mansabdari system
E12233
The mansabdari system was a hierarchical military-bureaucratic framework in the Mughal Empire that ranked officials and determined their salaries and obligations based on the number of troops they were required to maintain.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Mughal administration | 1 |
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
administrative system
ⓘ
bureaucratic framework ⓘ military ranking system ⓘ |
| aim |
to create a graded, uniform hierarchy of officials
ⓘ
to ensure loyalty of nobles to the emperor ⓘ to integrate military and civil administration ⓘ |
| appliedIn |
India
ⓘ
South Asia ⓘ |
| basedOn | mansab rank ⓘ |
| continuedUnder |
Aurangzeb
ⓘ
Jahangir ⓘ Shah Jahan ⓘ |
| corePrinciple |
linking rank to military obligations
ⓘ
linking rank to salary and status ⓘ ranking of officials by numerical grades called mansabs ⓘ |
| declinedDuring | 18th century ⓘ |
| declineFactor |
fiscal crisis of the Mughal Empire
ⓘ
over-assignment of jagirs ⓘ weakening of central authority ⓘ |
| defined |
sawar as number of cavalry to be maintained
ⓘ
zat as personal rank and status of the officer ⓘ |
| determined |
number of troops to be maintained by each officer
ⓘ
pay of Mughal officials ⓘ rank of Mughal nobles ⓘ |
| function |
control of provincial administration
ⓘ
organization of Mughal army ⓘ regulation of imperial bureaucracy ⓘ |
| hadComponent |
sawar rank
ⓘ
zat rank ⓘ |
| influencedBy |
Central Asian military practices
ⓘ
Persian administrative traditions ⓘ |
| introducedBy | Akbar ⓘ |
| introducedInCentury | 16th century ⓘ |
| introducedInReignOf | Akbar ⓘ |
| languageOfTerm |
Persian language
ⓘ
surface form:
Persian
|
| linkedTo |
jagirdari system
ⓘ
revenue assignment system ⓘ |
| obligation |
mansabdars to appear at court when summoned
ⓘ
mansabdars to maintain specified number of cavalry ⓘ mansabdars to present troops for imperial campaigns ⓘ |
| rankRange |
10 to 5000 in Akbar’s time
ⓘ
up to 7000 or more under later Mughals ⓘ |
| regulatedBy | imperial farmans ⓘ |
| salaryBasis |
assignment of jagirs
ⓘ
cash payments ⓘ |
| supervisedBy |
central military administration
ⓘ
mir bakhshi ⓘ |
| termMeaning | mansab means rank or office in Persian ⓘ |
| usedIn |
Mughal Empire (in much of the territory)
ⓘ
surface form:
Mughal Empire
|
| usedTerm | mansab ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
subject surface form:
Mughal Empire
this entity surface form:
Mughal administration