Mughal Administrative Structures—A view from below and above identifying
strengths/continuities and ruptures/weaknesses in the 17th C.
Akbar: 15 October, 1542-16 October, 1605 cont.

Religious reforms—Interest in Chisti Sufis, translations of Hindu texts, interactions with
other religions, creation of the Ibadat Khana or House of Worship

Other reforms—currency, legal system, court ritual, army
Administration
 Akbar’s greatest achievement, however was the creation of an entirely new administration that did
away with the old iqta system used by Babur and Humayun.
 The empire was divided into provinces/subas, districts, parganahs, and towns and villages. Each
level had their associated governing, assessment, tax-collecting, judicial and other appointees. Provincial
administration was headed by the subedar (governor).
 The imperial Diwan, supervised the separate assessment and collection of revenues through
different departments, assisted by various levels of officials.
 The Mir Bakhshi was in charge of the army, inspecting soldiers, horses, and expenses.
 The chief Qazi or judge likewise supervised other levels of judges, though most religious and
caste groups were allowed to keep their own legal systems.
 Each of the important administrative and army positions were staffed by officers called
mansabdars, each level of official having a separate zat (rank) and sawar (cavalry) ranking.
 Mansabdars were paid either in cash or through Jagirs, but they could only receive their jagir
assessments from the treasury, and not directly, as in the iqta system.
Administration and the view from below:
 Continued expansion of the Mansabdari system, enrollment of new groups both indigenous and
foreign—the problem of the “zamindar”
 Continued strength of the economy—participation of Khud Kasht peasants, South Asian
merchants, foreign trade on land and by sea—contrast with landless peasants, nomadic tribes
 Domestic reforms take advantage of the new global networks and enable trade to expand
 Expansion into Deccan rather than other directions due to geographical and political limitations,
absorption of the nobility of the Deccan into the Mansabdari system
 Life in the countryside
Culture and Arts:
 New Mughal style of architecture continues under successive Emperors, signals commitment
(sometimes a turning away) to policies of inclusion and Imperial grandeur
 Strong patronage at Imperial and local levels (through mansabdars and merchants) creates a
vibrant cultural life in literature and arts in both Persian and the vernaculars
 Lavish lifestyles of the elite and upper levels of peasantry actually good for the economy,
particularly in supporting craftsmen, growing nexus of cash and credit
 A shared cultural background helps to overcome the many differences of language, ethnicity, and
religion. Also, we see a greater tendency amongst various levels of society for a fresh approach to
intellectual issues, technology, and religious philosophy.
 New religious movements--Sikhism
Some signs of the strength
 Empire continued to produce growth in Revenue, agriculture and trade expand
 Administration on sound footing, continues even though Jahangir himself was not a strong leader
(thanks to his wife Nur Jahan and her brother Asaf Khan) and also through the 1658 succession struggle
between Shah Jahan’s sons Dara Shikoh, Aurangzeb, and two others.
 The rewards of joining the Mughal state are much better for most smaller kingdoms than the costs
of resisting—ex. Rajput Rulers of Amber
 Continued policy of inclusion of various ethnic and religious groups until Aurangzeb’s time
 The creation of a new elite stimulates the economy, also provides opportunities for new groups in
society—literate groups, peasants who are willing to embrace a military profession
Some problems
 Succession struggles become the norm when the Emperor dies
 Some tensions within “Old Nobility” or Khanzads v. “New Nobility” specially later
 Sulh-i kul policy occasionally suffers under individual Emperors periodically—Jahangir’s
execution of the 5th Sikh Guru, Aurangzeb’s policies of reversal (will study these in greater detail
Thursday)
 Upward social mobility is also a problem for the state—newly enriched and armed peasant groups
such as the Marathas in the South, and Sikhs and Jats in the North are not well-integrated into Empire
and do not share its ethos