Persian Qanat Irrigation

Timeline

1. 1251–1260Khurasan · KhurasanAfter the Mongol conquests, the Ilkhanate took over administration of eastern Persia; local water-law custom (āb-qānūn) and waqf endowments continued to fund qanat dredging and shaft repairs. Oasis canals around Mashhad and Nishapur in Khurasan relied on underground channels for water, supporting wheat and grape cultivation.
2. 1253–1260Yazd · IranThe qanat system of the Yazd basin carried drinking and irrigation water from foothill aquifers into the city; groups of shafts marked the channel routes and provided ventilation and access for dredging. In the mid-13th century, as a desert Silk Road node, the city's qanats were the core guarantee of settlement expansion and artisanal water supply (textiles, ceramics).
3. 1256–1260Iranian Plateau · IranQanat water allocation followed community customary law, with rotation by field area and time slots; the canal headman (mirāb) was responsible for dredging, scheduling, and dispute arbitration. Ilkhanate local administration did not directly replace this grassroots hydraulic self-governance, allowing the millennia-old qanat system to maintain technical continuity through regime changes.