A Study of Aqueducts in the Old Waterworks of Arak City

The present paper examines the process of the formation and development of Arak during the Qajar Period. Following a descriptive-analytic approach and through field studies, it also explores the waterworks of arak during the same period. Unlike the other cities of Iran, which were gradually expanded over time, Arak was built based on specific engineering plans and designs. This city is a good example of Qajar Urbanism, which, while observing the traditional models of Iranian urbanism, also benefitted from the specific features of western architecture. The primary texture of the city enjoys a checkered format, and the streets are constructed perpendicular to each other. The bazar separates the two main initial quarters of the city from each other, and the urban structures of the city are equally distributed in its quarters. One of such urban structures is the accurate waterworks system of the city, which was designed prior to building the city. During the Qajar Period, aqueducts (qanats) were among the most important irrigation sources of Arak. In this period, there were six aqueducts including City Aqueduct (Qanat-i Sepahdari, Vaziri Qanat, Khan Hakem Qanat, Ab Deh Qanat, Azad Qanat of Marzabad, Mostofi Qanat (Arbabi Qanat), Haj Agha Hossein Qanat (Khakbaz Qanat).