Army Organization and
UNIT 9 IQTA AND JAGIR* Mansab System
Structure
9.0 Objectives
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Iqta System
9.2.1 What were Iqtas?
9.2.2 Iqta System in Operation
9.2.3 Iqta and the Dispersal of Resources among the Ruling Class
9.3 Jagir System
9.3.1 Early Phase
9.3.2 Organization of Jagir System
9.3.3 Various Types of Jagirs
9.3.4 Management of Jagirs
9.4 Summary
9.5 Keywords
9.6 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
9.7 Suggested Readings
9.8 Instructional Video Recommendations
9.0 Objectives
In this Unit, we will discuss the iqta and jagir systems. After reading this Unit,
you will be able to know the:
• basic features of iqta system under the Delhi Sultans,
• changes introduced in iqta system during the 14th century,
• the main features and working of jagirdari, and
• the various types of jagirs.
9.1 Introduction
The territorial expansion and consolidation of the Sultanate was a process which
continued throughout the 13th and 14th centuries. It involved varying kinds of
control in terms of territories: those brought under direct administration and
those which paid tribute and remained semi-autonomous. The expansion of the
Sultanate and the difficulties involved in administering areas that were far away
from the centre shaped different kinds of control. The most important problem of
the Sultanate in its early stages, and even later, was to consolidate the conquered
territories. The Turks brought with them the institution of the iqtas which helped
in the centralization of authority to a great extent. As greater centralization was
sought to be effected, changes could be seen in the institution of the iqta.
Under the Mughals the payment to the Mughal bureaucracy was done largely
in the form of assignment of jagirs. In the reign of Aurangzeb alone out of the
* Prof. Aniruddha Ray, Department of Islamic History and Culture, Calcutta University, Kolkata;
Prof. Shireen Moosvi, Centre of Advanced Study in History, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh;
and Dr. Kiran Dattar, Janki Devi Mahavidyalaya, Delhi University, New Delhi. The present Unit
is taken from IGNOU Course EHI-03 India: From 8th to mid-15th Century, Block 5, Units 16&17,
Block 6, Unit 19 and EHI-04: India from 16th to mid-18th Century, Block 4, Unit 15. 191
Military and Administrative total jamadami (estimated revenue) of 924 crores of dams 724 crores were
Systems
reserved for paibaqi (land reserved for jagir assignments; but not yet assigned).
The jagirs (lands) so assigned (whole pargana or a part) were equal to the pay
claims of a noble/mansabdar. Thus it was essential that there should be balance
between the jama (estimated revenue) and hasil (actual revenue collected) of the
revenue claims. However, you will find that this was not always so that is why
the empire faced a ‘crisis’ and Mughal emperors had to bring in modifications
in the working of the jagirs.
9.2 Iqta System
The new rulers brought with them the iqta system that combined the two functions
of revenue collection and distribution without immediately endangering the unity
of the political structure. The iqta was a territorial assignment and its holder was
called the muqti or the wali.
9.2.1 What were Iqtas?
The initial Turkish conquests in the early 13th century displaced many local chiefs
(whom the contemporary sources refer to as rai and rana). In order to consolidate,
the Turkish rulers made revenue assignments (iqta), in lieu of cash to their nobles
(umara). The assignees (known as muqti and wali) collected revenue from these
areas, defrayed their own expenses, paid the troops maintained by them and sent
the surplus (fawazil) to the centre. Iqta is an Arabic word and the institution had
been in force in the early Islamic world as a form of reward for services to the
State. It was used in the Caliphate administration as a way of financing operations
and paying civil and military officers. The grant of iqta did not imply a right to the
land nor was it hereditary though the holders of iqta tended to acquire hereditary
rights in Firuz Tughlaq’s reign. These revenue assignments were transferable, the
iqta-holder being transferred from one region to another every three or four years.
