MANSABDARI

SYSTEM

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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AIMS AND OBJECTIVES – The project essentially aims to find what mansabsari system meant

and what was the importance of mansabdari system in the mughal era. Moreover, the researcher

has tried to comparatively analyse mansabdari system and its effects in the reign of each and

every mughal ruler.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY - The researcher has used secondary sources of reference for

the purpose of this project and the methodology used in this project is generally comparative and

descriptive. The tool of comparison has been adopted wherever necessary and an attempt has

been made to understand and resolve the problem involved therein.

SOURCES OF RESEARCH – The major sources of our research includes Secondary source of

data collected from Books, Internet, and articles.

INDEX

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INTRODUCTION PAGE 4

RANKING OF THE MANSABDARS 6

ZAT AND SAWAR 11

MANSABDARI OF AKBAR 13

CHANGES IN MANSABDARI SYSTEM 14

MANSABDARI OF AURANGZEB 15

CONCLUSION 16

BIBLIOGRAPHY 17

INTRODUCTION

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The Mughals ruled India from 1526 AD, when Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at the Battle of

Panipat, till 1707 AD when the Emperor Aurangzebdied and thereafter nominally till the Indian

Rebellion of 1857.

When Babur invaded India to establish his kingdom his army consisted of tribes and clans that

followed him from Kabul, some joined him later, after the Battle of Panipat, he awarded the

leaders of these tribes and clans in accordance to their performance in the battle and many of

them who had joined Babur for the booty, chose to return to their homes.

Babur and Humayun ruled over territory that was not too far flung. After the tribes and

the clans that had joined Babur for booty returned after the Battle of Panipat, their place

was taken by foreign adventurers, Uzbeks, Persians, Arabs, Turks etc who thronged to the

court with contingents of troops. Since the Mughals were foreigners there were no

hereditary nobles related to the rulers or ancient families to depend upon, the court

consisted of adventurers from different nations, the ruler raised them to dignity or

degraded them; up to the early rule of Akbar the Mughal armies consisted of contingents

commanded by these adventurers.1

Akbar, Babur’s grandson, who ruled from 1556 to 1605, organized the ‘mansabdari’ system in

the 19th year of his rule. The system classified the functionaries of the kingdom as fighters,

‘ashab-u’s-saif’, (masters of the sword); clerks ‘ashab-u’l-qalam’ (masters of the pen);

theologians, ‘ashab-u’l-amamah’. The ‘mansab’ denoted a rank of office, it had its obligations,

precedence and grade of pay; it was for life but it was not hereditary, heirs could not demand

continuity of office.

The status of the ‘ashab-u’s-saif (military) and ashab-u’l-qalam’ (clerical and administrative),

was denoted by military rank, originally 66 grades but later only 33 grades existed. Every official

of the empire above the rank of a sepoy or a servant held an army rank, the lowest was the

commander of twenty; the highest the commander of seven thousand.

RANKING OF THE MANSABDARS

1 www.historytution.com

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Mansabs were ranked as of 7,000, 6,000, 5,000, intervals of 500 between 5,000 and 1,000,

intervals of 100 between 1,000 and 200, intervals of 50 between 200 and 100, finally intervals of

20 between 100 and 20.

Mansabs were of three classes, 7,000 to 3,000 - ‘Amir-i-Azam’ the greater nobles; 2,500 to 500 -

‘Amir’, noble; 400 to 20 - ‘Mansabdar’ office holder. Commanders of higher ranks were of three

classes according to the proportion of horsemen, first class if the whole command was of ‘horse’,

second class if the ‘horse’ element was more than half and third class if less than half.

Compensation per annum started at rupees 350,000 with intervals of 50,000 between mansabs of

7,000 and 5,000; rupees 250,000 with intervals of 25,000 between mansabs of 5,000 and 1,000;

the mansab of 20 received 1,000.

Compensation was either ‘naqdi’ meaning cash compensation or by the revenue of a ‘jagir’, an

area of land which was not given to the ‘mansabdar’ but he could use the revenue from the land

for his expenses and compensation. The ‘mansab’ could be increased or decreased on the wishes

of the ruler and reports of performance and two lists were maintained, ‘Hazir-i-rikah’ present at

court and ‘Ta-inat’ on duty elsewhere.

