The 'Persian wheel' (araghatta)
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Was the pot-garland water wheel, called the 'Persian wheel', actually invented in India?
Disputed: evidence incompleteTechnology & engineering
Indian claim
The araghatta ('spoke' + 'pot'), the rahat of North India, is mentioned in early Indian texts, and some historians have suggested the device may have begun in India.
Evidence for the Indian claim
- Sanskrit texts describe the araghatta, and it is mentioned again in the Rajatarangini (12th century).
Commonly credited to
Other historians (e.g. John Peter Oleson) place the invention of the animal-driven saqiya in Ptolemaic Egypt around the 3rd century BCE; the name 'Persian wheel' points to an Iranian origin.
Evidence for the other claim
- Archaeological and papyrus evidence for the saqiya in Egypt is strong from the Hellenistic period.
- The dates of early Indian texts are uncertain, and some early references may mean a different water-lifting device.
What historians and scientists say
India, Egypt and Iran are all proposed as the home of the pot-garland water wheel, and the evidence is not decisive. The 'Persian' label is a later name, not proof of origin.
Sources