Therefore, iqta should not be equated with the fief of medieval feudal Europe,
which were hereditary and non-transferable. The assignments could be large (a
whole province or a part). Assignments given to nobles carried administrative,
military and revenue collecting responsibilities. Thus, provincial administration
was headed by the muqti or wali. He had to maintain an army composed of
horsemen and foot soldiers. The classical definition of the iqta system has been
given by Nizam-ul Mulk Tusi, a Seljuq statesman of the century:
They (the muqtis) should know that their right over the subjects is only to take the
rightful amount of money or perquisite (mal-i haqq) in a peaceful manner... the life,
property and the family of the subject should be immune from any harm, the muqtis
have no right over them; if the subject desires to make a direct appeal to the Sultan,
the muqti should not prevent him. Every muqti who violates these laws should be
dismissed and punished… the muqtis and walis are so many superintendents over
them as the king is superintendent over other muqti... After three or four years, the
amils and the muqtis should be transferred so that they may not be too strong.
A passage from Nizamult Mulk Tusi’s Siyasatnama on the rights of the muqti.
English translation from A.B.M. Habibullah, The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India,
Allahabad, 1976, pp. 209-10.
Thus, according to Tusi’s definition, the iqta was a revenue assignment that the
muqti held at the pleasure of the Sultan. The muqti was entitled to collect in proper
manner the land tax and other taxes due to the Sultan, he had no further claims
on the person, women and children, land or other possessions of the cultivators.
The muqti had certain obligations to the Sultan, the chief being the maintenance
of troops and furnishing them at call to the Sultan. The iqta was a transferable
192 charge and the transfers of iqtas were frequent.
Iltutmish (1210-36) is reported to have assigned in lieu of salaries “small iqtas” Iqta and Jagir
in the Doab to the soldiers of the Sultan's army (hashm qalb). Balban (1266-86)
made a half-hearted attempt at their resumption without success. It was Alauddin
Khalji (1296-1316) who established firmly the practice of payment of salaries
in cash to the soldiers. A practice that was again altered by Firuz Tughlaq who
began to assign villages to soldiers in lieu of their salaries. These assignments
were called wajh and the holders wajhdars. These assignments tended to be not
only permanent but hereditary.
9.2.2 Iqta System in Operation
In the early years of the foundation of the Sultanate, neither the revenue income
of these assignments was known nor the size of the contingent of the assignee was
fixed. However, certain modifications and mild attempts at introducing central
control to some extent were made by Balban (1266-86) when he appointed a
khwaja (accountant) with each muqti: this may imply that the Sultanate now was
trying to find out the actual income of the iqta and muqti’s expenditure.
The real intervention in the iqta administration came under Alauddin Khalji. The
central finance department (diwan-i wizarat) perhaps prepared some sort of an
estimated revenue income from each iqta. The audit was stringent, punishments
severe, transfers frequent and enhancements (taufir) were often made in the
estimated revenue income of the iqta on various pretexts.
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (1320-25) introduced some moderation. The enhancements
in the estimated revenue income by the central finance ministry was not to be
more than 1/10 or 1/11th annually. The muqtis were allowed to keep l/10th to l/20th
in excess of their sanctioned salaries.
The attempt at central intervention reached its climax during the time of
Muhammad Tughlaq (1325-51). In several cases, a wali and an amir was appointed
to the same territory. The wali was to collect revenue and, after deducting his
pay, to send the rest to the treasury. The amir or commander had nothing to do
with revenue realization and received his own salary and the salary of his troops
in cash, presumablv from the local treasury. During Muhammad Tughlaq’s
reign the troops of the iqta holders were paid in cash by the state's treasury.
This possibility infuriated the commanders and created political problems for
Muhammad Tughlaq. Firuz Tughlaq, therefore, decided to make concessions.
He enhanced the cash salaries of the nobles and got new estimates of revenue
(mahsul) prepared which was designated jama.
There was no attempt to restore central control by the successors of Firuz. Under
the Lodis (1451-1426), the administrative charges and revenue assignments were
combined together and these were no more called iqta but were simply called
sarkars and parganas. A system of sub-assignments came in vogue particularly
under Sikandar Lodi (1489-1517). The main assignees used to sub-assign portions
of their assignment to their subordinates who in turn made sub-assignments to
their soldiers.
