Good to Know ..

Windmills were used in Persia (present-day Iran) as early as 200 B.C.

The windwheel of Heron of Alexandria marks one of the first known instances of wind powering a machine in history. However, the first known practical windmills were built in Sistan, a region between Afghanistan and Iran, from the 7th century. These "Panemone" were vertical axle windmills, which had long vertical driveshafts with rectangular blades.

Made of six to twelve sails covered in reed matting or cloth material, these windmills were used to grind corn or draw up water, and were used in the gristmilling and sugarcane industries.

Windmills first appeared in Europe during the middle ages. The first historical records for their use in England date to the 11th or 12th centuries and there are reports of

German crusaders taking their windmill-making skills to Syria around 1190. By the 14th century, Dutch windmills were in use to drain areas of the Rhine delta.