For a military mansab an application could be made for a mansab with troops or without troops.

Those applying for a mansab with troops brought their retainers, mounted and equipped at their

expense, these were known as ‘silladars’ and their men were known as ‘bagirs’. (The system

continued under the British till 1914.) When a silladar brought his men, they were paraded for

inspection, their descriptive rolls were prepared and the horses were branded; these mansabdars

were paid for the maintenance of horses and the salaries of the men. Men considered fit to

command but lacking resources were given money to purchase horses and received the salaries

of the men only. Men who could not be mansabdars but too good to be employed as soldiers

were given the higher rank of a ‘ahadi2’.

Military mansabdars were required to maintain troops according to the mansab including beasts

of burden, elephants, camels, mules, carts etc, they maintained horses for their troopers and a

prescribed number in their own stables.

2 Ahadi is an Iranian surname

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The Mansabdars got their cavalrymen(horse riders) for review, their horses branded [DAG or

CHEHRA)and got them registered with each and every detail (description role of the horse

known as (HULIA)]

Military command was at the will of the emperor, Akbar held that anyone could be a military

commander and often appointed commanders who had no military knowledge or experience.

Jagir was a piece of land held by the mansabdar which was granted by the Sultan.

Mansabdars were given control over an area of land, a ‘jagir’ whose revenue was to be used for

maintaining troops; if not given a ‘jagir’ they were paid in cash through a complicated

accounting system, with deductions for various things including ‘the rising of the moon’; it was a

normal practice to pay for only eight or ten months in the year. The mansabdars were allowed to

keep five percent of the income of the ‘jagir’ or five per cent of the salaries received. The

accounting system was complex, mansabdars usually borrowed money for expenses and when

they died their private property was seized against any outstanding balances.

With a corrupt system of accounting and inspection very few mansabdars kept their units up to

strength. When a mansabdar was ordered to take part in an expedition, he was required to parade

his unit outside the palace and the emperor inspected it from a window in the palace.

Cavalry made up the bulk of the Moghal army; they enjoyed the prestige of warriors. Individual

troopers took great care to keep themselves fit, they exercised, engaged each other in mock

fights, practiced horsemanship, they were personally brave and trained themselves for person to

person combat, but were unwilling to endanger their mounts because their salary depended on

these; there was no training for units to act collectively.3

Infantry was despised as drudges, they were considered little more than watchmen to guard the

baggage, laborers, porters etc. The infantry consisted of matchlock men and archers, in the ratio

of one matchlock man to four archers because of the greater rate of fire of the archers since both

weapons had about the same effective range; there was no infantry training, no discipline and

very little reliance was placed on them.

The ‘Mir Atish’, the ‘master gunner’, was responsible for the manufacture, supply of ordnance

and was the artillery commander. Gunners were called ‘golandaz4, they were paid directly from 3 www.wikipedia.org4 ’ the bringer of round shot, a term also used by the British till 1857.

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the treasury and were the most reliable part of the army. The efficiency of the Moghal artillery

was poor, the rate of fire was very low and the pieces were difficult to move. Europeans as

artillerymen were prized and were paid as much as ten times the amount paid to locals.

The recruitment of men was by ‘classes’; it was specified that an officer from Iran could not

recruit more than one third Moghals, the rest had to be Syeds or Sheikhs, Afghans could not be

more than one sixth or Rajputs more than one seventh of a force. The British adopted this system

of recruitment by ‘classes’.

The Moghal army consisted of bands of horsemen, each band linked by some personal loyalty to

its leader but without any loyalty to the emperor or any national or religious loyalty. These

soldiers of fortune depended on their commanders; their pay was always kept in arrears to

prevent desertion.

There was a theoretical pattern to which the army conformed in battle; this consisted of three

divisions, the center, right and left wing, each of these had an advance guard, a screen of

skirmishers and there was a rear guard to the whole force. Once a formation was adopted there

was very little capability for maneuver and there was no system of communicating between the

parts.

