Water Resource Management for Iran’s Persepolis Complex

The historical patrimony of any civilization offers numerous vantage points from which to base inquiry into the rich tapestry that weaves its cultural, political, economic, technical, social and natural characteristics. An ancient culture’s interactions with water, and its early attempts at managing it, provide an intriguing lens through which to observe how a society’s growth and development are linked with this precious resource. Early human societies devised straightforward but elegant and innovative-technical solutions for sequestering and allocating the often limited sources of water they knew, redirecting essential quantities from rivers and other surface deposits to both urban and rural areas. In this way, the ancients established the foundation not only for their own economic and cultural development, but also for contemporary water resources engineering. Indeed, water resources management played an important role in all early urban settlements. In Iran, due to frequent drought, thoughtful attention was paid to reliable design. This is particularly evident at the Persepolis complex, the ancient capital of the Achaemenid dynasty. This monument is situated in Fars province in southwest Iran and was built approximately 2,500 years ago by the Mesopotamian civilization. Various water aspects of the Persepolis complex are presented in historical context with commentary on their present condition. Ruins of the runoff system and sewer network of the complex are analyzed to help envisage the original system and how it functioned.