Mughal Empire

India 1700-1792

Mughal administration

The Mughal Empire originated in Central Asia and lasted from the reign of Babur beginning in 1526 to the exile of Bahadur Shah II in 1857. At its height it controlled most of the Indian subcontinent. FIBIS records contain many references to Mughal administration and officials so a brief description is given below.

Administrative system

The cohesion of the Mughal empire depended on the qualities of the emperor around whom everything revolved. The administration was given entirely at his whim to a hierarchy of subordinate officials. The posts were randomly appointed and the recipients had no specific training or examination unlike the Chinese civil service. More often than not they were gained through political manoeuvring and bribery. None of the posts was hereditary making the emperor's favour even more necessary.

Vakil

The Vakil was the royal deputy. It was a post filled only twice under the seven great Mughal emperors. Other ranks were in descending order:

Wazir

The Wazir (anglicised to vizier) was the second highest rank. He was the chief executive of the empire with varying powers. Again the post was not always filled.

Diwan

The Diwan was the finance minister responsible for collection of revenue and remittance of it to the imperial treasury. The office was sometimes combined the that of Vizier. The Diwani (revenue office) was conferred on the East India Company by Shah Alam in 1765. This greatly enhanced the power of the British in India. In later years the term Diwan was also used for the prime minister of a princely state.

Mir Bakshi

The Mir Bakshi was the paymaster-general and the administrator of the army.

Chief Sadr

The Chief Sadr was the chief ecclesiastical officer/chief justice in charge of charitable and religious endowments.

Chief Kazi

The Chief Kazi was an Islamic scholar & judge and the expounder of canon law.

Muhtasib

The Muhtasib was the regulator of public business who controlled trade and enforced Islamic injunctions.

Mansabdar

The Mansabdar (lit. rank holder) was the lowest grade of official. They were divided into three functions: military, clerical and theological.

Amir

All Mansabdars were titled Amir (commander). They were graded in military fashion ranging from Commander of 7,000 to Commander of 20. Amir-i-Azam (greater nobles) commanded 7,000 to 3,000. Amir (noble) commanded 2,500 to 500. Mansabdar commanded 400 to 20.

Zamindar

In the Mughal era the zamindar (ground holder) was an official who collected taxes from the peasants. Subsequently the term came to mean a hereditary landholder and, under the British administration, was a landlord who passed taxes to the authorities while keeping a portion for himself. The zamindar was not infrequently the cause of oppression of the farmers.

Ryot

In the Mughal era Ryot was the term used to describe a permanent resident cultivator. He paid taxes to the zamindar and was on the lowest rung of the ladder.

Remuneration

Payment of the mansabdars by the emperor was by naqdi (cash) or the revenue of a jagir (land holding). Personal fortunes could not be passed to children but reverted to the emperor. This discouraged Amirs from investing in property and led to expenditure on extravagant lifestyles.

Jagir

The Jagir was the right granted by the emperor to recover revenue from a tract of land. The grantee was called a Jagirdar. The yield of the jagir was set by revenue officers and was often inflated. It could also be altered by influence or bribery. The grant could be terminated by the emperor at any time and could not be handed down to children. This meant that the jagirdar had no interest in improving the land or supporting the farmers, only in extracting as much revenue as possible.

Territory

At its zenith in the 17th century under Aurangzeb the empire was divided as follows:

Suba

The Suba (province) was the largest unit and there were 29 governed by a Subedar (governor) - not to be confused the Indian army rank Subadar. The Suba was subdivided in two ways - for revenue collection and for military administration.

Sarkar

The Sarkar (tax district) was a revenue subdivision of the Suba which contained a number of Parganas (sub-districts). The "Purgunnah" battalions in the Bengal Native Infantry were formed for revenue collecting duty. Sarkar was also a term used to denote the British Indian administration.

Faujdari

The Faujdari (military district) was a subdivision of the Suba, It was administered by a Faujdar.

Thana

The Thana was a sub-divion of the Faujdari and was overseen by a Thanedar.

External links

Wikipedia

Mughal Empire
Sarkar
Dewan
Qazi
Muhtasib
Mansabdar
Amir
Jagir
Zamindar
Ryot

Reference

With acknowledgements to The Mughal World: India's Tainted Paradise by Abraham Eraly 2008 published by Phoenix ISBN 9780753823620 which was the source of much of the detail in this article.