Al-Jazari's Double-action Suction Pump

Al-Jazari also designed water-raising machinery powered by animals and some automatically driven by running water that he included in his 'The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices'.

Of his five designs of water-raising machines was the double-action automatic suction pump shown here in a manuscript image from his book. The system would have been placed into a river and would raise water to a higher point.