A brief look at the past shows the close relationship between economic, social and cultural development, political stability and the control of water.Many of the great ancient civilizations are described as 'hydraulic civilizations'. History shows that their level of development is directly linked to their degree of control and efficiency in the management of water.Conversely, the weakening of this social control of water accompanied their decadence. This was the case in many parts of the world, in China, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, India, Latin America, as well as in the Roman Empire.Three thousand years ago in Babylon, the digging of canals, in the same way as the building of walls or temples, was part of the great works that the Mesopotamian kings commemorated with the 'names of years', for example, the 'Year in which the goddess Bawa canal brings abundance' or in their inscriptions. Canals were used for irrigation and transportation. Dykes were used for flood protection and marshland drainage, but could be turned into weapons of war to flood or dry out the territory of enemies. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon illustrate the urbanistic and recreational use of water control.In China, in the province of Sichuan, the Dujiangyan irrigation system was designed in the 3rd century BC to avoid flooding, and to irrigate the Chengdu plain. It has been operating without interruption since then, and continues to be developed.In the Mediterranean basin, where rainfall is scarce, the supply of water to the cities was a constant concern for ancient Rome. The Pont du Gard aqueduct, which supplied Nimes with drinking water for five centuries from a source 50 km away, is a masterpiece of ancient architecture.
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