ĀBYĀR, title of the person given official charge of the irrigation of ābī “irrigated” lands. He may be a farmer or sharecropper elected by the cultivators, in those villages where farmers work their own land (see Ḵorda-mālek, and Raʿīyat), or he may be appointed by a landlord. The ābyār’s duty is to oversee the just and equal distribution of irrigation water; he is compensated by either a share in the produce of the ābī lands or a fixed payment in money or in kind.
See also Agriculture. Mīrāb.
(E. Ehlers)
Originally Published: December 15, 1983
Last Updated: July 21, 2011
This article is available in print.
Vol. I, Fasc. 4, p. 405
E. Ehlers, “ĀBYĀR,” Encyclopædia Iranica, I/4, p. 405; an updated version is available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/abyar-title-of-the-person-given-olcial-charge-of-he-irrigation-of-abf-irrigated-lands (accessed on 2 February 2014).
