Introduction
The Mansabdari system was a military-administrative structure introduced by Akbar,
officials (mansabdars) based on their position and cavalry strength.
The Jagirdari system complemented it, granting mansabdars revenue rights (jagirs)
instead of salaries. Both systems strengthened Mughal control, centralization, and
efficient revenue collection across the empire.
The Mansabdari System
The word mansab means position or rank in the Mughal system. During Babur’s time,
the term wajhdar was used instead of mansabdar, differing from the later Mughal
mansab system. Akbar awarded mansabs to civil and military officers based on merit or
service. According to Abul Fazl, Akbar created 66 mansab grades, from commanders of
10 to 10,000 horsemen, though only 33 are detailed.
Mansab indicated three things:
1. The rank of the mansabdar in the hierarchy.
2. The pay assigned.
3. The number of troops and equipment the mansabdar had to maintain.
Appointment and Promotion of Mansabdari
The Mir Bakhshi presented candidates to the Emperor for recruitment, though
recommendations from nobles and governors were also accepted. After an elaborate
process involving the diwan, bakhshi, and others, the Emperor confirmed the
appointment, and a farman was issued under the wazir’s seal. The same process
applied to promotions.
The Emperor held sole authority to appoint mansabdars, without any formal exams,
unlike China. Sons and close relatives of serving officials, known as khanazads, were
most favored. Others included nobles from the Uzbek, Safavi, and Deccan kingdoms
(Irani, Turani, Iraqi, Khurasani), and rulers of autonomous regions, especially Rajput
kings.
Promotions were based on performance, lineage, and loyalty, though racial factors often
influenced decisions. Manucci noted that achieving the rank of hazari required years of
dedicated service and was granted sparingly to those deemed deserving.
Functioning of Mansabdari system
The Mansabdari system was introduced by Akbar for organizing nobility and the army.
Akbar would not have been able to expand his empire and maintain his hold over it
without a strong army. For this purpose, it was necessary for him to organise the nobility
as well as his army. Akbar realised both these objectives by means of the Mansabdari
system. Under this system every officer was assigned a rank (Mansab).
The lowest rank was 10, and the highest was 5000 for the nobles. Princes of blood
received higher mansabs.
Towards the end of Akbar's reign, the highest rank a noble could attain was raised from
5000 to 7000. The premier nobles of the Empire, Mirza Aziz Koka and Raja Man Singh,
were honoured with the rank of 7000 each. This limit was retained basically till the end
of Aurangzeb's reign.
Dual Ranks
The Mansab system under Akbar developed gradually. Initially, a single number
represented the rank, salary, and the size of the contingent of the Mansabdar.
And thus, there was only one rank (Mansab). From the 40th year (1594-95), the ranks
were divided into two - Zat and Sawar.
1. Zat - The word zat means personal. It fixed the personal status of a person, and
also the salary due to him.
2. The Sawar rank indicated the number of cavalry men (Sawars) a person was
required to maintain.
Moreover, there were three categories in every rank (Mansab)-
a. A person who was required to maintain as many Sawars as his zat rank
was placed in the first category of that rank
b. If he maintained half or more, then in the second category ,and
c. If he maintained less than half, then in the third category.
So, to sum up,
● Zat — Denote the rank and salary in the administration
● Sawar — Denote the number of cavalry men Mansabdar had to maintain.
Even if the Sawar rank was higher, the mansabdar’s position in the official hierarchy
would not be affected. It will be decided only by the Zat rank. For example, a
Mansabdar with 5000 Zat and 2000 Sawar was higher in rank than a Mansabdar of
4000 Zat and 3000 Sawar.
However, there were exceptions to this rule particularly when the Mansabdar was
serving in a difficult terrain(Mashrut)
Duh Aspa And Sih Aspa
These were features added later to the Mansabdari system by Jahangir. This is a
system whereby the selected nobles could be allowed to maintain a larger quota of
troopers, without raising their Zat rank. The system was popular as the ‘du-aspah’ (a
trooper with two horses) or the ‘sih-aspah’ (a trooper with three horses) system. As can
be understood, this was related to the Sawar rank.
As has been mentioned above, the reign of Jahangir saw an important innovation in the
Mansabdari system, viz., the introduction of the du-aspa, sih aspa rank.
