Architecture and Water Sources in the Old City of Tripoli during the Islamic Eras (Wells, Cisterns, and Sabils): A Historical and Archaeological Study

Abstract

This study examines the nature of the water resource systems and sources upon which the city of Tripoli relied during the Islamic eras, specifically between the 4th/10th and 13th/19th centuries CE. It reviews the primary methods and means employed by the city's inhabitants to obtain drinking water and irrigate crops within the city and its suburbs. The study also explores the associated water-related architectural typologies, such as wells, cisterns, reservoirs, and sabils, highlighting them as vital architectural elements within the fabric of the Islamic city. Water played a fundamental role in the selection of urban locations during their establishment, leading Arab geographers and historians to praise cities with readily available fresh water as a distinguishing characteristic. Furthermore, through its examination of water-related structures, this study demonstrates the extent of the rulers' interest and the residents' cooperation in securing and facilitating access to water. It also illustrates how these methods contributed to ensuring the continuity of life in Tripoli throughout the ages, despite the city's lack of rivers, freshwater lakes, and flowing springs. Following both historical and archaeological contexts, the study clarifies the features of this architectural phenomenon through a descriptive and analytical approach to existing, as well as documented but now vanished, water structures.