Urban Water History of Shahjahanabad, Delhi (1639-1857): Situating Mughal Hydrology and Urbanism in the ‘Persianate World’

Abstract

The Mughal Empire, founded by the Timurid prince, Babur, in 1526 has been predominantly studied as an Indian phenomenon, with their transregional connections and Turko-Mongolian ancestry not extensively explored. Drawing upon earlier empires of ‘Turko-Mongol’ origin in Iran & Central Asia, the thesis positions Shahjahan’s reign (5th Mughal Emperor; r. 1628-1658) and the Mughal empire as an extension of Central Asian political and sovereign practices, manifested through city building, architectural programs, and infrastructural projects. The thesis investigates the Mughal system of waterworks through hydrological landscapes shaped by the empire across South Asia, focusing on Shahjahanabad (1639-1857), the last Mughal capital. Using water as a ‘central element’, the thesis decodes patterns of socio-spatial organisation, religious engagements, and urbanism practices emerging from hydrological interactions. It presents infrastructural systems as cultural artefacts and explores contours of control, access, and use of ‘water’ in the capital region through a study of Shah Nahr, the Mughal canal. As a revivalist homage to antecedent water management practices in Central Asia & Iran, the Shahjahanabad model offers insights into societies that have historically managed water resources in arid/semi-arid areas of the ‘Persianate world’. The methodology incorporated archaeological records, textual records, and a systematic surface survey of the 150 km canal landscape between Karnal and Delhi, together with documentation of associated water features in the agricultural hinterlands, garden suburbs, inner city, and fort complex. GIS and Remote Sensing techniques were used to identify, survey, map, reconstruct, and evaluate the landform and comprehend the behaviour of water in gravity-based landscapes.