The Mastery in Hydraulic Techniques for Water Supply at the Alhambra

Abstract

The Alhambra was possible thanks to the establishment of several hydraulic techniques. Two long water channels had to be built to supply water to the palaces and vegetable gardens of the Alhambra and its surroundings. Where it was necessary, ingenious elevation systems were implemented to break the altitude limitations. Muḥammad I built the Royal Water Channel in 1238 to supply the palatine city and the irrigated areas of the almunia of the Generalife. Later on, in the second half of the fourteenth century, the Acequia de los Arquillos was opened by Muḥammad V to supply another series of outdoor palaces with vegetable gardens that could not be serviced by the Acequia Real. The decline through Nasrid rule in the fifteenth century prevented the survival of these latest almunias that were the most costly to maintain. This paper presents the latest findings related to the whole Nasrid hydraulic system that allowed the creation and development of this medieval Islamic masterpiece.