138 chapter four
(c) the state had the duty of digging canals and establishing bridges
to help develop agriculture and related economic activities, “If a
mule stumbled in Iraq Umar would be responsible for it”.
The second Caliph demonstrated that the agricultural productivity
of the land was his main concern. By qualifying the ownership of
existing land Umar provided an incentive to the owner to look after
it and by leaving the conquered agricultural land in the hands of
its keepers he recognised that:
(a) the original farmers were more able to cultivate the land than
the Arabs
(b) the keepers would have more incentive to work hard than the
case would otherwise be, and with a fair system of land taxation
this would help
(c) improve the agricultural productivity of the land and the rev-
enue to the state.
Agriculture continued to occupy an important position in the state
economy during the dynastic caliphate of both the Umayyads and
the Abbasids. On the instruction of the heads of state, province gov-
ernors paid considerable attention to the agricultural sector. Of these
governors, al-Œajjaj, the governor of Iraq under the Umayyads, is
a distinguished example. Despite his unpopularity among historians
for his cruelty and ruthlessness, al-Œajjaj is reported to have been
active in developing the agriculture sector. His policy was twofold:
(a) preserving the existing land in its most suitable form and (b)
establishing new communities on newly reclaimed land. He embarked
on digging up rivers and canals in Iraq, reclaiming agriculture land
and building up towns in the reclaimed areas (Al- ̨abarì). To help
establish new communities on the new land he brought thousands
of working cattle (buffalos) and agricultural labourers from other
areas, either from the same province or from other provinces, and
encouraged them to settle on the reclaimed land (ibid.). Force, which
was not strange to al-Œajjaj, was resorted to when the need arose
to reinforce his ideas of agricultural development. By force he for-
bade the internal emigration of agricultural workers to the main
cities, and although this might be regarded as harsh, it reflected al-
Œajjaj’s awareness of the economic consequences of the problem.
Similar actions are not unknown to be taken by modern govern-