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Grade VII : Social Science - (History)

Chapter - 4
The Mughal Empire
 Zabt and Zamindars

Objectives

● Trace the political history of the 16th and 17th centuries

● Understand the impact of an imperial administration at the local and
regional levels
● Illustrate how the Akbarnama and the Ain-i-Akbari are used to reconstruct
history
Identify these people
 The Mughal Empire

● From the later half of the 16th C, the Mughals expanded their kingdom from Agra
and Delhi and in the 17th C, they controlled nearly all of the subcontinent.
● They imposed structures of administration and ideas of governance that outlasted
their rule, leaving a political legacy that succeeding rulers of the subcontinent
could not ignore.
● Today the Prime Minister of India addresses the nation on Independence Day
from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi, the residence of the Mughal
emperors.
 Who were the Mughals?

● The Mughals were the descendants of two great lineages of rulers.

● From the mother’s side, they were descendants of Genghis Khan(died 1227),
ruler of the Mongol tribes, China and Central Asia.
● From the father’s side, they were the successors of Timur(died 1404), the ruler of
Iran, Iraq and modern day Turkey.
● However, the Mughals did not like to be called Mughal or Mongol because
Genghis Khan’s memory was associated with the massacre of innumerable
people. It was also linked with the Uzbegs, their Mongol competitors.
● The Mughals were proud of their Timurid ancestry, not least of all because their
great ancestor had captured Delhi in 1398.
● They celebrated their genealogy pictorially, each ruler getting a picture made of
Timur and himself.
 Mughal Military Campaigns

● Babur, the first Mughal emperor(1526-1530), succeeded to the throne

of Ferghana in 1494 when he was only 12 years old.
● He was forced to leave his ancestral throne due to the invasion of
another Mongol group, the Uzbegs.
● After years of wandering, he seized Kabul in 1504.
● In 1526, he defeated the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi, at Panipat and
captured Delhi and Agra.
● In 1527, he defeated the Rajputs at Chanderi.
● Established control over Delhi and Agra before his death in 1530.
 Humayun 1530 - 1540, 1555-56

● According to the will of his father, Humayun divided the

inheritance with his brothers and each were given a province.
● His brothers were ambitious and thus he could not give much
of his time against the Afghan competitors.
● Sher Khan easily defeated Humayun at Chausa in 1539 and at
Kanauj in 1540 and forced him to flee to Iran.
● In Iran, Humayun received help from the Safavid Shah and
captured Delhi in 1555 but died next year after an accident in
the building.
 Akbar 1556- 1605
● Akbar was 13 yrs when he became an emperor and his reign is divided into 3
periods.
(i)1556-1570: Akbar became independent of the regent Bairam Khan and other
members of his domestic staff.
Military campaigns were launched against the Suris and other Afghans, against
the neighbouring kingdoms of Malwa and Gondwana and to suppress the revolt of
his half brother Mirza Hakim and the Uzbegs.
In 1568, the Sisodia capital of Chittor was seized and Ranthambore in 1569.
(ii)1570 - 1585: Military campaigns in Gujarat were followed by campaigns in the east
in Bihar, Bengal and Orissa.
● These campaigns were complicated by the 1579-1580 revolt in support of Mirza
Hakim.
Guess these personalities
 Akbar

(iii)1585-1605: Expansion of Akbar’s empire.

● Campaigns were launched in the north-west.
● Qandahar was seized from the Safavids, Kashmir was annexed and
Kabul was taken after the death of Mirza Hakim.
● Campaign in the Deccan started and Berar, Khandesh and parts of
Ahmednagar was annexed.
● In the last years of his reign, Akbar was distracted by the rebellion of
Prince Salim, the future emperor Jahangir.
 Jahangir 1605 - 1627

● Jahangir continued the military campaigns of his father Akbar.

● The Sisodia ruler of Mewar, Amar Singh, accepted Mughal service.
● Less successful campaigns against the Sikhs, the Ahoms and
Ahmednagar followed.
● Prince Khurram, the future emperor Shah Jahan, rebelled in the last
years of his reign.
● The efforts of Nur Jahan, Jahangir’s wife, to marginalize him were
unsuccessful.
 Shah Jahan 1627 - 1658

