The Menua Canal, also known as the Semiramis Canal or as the Shamiram Canal, is a canal joined with a series of hydraulic works such as aqueducts constructed by King Menua of Urartu (r. 810–786 BC). It is located to the east of Van, Turkey and runs 56 kilometers, supplying a large region and flowing into Lake Van.[1] It has been continuously used by the local inhabitants for irrigation purposes up to this day, more than 2500 years after its construction. It is considered a masterpiece of hydraulic and architectural engineering by regional and global standards.
Despite the fact that this canal stands out for its technicality and the importance of the works undertaken to complete it, it was part of a larger policy of hydraulic constructions carried out by the Urartian rulers aimed at ensuring adequate water supply in the region. It is believed to have provided sustenance for up to 50,000 people in the capital of Tushpa (Van) alone.
Although it was thought to be from Assyrian mythical queen Semiramis by medieval historians, who remembered it from a legendary past, it was built by the Urartian King Menua, according to Urartian inscriptions found in some of the structures. These fourteen inscriptions serve as valuable resources for researchers translating Urartian.
^East and west , Volumes 12-13. Instituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, Rome. p. 189.
The MenuaCanal, also known as the Semiramis Canal or as the Shamiram Canal, is a canal joined with a series of hydraulic works such as aqueducts constructed...
from c. 810 BC to approximately 786 BC. In Armenian, Menua is rendered as Menua. The name Menua may be connected etymologically to the Ancient Greek names...
Kingdom of Urartu undertook significant hydraulic works, such as the Menuacanal. The earliest evidence of water wheels and watermills date back to the...
suffixes added through Suffixaufnahme: e.g. Argište-šə Menua-ḫi-ne-šə "Argišti (ergative), son of Menua (ergative)". The plural form can also serve as a general...
ISSN 2048-0849. JSTOR 3642562. S2CID 131657710. The construction of the Menuacanal would have made a population of fifty thousand in Van itself, the city...
fortresses, developed a national canal and irrigation system. Inushpua 788–786 BC (?); co-ruled with his father, Menua. Possibly killed in battle. Argishti...
important irrigation canal was Menua or Shamiram Canal, which supplied fresh water to the capital of Urartu, the city of Tushpa. The canal crossed the Hoşap...
History. p. 74. ISBN 9780700714520. By the will of Khaldi, Menua, son of Ishpuini, has built this canal. "Eski Çağ'da Muş" (in Turkish). Iğdır University Sos...
of irrigation canals, constructed between the Aras and its tributary the Kasakh, is contemporaneous with the town itself. Several canals visible to this...
Argishti, son of Menua, is a mighty king, king of Biainili, and ruler of Tushpa."[Van]. During the height of the Urartian power, irrigation canals and artificial...
several regions remain ancient irrigation canals, constructed by Urartu, mainly during the Argishti I and Menua period, some of which are still used for...
the Urartian king Argishti I, whose father Menua, a contemporary of Shammuramat, constructed a great canal which later on curiously at some point was...
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