Early Islamic watercourses and settlements east of the Tigris

Uskāf Banī Junayd,Adams (1965), pp. 161-62 also Iskāf,Le Strange (1905), p. 59 was an ancient and medieval city of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, located on the

Nahrawan Canal The Nahrawan Canal () was a major irrigation system of the Sasanian and early Islamic periods in central Iraq, along the eastern banks of the Tigris and the lower course of the Diyala River. Created in the 6th century, it reached its peak under th ...

at the present site of Sumāka.Adams (1965), pp. 161-62 In its heyday, during the

Sasanian The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

period and early Islamic

caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

s, Uskaf was the largest city in the Diyala basin;Adams (1965), p. 95 however, it declined sharply after the Samarran period and was abandoned by the early 1100s.Adams (1965), p. 96

History

Uskaf was inhabited during the

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...

and

Parthian Parthian may refer to: Historical * Parthian people * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery sk ...

periods, but on a much smaller scale than in later periods.Adams (1965), pp. 161-62 Although not mentioned by name in contemporary accounts, Uskaf was a significant urban center during the

period. It grew to an area not much smaller than

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; , ''Tyspwn'' or ''Tysfwn''; ; , ; Thomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified July 28, 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/58.) was an ancient city in modern Iraq, on the eastern ba ...

itself.Adams (1965), p. 73 A massive weir at the site of al-Qantara was constructed just north of Uskaf during the Sasanian period; however, it does not seem to have been in use for that long during this period.Adams (1965), p. 79 Uskaf was the largest city in the Diyala basin both in the Sasanian and early Islamic periods.Adams (1965), p. 95 During this time, the city became known as "Bani Junayd" after a powerful local family known for its hospitality.Adams (1965), p. 95Le Strange (1905), p. 59 Writing in the early 1200s, well after the city's decline,

Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) () was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th–13th centuries). He is known for his , an influential work on geography con ...

noted that many learned men had come from Uskaf, reflecting the city's prosperity in its heyday.Adams (1965), p. 95 After the Samarran period, however, Uskaf went into a dramatic decline, with the physical area of the city shrinking to a mere 5% of its greatest size in the Sasanian and early Islamic periods.Adams (1965), p. 96 During this period, the volume of water flowing through the Nahrawan canal decreased substantially, leading to an increased reliance on the weir at al-Qantara as a source of water for irrigation. The weir artificially raised the canal's water level above its location, but dramatically reduced the water level below it.Adams (1965), pp. 103-104 The final construction at Uskaf dates from the late 11th century, and the site appears to have been abandoned shortly thereafter.Adams (1965), p. 96 By the early 1200s,

wrote that the lands around Uskaf had gone completely out of cultivation.Le Strange (1905), p. 59

References

Sources

* * {{coord missing, Iraq Medieval history of Iraq Former populated places in Iraq