● Mughal campaign continued in the Deccan under Shah Jahan, against

Ahmednagar.
● The Afghan noble Khan Jahan Lodi rebelled and was defeated.
● The Bundelas were defeated.
● The campaign to seize Balkh was unsuccessful and Qandahar was lost to the
Safavids.
● In 1632, Ahmednagar was finally annexed and the Bijapur forces sued for
peace.
● In 1657, there was a conflict over succession amongst Shah Jahan’s sons.
● Aurangzeb was victorious and his three brothers, were killed.
● Shah Jahan was imprisoned for the rest of his life in Agra.
 Aurangzeb 1658 - 1707
● In 1663, the Ahoms were defeated in the north-east but rebelled again in 1680.
● Campaigns against the Yusufzai and the Sikhs were temporarily successful.
● Intervention of Mughals in the internal politics of Rathore Rajputs of Mewar, led to their rebellion.
● Campaigns against the Maratha chief Shivaji was initially successful but Shivaji escaped to Agra
and declared himself independant and resumed his campaigns against the Mughals, when
Aurangzeb insulted him.
● Prince Akbar rebelled against Aurangzeb after receiving the support from the Marathas and the
Deccan Sultanate but finally fled to Safavid Iran.
● After Akbar’s rebellion, Aurangzeb sent armies against the Deccan Sultanates. Bijapur was
annexed in 1685 and Golconda in 1687.
● Later, he personally led campaigns against the Marathas who started guerilla warfare and in the
north, the Sikhs, the Jats and Satnamis, in the north-east, the Ahoms and in the Deccan the
Marathas.
● His death was followed by a succession conflict amongst his sons.
 Mughal Traditions of Succession

● Mughals did not believe in the rule of Primogeniture

where the eldest son inherited his father’s estate.
● Instead they followed the Mughal and Timurid custom
of Coparcenary inheritance, or a division of the
inheritance amongst all the sons.
● Which do you think is a fairer division of inheritance:
primogeniture or coparcenary?
 Mughal Relations with other Rulers
● The Mughal rulers campaigned constantly against rulers who refused to
accept their authority.
● But as the Mughals became powerful many other rulers also joined them
voluntarily.
● Many of them married their daughters into Mughal families and received
high positions but many resisted as well.
● The Sisodiya Rajputs refused to accept Mughal authority for a long time.
● Once defeated, however, they were honourably treated by Mughals, given
their lands (watan) back as assignments(watan jagir).
● The careful balance between defeating but not humiliating their opponents
enabled the Mughals to extend their influence over many kings and
chieftains.
 Constitution Day
Constitution Day, also known as National Law Day, is celebrated in India on
26 November every year to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution
of India. On 26 November 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted
the Constitution of India, and it came into effect on 26 January 1950.

Date: Thursday, 26 November, 2020

 Mansabdars and Jagirdars
● As the empire expanded, to encompass different regions the Mughals recruited diverse
bodies of people.
● From a small Turkish(Turanis), they expanded to include Iranians, Indian Muslims,
Afghans, Rajputs, Marathas and other groups.
● Those who joined Myghal service were enrolled as mansabdars.
● The term ‘mansabdar’ refers to an individual who holds a mansab(a position or a rank).
● It was a grading system used by the Mughals to fix rank, salary and military
responsibilities.
● Rank and salary were determined by a numerical value called Zat.
● The higher the Zat, the more prestigious was the noble’s position in court and the larger
his salary.
● The mansabdars military responsibilities required him to maintain a specified number of
sawaar or cavalrymen.
 Mansabdars

