218 A Canal Act of the Emperor Akbar, [No. 171. 



without some degree of pleasure, namely, that the Jumna canals, as a 

 perennial source of supply to a thirsty land, owe their origin to the great- 

 est of Indian princes. 



The question, however, is a difficult one on account of the universal 

 prevalence of the belief that Firoz Shah drew a canal from the Jumna to 

 Hissar, and from the obscurity of the accounts of the various channels 

 excavated by that king. The only books bearing on the subject to 

 which I have access, are Dow's Firishta, and Rennel's Memoir on the 

 Map of India. 



The words of Firishta are as follows : — " In the year 757, between 

 the hills of Mendouli and Sirmoor, he (Firoz) cut a channel from the 

 Jumna, which he divided into seven streams ; one of which he brought 

 to Hansi, and from thence to Raeesen, where he built a strong castle, 

 calling it by his own name. He drew, soon after, a canal from the 

 Cagar, passing by the walls of Sirsutti, and joined it to the rivulet of 

 Kera, upon which he built a city, named after him Firozeabad. This 

 city he watered by another canal from the Jumna. "(rc) 



The seven streams I cannot explain. "Raeesen, (though this name 

 is not now recognizable) where he built a strong castle, calling it by 

 his own name," is doubtless Hissar Firozah, or " the castle of Firoz." 

 The remainder of the sentence seems almost inextricable from its 

 obscurity, and probably, as Major Rennel suggests (o), contains a jumble, 

 arising from the multitude of excavations made by King Firoz, and the 

 number of cities to which he gave his name. There appears, however, 

 no reason to believe, according to Rennel's hypothesis, that a canal 

 was ever brought to Delhi before the time of Shah Jahan. 



The city of Sirsutti, which Major Rennel is a little puzzled to 

 fix, would seem to be Sirsa, for the following reasons — It was (Rennel 



(ri) Dow's Firishta, I. 305. A more exact translation than Dow's of the passages 

 relating to the excavations of Firoz, from a copy of Firishta in the palace library 

 at Delhi, is given by Mr. Seton, Resident at Delhi, in a letter to Government, on the 

 subject of restoring the canals, dated September 11th, 1807. But, in the words quoted, 

 there is no material difference, except in the names of Hansi and Raeesen, which 

 Dow writes Hassi and Beraisen. But the system of water carriage on the canals 

 which Dow attributes to Firoz in the following sentence, appears to be a mere em- 

 bellishment. 



(o) " It may probably be a jumble of two sentences, which relate to different cities 

 together. The river Kera, and Firozeabad may relate to the city of Ffrozepoor, at 

 the conflux of the Sutlege and Beyah, and the canal from the Jumnah to Ffrozeabad, 

 a city founded by Firoz in the vicinity of old Delhi. * * * * Capt. Kirkpatrick 

 notices an obscurity in the text of Firishta in this place.— Rennel, page 74. 



