The Mansabdari system and Jagirdari system did not originate abruptly. It was a practice based on the evolution of bureaucracy in medieval India. In the Delhi sultanate, emperors had annexed the far-reaching areas and to control those provinces they formed a bureaucracy.
Earlier emperors made their military commanders as governors and sometimes they chose their well-trained slaves as the governor for those provinces. The high officials of the court were given certain territories and they were allowed to collect taxes as their salaries. Such areas were called iqta and those who controlled iqta were known as iqtadar. The idea of Masab and jagir was introduced by Akbar. It was somewhat similar to tats.
The Mansabdari system played a crucial role in the expansion and also disintegration of the Mughal empire. Both Mansabdari and jagirdari were a system of bureaucracy in the Mughal period.
Mansab meant rank or position in the Mughal court. The Mansabdari system was a bureaucratic structure formed in the Mughal court, under which the high officials were given certain ranks and certain positions.
Mansabdars were individuals who were in the service of the Mughal emperor and hold a rank. The ranks or mansab were given to fix the Position, Military responsibility and Salary. Masabdars were represented with a numerical value called Zat, and it determined their salaries and rank. Higher the Zat was higher the position of Mansabdar in court. In Akbar's time, there were 29 Mansabdars above the rank of 5000.
The numeric value of zat also determined the number of soldiers and cavalrymen and horses, a Mansabdar was obliged to offer to the king.
Nobles who joined the Mughal court were made Mansabdars. It included Indian Muslims, Rajputs, Afghans etc.
Mansabdars were civil as well as military officials.
Mansabdars were demoted by Zat and Sawars. Zat was a numeric value which fixed the position and salary whereas the Sawars denote the number of cavalrymen and horses they were required to hold.
Mansabdars had to get their cavalrymen registered and their horses branded.
The post of Mansabdar was not hereditary, it was transferred.
Mansabdars were paid in cash as well as in land.
They were considered elites of the elite.
Mansabdars were sometimes paid in cash, such mansabdars were called Naqdi. Those mansabdars who were paid in a piece of land or Jagir were known as Jagirdars. This tradition of paying the nobles with the land was adopted from the iqtadari system of the earlier Delhi sultanate. It must be remembered that Jagirdars were different from iqtadars in the sense that, they were not given the control of that land but only given the right to collect taxes from that jagir as their salary.
It was the duty of Jagirdar to pay his soldiers, and cavalrymen and maintain the quality of horses. The king gave them a jagir after a detailed assessment so that the revenue collected was equal to their salaries.
The position of the Jagirdar was not hereditary and it was transferable and that is why the Jagirdars used to live lavishly.
Jairdars and mansabdars did not reside in the jagirs assigned to them and look at the administration. They had their servants who collected the revenue for the Jagirdars.
The imperial bureaucracy kept an eye on Jagirdars so that they can not exploit the peasants for extra tax.
During Akbar’s time, the mansabdari and jagirdari systems ran smoothly and he appointed officials to keep them in check. Later in Aurangzeb’s period, the number of mansabdaars increased but the Jagirs were limited and mansabdars had to wait for a long time to get the jagir. After they get the jagir, they tried to gain as much revenue as they could and they would exploit the peasants sometimes they use Faujdar, who was a military commander, to collect the taxes.
In the seventeenth century, the nobles or mansabdars gained enormous wealth and this increased their power. With the weakening of the Mughal dynasty, they slowly started their dynasty and claimed their hereditary right on jagir and started commanding the provinces, like Awadh and Hyderabad. They still considered the Mughal emperor as their master but gained autonomy.
Besides Mansabdar and Jagirdar, another system was relevant in the Mughal empire and that was the Zamindar. This term was highly used during the Mughal period.
The Zamindari system was different from the Jagirdari system in many ways such as −
Zamindars were rural elite and posed administrative control over an area whereas Jagirdars had no control over the area.
Zamindars were descendent of old ruling families and Rajputs or another ruling family. The Jairdars were not necessarily from the old ruling class.
Zamindars were petty landholders in rural areas.
Zamindars also had their armed forces and forts.
Unlike the Jagirdars, Zamindars had hereditary rights over revenue collection.
Zamindars usually resided in their area whereas Jagirdars were stationed in the Mughal court.
Zanibdars enjoyed some kind of autonomy in administrating his area while Jagirdars had no such autonomy.
The state had fixed the amount, which the Zamindar had to pay and he was given the freedom to collect as much revenue as he wanted. Whereas Jagirdars were always kept in control by the strict supervision of Diwan so that they could not exploit the peasants.
Sometimes their over-exploitation of peasants led to rebellions.
The Mughal administration was very complex and advanced. It had adopted the practices and structure of administration from the previous dynasties with multiple reforms and evolved its king of bureaucracy.
The Mughal bureaucracy was the innovation of Akbar. In his time the bureaucracy went smoothly and functioned properly. Akbar had taken the previous institution of iqtadars and with some modification, the former Mansabdars and Jagirdars. Both these positions were based on the right to collect revenue from certain areas as their salaries. The Mansab was based on the rank and position of noles in Akbar’s court.
The Mansabdars mainly provided military strength to the empire for its expansion. The post of Mansabdar was not hereditary, it was transferable and this became the cause of the expansion of the Mughal empire as well as its demise. In Aurangzeb's period, the number of Mansabdars increased and jagirs were fixed. The mansabdars started exploiting their jagirs and gained enormous wealth and when the central power weakened they revolted against the empire and became autonomous.
Q1. What were the new institutions founded by Akbar?
Ans. Akbar followed the old practices of bureaucracy and with some changes he founded the institution of Mansabdari and Jagirdari.
Q2. Mansabdars were divided into how many classes?
Ans. Masabdars were divided into three classes −
The first class had to maintain an equal number of jat and sawars.
The second class had to maintain jat and a half or more than half sawars.
The third class maintained jat and a half or less than half savers.
Q3. What was Watan Jagirs?
Ans. Watan jagirs were Jagirs, assigned to Zamindars in their home. Zamindars were given hereditary rights over land.
Q4. What do you understand by Tajwiz?
Ans. Tajwiz was an official petition by Noble to the emperor for the recommendation of applicants for the post of mansabdar
Q5. Did mansabdars reside in their Jagirs?
Ans. Mansabdaras and Jagirdars did not always reside in their jagirs, they sent their servants to collect the tax and they resided in other places. Sometimes Jagirdar took the help of Faujdar to collect the taxes.
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