Mansabdari system – GK

The Mansabdari system was a powerful administrative and military system. It was introduced by Akbar during his reign in the Mughal Empire. It organized the nobility and managed the army. The word “Mansab” means rank or position.

Who/What is Mansabdar

• The Arabic word ‘Mansab‘ means rank or post or position.
• Akbar first introduced this system in India (1571).
• A Mansabdar was a noble who enlisted in the Mughal service.
• Mughal administrators appointed Mansabdars as officers.
• A person who possesses a Mansab (rank) is usually referred to as a Mansabdar.
• All military and civil offices were filled by Mansabdars.
• They might be moved from the military to the civil department.

Classification:

• Jat– Index of personal rank of Mansabdars. In the administrative system, Mansabdar’s salary and rank were denoted by a numerical figure called Jat. As Jat increases in value, the rank also increases.
• Sawar– Number of Cavalry placed under Mansabdars. It represents the number of cavalrymen associated with the mansabdar, or the horse and cavalrymen that the mansabdar maintains.

Category of Mansabdar

1. First Category Mansabdar: A Mansabdar fell into the first category of mansabdar if the Zat and Sawar mansab were equal.
2. Second Category Mansabdar: The mansabdar fell into the second category if the Sawar mansab was half of the Zat mansab.
3. Third Category Mansabdar: The Sawar mansab fell into the third category if it was less than half of the Zat mansab.

Extra Info: In ‘Ain-e-Akbari’ there are 66 levels of ‘Mansabdars’. There were actually 33 levels.

Posts of Mansabdar

The Mansabdari system mentions three posts-

1. Mansabdar: Mansabdars were those with ranks up to 500 (500 jat or below).
2. Amir: Amir were those with ranks from 500 to 2500.
3. Amir-i-Umda: were those with ranks above 2500.

• However, later all below 1000 were called Mansabdars.
• Prince Salim received 10000 Mansabdari.
• Jahangir introduced ‘duh-aspa‘ (2 horses), ‘shi-aspa‘ (3 horses).
• During the reign of Shah Jahan, the number of posts ‘Duh-aspa’, ‘Shi-aspa’ increased.
• During the reign of Shah Jahan, the salary was started as a monthly proportion.
• During Aurangzeb’s rule, the number of Mansabdars increased and the Jagirdari crisis arose.

Recruitment of Mansabdars

1. The power to the recruitment of Mansabdars was solely in the hand king.
2. Only Mirbakshi recommended a person for the post of Mansabdars.
3. Nobles and provincial governors, powerful merchants might be chosen for the post of a Mansabdar.
4. The emperor had the highest power to dismiss Mansabdar.
5. A Mansabdar should have either military skills or administrative experience.

Characteristics

• Mansabdars had a minimum level of 10 and a maximum level of 5000 (among the elite). Akbar later increased the maximum value to 10000.
• Princes used to get Mansabdars above 5000.
• Only a Mansabdar was entitled to ‘Jat‘ and ‘Swar‘ posts.
• But this custom was not hereditary in the empire. The appointment, promotion, and dismissal of the Mansabdars was at the discretion of the Emperor.
• Akbar had around 1,800 Mansabdars, but the number was increased up to 14500 during Aurangzeb’s reign.
• With the rank of 5,000 jat, Akbar had 29 Mansabdars.
• Aurangzeb had 79 Mansabdars with the rank of 5,000 jat.
• Mansabdar collected revenue from his jagirs and transferred to the king.

Extra Info: During Akbar’s reign 7000 mansabs were received by Mirza Aziz Koka, Raja Mansingh, Kulich Khan, Todarmal.

Salary structure

In the Mansabdari System, Mansabdar’s salary was based on their individual ranks. Jagirdars are paid by the land since they were able to collect revenue from the land. However, Naqdi gets paid in cash for his services. Mansabdars were paid in two ways-

1. Cash They were called Mansabdar-i-Nagdi.
2. Jagir or Land They were called Jagirdars.

Benefits of Mansabdari System

• The Mansabdari system served as the foundation of the Mughal administration.
• The administrative system of the Mughal Empire ran efficiently.
• The ruler’s power was enhanced by the Mansabdari system.
• It brought in the idea of uniformity in the administration.
• contributed to the unification of politics.
• Additionally, it made the feudal system and the caste weaker. Because Mansabdars were required to select soldiers from every caste and religion.

Weakness/Fall of Mansab System

• The Mansabdari system during Akbar’s reign had several weaknesses.
• Writers like Badayuni described that in the early years, many Mansabdars cheated the government.
• Sometimes a Mansabdar brought random people from the streets and dressed them as soldiers.
• Soldiers were sometimes replaced and sold the good horses with inferior ones.
• It was also common for troopers to replace good-quality horses given by the military with inferior ones.
• It was highly centralized and depended heavily on the ruler’s personality.
• Lacked strong successors, the Mansabdars gained significant power. They involved themselves in politics and acted like nobles.