Medieval Administrative Systems: Iqta, Mansab, Jagir and Revenue — Part 2: Delhi Sultanate Administration

2. Delhi Sultanate Administration

2.1 Central Administration

The Sultan: Supreme authority in civil, military, and judicial matters. Two key symbols of sovereignty were the khutba (Friday sermon in the Sultan's name) and the sikka (coins bearing his name). Balban stressed the concept of the Sultan as "shadow of God" (zil al-Allah) on earth, emphasising courtly splendour and severe punishment to overawe the nobility.

Wazir (Diwan-i Wizarat): The most important officer. He supervised revenue collection, controlled expenditure, maintained accounts, disbursed salaries, and allotted iqtas at the Sultan's order. He was assisted by the mushrif-i mumalik (accountant-general) and the mustaufi-i mumalik (auditor-general). Under Alauddin, the diwan-i mustakhraj was created to collect revenue arrears.

Diwan-i Arz: Military department headed by the ariz-i mumalik. He administered military affairs, inspected troops of iqta-holders, supervised commissariat duties, and (under Alauddin) maintained huliya rolls and horse-dagh records.

Diwan-i Insha: State correspondence, headed by the dabir-i mumalik. Drafted royal farmans and handled correspondence with other rulers and provincial governments.

Diwan-i Risalat: Headed by the sadr-us sudur, the highest religious officer. Managed ecclesiastical affairs, appointed qazis, and approved grants (waqf for religious/educational institutions, wazifa and idrar to the learned and poor).

Intelligence and Judiciary: The barid-i mumalik (head of the state news-agency) and munhiyan (secret spies) kept the Sultan informed of all happenings. The Sultan was the final court of appeal; the qazi-ul mumalik (chief judge) headed the legal system. Muhatsibs (public censors) enforced Islamic public norms.

2.2 Provincial Administration

The province was governed by the muqti/wali who initially combined revenue and military functions. Under Muhammad Tughlaq, fiscal responsibilities were partially separated: a wali-ul kharaj (revenue) and an amir (military) were sometimes appointed to the same territory. Each province had a sahib-i diwan who maintained accounts and submitted reports to the centre; the lower revenue staff was called karkun.

Administrative units below the province: shiqq (later sarkar under Sher Shah) → pargana (roughly a hundred villages per Ibn Battuta) → village. Village functionaries: khot, muqaddam (headman), patwari (record-keeper). The kotwal maintained urban law and order.

2.3 Revenue Administration

The primary land tax was kharaj — a share of the produce, not a rent on the land. In the 13th century it took the form of tribute. Three groups of rural intermediaries — khot, muqaddam, chaudhuri — collected kharaj from peasants on behalf of the state.

Additional levies included ghari (house tax), charai (cattle/grazing tax), abwab (extra cesses), jizya (poll tax on non-Muslims; imposed separately from kharaj by Firuz Tughlaq on peasants), and haqq-i sharb (irrigation water tax introduced by Firuz Tughlaq in Haryana). Other Islamic fiscal taxes recognised by the Sultanate included ushr (tithe on Muslim cultivators' produce), zakat (obligatory alms on Muslims' accumulated wealth), and khams (one-fifth of war booty reserved for the state).

Alauddin Khalji's agrarian measures: Demand fixed at 50% of produce — the highest in Indian agrarian history. Land was measured (masahat); intermediary perquisites (haqq-i khoti) abolished; direct collection introduced. His seven-regulation market-control policy fixed prices of all commodities, appointed a shahna-i mandi (controller of market), set up state granaries in Delhi and Chhain, and mandated daily intelligence reports. The purpose, per Barani, was to maintain a large army at affordable salaries by keeping prices low.

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