Check Your Progress-1
1) How will you define iqta?
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Military and Administrative 2) What changes were introduced in the iqta system by Muhammad Tughlaq?
Systems
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3) Mark () against the correct and (x) against the wrong statements given
below:
a) Alauddin Khalji allowed the muqtis to keep the excess income from
their iqtas. ( )
b) Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq handed over iqtas to revenue-farmers. ( )
c) The jama under Firuz Tughlaq meant the estimated revenue income.
( )
9.2.3 Iqta and the Dispersal of Resources among the Ruling Class
The income of the Sultanate was primarily and largely derived from the land
revenue. Khalisa was the term for the land whose revenue was exclusively meant
for the Sultan himself, while the revenue from the land, called iqta, was assigned
by the state to the nobles. The muqtis or iqta-holders were required to furnish
military assistance to the Sultan in times of need, apart from maintaining law
and order and collecting the revenue from their iqta.
These revenue assignments were generally non-hereditary and transferable. In
fact, it was through the institution of iqta that the Sultan was able to control the
nobles. The muqti collected land revenue from the peasants of his territory and
defrayed therefrom his own salary as well as that of his soldiers. The demand to
send the excess amounts (fawazil) to the diwan-i wizarat was symbolic of the
trend towards centralization. The muqti had to submit accounts of their realisation
and expenditure to the treasury. Auditing was severe to prevent fraud.
Alauddin Khalji also took other measures for controlling his nobility. Regular
reports from the barids (intelligence officers) kept him posted with the actions of
the nobles. A check was kept on their socialising, and marriages between them
could not take place without the permission of the Sultan. These measures have
to be seen against the background of recurrent incidents of rebellions in which
the muqtis utilised and appropriated the resources of their areas, to rebel or to
make a bid for the throne. This explains the principle of transfer also. Under
Muhammad Tughlaq (1325-1351), the nobles were given iqta in lieu of cash
salary but their troops were paid in cash by the treasury in contrast to the earlier
period. These new fiscal arrangements and the greater control over assignments
possibly contributed to the conflict between the Sultan and the nobles since they
were deprived of the gains of the iqta management. However, during the reign of
Firuz Tughlaq there was a general retreat from the practice of increased central
authority over iqta. In practice, Firuz started granting iqta to the sons and heirs
of iqta-holders. The long reign of Firuz Tughlaq comparatively witnessed few
rebellions but it also saw the beginning of the disintegration and decentralisation.
By the time of the Lodis (1451-1526), the iqtadars (now called wajhdars) do not
seem to have been subject to constant transfers.
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Check Your Progress-2 Iqta and Jagir
1) Write a note on iqta.
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2) What were the functions of the wali or muqti?
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3) What steps were taken to curb the powers of the muqti in the 14th century?
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4) Mark right () or wrong (x) against the following statements:
a) i) Iqtas were hereditary assignments. ( )
ii) Iqtas were the personal property of the nobles. ( )
iii) Generally iqtas were transferable revenue assignments. ( )
iv) Muqtis were personal bodyguards of the Sultan. ( )
v) Muqtis were religious teachers. ( )
vi) Muqtis were governors to whom the revenue from the iqtas were
assigned. ( )
b) Fawazil was :
i) Extra payment met to the nobles. ( )
ii) Surplus revenue paid to the exchequer by the iqtadars. ( )
iii) Revenue assigned in lieu of salary. ( )
9.3 JAGIR SYSTEM
We have seen that the revenue assignments made by the Delhi Sultans were
termed iqta and its holder iqtadar. The system was developed to appropriate the
surplus from the peasantry and distribute it among the nobles. This also included
the administration of the area by the assignee. The Mughal Emperors, too, did
the same. These assignments were given in lieu of cash salaries. The areas
assigned were generally called jagir, and its holders jagirdar. Sometimes terms
like ‘iqta’/‘iqta’adar’ and tuyul/tuyuldar were also used, but very sparingly. It
must be made clear that it was not the land that was assigned, but the income/
revenue from the land/area was given to the jagirdars. This system developed
over a period of time and underwent many changes before stabilising. However,
the basic framework was developed during Akbar’s reign. Let us first study the
early form of jagir system.
