Menua Canal

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 kilometres (35 mi), 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.