In the 10th year of Jahangir’s reign, when Mahabat Khan was appointed to serve in the
Deccan, as a mark of special distinction, 1700 Sawars out of his rank were made du-
aspa sih-aspa. This is the earliest instance mentioned of the du-aspa sih-aspa rank
being granted to any noble. While there are only a few recorded cases of du-aspa sih-
aspa rank being granted during the reign of Jahangir, they came to be granted quite
frequently during Shahjahan’s reign.
In Aurangzeb’s reign, the number of the recipients of this rank increased further. During
the first 20 years of his reign, there were not less than 68 Mansabdars who held the du-
aspa sih-aspa rank out of a total number of 486 Mansabdars of 1000 zat and above. In
the remaining part of Aurangzeb’s reign, 70 out of 575 Mansabdars of 1000 zat and
above are recorded as holding this rank.
Military Obligations of the Mansabdars
As we have noticed, the system of double ranks (Zat and Sawar) made its appearance
during the second half of Akbar’s reign. The motive probably was to compel every
Mansabdar to actually maintain the number of horses and cavalrymen expected of him
for the imperial service. But dishonesty among the nobles was found to be so
widespread that a mere paper edict could not remove it.
Therefore, to check all evasions of military obligations, Akbar introduced Dagh
(branding) for the horses and Chehra( descriptive rolls) for the men.
The main features of the Mansabdari system, especially with reference to Dagh, are
clear from a passage in the Badshah-nama of Lahori. The author says that it was the
law of the empire that those Mansabdars, who had jagirs in any of the provinces of
Hindustan and were posted in the same province in which their jagirs lay, were to bring
to the muster, horsemen equal in number of one third of their Sawar rank. But if posted
outside the province of their jagirs, they were only obliged to one-fourth, and if in Balkh
and Badakhshan, one fifth.
The last rule was applied later on all those posted in the Kabul province. It seems that
the Naqdis or Mansabdars paid in cash were required to muster their contingents
according to the rule of one fifth. This is clearly stated in a farman issued in the 27th
year of Shahjahan. We also get confirmation of these new rules from the Khulasat-us
Siyaq which was written in the later years of Aurangzeb.
With regard to the holders of the du-aspa sih-aspa ranks, Lahori makes it clear that the
obligations required under the du-aspa sih-aspa rank were exactly double that under
ordinary(Barawurdi) Sawar rank. Thus whereas under the 1/5th rule, a 5000 Sawar
rank on a 12 month scale would require 1000 men and 2200 horses, a Sawar rank of
5000 all du-aspa sih-aspa would require 2000 men and 4400 horses.
Great care was taken to ensure that the Sawars recruited by the nobles were
experienced and well mounted. For this purpose a descriptive role (Chehra) of the
soldier was maintained, and his horse was branded with the imperial marks. This was
called the Dagh system. Every noble had to bring his contingent for periodic inspection
before persons appointed by the emperor for the purpose.
The horses were carefully inspected and only good quality horses of Arabic and Iraqi
breed were employed. Ideally, for every 10 cavalrymen the Mansabdar had to maintain
20 horses. This was so, because horses had to be rested while on march, and
replacements were necessary in times of war. A Sawar with only one horse was
considered to be only half-a-Sawar. The Mughal cavalry force remained an efficient one
as long as the 10-20 rule was adhered to.
In addition to meeting his personal expenses, the Mansabdar had to maintain, out of his
salary, a stipulated quota of horses, elephants, beasts of burden (camels and mules)
and carts.
Later, these were maintained centrally, but Mansabdar had to pay for them out of his
salary. The horses were classified into 6 categories, and the elephants into 5 according
to quality, the number and quality of horses and elephants being carefully prescribed.
This was so because horses and elephants of high breed were greatly prized and were
considered indispensable for an efficient military machine. Cavalry and elephants, in
fact, formed the main basis of the army in those days, though artillery was rapidly
becoming more important. The transport corps was vital for making the army more
mobile
Conditional rank (Mashrut)
Conditional (Mashrut) ranks were usually added to the previous Zat and Sawar ranks.
