Nature of Mughal State

2020-04-27 12:31 :47

Akbars Concept of Suzerainty/ Nature of Mughal State

![[6.5 Mughal Empire First Phase Babur and Humayun#Turko-Mughal theory of Sovereignty What was it How did it originate and Develop]]

His religious ideas and concept of suzerainty has been put forward by Abul Fazl.
For him as per Abul F royalty was a divine right which was based on pre Islamic Sassanian/Iranian concept of royalty.
He combined this concept with Muslim and Hindu thinking like paternal love towards subject, courage and firmness, trust in god etc.
His views of Akbars suzerainty reeks of his own bias. A/C to him ignoble or lower classes should not aspire for a share in state power.

AF said that the distinction of dar-ul-Islam and dar-ul-harb had ceased to exist -> was put as justification for removal of Jizya.
Per him Akbars conquest was not based on aggrandisement but to establish an all India polity based on justice and tolerance.

Central and Provincial Structure of Govt

Ak inherited the structure that was based on experience of the Delhi Sultanat.
His system had some novel features functions and responsibilities were divided such that they did not encroach on each other but balanced one another ie a ==system of check and balances==.
He dev system of provincial govt based on central system of govt. Detailed rules and regulations were devised to control administration. New regulations under name Dastur-ul-Amal or Rule books -> led to formation of bureaucratic sys.

The Ruler

Vakil

Supervised all branches of govt. Babur’s wazir was Nizamuddin Khwaja; Humayun’s was Amir Wais and Hindu Beg. They all were primarily military men.
Under Bairam K it became all too powerful so Ak took steps to avoid such situations. Ex drastic punishments to Adham Khan despite Maham Anga being Vakil.
After Munim K was appt Jaunpu’s governor no Vakil was appt for 7 years.
In 1575 Muzaffar K was appt Vakil combining post of Vakil and Diwan assisted by Todar Nal and Shah Mansur.
It remained empty for 10 yrs after him.
Mirza Aziz Koka was last of Akbar’s Vakils.

Ibn Hasan : power of Vakil was gone but was only a mark of distinction and prestige.

Various Ministries

There were total of 4 ministries

Diwan :
- A/C to Abul Fazl he headed the dept of income and expenditure. He was in reality a book keeper and was also called Wazir.
- Under Akbar Diwan-i-Ala word was used. Diwan’s were not given high mansabs.
- Assisted emperor in financial matters, superintendent of Imperial Treasures, checked accounts.
- Some like Muzaffar Khan, Todar Mal, Khwaja Mansur etc were also employed in military ops. They also implemented the Dahsala system.
- AF tells that Mashrif-I-diwan was higher than diwan but lower than Vakil.
- Todar Mal and Shas Mansur divided empire into 12 provinces.
- Akbar separated financial from military and political power.
Mir Bakshi
- Was called Diwan-i-Arz since Balban’s time. Looked after recruitment of army, inspection of Horses, mustering troops at regular interval etc.
- Enjoyed all powers of Diwan-i-Arz and additionally he presented all Noble candidates for appt to the Emperor.
- Kept a register of all mansabdars, also headed intelligence system, made arrangements for the palace guards
Mir Saman
- was incharge of royal household. Under Akbar Mir Saman had not emerged but there was a Diwan-i-Bayutat as incharge of Karkhanas.
- Karkhanas dealth with articles like precious stones, pearls, swords, guns and artillery.
- Maintained close touch with Mir Bakshi.
Sadr
- aka Sadr-us-sadr was head of the ulama looked after enforcement and interpretation of Sharia
- also called Qazi-ul-Quzzat or head of Judiciary.
- Exercised censorship over education, ideas and morals of people.
- Awarded the Madad-i-Maash to deserving scholars, divines etc. Shaikh Abdun Nabi was most powerful one. He was exiled to Mecca for corruption, bigotry and executing a reputed Brahman of Mathura.
- Chief Sadr was to have tolerant views since grants were to be given to Hindu scholars as well.