● Mansabdars received their salaries as revenue assignments

called jagirs which were somewhat like iqtas.
● But unlike muqtis, most mansabdars did not actually reside
in or administer their jagirs.
● They had their rights to the revenue of their assignments
which was collected for them by their servants while the
mansabdars themselves served in some other part of the
country.
 Jagirdars
● Assignment of a piece of land to an individual for the purpose of collection of revenue in lieu of
cash salary is an age-old practice in India. In the Delhi Sultanate period such assignments were
called Iqtas and the holders Iqtadars. The Mughal emperors also implemented this system and
the areas assigned were called Jagirs and their holders, Jagirdars. It is to be remembered in this
connection that it is not land that was assigned but the right to collect revenue or income from
the piece of land.
● In Akbar’s reign, these jagirs were carefully assessed so that their revenues were roughly equal
to the salary of the mansabdar.
● By Aurangzeb’s reign, this was no longer the case and the actual revenue collected was often
less than the granted sum.
● There was also a huge increase in the number of mansabdars, which meant a long wait before
they received a jagir. These and other factors created a shortage in the number of jagirs.
● As a result, many jagirdars tried to extract as much revenue as possible while they had a jagir.
● Aurangzeb was unable to control these developments in the last years of his reign and the
peasantry suffered tremendously.
 Zabt and Zamindars
● The main source of income of Mughals was tax on the produce of peasantry.
● In most places, peasants paid their taxes through the rural elites - the headman or
the local chieftain. The term used by the Mughals for the local headman or
chieftain or intermediaries was ‘Zamindars’.
● Akbar’s revenue minister, Todar Mal was to fix tax on each crop in cash after a
careful survey of crop yields.
● Each province was divided into revenue circles with its own schedule of revenue
rates for individual crops. This revenue system was known as Zabt.
● Zabt was prevalent in those areas where Mughal administrators could survey the
land and keep very careful accounts but was not possible in Gujarat and Bengal.
● In some areas, the Zamindars exercised a great deal of power. This exploitation by
Mughal administration could drive them to rebellion. Sometimes, Zamindars and
peasants of the same caste allied in rebelling against mughal authority.
 Akbar Nama and Ain-i-Akbari
● Akbar ordered Abul Fazl, one of his close friends and a courtier to write a
history of his reign. He wrote a 3 volume history of Akbar’s reign, titled
‘Akbar Nama’.
● Volume 1: dealt with Akbar’s ancestors
● Volume 2:recorded the events of Akbar’s reign
● Volume 3: Ain-i Akbari, deals with Akbar’s administration, household,
army, the revenues and the geography of his empire, provides the rich
details about the traditions and culture of the people living in India. It has
rich statistical details about things as diverse as crops, yields, prices, wages
and revenues.
 Akbar’s Policies
● Abul Fazl explains the broad features of Akbar’s administration in his book Ain-i
Akbari.
● The empire was divided into provinces called ‘subas’, governed by a ‘subadar’, who
carried out both political and military functions.
● Each province/subha had a financial officer or diwan.
● For the maintenance of peace and order in his province, the subadar was supported by
other officers such as the military paymaster(bakshi), the minister in charge of
religious and charitable patronage (sadr), military commanders (faujdars) and the
town police commander (kotwal).
● Akbar’s nobles commanded large armies and had access to large amounts of revenue.
● When they were loyal, the empire functioned efficiently but by the end of the 17th C,
many nobles had built independent networks of their own and their loyalties to the
empire were weakened by their own self-interest.
 Akbar’s Religious Policy
● While Akbar was at Fatehpur Sikri, he started discussions on religion with the Ulama,
Brahmanas, Jesuit priests who were Roman Catholics and Zoroastrians.
● These discussions took place in the Ibadat Khana.
● Akbar was interested in the religion and social customs of different people.
● Akbar’s interaction with people of different faiths made him realise that religious scholars
who emphasised ritual and dogmas were often bigots.
● Their teachings created divisions and disharmony amongst his subjects. This eventually led
Akbar to the idea of ‘Sulh-i-Kul’ or “Universal Peace”.
● This idea of tolerance did not discriminate between people of different religions in his realm.
Instead, it focused on a system of ethics - honesty, justice, peace - that was universally
applicable.
● Abul Fazl helped Akbar in framing a vision of governance around this idea of sulh-i-kul.
● This principle of governance was followed by Jahangir and Shah Jahan as well.
 The Mughal Empire in the 17th C and After
● The administration and military efficiency of the Mughal Empire led to grear economic and
commercial prosperity.
● International travellers described it as the fabled land of wealth but at the same time they also
appalled at the state of poverty that existed side by side with the greatest opulence.
● Documents of Shah Jahan’s reign inform us that 5.6% of the total number of highest-ranking
mansabdars(445/8000) received 61.5% of the total estimated revenue of the empire as salaries
for themselves and their troopers.
● The Mughal emperors and their mansabdars spent a great deal of their income on salaries and
goods which benefited the artisans and peasantry who supplied them with goods and
produce.
● But with the high rate of revenue collection, and they lived from hand to mouth and could not
invest in additional resources - tools and supplies - to increase productivity but wealthier
peasantry, artisans, the merchants and bankers were profited.
 The Mughal Empire in the 17th C and After

● The enormous wealth and resources commanded by the Mughal

elite made them an extremely powerful group in the 17th C.
● As the authority of the Mughals declined, their servants emerged as
powerful centres of power in the regions. They constituted new
dynasties and held command of provinces like Hyderabad and
Awadh and by 18th C, they became independent political identities.
Ibadat Khana/ House of Worship
THANK YOU