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,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, located on the

Nahrawan Canal The Nahrevan Canal (Persian: کانال نرهوان) was a major irrigation system of the Sassanid 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 centu ...

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

Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

period and early Islamic

caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

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 (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...

and

Parthian Parthian may be: Historical * 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 skill famously employed by ...

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 ( ; Middle Persian: 𐭲𐭩𐭮𐭯𐭥𐭭 ''tyspwn'' or ''tysfwn''; fa, تیسفون; grc-gre, Κτησιφῶν, ; syr, ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢThomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modi ...

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

References

Sources

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