Tughlaq Irrigation Canal System

Timeline

1. c. 1325–1351Delhi Sultanate · North IndiaMuhammad bin Tughlaq attempted large-scale canal projects and a capital relocation plan; though partly failures, they accumulated experience in diverting water and building channels on the North Indian plain for his successors, laying the foundation of Tughlaq hydraulic policy.
2. 1361Firuz Shahabad · DelhiFiruz Shah Tughlaq cut a stone-lined water channel from the Yamuna into Firuz Shahabad, built reservoirs, hospitals, and mosques, and regulated flow with canal sluices, supplying water to Delhi's urban area and surrounding orchards and fields; records credit his hydraulic works as a hallmark of Tughlaq prosperity.
3. c. 1354–1388Hisar · HaryanaFiruz Shah extended stone channels in Hisar and the Sutlej basin, bringing river water into arid farming areas and promoting cotton and grain cultivation; canal maintenance was incorporated into the sultanate's administrative system, with dedicated personnel managing dredging and water distribution.
4. c. 1398Delhi · DelhiAfter Timur's invasion and the Tughlaq dynasty's decline, maintenance of the large canal system ceased and some stretches silted up and were abandoned, but the reservoirs of Firuz Shahabad and the ruins of the Yamuna diversion channel survive, serving as important material evidence for studying medieval North Indian Islamic hydraulic technology.