History of India V

Assignment

Submitted by: Vivienne Hrilrokim Sielhnam

II BA (Honours) History

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Discuss the main features and the potentiality of the Mansabdari

System under Akbar.
The Mansabdari System was a unique system devised by Akbar, which is now
recognised as the basic feature of the Mughal administrative and military structure.
The word ‘mansab’ means a place or a position where something is fixed or placed,
and, thus, the term came to mean a position in the system. This system organised
the Mughal nobility into numerical grades and fixed their position in the official
hierarchy. However, in due course of time it came to mean a function- an
obligation on part of the mansabdar to render some service to the empire in return
for this rank, which fixed his salary as well. This function was usually the
maintenance of a number of armed retainers that was also denoted by his rank.
The Mansabdar could be given any administrative or military function or kept in
attendance at the court. Mansabdari evolved over the years as a single service that
combined both civil and military responsibilities. The system undoubtedly gave to
the Mughal nobility and military machine a high degree of uniformity and
regularity in its functioning, which is likely to have contributed to the empire’s
stability and strength.

During Babur's time, the term mansabdar was not used; instead, another term
wajhdar was employed. The latter differed in some ways from the mansab system
that evolved under the Mughals after Babur.

According to Athar Ali, the origins of the Mansabdari System could be traced back
to the decimal system of organising armies. The numbered gradation of the
mansabs had its roots in Chengiz Khan’s system of dividing his army from 10 to
10,000. However, these numbers were generally used to denote the rank of a
commander rather than the actual number of troops commanded or maintained.
Thus, the Mansabdari system evolved by Akbar was quite unique for it was more
complex than its predecessors yet it brought about more order in the
administrative system of the Mughals. Abul Fazl states that Akbar had established
66 grades of mansabdars ranging from commanders of 10 horsemen to 10,000
horsemen, although only 33 grades have been mentioned by him.

Over a period of time, Akbar felt the need to create a system that would allow him
to control the nobility through a set of rules and regulations. He also wanted to
create a system whereby a personal bond or some form of allegiance could be
created between the Emperor and his officials. The Mansabdari System was able to
solve this problem and at the same time serve the administrative and military
interests of the Empire.

Mansab denoted three things. It determined, firstly, the status of its holder (the
mansabdar) in the official hierarchy. It fixed the pay of the holder and also laid
upon the holder the obligation of maintaining a specified number of contingents
with horses and equipment.

The position of the mansabdar was denoted by two numbers, the first number (zat)
determined the mansabdar's personal pay (talab-khassa) and his rank in the
organisation. The second number (sawar) fixed the number of horses and
horsemen to be maintained by the mansabdar and, accordingly, the amount he
would receive for his contingent (tabinan).

Debates surround the evolution of the Mansabdari System. Scholars like Moreland
and Abdul Aziz held that a single numerical rank existed before Akbar, the number
directly indicating the size of the cavalry contingent that the rank-holder was
expected to maintain. Moreland further supposed that as this number became
more and more a sham in terms of cavalry actually mustered, Akbar introduced the
second (sawar) rank in his 11th regnal year (1566-67).

Moreland used five phases to denote the evolution of the Mansabdari system. In
the first phase, numerical rank appears as a military fact a 1000er man was
someone who commanded 1000 troopers. In the second phase, the titular strength
fell below nominal. The third phase saw the emergence of the dual rank system,
where a 1000er who commanded 100 trooper did not see his rank reduce but he
became a “1000er personnel with 100 troopers”. The fourth phase saw the
repetition of the second phase whereby there was a fall in the effective strength
below nominal. The last and final phase saw the reformation of the system by Shah
Jahan.

During the phase of the insurrection of the dual rank system two word gained
common ground. while the first became what in course of time came to be called
the zat rank, indicating personal pay and status only. Irfan Habib is of the view
that Abu’lFazl in compiling the list of officials as late as the 40th regnal year has
given only the zat rank and omitted the sawar ranks altogether, which has led to
confusion regarding the origin of the concept of the dual rank.

In 1595-96, the mansabdars were classified into three, groups. Firstly, horsemen
(sawar) equal to the number of the zat. Secondly, horsemen half or more than half
of the number of the zat, and
finallt those whose sawar rank was less than half of their zat rank.

The sawar rank was either equal or less than the zat. Even if the former was higher,
the mansabdar's position in the official hierarchy would not be affected. A
mansabdar with 4000 zat and 2000 sawar (4000/2000 in short) was higher in rank
than a mansabdar of 3000/3000, although the latter had a higher number of
horsemen under him.

