History of Wind Power - Early Middle Ages

Early Middle Ages

The first practical windmills were in use in Sistan, a region in Iran and bordering Afghanistan, at least by the 9th century and possibly as early as the 7th century. These "Panemone windmills" were horizontal windmills, which had long vertical driveshafts with six to twelve rectangular sails covered in reed matting or cloth. These windmills were used to grind corn and pump water, and in the gristmilling and sugarcane industries. The use of windmills became widespread use across the Middle East and Central Asia, and later spread to China and India. Vertical windmills were later used extensively in Northwestern Europe to grind flour beginning in the 1180s, and many examples still exist. By 1000 AD, windmills were used to pump seawater for salt-making in China and Sicily.

A wind-powered automata is known from the mid-8th century: wind-powered statues that "turned with the wind over the domes of the four gates and the palace complex of the Round City of Baghdad". The "Green Dome of the palace was surmounted by the statue of a horseman carrying a lance that was believed to point toward the enemy. This public spectacle of wind-powered statues had its private counterpart in the 'Abbasid palaces where automata of various types were predominantly displayed."