Provincial, District and Local Government

Akbar Inherited the [[6.6 The Sur Empire#Sher Shah’s Administration|Older system]] till 1580 after whcih the empire was divided into 12 subas or provinces.

Subahs/Provinces

Sipahsalar was head of adm in a Subah who was later called Subahdar.
- His functions included resp of law and order, general adm and welfare of people.
- Help in collecting land revenue, punish rebellious zamindars.
- Also administered criminal justice and collecting tributes from vassal chiefs.
He was assited by a Diwan, Bakshi, sadr/qazi, mir adl for justtice,kotwal, mir bahr or superintendent of rivers and pors, a waqia navis or news writer.
- Diwan was 2nd most imp officer who sent fortnightly reports to central Diwan. He was resp for extension and improve cultivation, collect land rev and auditing and accounting.
- Bakshi was head of intelligence service.
- Sadr recommended grants Akbar appt Mir Adl for dispensation of justice and qazi/sadr was to act as his assistant.
- Kotwal was incharge of law and order and checked weights and measures, control gambling and prostitution.
More Subahs were added after expansion into Deccan.
1586 Ak decided to appt 2 governors in every province was abandoned later.
Ain-I-Akbari gives geographical boundaries of Subahs. Says that provinces were divided into Sarkars and Parganas along with their zamindars, military forces and their estimated jama/ revenue.
Diwans since 1595 started to be appointed centrally and ceased to be a subordinated of the governor.

Sarkars/ Districts

Headed by Faujdar resp for gen govt, law and order, safety of roads. Has been compared to District collector of British rule but Faujdar also commanded local armed forces.
Qazi was resp for criminal justice and civil law among Muslims.

Parganas/Local Govt

Headed by shiqdar for general adm, amil for assessment and collection of land revenue, treasurer, Qanungo who determined pargana and village boundaries and kep local rev records.

Changes in the Mughal Nobility since Akbar/ Emergence of a Composite Ruling Class.

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Could be seen as a reason for the evolution of his social outlook
A/C to Ain-i-Akbari b/w 1575-95 30 out of 184 nobles were Hindus of which Rajputs were 27.
Badayuni was unhappy about it saying Akbar cannot have enough of them.
Opened service to talent and many small rajas rose to high positions.
Many Khatri and Kayastha castes who were revenue experts rose high where the acted as financial experts.
Todar Mal who first worked under Sher Shah rose to the position of wazir during Akbars reign.
Mughals inducted 2 sections of Indian Muslims the Saiyads of Barha famed to have come from Arabia and the Shakihzadas who belonged to learned family of the Shaikhs.
Kamboh were another section of Hindustanis employed in mostly in military. Ex Shahbaz Khan Mir Bakshi,
Turani nobles decreased. Attempt was made to break clan tribal ties -> nobles were supposed to had military regiments were to mix of Mughals, Rajputs, Hindustanis etc.

Nur Jahan and the Nur Jaha ‘Junta’

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Mehrunnisa married Jahangir in 1611 was the daughter of Itimad ud Dala/ Ghiyas Beg. He was taken into service under Akbar at Fatehpur Sikri and rose to the position of Diwan in 1595.
Controversy has been about role of Nur Jahan and her impact on court politics during the last 16 yrs of J reign.
$ Mutammad Khan a contemporary writer wrote that all important affairs of the empire passed into the hands of Jahangir.
- He further states that not a single relation, slaves, proteges who was not granted a satisfactory mansab and jagir.
Itimad ud Daula was raised to position of Wizarat and within a year his rank inc from 1500 to 4000. Her brother Asaf Khan continued to hold the post of Mir Bakshi.

This led to the rise of a rival party whose candidate to the thone was Khusrau.

