The Emperor: Centre of the System
The Mughal emperor was the supreme authority — legislative, executive, judicial, and military. All mansab appointments, jagir assignments, judicial appeals, and major policy decisions originated from or were ratified by the emperor personally. The diwan-i-aam (Hall of Public Audience) and diwan-i-khas (Hall of Private Audience) were the daily venues for the emperor's public functions. The Mughal state had no separation of executive and judicial powers at the imperial level — the emperor was the court of last appeal.
Central Ministers: The Five Key Officers
| Office | Title | Function | Equivalent (Delhi Sultanate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Minister / Viceroy | Vakil (Vakil-i-Mutlaq) | Overall coordinating head when appointed; often left vacant or held by princes | Naib Sultan |
| Finance & Revenue | Diwan (Wazir) | Head of revenue; controlled the imperial treasury (Diwani); issued assignments and audited accounts | Diwan-i-Wizarat |
| Military Paymaster | Mir Bakshi | Head of military administration; NOT commander-in-chief; maintained dagh + chehra; issued pay orders; presented new mansabdars to emperor | Ariz-i-Mamalik |
| Religious & Charitable | Sadr-us-Sudur | Head of religious endowments (waqf); appointed qazis (judges); supervised religious grants (madad-i-maash) | Sadr-us-Sudur |
| Chief Justice | Qazi-ul-Quzat | Head of the judicial system; Islamic law; often combined with Sadr-us-Sudur as one office | Qazi-ul-Quzat |
Additional important officers: Mir Saman / Khan-i-Saman (head of the imperial household, managed the royal karkhanas/workshops), Kotwal (city police chief, maintained law and order in cities), Muhtasib (censor of public morals; active under Aurangzeb), Daroga-i-Dak Chauki (head of postal/intelligence service).
Mansab System: Structure and Mechanics
The mansab system introduced by Akbar was the backbone of Mughal nobility and administration. Every noble held a mansab expressed as two numbers: zat (personal rank) and sawar (cavalry rank). Pay was calculated based on zat; military obligation was defined by sawar.
| Rank Group | Zat Range | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Mansabdar | 10–400 | Lower nobility; amirs |
| Amir | 500–2,500 | Middle nobility |
| Amir-ul-Umara | 2,500–5,000 | High nobility |
| Khan / Khan-e-Khanan | 5,000–10,000 | Highest nobility (excluding princes) |
| Princes | 10,000+ | Imperial princes; could go to 12,000 or above |
Du-aspa and Si-aspa modifications (introduced under Jahangir): a mansabdar granted du-aspa (two-horse) had to maintain double the sawar contingent implied by his sawar rank; si-aspa (three-horse) meant triple. These were special grants for meritorious service.
Jagir System: Revenue Assignment vs. Cash Pay
Mughal mansabdars were paid in one of two ways: (1) naqdi (cash salary from the treasury), or (2) jagir (assignment of the revenue of a territory). A jagirdar was entitled to collect all taxes from his assigned territory up to the value of his pay entitlement, keeping the surplus or making up any shortfall from his other resources.
Iqta (Delhi Sultanate): Territory assigned to a muqti/wali; surplus (fawazil) remitted to sultan; muqti had significant administrative autonomy. More territorial/gubernatorial in nature.
Jagir (Mughal Empire): Revenue assignment tied to mansab rank; frequently transferred (every 3–4 years to prevent entrenchment); mansabdar had revenue rights only, NOT administrative authority over the jagir territory. Separate administrative officers governed the territory. Jagir was a financial mechanism, not a territorial appointment.
The jagir crisis emerged in the late 17th century: as the empire expanded and the mansabdari class grew, the supply of productive jagirs could not keep pace. Mansabdars were assigned barren or remote jagirs whose revenue did not meet their entitlement — creating financial distress and noble discontent that accelerated the empire's structural decline under and after Aurangzeb.
Provincial Hierarchy: Subah to Village
The Mughal Empire was divided into provinces called subahs (or wilayats). Akbar created 15 subahs; by Aurangzeb's time there were 21. The subah was divided into sarkars (districts), which were subdivided into parganas (sub-districts), below which were individual villages (mauza).
Subah Officers
| Officer | Title | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Provincial Governor | Subahdar / Sipahsalar / Nazim | Chief executive; maintained law and order; commanded provincial forces; reported to emperor |
| Provincial Finance Officer | Diwan (Provincial) | Collected revenue; reported to Central Diwan (NOT to Subahdar — independent channel) |
| Military Paymaster | Bakhshi (Provincial) | Military records, pay; reported to Mir Bakshi centrally |
| Chief Justice | Qazi (Provincial) | Islamic law and civil justice in the subah |
| Sadr (Provincial) | Sadr | Religious grants, endowments in the subah |
| Intelligence Officer | Waqia-navis | Reported daily events directly to emperor, bypassing subahdar |
| News Reporter | Sawaneh-nigar / Khufia-navis | Secret intelligence reporter; additional check on subahdar |
Sarkar, Pargana and Village
| Unit | Officers | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Sarkar (District) | Faujdar (military/law & order) + Amalguzar/Amil (revenue) | Faujdar maintained security; Amalguzar collected revenue |
| Pargana (Sub-district) | Shiqdar (executive) + Amin/Munsif (revenue) + Qanungo (land records) | Day-to-day executive and revenue administration |
| Village | Muqaddam (headman) + Patwari (accountant) | Village governance; land records maintained by Patwari |
The Qanungo was a hereditary record-keeper at the pargana level — he maintained the parwana daftar (land records register) and was essential for revenue continuity across administrative changes. The Patwari at the village level maintained the khasra (field register) and khatauni (cultivation register) — records that survive in Indian land administration to this day.
