Changes

Irrigation and water technologies have been critical to human societies for millennia. The first great use of water technologies probably began soon after the development of settled societies. However, as societies became more complex, that is larger cities developed, and technologies, such as iron, and mathematics improved, we begin to see far more sophisticated use of water technologies. In fact, it is arguable that irrigation technologies helped to encourage or speedup the development of complex, state societies, as it required a greater organization and control of labor. The issue of water management, in essence, becomes critical or important for state development. Furthermore, qanats and aqueducts, both invented probably by the Iron Age in the early 1st millennium BC, are still in use today, showing the durability of this technology. Some qanats and aquaducts aqueducts used today, in fact, date to the Roman period. Similar to irrigation channels, qanats also had a major role in influencing societies, as it enabled regions of Iran and other areas that were more sparsely populated to become more greatly settled, changing the direction of history as Iranian-based empires began to become the norm.