[SES1066]

There are hundreds of thousands of miles of similar (but less precisely built) tunnels throughout Iran.

I believe that you are writing about Qanats Which are also an amazing feat of engineering in the Indo-Aryan desert areas. According to the Wikipedia article, the oldest of these in Iran may date from around the time of Cyrus the Great (700 BCE).

However, in defense of this article, I don't think these qanats were built by invading forces with century+ mindsets. This aqueduct project is amazing.

[muawiyah]

The Persian tunnels built in what is now Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Israel, et al were definitely constructed by people who liked water and were quite willing to have the locals provide all the labor for the tunnel and canal jobs.

So, yes, the Persians were as devoted to having water as were the Romans.

Speaking of century long ambitions, they've been building the New York City subway for MORE THAN A CENTURY and will never be done!

[Fred Nerks]

Qanats in Iran: