Medieval Administrative Systems: Iqta, Mansab, Jagir and Revenue — Part 3: The Mansabdari System
Part 3: Mansabdari system — origins under Akbar (66 grades), dual Zat-Sawar ranks from 1595–96, three classes, Do Aspa Sih Aspa under Jahangir, pay scale, escheat, month-scale; advantages and defects.
Medieval India — Part 3 of 5
3. The Mansabdari System (Mughal)
3.1 Origins under Akbar
The word mansab means a "place or position" — hence a rank in the Mughal administrative hierarchy. Under Babur the term wajhdar was used instead. Akbar formalised the system, giving mansabs to both military and civil officers on the basis of merit and service. He was broadly inspired by the decimal system of Chinghiz Khan. Abul Fazl records that Akbar established 66 grades of mansabdars ranging from commanders of 10 to 10,000 horsemen (only 33 grades listed in detail). Mansabdars were appointed across all government departments except the judiciary.
Mansab denoted three things: (i) the status of its holder in the official hierarchy; (ii) the personal pay of the holder; (iii) the obligation to maintain a specified contingent with horses, horsemen, and equipment.
3.2 Zat and Sawar Ranks
Initially a single number represented both personal pay and contingent size. Around 1595–96, the dual rank was introduced:
- Zat (first number): Determined the mansabdar's personal pay (talab-khassa) and position in the official hierarchy.
- Sawar (second number): Fixed the number of horses and horsemen to be maintained (tabinan) and the corresponding contingent allowance. Sawar rank was always equal to or less than the zat rank.
Athar Ali clarified the earlier controversy (William Irvine had thought double rank meant maintaining two contingents; Abdul Aziz held zat pay was purely personal): zat places the mansabdar in hierarchy and determines salary; sawar determines the contingent obligation.
Three classes of mansabdars (from 1595–96):
Class Criterion
| First | Sawar rank equal to zat rank
| Second | Sawar rank half or more than half of zat
| Third | Sawar rank less than half of zat
Mashrut: Conditional/temporary increase in sawar rank during a crisis — an emergency measure to recruit more horsemen at state expense without permanently altering zat rank.
Do Aspa Sih Aspa (under Jahangir): First given to Mahabat Khan in the 10th regnal year of Jahangir. Part or full sawar rank was made do aspa sih aspa (two-three horses), effectively doubling the contingent obligation of that portion. This allowed additional military recruitment without increasing the zat rank — avoiding additional personal pay and preventing upward hierarchy displacement.
3.3 Salaries: Cash or Jagir
Zat pay scale under Akbar (per month, Class I):
Zat Rank Monthly Pay (Rs.)
| 7,000 | 45,000
| 5,000 | 30,000
| 4,000 | 22,000
| 3,000 | 17,000
| 2,000 | 12,000
| 1,000 | 8,200
(Under Akbar, rank above 5,000 was given only to princes. Raja Man Singh received 7,000 zat in the last years of Akbar's reign.)
Sawar pay = sum of remuneration per trooper (Rs. 25–15 per month, varying by horse breed and number of horses per trooper).
Most mansabdars were paid through jagirs (not cash). Since calculation was based on the estimated income (jama) from the jagir but actual collection (hasil) invariably fell short, a month-scale was applied: if the jagir yielded only half the jama → shashmaha (six-monthly scale); if only a quarter → sihmaha (three-monthly scale). The strikingly unequal outcome: 80% of the Empire's total revenue resources was controlled by only 1,571 mansabdars.
Escheat (zabt): After a noble's death, the Emperor took possession of his wealth. The khan saman (Mir Saman) took over the estate, adjusted the state's claim (mutalaba), and distributed the remainder. A 1666 farman of Aurangzeb formalised this practice; a 1691 farman clarified nobles with heirs in government service should not be escheated.
3.4 Advantages and Defects of the Mansabdari System
Advantages: Created a unified civil-military bureaucracy under direct Imperial control; flexible (promotion/demotion without disrupting hierarchy); enabled incorporation of Rajputs, Iranis, Afghans, and Deccanis into one administrative structure.
Defects: Jagir-based payment created constant friction as hasil fell below jama; racial bias in promotions; escheat alienated the nobility; the system collapsed under Aurangzeb when mansabdars outnumbered available jagirs (the Jagirdari Crisis).