However, there are exceptions to this rule. For instance, when the mansabdar was
serving in a difficult terrain amidst the rebels, the state often increased the sawar
rank without altering the zat rank. Thus, reforms were undertaken without
modifying the basic scheme. One such reform was the use of conditional rank
(mashrut), which meant an ' increase of sawar rank for a temporary period. This
was an emergency measure adopted in the time of crisis, that is, the permission to
recruit more horsemen at the expense of the state.

Shireen Moosvi has provided a different interpretation regarding the evolution of

the Mansabdari System in her article “Evolution of Mansab System Under Akbar
(Until 1596)”. She is of the view that no rank existed before the reign of Akbar or
till the 18th regnal year, when according to Abu '1-Fazl, Akbar instituted the new
system of ranks. She has divided the evolution of the system into phases or
landmark regnal years.
 She says that in the first decade of Akbar’s reign evidence of any link between the
size of contingent maintained by a noble and the salary paid to him (usually in the
form of jagir assignment) is hard to find. Thus, she says that during this phase the
salaries were fixed arbitrarily by the Emperor without defining, at least, associated
military obligations. Moreland takes the example of the measures adopted by
Akbar in the 11th year (1566-7) as the earliest attempt to impose the obligation of
maintaining a certain number of troopers. The officials were required to maintain a
specified number of cavalrymen in accordance with the revenues of their jagirs, and
on the basis of certain rates sanctioned for troopers. However, she maintains that
the concept of rank or ‘mansab’ had not evolved till now as there is no evidence to
suggest the possible way of determining how the troopers were categorised during
this period. She argued that this year only witnessed an attempt to work out the
size of military obligation from the estimated revenues of the jagir and this system
continued till the dagh system was introduced in 1573-74.

The 18th regnal year (1573-4) saw the institution of the numerical rank (mansab)
.According to Abul Fazl, this year saw the introduction of the dagh, and the ranks
of the Imperial officials were also fixed. It was in the following year that the term
‘mansab’ came to be used in the sense of a rank and it was this rank that
determined, according to Badauni, the number of horses or sawar that they were
expected to maintain.

The final stage of the evolution of the mansab system, according to her, was
marked by an innovation that came in the 40th regnal year (1595-6). Badauni stated
that while the mansabdars were expected to maintain horsemen equal in number to
their mansab, this expectation in many cases was not fulfilled. Under the procedure
in force until, the mansabdar was first assigned his personal pay and the salary for a
number of troopers equal to his mansab –number was fixed on the basis of a
provisional or partial rate. He was expected subsequently to present his troops and
horses at the muster and brand, after which he was to be paid the balance due to
him at the full dagh rate. The procedure implies that if a mansabdar was unable to
produce the required number of troopers at the dagh, and his contingent fell short
of the number of his mansab, even the payment at the partial rate might involve a
great loss for the administration. The administration acknowledged the force of
reality and modified the system accordingly.
 It was now in the 40th regnal that the number of sawars actually expected began
to be distinct from the mansab number. The existing rank became the determining
factor for fixing the salary of the mansabdar or zat along with his status. An
additional number called sawar was also assigned, which denoted the number of
troopers the official was expected to maintain. The partial rate now applied only to
this last rank. The existing mansabs were indeed left unchanged, but the measure
adopted did imply a demotion (through lower sawar ranks) for those who did not
maintain their contingents in full; and there was a reduction too in their zat or
personal salaries to accord with the number of sawars they actually succeeded in
maintaining (owing to their classification in three categories). This clear
demarcation and evolution of the dual rank, however, came about only in his 41st
regnal year, which marks the full evolution of this system.

Thus, by Akbar's death (1605), mansab was split into two numerical
representations: the first, zat, determined the holder's personal pay and status in
the hierarchy; the second (sawar) indicated the number of horsemen to be
maintained by the holder and set the amount sanctioned to cover their pay. Thus, it
can also be called the cavalry or military rank. The zat also indicated the number of
horses, elephants, beasts of burden and carts that the mansabdar was expected to
maintain. Athar Ali states that the zat placed the mansabdar in an appropriate
position in the Mughal hierarchy, while, the sawar highlighted the exact
responsibility. Abu’lFazl in the Ain-i-Akbari has mentioned the existence of 66
grades of Mansabdars starting with commanders of the rank of 10 and extending
up to 5,000. However, this number could have been just a notional, sacred number
that was conveniently used by Fazl as it denoted the word Allah. I.H.Qureshi states
that if one examines the list of mansabdars prepared by Fazl then it would reveal
the existence of only thirty-three ranks in reality; the other thirty-three, according
to him were just theoretical and to satisfy the superstitious spirit of the time.