Open country was necessary for successful action by a Moghal army because it was mostly

cavalry. The opposing armies deployed guns on a line protected by earthwork and tied together

with chains or ropes to prevent cavalry riding through as Babur had done at Panipat. Battle

started with artillery fire, the heavy guns fired one round every three hours while the others about

four rounds per hour. When it was considered that the artillery had sufficiently demoralized the

enemy, successive charges were delivered from one wing then the other; the cavalry first fired

their matchlocks and arrows then closed with the sword, spear and the mace, fighting was series

of skirmishes ending in individual combat. The cavalry was not trained to act collectively on

command, once dispersed it could not be formed again but since cavalry was the bulk of the

army, the object of the Moghal commander was to engage the enemy on an open plain where he 5could deliver a massed charge of mail clad warriors. Up to the time of Aurangzeb, the Moghals

fielded much larger armies than their opponents and usually managed to defeat their enemy,

either on the battlefield or after a siege.

5 www.intelzone.com

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During battle the overall commander or the king had to prominently show his presence on the

battlefield, usually riding an elephant, the battle objective was usually the elephant of the

opposing commander and around it raged the fiercest battle; the decisive event of a battle was the

death or disappearance of the leader, if he was known to have been killed or could not be seen

the troops dispersed and sought their own safety. Aurangzeb when fighting his brothers for

succession, in two battles, the rival to the throne was induced by treacherous advice to dismount

and their armies automatically dispersed; this was because the remuneration of the army was

from individual princes. The British used this custom to their advantage by knocking off the

commanders with a four-pounder artillery piece and causing the dispersion of the opponents,

eventually the princes and commanders learnt to ride horses instead of elephants and not to

prominently show themselves.

The Emperor usually did not personally command the army unless it was a very large force in an

important campaign; when the army moved out to war with the emperor in command, the whole

apparatus of government moved with it. Aurangzeb’s army on the move included camels bearing

treasure, one hundred loaded with gold, two hundred with silver; the emperor’s hunting

establishment, with hawks and cheetahs; official records, on eighty camels, thirty elephants and

twenty carts, these could never be parted from the emperor; a hundred camels carried water and

kitchen utensils; fifty milch-cows, a hundred cooks, each a specialist in a dish; fifty camels and a

hundred carts carried the emperor’s and his ladies wardrobe; thirty elephants carried the

women’s jewellery and presents for successful commanders.

The mass of the cavalry, the main strength of the army, led, then the way was leveled for the

emperor and his women; a rear guard largely of infantry brought up the tail. When the army

halted the emperor’s camp was about a mile long, a square enclosure was roped off and

surrounded by a ditch, heavy artillery defended the approaches, the emperor’s tent was in the

center, divided into four courts with the entrance facing the direction of the next day’s march.

The army transport consisted of elephants, camels, packhorses, bullocks, bullock carts and

porters. Every man provided for himself by buying for his needs, on a daily basis from ‘banyas’

who erected their shops in the camps. Supplies of grain were brought to the camp by ‘banjarahs’

on bullocks, which moved at two miles an hour, they formed a square in the evening with bags of

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grain. Either side did not attack the ‘banjarahs’ and the grain taken was paid for. Fodder was

taken from the countryside and foragers looted the villages in the path of the army.

The armies of the Moghal times consisted of bands without military training and discipline; there

was no loyalty owed to the ruler or the state; band leaders could be bought; half hearted support

during battle, treachery and desertion were therefore negotiable. The two opposing armies would

camp on the battlefield and for several days negotiations would be conducted to entice

commanders to change sides before the battle, to refuse to act at a critical moment or to desert

with their commands during a battle. The British successfully exploited this mercenary

soldiering, in its worst form, when they fought the princes who had seized bits and pieces of the

Moghal Empire.

Insulated by the mountains and the seas, the Moghals developed a military system which, though

locally successful, did not improve on the weapons, organization and tactics, failed miserably

when it clashed with the European military system of the period. Instituted by the Mughal

emperor Akbar, mansabdari was a system common to both the military and the Civil department.

Basically the Mansabdari system was borrowed from Persia. It was prevalent during the reign

of Babur and Humayun. Akbar made some important changes to the system and made it more

efficient. Mansabdar was referred to as the official, rank, or the dignity.