195
Military and Administrative 9.3.1 The Early Phase
Systems
Babur, after his conquest, restored to the former Afghan chieftains or conferred
upon them assignment of approximately more than one-third of the conquered
territories. The holders of such assignments (wajh) were known as wajhdars
(wajh means remuneration). A fixed sum was assigned as wajh out of the total
revenue of the area. The rest of the revenue of the territories was deemed to be
a part of the khalisa. The zamindars continued in their respective areas, but in
other conquered areas Babur ruled through hakims (governors). The same pattern
perhaps continued under Humayun.
9.3.2 Organization of Jagir System
During Akbar’s period all the territory was broadly divided into two: khalisa and
jagir. The revenue from the first went to the Imperial treasury, and that from the
jagir was assigned to jagirdars in lieu of their salary in cash (naqd) according to
their rank. Some mansabdars got cash salary, and, hence, they were called naqdi.
A few were given both jagir and cash. The bulk of the territory was assigned to
mansabdars according to their rank. The estimated revenue was called jama or
jamadami as it was calculated in dam (a small copper coin, l/40th of the silver
rupaya on the average). The jama included land revenue, inland transit duties,
port customs and other taxes which were known as sair jihat. Another term
used by the revenue officials was hasil, that is, the amount of revenue actually
collected. You must understand these two terms – jama and basil – which you
will come across frequently. The revenue officials used yet another term, that is,
paibaqi. This was applied to those areas whose revenue were yet to be assigned
to mansabdars.
In the year 1596-97 of Akbar’s reign, the jama of the khalisa in the provinces of
Delhi, Awadh and Allahabad amounted to about a fourth of their total revenue.
Under Jahangir, almost 9/10 of the territory was assigned in jagir and only 1/10
was available for the khalisa and the ‘ratio even fell below five percent of that
of the whole empire’. The ratio of jagir and khalisa kept fluctuating. Under Shah
Jahan, it rose to one-eleventh and, by the 20th year, it was nearly one-seventh.
The trend continued in the next reign; in the 10th year of Aurangzeb, the jama of
the khalisa amounted to almost one-fifth of the total. However, in the later part
of Aurangzeb's reign, there was a great pressure on the khalisa as the number
of claimants for jagir increased with the increase of the number of mansabdars.
Another important feature of the jagir system was shifting of jagir-holders from
one jagir to another for administrative reasons. This system of transfers checked
the jagirdars from developing local roots. At the same time, its disadvantage
was that it discouraged the jagirdars from taking long term measures for the
development of their areas. They were merely interested in extracting as much
revenue as possible in a short time.
9.3.3 Various Types of Jagirs
There were generally four types of revenue assignments:
a) jagirs, which were given in lieu of pay, were known as jagir tankha;
b) jagirs given to a person on certain conditions were called mashrut jagirs;
c) jagirs which involved no obligation of service and were independent of rank
were called in’am jagirs; and
d) jagirs which were assigned to zamindars (chieftains) in their homelands,
were called watan jagirs. Under Jahangir some Muslim nobles were given
196 jagirs resembling to watan jagir called al-tamgha.
Tankhwa jagirs are transferable every three or four years, watan jagirs remained Iqta and Jagir
hereditary and non-transferable. Sometimes watan jagir was converted into
khalisa for a certain period as Aurangzeb did in case of Jodhpur in 1679. When a
zamindar or a tributary chief was made a mansabdar, he was given jagir tankhwa,
apart from his watan jagir, at another place if the salary of his rank was more
than the income from his watan jagir. Maharaja Jaswant Singh, holding watan
jagir in Marwar, held jagir tankha in Hissar.