Revenue Systems of the Mughal Empire
| System | Method | Basis | Suitability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zabti (Ain) | Measurement-based cash assessment | Land measured, crop type noted, cash rate applied | Fertile areas with cash economy; standard system under Dahsala |
| Batai (Ghalla-bakshi) | Crop-sharing | Harvest physically divided at threshing floor — 1/3 to 1/2 state share | Areas with weak cash economy; required state presence at harvest |
| Kankut (Danabandi) | Crop estimation | Standing crop assessed by visual inspection, converted to cash | Variable yields; intermediate areas |
| Nasaq (Muqatasah) | Customary/fixed assessment | Village paid what it historically paid, without annual measurement | Remote/inaccessible areas; areas of uncertain yield |
Todar Mal's Dahsala (1580): The Standard System
The Ain-i-Dahsala (Ten-Year System) was completed by Raja Todar Mal in 1580 CE after a decade of data collection (1570–1580). It applied the zabti method systematically: all agricultural land was measured with the standardised ilahi gaz; ten years of crop prices in each locality were averaged; annual revenue was set in cash at a fixed proportion of average output. This eliminated year-to-year fluctuation in revenue demand and gave peasants predictable obligations.
The Ain-i-Akbari (compiled by Abul Fazl) contains the detailed statistics of this system — crop-wise, region-wise data that historians now use to study Mughal agricultural economy.
Land Classification Under the Dahsala
| Category | Meaning | Tax Treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Polaj | Annually cultivated; never left fallow | Full rate every year |
| Parauti | Left fallow for 1–2 seasons for restoration | Reduced rate; encouragement to bring back into cultivation |
| Chachar | Fallow for 3–4 years | Further reduced rate depending on years of abandonment |
| Banjar | Waste/long-fallow; uncultivated for 5+ years | Very low or exempt; incentive to bring into cultivation |
Previous Year Question · UPSC Prelims 2018
With reference to Mughal administration, consider the following pairs:
1. Mir Bakshi — Head of Military (commander-in-chief)
2. Diwan — Head of Revenue and Finance
3. Sadr-us-Sudur — Head of Religious Endowments and Appointments of Qazis
Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?
Mughal vs. Delhi Sultanate Administration — Comparison
| Feature | Delhi Sultanate | Mughal Empire |
|---|---|---|
| Nobility rank system | No formal numerical rank; titles (Khan, Malik) | Mansab system — precise numerical zat + sawar ranks |
| Revenue assignment | Iqta (more autonomous, surplus remitted as fawazil) | Jagir (revenue-only; rotated; no territorial authority) |
| Revenue military paymaster | Ariz-i-Mamalik (NOT commander-in-chief) | Mir Bakshi (NOT commander-in-chief) |
| Provincial unit | Iqta/Wilayat → Shiqq → Pargana → Village | Subah → Sarkar → Pargana → Village |
| Revenue system | Kharaj (1/3 standard; 50% under Alauddin) | Zabti/Ain (10-year average; cash; under Todar Mal) |
| Jaziya | Standard feature; Firuz extended to Brahmins | Abolished Akbar 1564; reimposed Aurangzeb 1679 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a jagir and an iqta?
Both assigned officers the right to collect revenue from territory instead of cash salary. Differences: Iqta (Sultanate) = more autonomous, gubernatorial, surplus (fawazil) remitted to sultan. Jagir (Mughal) = revenue-only assignment tied to mansab rank, frequently rotated (every 3–4 years), no administrative authority over territory. Jagirdar had revenue rights only; separate administrative officers governed the territory.
What were the main revenue assessment systems of the Mughal Empire?
Zabti/Ain: measurement-based cash (standard system; Todar Mal Dahsala 1580). Batai/Ghalla-bakshi: crop-sharing at threshing floor (1/3 to 1/2 state share). Kankut/Danabandi: crop estimation before harvest. Nasaq/Muqatasah: customary fixed assessment without measurement. Zabti was the most systematic and became standard in fertile areas.
Why was the provincial Diwan independent of the Subahdar?
The provincial Diwan reported directly to the central Diwan in Delhi, NOT to the provincial Subahdar. This institutional separation was deliberate: it prevented the Subahdar from controlling revenue figures, enabled the centre to audit province finances independently, and checked the accumulation of excessive power at the provincial level. The Waqia-navis (intelligence reporter) similarly reported directly to the emperor, bypassing the Subahdar.