Satish Chandra has stated that while the term mansabdar was a generic term it was
popularly used only for those holding ranks upto 500. Those from 500 to 2500
were called amirs and those above 2500 were called amir-i-azam. He further states
that mansabs above 5,000 were usually meant for princes of blood.

Another important feature during the reign of Akbar was the conditional rank or
mashrut. It was added to the already existing zat and sawar ranks and was given in
view of the services required of a particular officer at a particular post. For
instance, if a mansabdar was appointed as faujdar of a particular area, and it was
felt that for the satisfactory discharge of his duties an additional 100 sawar rank
was required by him, then the mansab of the faujdar was conditionally increased so
as to enable him to employ 100 sawars. However, these ranks were cancelled as
soon as the expedition or service came to an end. Athar Ali states that sometimes a
part or whole of the conditional mansab was made unconditional but that was
considered a promotion and usually given as a mark of favour.

The Dagh system was introduced in 1573-74 as a way of ensuring some degree of
control over the mansabdars. This system required every mansabdar to bring their
personal horses and elephants for branding. A trooper, if capable of being a
sih-aspa (horse man with three horses) would bring three horses; if capable of
being do-aspa (horseman with two horses), two horses; if capable of being
zyak-aspa (horse man with one horse only), he would bring one horse for the dagh.
All the horses presented for inspection by a particular noble were branded with a
specific pattern to distinguish these from that of other nobles through a seal
(dagh). The physical description of the troops (chehra) was also recorded. This way
the possibility of presenting the same horse for inspection again was greatly
reduced. In this way the pay for everyone was fixed. Thus, ShireenMoosvi argues
that the salaries of the mansabdars were fixed according to their mansabs, while the
rates for their troopers were sanctioned separately.

The salary of each mansabdar was of two types- personal (Khasah) and contingent
(tabinam). A definite pay scale was laid down for each rank, whether zat or sawar,
and it was this rank that enabled the mansabdar to make a claim from the state. A
scale of salary was fixed for the zat rank. Secondly, when the zat rank was less than
5,000 the salary was different for the three categories of mansabdars. The salary for
the sawar rank was the sum total of the remuneration given to each trooper which
was fixed and uniformally applicable, whatever the number of the sawar rank might
be. The mansabdars received their emoluments either in cash (naqd) from the
treasury or as was more common they were assigned the revenue of particular
areas. These assignments were known as jagirs.

The appointment of the mansabdars was a long and elaborate process that
involved other officials until it came down to the emperor for his final approval.
The Mir Bakshi and the other leading nobles were also involved in this process.
Usually, the Mir Bakshi would scrutinise the potential candidates and then bring
them to the court to be approved by the king. Even the leading nobles could send
in their recommendations which were then scrutinised by the king. However, there
were instances of the king directly appointing the mansabdars as well. This was an
attempted to establish a bond of allegiance between the two. It was based on the
belief that since the mansabdar was independently recruited by the king he would
owe direct loyalty to him. Thus, Akbar appointed a number of Rajputs to high
mansabs in order to win over them and incorporate them into the Empire.

A survey of the mansabdars appointed during the reigns of the Mughal Emperors
show that some groups were more favoured than the others. The most favoured
category were the sons and close kinsmen of persons who were already in service.
This group was called khanazad. Another group which was given preference was of
those who held high positions in other kingdoms. The main areas from which such
people came was from the Uzbek and Safavi Empires and the Deccan kingdoms.
These included Irani, Turani, Iraqi and Khurasani. However, these favoured groups
were not constant throughout the Mughal Empire. For instance, during the reign
of Akbar the Rajputs were favoured but their position changed in the later years
especially during the reigns of Shahjahan and Aurangzeb, who in order to pacify
the Deccan began to give larger number of mansabs to the Deccani kingdom and
the Marathas, at the cost of the Rajput rulers. Similarly, the position of the Afghans
also improved under the later Mughals than what it had been under Akbar.

The Mansabdari system following the death of Akbar witnessed a number of new
innovations. The reign of Jahangir witnessed a remarkable change from the system
instituted by Akbar viz. the introduction of the “du-aspasih-aspa” rank. In his 10th
regnal year, Jahangir made 1,700 sawars out of the rank of Mahabat Khan
du-aspasih-aspa as a mark of special distinction. This is the earliest known incident
of such a rank being conferred upon any noble. Although, this tradition started
during the reign of Jahangir, it was only under Aurangzeb and Shahjahan that this
rank was awarded on a large-scale.