ZAT AND SAWAR

The Mansabdars were differentiated by the Zat and the Sawar Rank. The Zat referred to the

number of troops maintained by the mansabdar and the Sawar referred to the number of horses

maintained by the mansabdar. It was dependent on whether the king ordered the mansabdar to

maintain more horses than his rank. The categories are shown below:

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-No. of Sawar = No. of Zat => 1st Class Mansabdar

-No. of Sawar = 1/2 the No. of Zat => 2nd Class Mansabdar

-No. of Sawar < 1/3 the No. of Zat => 3rd Class Mansabdar

A Mansabdar was in the service of the state and was bound to render service when asked.

Additionally, they were graded on the number of armed cavalrymen, or sawars, which each had

to maintain for service in the imperial army. Thus all mansabdars had a zat, or personal ranking,

and a sawar, or a troop ranking. All servants of the empire, whether in the civil or military

departments were graded in this system. There were thirty-three grades of mansabdars ranging

from 'commanders of 10' to 'commanders of 10,000'. Till the middle of Akbar's reign, the highest

rank an ordinary officer could hold was that of a commander of 5000; the more exalted grades

between commanders of 7000 and 10,000 were reserved for the royal princes. During the period

following the reign of Akbar, the grades were increased up to 20,000 or even more generally

rs.20-25 per horse were paid to a mansabdar.

Appointment, promotion, suspension or dismissal of mansabdars rested entirely with the

emperor. No portion of a mansabdar's property was hereditary, a mansabdar's children had to

begin life anew. A mansabdar did not always begin at the lowest grade. The emperor, if satisfied,

could and did grant higher or even the highest grade to any person. There was no distinction

between civil and military departments. Both civil and military officers held mansabs and were

liable to be transferred from one branch of the administration to another. Each mansabdar was

expected to maintain prescribed number of horses, elephants, equipment, etc., according to his

rank and dignity. These rules, though initially strictly enforced, were later slackened.

Senior mansabdars were awarded a jagir (personal fief) rather than a salary. Rates of

remuneration, which included both the mansabdar's salary and so much per sowar, were matched

by jagirsaffording a similar aggregate yield. If their specified yield came to more, the surplus

was due to the imperial treasury; if the jagirdar6 extracted more than the specified yield, he kept

it. Any other info.. can link into any other

6  a jagir  was a small territory granted by the ruler to an army chieftain in fairly short terms usually of three years 

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MANSABDARI SYSTEM OF AKBAR

Akbar organized the nobility and his army by means of the Mansabdari system. Every officer

was assigned a rank valued in terms of a certain number of mounted soldiers. The ranks normally

given to top officers and nobles were valued from 10 to 5000 later raised to 7000.The ranks were

divided into two: zat and sawar.Zat means personal where by the status and salary of the

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individual was fixed. Out of this salary in addition to meeting his own personal expenses, he had

to maintain a stipulated quota of horses, elephants, camels, mules and carts.

The other rank indicated the number of cavalrymen (sawar) a mansabdar was required to

maintain. For every sawar, a mansabdar was paid at a rate of Rs 240 per annum over and above

his salary. A person was required to maintain as many sawars as his zat rank was placed in the

first category of that rank; if he maintained less than half then in the third category. Thus there

were three categories in every rank.No one could have a higher quota of sawars than his zat

rank.The mansab was not hereditary.

The sawar rank was distinguished by two special features: For every 10 cavalrymen the

mansabdar had to maintain 20 horses and a provision was made that the contingents of the nobles

should be mixed ones that is drawn from all the groups- Mughal, Pathan, Hindustani and

Rajput7.This was intended to weaken the spirit of tribal and ethnic exclusiveness. The

mansabdars were assigned a jagir in lieu of cash payment. Although modifications in the system

were made from time to time this remained the basic structure as long as the Empire held

together. The number of mansabdars rose from 2069 at the time of Jahangir’s accession in 1605

to 8000 in 1637 during Shah Jahan’s reign and to 11,546 during the latter half

CHANGES IN MANSABDARI SYSTEM

Changes in Akbar's Mansabdari System Jahangir and Shah Jahan introduced new systems into

the original mansabdari system of Akbar. While the system introduced by Jahangir was called

du-aspah sih-aspah, the one brought out by Shah Jahan was the month-ratio or month-scale

system.

(i) Du-aspah sih-aspah system The term du-aspah sihaspah literally means trooper with two or 7 A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan.

