Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: ...

during the Kingdom of Urartu's time. It extends over a length of . Until its first restoration in 1956, the canal typically provided between . During the dry season, it could decrease to . In certain areas, it included retaining walls that were approximately high; they were used to facilitate

terrace farming A terrace in agriculture is a flat surface that has been cut into hills or mountains to provide areas for the cultivation for crops, as a method of more effective farming. Terrace agriculture or cultivation is when these platforms are created s ...

and irrigation. For example, it appears that Menua's wife or daughter owned

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s on a terrace adjacent to the canal. An inscription found on this land declares, "This vineyard belongs to Tariria, the wife of Menua. It is called Tariria's vineyard." Dams were also built along the canal's route to control the water supply to the region. It is believed to have provided sustenance for up to 50,000 people in the capital of

(Van) alone. Urartian Menua canal

Along the course of the canal, particularly in the most challenging construction areas, there are inscriptions in Urartian cuneiform. There are a total of 14 inscriptions, all of which celebrate the patron of the project, King Menua. Some of these inscriptions contain curse formulas, while others do not. The length of the inscriptions varies according to the difficulty of the technical work involved. The most complete Urartian inscription found along the canal is located near a section where an aqueduct was built by the king. It includes a curse formula against anyone who would desecrate the structure and declares: Although the structures were

and originally bore the title "Menua's Canal," the canal was called the "Semiramis Canal" by the medieval

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

historian

Moses of Khorene Movses Khorenatsi ( 410–490s AD; , ) was a prominent Armenian historian from late antiquity and the author of the '' History of the Armenians''. Movses's ''History of the Armenians'' was the first attempt at a universal history of Armenia and r ...

, who attributed its construction to the legendary Assyrian queen

. Moses writes:

"She said, 'We must, in a country with such temperate climate and pure water, establish a city, a royal residence to dwell in Armenia, amidst all delights, one-fourth of the year; the other three colder seasons, we will spend in
Nineveh Nineveh ( ; , ''URUNI.NU.A, Ninua''; , ''Nīnəwē''; , ''Nīnawā''; , ''Nīnwē''), was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul (itself built out of the Assyrian town of Mepsila) in northern ...
.' ..Semiramis first had the river embankment constructed, using blocks of rocks bound together with lime and fine sand, a colossal work in terms of its extent and height, which, it is said, still exists to this day. ..Distributing a portion of the river's waters throughout the city, she brings them wherever they are needed, including for the watering of gardens and flowerbeds."

Banister Fletcher Sir Banister Flight Fletcher (15 February 1866 – 17 August 1953) was an English architect and architectural historian, as was his father, also named Banister Fletcher. They wrote the standard textbook ''A History of Architecture'' ...

wrote about it in his ''

History of Architecture The history of architecture traces the changes in architecture through various traditions, regions, overarching stylistic trends, and dates. The beginnings of all these traditions is thought to be humans satisfying the very basic need of shelt ...

'':

Posterity

The inscriptions found along the canal have been significant in the understanding of the

Urartian language Urartian or Vannic is an extinct Hurro-Urartian language which was spoken by the inhabitants of the ancient kingdom of Urartu (''Biaini'' or ''Biainili'' in Urartian), which was centered on the region around Lake Van and had its capital, Tushp ...

, while also providing researchers with information about the actual sponsor of the construction. Thanks to the discovery of retaining walls, it is possible to reconstruct the original course of the canal with a relatively high level of accuracy. The canal is still in use and underwent its first restoration in 1956, approximately 2500 years after its construction. This restoration undertaken by Turkey, however, replaced its central part, including one aqueduct, with a modern concrete construction, as the old structure was too expensive to maintain. It is considered a

masterpiece A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

n and global

and

. Nicolas Adontz wrote of the canal: "The ''pili'' of Menua - the Shamiram canal - compared to all known canals f the period appears as an Euphrates. In other words, Menua's canal among canals is like the Euphrates among rivers."

References

{{reflist ancient canals geography of Armenia geography of Turkey history of the Caucasus Urartu