The du-aspasih-aspa rank was theoretically a part of the sawar rank and the
remaining part of the sawar rank that was left after this was called barawurdi. This
rank doubled both the rank and the military obligation for that portion. For
example, if a mansabdar held a mansab of 4000 zat/4000 sawar of which 2000 was
do aspasihaspa, then it would mean that out of the original sawar rank of 4000, the
ordinary barawurdi troops will be only 2000 and the additional rank of 2000 do
aspasihaspa will double itself to 4000 ordinary troopers. Thus, the total number of
horsemen to be maintained would be 6000. Athar Ali has thrown some light on
how the pay-scale worked in case of this rank. For instance, if 3,000 sawar was the
rank of a mansabdar of which 1,000 was du-aspasih-aspa and 8,000 dams was the
rate per unit of sawar rank, then the pay in this case would be calculated as: 1,000 x
8,000 x 2 (as both pay and obligation were doubled) =16,000,000 dams.

Although, the contemporary sources do not shed much light on the factors that
may have compelled Jahangir into adopting such a system, modern historians have
speculated their own theories on the same. Jahangir, after becoming emperor,
wanted to promote nobles of his confidence and strengthen them militarily, but
there were some practical problems. As we noticed in generally the sawar rank
could not be higher than zat rank. In such a situation, any increase in sawar rank
would have meant an increase in zat rank also. The increase in the latter would
have led to additional payment as personal pay thereby increasing the burden on
treasury. Moreover, there would have been an upward mobility of the noble in the
official hierarchy which was likely to give rise to jealousy among the nobles. In fact
du-aspasih-aspa was a way out to grant additional sawar rank without disturbing
the zat rank or mansab hierarchy. It also served to be a far more financially viable
option.

There was a sheer increase in the number of mansabdars in the Mughal state after
the death of Akbar. Satish Chandra has tried to explain this by arguing that the
initial years of Jahangir were marked by a lot of insecurity. He didn’t trust a number
of the nobles from Akbar’s time and this along with the rebellion by Shahjahan had
compelled him to create a nobility that would be loyal to him. Thus, he increased
the ranks of his favoured nobles by “not less than 20% to 300-400%”. As Jahangir
was unable to add substantially to the territorial extent of the Empire, most of
these assignments had to be carved out from the khalisa land, thereby, reducing it
to a large extent as what had existed during the time of Akbar.

Mansabdari was the main institution of the Mughal Empire, which embraced both
civil and military sectors of administration. The system was developed to create a
centralized administrative system as well as creating a large force. Mansabdars and
their large forces were used to expand the empire and administer it effectively.
Mansabdars held dual ranks - zat and sawar, the former indicated the status of the
officer in the administrative hierarchy, and which also determined the personal pay.
The latter denoted the contingent they were expected to maintain.
Mansabdars were divided into 3 classes on ,the basis of the ratio between their zat
and sawar ranks.
The salaries and obligation of maintaining troops were governed by a definite set
of rules which underwent changes from time to time.
For revenue purposes, all the land was divided into two - the jagir and khalisa. The
land revenue collected from the khalisa went to the royal treasury while that from
the jagir to mansabdars.
Mansabdars were paid through the assignment of jagirs. The jagir system as an
institution was used to appropriate the surplus from the peasantry. At the same
time it was used for distributing the revenue resources among the ruling classes.

One can see that the Mansabdari system may have had its roots in pre-existing
Mongoloid or Turkish traditions but the system that finally developed in the 46th
during the reign of Akbar. It r was far more complex, more elaborate and more
organised than its predecessors. While, the essential nature and working of this
system was not changed under Akbar’s successors a number of new innovations
were made in the 17th century that helped in refining the defects in the system. It
was because of this efficient system that the strength and stability the Empire could
be maintained.

The system played a major role in integrating the empire. Akbar realized the need
for a system that would bring the vast empire together and that would ensure that
the landed elite would remain loyal to the authority. With the evolution of the
Mansabdari system under Akbar was able to ensure that the nobles remained loyal
to the crown. This, however, was accompanied by the use of imperial authority.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

● The Agrarian System of Mughal India- Irfan Habib

● The Mughal Nobility Under Aurangzeb- Athar Ali
● Evolution of Mansab System Under Akbar (Until 1596)- Shireen Moosvi
● Rank (mansab) in the Mogul State Service- W H Moreland

Class notes