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three horses. Under this system, selected nobles could be allowed to maintain a large quota of

soldiers, without making any change in their Jat rank. It implied that a mansabdar or noble

holding du-aspah sih-aspah rank had to maintain double the quota of troopers indicated by his

sawar rank. They were paid accordingly.

(ii) Month-ratio or Month-scale system It was a new scaling device under which the salaries of

mansabdars were put on a month scale: ten months, eight months, six months or even less. The

obligations of the mansabdars for maintaining a quota of sawars were brought down accordingly.

The month-scale system was applied to both jagirs and those who were paid in cash.

The mansabsari system was not without defects. As the soldiers were recruited and paid by the

mansabdars, their loyalty and attachment were to their immediate master rather than to the

emperor. This gap between the emperor and the bulk of his army was a source of serious danger

to the government.

MANSABDARI SYSTEM OF AURANGZEB

Aurangzeb, who was given the title "Alamgir" or "world-seizer," by his father, was known for

aggressively expanding the empire's frontiers and for his acceptance of orthodox Sunni Islam.

During his reign, the Mughal empire reached its greatest extent

(the Bijapur and Golconda Sultanates which had been reduced to vassalage by Shah Jahan were

formally annexed). Although he was an outstanding general and a rigorous administrator,

Mughal fiscal and military standards declined as security and luxury increased. Land rather than

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cash became the usual means of remunerating high-ranking officials, and divisive tendencies in

his large empire further undermined central authority.

In 1679, Aurangzeb reimposed the jizyah tax on Non-Muslims. This action by the emperor,

incited rebellion among Hindus and others in many parts of the empire notably the Jats, Sikhs,

and Rajputs forces in the north and Maratha forces in the Deccan. The emperor managed to crush

the rebellions in the north. Aurangzeb was compelled to move his headquarters to Aurangabad in

the Deccan to mount a costly campaign against Maratha guerrilla fighters led by Shivaji and his

successors, which lasted twenty-six years until he died in 1707 at the age of seventy nine.

In the century and a half that followed, effective control by Aurangzeb's successors weakened.

The mansabdari system gave way to the zamindari system, in which high-ranking officials took

on the appearance of aristocracy who were hereditary land barons with powers of collecting

rents. As Delhi's control waned, other contenders for power emerged and clashed, thus preparing

the way for the eventual British takeover.

Aurangzeb, as is his father before him, is remembered as a builder-emperor. The Badshahi

Masjid (Imperial Mosque) in Lahore was constructed in 1673 on his orders. It was not only the

largest mosque ever built by a Mughal emperor but was at that point the largest mosque in the

world. He also constructed the Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore Fort, which is today a UNESCO

World Heritage Site. Moti Masjid inside Delhi's Red Fort was also finalized by him.

CONCLUSION

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Babur and Humayun ruled over territory that was not too far flung. After the tribes and the clans

that had joined Babur for booty returned after the Battle of Panipat, their place was taken by

foreign adventurers, Uzbeks, Persians, Arabs, Turks etc who thronged to the court with

contingents of troops. Since the Mughals were foreigners there were no hereditary nobles related

to the rulers or ancient families to depend upon, the court consisted of adventurers from different

nations, the ruler raised them to dignity or degraded them; up to the early rule of Akbar the

Mughal armies consisted of contingents commanded by these adventurers.

Akbar organized the nobility and his army by means of the Mansabdari system. Every officer

was assigned a rank valued in terms of a certain number of mounted soldiers. The ranks normally

given to top officers and nobles were valued from 10 to 5000 later raised to 7000.The ranks were

divided into two: zat and sawar.Zat means personal where by the status and salary of the

individual was fixed. Out of this salary in addition to meeting his own personal expenses, he had

to maintain a stipulated quota of horses, elephants, camels, mules and carts.

Thus mansabdari system proved to be very useful for the mughal empire which was followed till

centuries.

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BIBLIOGARPHY

BOOKS:

1. E.H. Carr. What is History

2. E M.BERN. Medieval history Goyal Publication

3. V.D MAHAJAN . Medieval History S. Chand and Publication

INTERNET RESOURCES:

1. www.historytution.com

2. www.google.com

3. www.wikipedia.org

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