According to the author of the Mirat-al Istilah, the unconditional Sawar Mansab was
given along with the zat rank, and the ‘conditional’ Mansab was given in view of the
services required of a particular officer at a particular post. For example, 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, and a jagir to provide the salary of this was also given to him. When he was
transferred from the post, the conditional Mansab was normally cancelled and the
additional jagir resumed. Sometimes the whole or a part of a conditional Mansab was
made unconditional, but this was considered a promotion and usually given as a mark
of favour.
In the time of Akbar the Sawar rank was normally either equal to or lower than the zat
rank; this broadly speaking continued to be the position under his successors. During
the second half of Aurangzeb's reign, however, there were quite a large number of
Mansabdars whose Sawar rank was higher than their zat rank.
In some instances, it is true that the Sawar rank was conditional(mashrut); and in the
Jaipur Akhbarat we find a large number of instances where the ordinary rank plus the
conditional Sawar rank was higher than the zat rank.
But, there are also many instances where the Sawar rank was not wholly or partly
conditional, and yet was higher than the zat rank. The fact that the Sawar rank rose
above the zat rank in a fairly large number of cases, particularly during the later years of
Aurangzeb's reign, may have been partly due to the scarcity of able and experienced
officers, which led the emperor to assign larger contingents to persons on whose
efficiency he could rely; considerations of economy may also have induced the Emperor
to raise the forces maintained by the nobles without increasing their zat rank in
proportion. But whatever may have been the cause of allowing the Sawar rank to
exceed the zat rank, the practice was apparently limited. Also it did not usually apply to
the higher ranks of the Mansabdars, It was not a basic or deliberate reform, the device
being employed only when expediency dictated it.
JAGIRDARI SYSTEM
The Mughal Emperors followed a similar practice as Iqta System by granting
assignments instead of paying cash salaries. These assignments were typically referred
to as jagirs, and those who held them were known as jagirdars. Occasionally, terms like
'iqta' for both the grant and the holder (iqta'dar) or 'tuyul' and 'tuyuldar' were also used,
though rarely. It is important to understand that the land itself was not granted; rather, it
was the right to collect revenue from the land or area that was assigned to the jagirdars.
This system evolved gradually over time, undergoing several modifications before it
eventually became stable. The foundation of this system was largely laid during the
reign of Akbar.
EARLY PHASE
Babur, after his conquest, restored to the former Afghan chieftains or conferred upon
them assignment of approximately more than one-third of the conquered territories. The
holders of such assignments (wajh) were known as wajhdars (wajh means
remuneration). A fixed sum was assigned as wajh out of the total revenue of the area.
The rest of the revenue of the territories was deemed to be a part of the khalisa. The
zamindars continued in their respective areas, but in other conquered areas Babur
ruled through hakims (governors). The same pattern perhaps continued under
Humayun.
Organization During Akbar's Reign:
The territory during Akbar’s reign was divided into two parts: khalisa (Imperial treasury)
and jagir (assigned to nobles).
The revenue from the jagir was allocated to nobles as payment instead of cash.
The revenue calculation was done in jama (estimated revenue) and hasil (revenue
collected), with paibaqi referring to areas not yet assigned.
TYPES OF JAGIRS
There were 5 types of Jagirs:
1.Tankha Jagir were given in lieu of cash pay
2.Mashrut Jagirs were given to an individual on certain conditions
3.Jagirs which were assigned to Zamindars in their homelands, were called Watan
Jagirs.
4.Inam jagirs were a type of jagir that had no service requirements and didn't depend on
rank
Al-Tamgha jagirs were a type of land grant, specifically for Muslim nobles, in their family
towns or places of birth, instituted by Jahangir, and were non-transferable and
supposedly for life or hereditary.
Tankha Jagirs were transferable for every three or four years. Watan Jagirs were
hereditary Jagirs and non-transferable. Yet, all these types of Jagirs were liable for
conversion. Thus, the Jagirdars were allowed to collect only the stipulated amount fixed
by the king.
MANAGEMENT OF JAGIRS
Jagirdars collected revenue according to Imperial regulations and had their own officials
(amil, fotadar, etc.).
Imperial officials monitored jagirdars to prevent exploitation of peasants.
By the 20th year of Akbar's reign, amin (officials) were stationed to oversee compliance
with Imperial revenue regulations.
->Shifting of Jagir-Holders:
Jagir-holders were frequently shifted from one area to another to prevent them from
developing local power bases.
This discouraged long-term development of the areas under their control
