SOME INSIGHTS INTO THE HISTORY OF IRRIGATION NETWORKS IN THE NATURAL AND ECONOMIC REGION OF THE KHOREZM OASIS

Аннотация

В стате анализирован этапы развитие сооружения VI-V вв до н. е. на территорииНизовяАмудари. Ключевые слова:Сабиров К, Каракум, Кызылкум, Базаркала, Дингилдже, Тазабагйап, Амирабад . Annotation:The article covers the stages of development of irrigation structures in the Lower Amu Darya region in the 6th-4th centuries BC. Key words:Vinogradov A.V, Yagodin V.N, Andrianov B.V, Tolstov S.P, Itina M.A, Dandamaev M.A, Lukonin V.G, Sabirov Q, Vorob’eva M.G. Qaraqum, Qizilqum, Bozorqal’a, Ding‘ilja, Kaltaminor, Tozabog‘yob, Amirabad. Introduction. Around 10,000 years ago, as a result of the retreat of the Great Tethys glaciation northward due to rising natural temperatures, humid and semi-humid plains were formed. Around 8,000–7,000 years ago, the Amu Darya River, "wandering" through theKarakum Desert, flowed northward due to the sloping terrain, dividing into right and left bank regions. This article aims to highlight the results of our ancestors' efforts to harness the "wandering" nature of the Amu Darya, directing its flowto utilizethemineral-rich plains over centuries for theirbenefit. Literature Review According to data recorded in the works of the members of the Khorezm Archaeology- Ethnography Expedition, which conducted scientific activities in the Khorezm Oasis from the mid-1930s to the 1990s, water bodies dominated the conditions of the Kyzylkum and Karakum regions until the last quarter of the 6th century BCE. For example, A.V. Vinogradov’s research notes that the right bank of the Amu Darya, the lower Zarafshon, the inner Zarafshon region, and the lower Syr Darya basin plains had a high water supply from the Amu Darya and Zarafshon page1471 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ISSN:2692-5206,ImpactFactor:12,23 AmericanAcademicpublishers,volume05,issue03,2025 Journal: https://www.academicpublishers.org/journals/index.php/ijai rivers, causing the depressions in the Kyzylkum alluvial sand dunes to turn into water basins1. V.N. Yagodin focused on the history of irrigation in the Khorezm Oasis, emphasizing the development of water supply systems on the right and left banks of the Amu Darya, evolving from simplenetworks to more advanced systems bythe6th century BCE2. B.V. Andrianov, in studying the hydrological characteristics of the humid and semi-humid plains of the right bank of the Amu Darya—the southern Aqchadarya basin, covering 160,000 hectares (between Shurakhon and the Sultan Uvays Mountains)—during the 6th–5th centuries BCE, noted the remains of an irrigation network inthenorthern area of the Bozorqala monument. This network, sourced from the Aqchadarya tributary, had a length of 1.5–2 meters and a width of60–70meters3. Figure 1. 1VinogradovA.V.NeolithicMonumentsofKhorezm–M.:Nauka,1968.Issue8,pp.5-20. Sameauthor.AncientHuntersandFishermenoftheCentralAsianInterfluve//TrKHAEE–M.:Nauka,1981.IssueXIII,pp.78-89. ²YagodinV.N.TheLowerReachesoftheAmuDaryaDuringtheCollapseofthePrimitiveCommunalSystemandtheEmergenceofEarlyState Formations//KhorezmintheHistoryofStatehoodofUzbekistan.NationalSocietyofPhilosophersofUzbekistan–Tashkent,2013,pp.15-22. ³AndrianovB.V."AncientIrrigationSystemsoftheAralSeaRegion"–Moscow:Nauka,1969.–p.104. page1472 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ISSN:2692-5206,ImpactFactor:12,23 AmericanAcademicpublishers,volume05,issue03,2025 Journal: https://www.academicpublishers.org/journals/index.php/ijai Researchers note that the remnants of canals in the southern Aqchadarya4—Kokcha-Janbos regions, dating to theBronze Age,served thedaily practical activities ofourancestors5.6. In 545 and 539 BCE, Khorezm was incorporated into the Achaemenid Empire under the rule ofCyrus II7 .8. S.P. Tolstov’s research recorded historical data on the activities of the Kaltaminor, Tozabog‘yab, and Amirobod irrigation structures on the right bank of the Amu Darya, dating to the mid-8th to 6th centuries BCE9.10. However, it is difficult to agree with the researcher’s view, as during this chronological period, the population of the Amirobod culture did not possess the knowledge to construct large-scale main canals. The construction of such irrigation structures can be associated with theinternal policies ofa centralized state. In ourview, thedevelopment ofthe right and left bank regions of theAmu Darya, particularly the construction of irrigation systems on the right bank toward the Kyzylkum, was carried out during the Achaemenid period. For instance, in the last quarter of the 6th century BCE, the Kaltaminor irrigation system was constructed from the Amu Darya, beginning to serve the population. Within the network of branches derived from this irrigation system, the Bozorqala andDing‘iljamonumentswere established . ⁴TolstovS.P.,AndrianovB.V.NewMaterialsontheHistoryofIrrigationinKhorezm//KSIE–M.:Nauka,1957.IssueXXVI,pp.5-7. ⁵ItinaM.A.AncientKhorezmianFarmers//History,Archaeology,andEthnographyofCentralAsia–M.:Nauka,1968,pp.75-86. ⁶ItinaM.A.TheHistoryoftheSteppeTribesoftheSouthernAralSeaReg