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Mansabdari System

The Mansabdari system, established by the Mughals in India, assigned ranks to individuals that determined their status, salary, and military responsibilities, with ranks ranging from 10 to 5,000 during Akbar's reign. It evolved from earlier military structures and included a dual rank system of zat and sawar, which indicated personal rank and the number of horses a noble was expected to maintain. Despite its initial effectiveness, the system eventually weakened, contributing to the fragmentation of the empire, though it did foster loyalty among certain regional leaders.

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7 views4 pages

Mansabdari System

The Mansabdari system, established by the Mughals in India, assigned ranks to individuals that determined their status, salary, and military responsibilities, with ranks ranging from 10 to 5,000 during Akbar's reign. It evolved from earlier military structures and included a dual rank system of zat and sawar, which indicated personal rank and the number of horses a noble was expected to maintain. Despite its initial effectiveness, the system eventually weakened, contributing to the fragmentation of the empire, though it did foster loyalty among certain regional leaders.

Uploaded by

Amreen Manzoor
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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MANSABDARI SYSTEM:

Introduction:
Mansabdari system is a unique system that was devised in India by the Mughals. The mansab or
rank in this system was awarded to an individual fixed both his status in the official hierarchy as
well as his salary. It also fixed the number of armed retainers that the mansabdar was responsible
to maintain for the service of the state. The mansabdar could have been given a military post, an
administrative post or any other job in the court. Thus, the mansabdari was a service that
encompassed the administrative as well as the military position and the state could utilize the
same person for both jobs. The salary could be paid in cash or grant in the form of jagir. Grant of
the jagir gave the right to collect all kind of due from the jagir for the state.
The mansabs ranged from 10 to 5,000 during Akbar. In the multiple of 10 there were sixty six
categories ranging from 10 to 100 and then from 50 to 100. The number sixty-six was national
number. The rank increased during his successors.
The term mansab was not used uniformly in popular kind. Rank holders up to 500 was called
mansabdar. From 500 to 2500 were called amirs and those from 2500 and above were called
amiriumda, or amir-i-azam. Later all those below 1000 were called mansabdars. The practice
was that a person would enter the service in the lower rank and then would get promoted. The
ruler through his discretionary power could again induct efficient people in the higher rank. This
system in the course of time was extended to the hereditary indigenous regional leaders that is
different chiefs and rajas.
Evolution of the Mansabdari system:
The concept of mansab surely goes back to Chengiz Khan who divided the army in to number
grades from 10 to 10,000. The trend was then to divide the army in the number of 100 or yuz-
bakshi or 1000 or Hazara. This was not the general pattern. This number denoted the rank and
not the number of troops controlled by the person. In actual case the troop could have been even
as low as one tenth of it. The Lodi’s and Suri’s had nobles holding ranks of 20,000, 10,000 or
5000 sawars. The actual number of horses maintained by this number was not known. Thus, the
division of the services from 10 to 5000 into regular designated hierarchy of grades was a unique
contribution for which credit has to be given to none other than Akbar.
Generally, it is believed that the mansabdari system came into being in the eleventh year of
Akbar’s reign that in in the year 1567. Abul Fazl though designates a rank also for Bairam Khan
who died much before that. Thus, it can be said for all surety that Abul Fazl actually wanted to
mean the position of Bairam Khan in the empire thus mansab actually designated the socio-
economic position of the noble by all means. Interestingly the other historians of the time do not
designate any mansab rank to anyone before 1567 including Nizamuddin who himself was a
bakshi.
The actual number of horses maintained was ensured by the dagh system. This was ensured in
the eighteenth year in 1573-74. The dagh system implied that the descriptive roll of every soldier
entertained by the mansabdar was noted, and the number and quality of the horses were
periodically inspected. The failure of this measures was punishable. The confirmation of
promotions also depended upon this maintenance of dagh system.
The nobility resisted the dagh system as long as they could. Thus, the vakils, like Munim Khan
and Muzaffar Khan reluctant to produce their contingent for the brand. Even in the initial years
Mirza Aziz Koka was put under surveillance for refusing to implement the measure. The dagh
system peculiarly entrusted enormous power in the hands of the junior officials who sometimes
used it to harass even senior and respectable nobles. Some of the diwans also adopted harsh
measures which resulted in serious rebellion in Bengal and Bihar in 1580. Akbar personally
intervened to pacify the nobles and bring the situation under control.
Despite the strict dagh (branding) system, many nobles failed to maintain the required number of
sawars (horsemen). Badauni himself admitted to this lapse. A common practice was to borrow
sawars for inspections and dismiss them afterward, while still enjoying the jagir revenues meant
for troop salaries and personal expenses. Given the vast and diverse nature of the empire, state
surveillance, though strict, was insufficient. The deeply rooted system of manipulation made it
nearly impossible to ensure a foolproof mechanism.

Concept of Zat and Sawar Ranks:


The above reasons led to the introduction of zat and sawar system or the dual rank system in the
40th year in the 1595-96. According to this system the mansabdars were divided into three
categories. The first category included those who maintained equal number of sawars equal to
their mansab. The second category included those who maintained half or more than half the
sawar but less than equal to their mansab rank. The third category included those who
maintained less than half the sawar to their mansab rank. This categorization was mentioned by
Abul Fazal in his official account.
The term zat and sawar has been very intriguing to the historians. It was then realized that the
mansabdari system evolved with time. The pre-1594-95 phase was different when there was only
one rank. Post 1594-95 in the dual rank system one has to understand that the zat was the
personal rank of the noble and it indicated his pay and status. The sawar rank was the number of
horses the noble had to maintain or expected to maintain. Thus, a mansabdar of 4000 zat
maintaining 2000 horses was definitely higher than the mansabdar maintaining 3000 zat and
3000 sawar.
The zat rank also indicated the number of horses, elephants and beasts of burden and carts a
mansabdar was expected to maintain. Thus, it is seen that a 5000 zat mansabdar would maintain
340 horses, 100 elephants, 140 camels, 100 mules and 160 carts. A mansabdar of 400 zat rank
was exempted from this.
The salaries of zat and sawar
The salaries of the zat and sawar under the Mughal mansabdari system were based on rank,
number, and quality of horses. The dah-bisti system required 10 sawars to maintain 20 horses
(3x3=9, 4x2=8, 3x1=3) to ensure army mobility, with extra horses for replacements. A sawar
with an Iraqi horse earned ₹30, while one with a Turki horse earned ₹20, and the mansabdar
retained 5% of their salaries for administrative costs. The total salary of a mansabdar included
his zat pay and the sawar contingent's pay, provided through a jagir. Salaries were calculated in
dams (40 dams = 1 rupee), and the revenue assessment for jagir grants was called jamadami.
Nobles maintaining larger contingents often got higher zat ranks and were expected to make
annual offerings to the emperor. They also paid for collecting revenue, which, according to
Moreland, cost no more than a quarter of their income. Since payments were made in land and
not cash, control remained with local zamindars, causing pressure on peasants and making the
system coercive and exploitative, with land also serving as a symbol of power and security.
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
practice.
 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 Aziz 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.
CONCLUSION:

Despite its flaws, the mansabdari system had a significant impact on the medieval military
establishment. However, it could only function under capable leadership, which was only
possible until the reign of Aurangzeb. Later, the Mansabdari system proved to be weak,
leading to the empire's fragmentation. However, it also combined with several advantages,
such as certain Rajput Mansabdars being diplomatically used against other Rajput chiefs with
whom they were at odds. This system ensured the mansabdars' steadfast loyalty to the
emperor.

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