9.3.4 Management of Jagirs
The jagirdar was allowed to collect only authorised revenue (mal wajib) in
accordance with the Imperial regulations. He employed his own officials (karkun)
like amil (amalguzar), fotadar (treasurer), etc. who acted on his behalf.
The Imperial officials kept watch on the jagirdars. The diwan of the suba was
supposed to prevent the oppression on the peasants by the jagirdars. From the 20th
year of Akbar, amin was posted in each province to see that the jagirdars were
following Imperial regulations regarding collection of revenue. The faujdar often
helped the jagirdar to collect revenue whenever difficulties arose. It appears that
from the period of Aurangzeb, bigger jagirdars were having faujdari powers, too.
Check Your Progress-3
1) Write two lines each on various types of jagirs.
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2) Why were jagirdars transferred?
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9.4 SUMMARY
We have studied how the need for maintaining a large army and maintaining an
administrative apparatus shaped many of its institutions, such as the iqta and
jagir. For revenue purposes all the land was divided into two – the iqta/jagir and
khalisa. The land revenue collected from the khalisa went to the royal treasury
while that from the iqta/jagir to iqtadars/mansabdars. Iqtadars/mansabdars were
paid through the assignment of iqta/jagir. The iqta/jagir system as an institution
was used to appropriate the surplus from the peasantry. At the same time it was
used for distributing the revenue resources among the ruling classes. Of the four
types of jagirs given to assignees, the watan jagir was a very effective way of
absorbing Indian chieftains in the Mughal ruling class.
9.5 KEYWORDS
Amir Officer
Fawazil Surplus revenue
Hasil Actual revenue
Hashm-i qalb Central/royal cavalry
Jama Estimated revenue
197
Military and Administrative Khalisa ‘Crown’ (‘reserve’) land whose revenue was reserved for
Systems
the Sultan’s treasury
Wajhdar Iqta-holder
Wali Iqta-holder
9.6 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
EXERCISES
Check Your Progress-1
1) See Sub-section 9.2.1
2) See Sub-section 9.2.2
3) a) × b) × c)
Check Your Progress-2
1) See Sub-sections 9.2.1, 9.2.2, 9.2.3
2) See Sub-sections 9.2.1, 9.2.2, 9.2.3
3) See Sub-section 9.2.3
4) a) i) × ii) × iii) iv) × v) × vi)
b) i) × ii) iii) ×
Check Your Progress-3
1) See Sub-section 9.3.3 where four types of jagirs are discussed.
2) See Sub-section 9.3.2 Jagirdars were transferred to adjust the changes in
their ranks and salaries. Besides, it was a method to discourage jagirdars
from developing local roots in the areas under their jurisdictions.
9.7 SUGGESTED READINGS
Ali, Athar, (1968) Mughal Nobility Under Aurangzeb (Bombay: Asia Publishing
House).
Day, U.N., (1970) Mughal Government, 1556-1707 (New Delhi: Kumar Brothers).
Habib, Mohammad and K.A.Nizami, (1982) Comprehensive History of India,
Vol. V (New Delhi: People’s Publishing House).
Hasan, Ibn, (1936) Central Structure of the Mughal Empire (Oxford: Oxford
University Press).
Ray, Anuruddha, (1984) Some Aspects of Mughal Administration (Calcutta:
Kalyani Publishers).
Raychaudhuri, Tapan and Irfan Habib, (1982) The New Cambridge Economic
History of India, Vol. I (New Delhi: Cambridge University Press).
Saran, P., (1941) The Provincial Administration under the Mughals [1526-1658]
(Allahabad: Kitabistan).
Tripathi, R. P., (1985) Rise and Fall of the Mughal Empire (Allahabad: Central
Book Depot).
9.8 INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO RECOMmENDATIONS
Jagirdari System Part I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gggszz3I4bY
Jagirdari System Part II
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhqLVUGSsUY
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