Tahqiqāt-e Târix-e Eqtesâdi (Economic History Studies of Iran)

Water and power in Achaemenid Babylonia: A critical reading of Wittfogel᾽s theory of eastern tyranny (based on tablets)

Articles in Press

Document Type : .

Author

Fatemeh Ghomlaghi

I do not have it

10.30465/ehs.2026.54467.2093
Abstract
Babylon's location between the Tigris and Euphrates, along with severe water fluctuations, necessitated an effective system for the optimal distribution and utilization of water to prevent agricultural lands from becoming barren. Therefore, studying the water management system in Babylon is importance to understand the economic and administrative functions of the Achaemenid Kingdom. The surviving tablets of Murašu and Egibi families, as a class of private merchants, allow for a detailed examination of the policymaking of this system. Based on tablets and analytical historical approach, and Wittfogel's theory of Eastern tyranny, the present study attempts to answer the question of how water resource management was related to the structure of political power and how it was organized. By studying the tablets, this critically reviews Wittfogel's theory in light of the concepts of the infrastructural power of government, royal ownership, and registration-based bureaucracy. The results indicate that the main owner was the king, but the executive management of the irrigation networks was carried out by government agents and those families. Therefore, the water management structure in Babylon was not a complete example of Wittfogel's water-lord society, but rather a clear example of political centralization combined with executive delegation and contract regulation

Keywords

Achaemenid Empire
Babylon
House of Murašu
House of Egibi
Oriental despotism
Karl August Wittfogel
Subjects
Tahqiqāt-e Târix-e Eqtesâdi (Economic History Studies of Iran)

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 14 November 2026

  • Receive Date 19 April 2026
  • Revise Date 15 September 2026
  • Accept Date 14 November 2026

Home

Guide for Authors

Submit Manuscript

Reviewers

Contact Us