Mansabdari System - Origin

 The Mansabdari system can be traced back to Changez Khan.

 Changez Khan organised his army on a decimal basis, with the
lowest unit being ten and the highest ten thousand (toman)
whose commander was known as 'Khan.' Babur was the first to
introduce it to North India.
 However, it was Akbar who institutionalised it in Mughal military
and civil administration after reforming and introducing two new
concepts, namely 'Zat' and 'Sawar.'

Mansabdari System of Akbar - Background

 Mansabdari was a unique system that was formally introduced
by mughal emperor Akbar in 1571 AD. Mansab is an Arabic term
that means rank or position.
 As a result, Mansabdar means a rank holder or an officer. The
Mansabdari system came from Central Asia. There were 66
Mansabdar categories in total, but there were only 33 in practise.
 The appointment of Mansabdars was based on a decimal
system; within this system, Akbar attempted to integrate the
three major functionaries, namely the nobility, the armed forces,
and the bureaucracy, into a common pool of administration.
 Mansab was ranked between 10 and 10,000. However, during
Akbar's reign, the maximum was 5000, and Akbar granted the
mansab of 7000 only to a few distinguished nobles of the time,
namely Mirza Ajij Koka and Raja Maan Singh, the former being
Akbar's foster brother and the latter related to him by
matrimonial ties.
 Although the word mansabdar was a generic term, only those
with ranks up to 500 were called mansabdars, those with ranks
500-2500 were called Amirs, and those with ranks 2500 and
above were known as Amir Umda or Amir-i-azam.
 Because it was a single service, a person was supposed to start
at the bottom and work their way up.
 However, the king could and frequently did appoint
distinguished people to higher positions.
Mansabdari System - Nature
 The mansabdars were the imperial structure's ruling section.
Mansabdars were said to be the pillars of Mughal administration;
in fact, the entire nobility belonged to mansabs; among them,
one or more held a mansab.
 The Mansabdari system was nothing more than a noble or
mansabdar system in which a mansabdar or noble was granted
the rights to hold a jaguar, which meant revenue assignments
(not the land itself) for services rendered.
 The authority bestowed upon them was not unbridled, but with
direct control of these nobles in the hands of the king.

Mansabdari System - Structure

 The mansab or rank was denoted by two
representations: personal rank (called zat) and cavalry
rank (called sawar).
 Every mansabdar was given the rank of both zat and sawar, and
he was paid two rupees per horse.
 A mansabdar was given a thousand rupees extra allowance if he
received the rank of five hundred sawars.
 Furthermore, a mansabdar's duties were not in accordance with
the mansab or position he held. Higher rank did not always
imply a higher post for a mansabdar.
 For example, even though Raja Man Singh was not a minister, he
held a higher rank than Abul Fazal, who was a minister in the
Emperor's court.
 The emperor was the sole authority who conferred, decreased,
increased, and resumed the mansab. He also promoted those
who excelled in military service.
 In exchange for military service, the officers were given
territorial commands. They had to bring a fixed number of men-
at-arms, horses, and elephants to the field and were rated based
on the numbers, which were known as Zats.
 As a result, they were referred to as Mansabdars of 10, 20, 100,
and 1000, and so on.
Zat and Sawar Rank
 By 1591 AD, the mansab member was adopted in the form of a
pair. The first value of the pair was Zat, and the second value
was Sawar.
 The Sawar ranked the actual number of horsemen he was
expected to entertain, while Zat indicated the personal pay and
noble status.
 Abul Fazl classified mansabdars into three types:
o If the Zat and Sawar mansab were equal, he belonged to
the first category of mansabdar.
o If the Sawar mansab was half of the Zat mansab, the
mansabdar belonged to the second category.
o If the Sawar mansab was less than half of the Zat mansab,
it fell into the third category.
 Only in exceptional circumstances, such as war or foreign
aggression, would the number of Sawar mansab exceed that of
Zat mansab. This additional increase in Sawar was known as
Mashrut mansab, and the system was abolished once the
necessity was met.
 Mansabdars were only appointed by the ruler. However, the
mansabdar were appointed only on the recommendation of
MirBakshi.
 However, if the mansabdar was promoted, he was promoted
based on the number of Zat, which increased his salary. The
principle of demotion for poor performance existed, but it was
rarely used.
 Each Mansabdar was given dual responsibility for both civil and
military obligations. Akbar established the rule of Dahbisti.
 The general rule was that for every ten sawars, there should be
twenty horses (i.e, each mansabdar should appointed to him).
 This was done to ensure the nobility of the cavalry, which was
the main fighting force of the mughals. If the mount became
tired, injured, or died, a backup horse was required.
Changes introduced by Jahangir and Shah Jahan
The Mansabdari system was established by Akbar, but it was modified by Jahangir and
Shah Jahan:

Changes made by Jahangir

 Jahangir made changes to the Mansabdari system shortly after Akbar's death,
reducing the system of two Aspas to one.
 This meant that the number of soldiers was increased unofficially if required by
the mansabdar, but the number of sawar was not to be entered in the sawar
numerically granted to them.
 The benefit of this was that he could keep more soldiers without incurring
financial costs.

Changes made by Shah Jahan

 Another reform in the Mansabdari system occurred during the reign of Shah
Jahan. The number of Mansabdars increased, but there was a land shortage due
to the Jagirdari crisis.
 During Shah Jahan's reign, an order was issued to reduce the number of sawar
under a specific Mansabdar.
 Mansabdar were now to be paid on a monthly basis. If a mansabdar did not
receive the total salary for the year, he could reduce the number of sawars under
him. He was now unable to pay Mansabdar's entire salary.
 If a mansabdar did not receive his six-month salary, he was allowed to reduce the
number of sawars, but their rank and classification did not change.

Mansabdari System - Merits

 The Mansabdari system was a unique and distinct system that formed the
backbone of the mughal administration. It is said that the mughal state
functioned well until the system broke down.
 It introduced the concept of uniformity in administration, which led to
political unification.
 It also weakened the caste and feudal system which were the two major
flaws of the era.
 As a result, it became mandatory for mansabdars to appoint soldiers from
all castes and religions.
 As a result, Shiva Ji and Sher Shah used this system. There was no
discrimination based on caste or religion, and they were now placed on an
equal footing. As a result, the ruler was able to gain the loyalty of all his
subjects.
  The Mansabdari system was successful in limiting the power of the feudal
and nobility classes. They were no longer considered nobility, but rather an
administrative class, with fixed service conditions imposed on them.
 This Mansabdari system increased the ruler's power and further
consolidated and crystallised the polity of the monarchial form of
governance, and from the time of Akbar, the mughal state moved towards
an intense form of administration.

Mansabdari System - Demerits

 However, the system was inherently flawed, as contemporary writers,
particularly Badayuni, have illustrated during Akbar's first half-reign.
 Mansabdars defrauded the government by bringing men from the streets
dressed in military uniforms and passing them off as soldiers.
 It was not uncommon for troops to substitute poor horses for good ones
provided by military departments. It took Akbar many years to eradicate
corruption.
 But this was only possible because of Akbar's exceptional ability as a
leader and administrator, as well as his vigilance and discipline.
 The lack of strong successors in the mughal empire gave Mansabdar
immense power, and they attempted to enter political affairs and play the
role of nobility.
 Because the Mansabdari system was highly centralised, it could only
function under a strong ruler.
 As a result, a lot depended on the personality of the ruler, and this
weakness emerged right after the death of Aurangzeb as the mughal
empire witnessed a series of weak and incompetent rulers, which led to
factionalism in the administration of the empire.
 Each mansabdar wanted to work on their own interests, making it difficult
to maintain a balanced and uniform system of administration.
 The Mansabdari system lacked an organic centre and lacked the cohesive
force that must always be present in a national army.
 The mansabdars received their pay from the emperor and paid their troops
themselves. This made the troops more loyal to the mansabdars than to the
king.