Pastoralism?and?Agriculture in?Iran

Geographical constraints?have?had important?consequences for?the economy?and?society?of?Iran.?Where rainfall is?adequate, there?are?fertile?valleys and?grasslands?suitable?for?grazing?animals.?However,?since the?natural?vegetation tends to be?sparse,?it?is?difficult for such animals?to?remain in one?place?for?any?length?of?time.?Thus?nomadic?pastoralism-keeping livestock?(such as?sheep and goats)?by wandering from?place to?place-was one of the first and?most?persistent human economic?activities to?flourish?in this?area. This nomadic?movement?was?often?of?the vertical?variety,?with?people and?animals?moving?from lowlands?in?wintertime?to?highlands in summer.?The animals?raised?by the pastoralists?provided not?only food?but also?material?for crafts such?as the making?of carpets,?thick?felt cloth,?and?tents.?The?pastoralists?were?typically?organized?into?large tribal?confederations capable of?controlling?the?vast territories needed?for?maintaining?their?herds.

The tribes?were a?powerful social?and?political factor throughout?Iranian?history.?The skills?necessary for?herding animals,?hunting and chasing off?predators,?directing?migrations, disciplining?tribesmen,?and?protecting?lands and animals?from?rivals could?be easily adapted?and directed toward?military?purposes as?well.?It?was?typically?the?tribes that?produced?the soldiers and?rulers?of?the country?and provided the?power?base?for?most?of its dynasties.?Once established, governments needed to?cultivate the?support?of?friendly?tribal?groups and?tried?to control?hostile?tribes?by?combat, deportation,?or?forcible settlement.?At?the beginning?of?the?twentieth?century,?approximately?one-?fourth?of?the?population?were tribal?peoples,?and they?were a?potent?force?in?Iranian affairs.?With the advent of?mechanized armies in?the?1930s,?however,?there were?systematic?efforts?to?break?the?power?of?the?tribes and to?coerce the?tribal?population?into a sedentary?way of?life.?These?efforts?have?been?largely successful, and the?tribes?are no?longer?so significant a?force in?either the?Iranian economy?or?society.?Less?than?5 percent?of?the?population?now?consists of?nomadic?pastoralists.

The aridity of the?Iranian?plateau retarded?its agricultural development in?comparison to adjacent regions such?as?Mesopotamia,?which?had?great?rivers?to?draw?upon?for a?supply?of?water.?Eventually,?at?some?uncertain?date probably?about?26?centuries?ago,?there?was a technological breakthrough?that?made it?possible to?farm crops outside the?few?oases,?streams,?and?other places?with?sufficient rainfall?for agriculture.?This was?the?development?of?underground?canals?known as?qanats.?The?qanat?system?took?advantage of the natural?slope?(inclination)?of the?plateau?basins.?A?well?would?be?dug?in the?foothills to?reach a?water?source,?usually?water?from melting snow that had seeped?underground.?Then a?sequence of?wells?and?shafts connected by underground?canals?would be?constructed to?transport the?water?to?an area?suitable for?cultivation?where?it could?support the needs?of?one or?more?villages.?The?slope of the underground?canals had to?be controlled carefully?to?prevent?erosion, and the?interior surface?of?wells and?shafts needed to be kept?under constant?maintenance to?prevent them?from collapsing.

Since the canals?were?underground,?loss?from evaporation?was?minimized.Gravity?provided?the?means of?moving?the?water, so no?mechanical?energy?was required to operate?the system.The numerous wells?and?shafts?kept the?length?of the?tricky?underground canal?short and?facilitated repairs of?each?segment.Built?up?over?the centuries,?the system eventually?became?immense.?It has?been estimated?that the total?length?of?the?qanat?system?today,?counting wells, shafts, and?canals, is?in?excess of?300,000?kilometers?(almost the distance?from?Earth to the?Moon!),?which?gives some?idea?of?the?tremendous investment in?money?and?labor?power?it?represents.?Yet the type of agriculture that developed?around the?qanat system?gave?modest?yields and?required?hard?work?from?the peasant?farmers, who?received only a small share of the agricultural?produce.

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?Geographical constraints have had important consequences for the economy and society of Iran. Where rainfall is adequate, there are fertile valleys and grasslands suitable for grazing animals. However, since the natural vegetation tends to be sparse, it is difficult for such animals to remain in one place for any length of time. Thus nomadic pastoralism-keeping livestock (such as sheep and goats) by wandering from place to place-was one of the first and most persistent human economic activities to flourish in this area. This nomadic movement was often of the vertical variety, with people and animals moving from lowlands in wintertime to highlands in summer. The animals raised by the pastoralists provided not only food but also material for crafts such as the making of carpets, thick felt cloth, and tents. The pastoralists were typically organized into large tribal confederations capable of controlling the vast territories needed for maintaining their herds.

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