There were other nobles like Mahabat Khan who continued to enjoy Jahangirs favor despite not enjoying support from the Junta.
There is also no contemporary evidence of a factional alliance b/w Nur Jahan and Khurram.
- Also the question of support for Shahriyar would not arise since by 1618 Shah Jahan was already having rank of 30, 000 zat and sowar and was given special position beside the throne in the darbar.
But Nur Jahan completely dominated the Haram. As far as her interference in political life is concerned. She sometimes sat in the Jharokha window, dictated orders to officers and received important messages.
Farmans were sometimes issued in her name. Coins have also been stuck in her name in dam, dirham and even on a silver rupee with the title ‘Badshah Begum’.
She became a channel for seeking royal favours.
After 1622-27 when Jahangirs health began to fail she started participating more into the political affairs, since powerful noble like Mahabat Khan wanted to make the emperor their puppet.
It has been suggested that Persian nobles rose in prominence during her time. But not all of these nobles sided with Nur Jahan.

Dara Shikoh

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Eldest of the 4 sons and the favorite of Shah Jahan was appointed governor of Allahabad and then Lahore.
He stayed with SJ most of the times at the Court that alienated the other 3 brothers who came together against him.
In 1954 he had been given the title of Sultan Buland Iqbal and given a golden chari next to the throne.
Had a rank of 60,000 zat and 40,000 sowar.
Dara constantly associated with liberal sufi saints and was deeply interested in the question of monotheism.
He studied the testament, vedas and was convinced that the Vedas supplemented the Quran in understanding Monotheism.
Darah after losing to Aurangzeb fled to Lahore where he was pursued and then again to Afghanistan where he was captured and presented to Aurangzeb.

Foreign Policy of the Mughals

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Uzbeks, Safavids and Ottomons were all powerful empires and thus there was a definite pattern of diplomatic and political relations.
Diplomatic mode means exchange of missions or embassies. High level/ extraordinary ambassadors were nobles or related to royal families.
Often carried a letter detailing achievements and conquests. Also had gifts and rarities.
Missions had no fixed time.
Their foreign policy was Indo centric and concerned with India’s safety and security.
Uzbeks and Safavids clashed for Khorasan and Transoxiana. Ottomans were Sunnis who were annoyed by Safavids who were constantly sending preachers to convert the Turks to shiaism.

Akbar and the Uzbeks

Abdullah Khan Uzbek had captured Balkh that acted as buffer between the Mughals and the Uzbeks. After which he sent an embassy to Akbar urging him to lead an expedition from India to Iran and divide the kingdom that was in disarray after the death of Shah Tahmasp.
Akbar was not moved since he wanted a strong Iran to check the Uzbeks.
He gave refuge to Timurid prince Mirza Suleiman who had been ousted from Badakshan.
Abdullah Khan Uzber had fomented trouble in North West through Jalala, a religious fanatic. Akbar moved to Attock against this operation and also lost his friend Birbal.
After Shah Tahmasps death 1576 Ottomons captured Norther Iran. Akbar sent and Embassy to Iran disapproving of this and offering armed support.
Akbar also came in terms with the Abdullah chiefs to define a scientific frontein where the Mughals gave up their interest in Badakshan and Balkh which had been ruled by Timuridprinces and the Uzbeks not claiming Kabul and Qandahar.
Akbar then occupied Qandahar in 1595.

Qandahar Question and Iran

Rising Uzbek power was the reason Safavids and Mughals came together. Qandahar was the only trouble between the 2.
It had strategic and economic significance that made both of them claim it. Strategically it was vital for the defence of Kabul. Economically it was the hub of trade b/w India and Central Asia.
It was more important to the Mughals as for Persians it was merely an outpost but for Mughals it was an important bastion for defence of their entire empire.
In 1522 it came under control of Babur and no objection was raised. But in lieu of helping Humayun when he came to Shah Tahmasps help he agreed to help provided he transferred Qandahar to Iran. Which he did not but Shah took control of it after Humayun’s death.
After the Shah died and Abdullah Uzbek conquered Balkh. Akbar then conquered Qandahar to estd a defensive line in north west against possible Uzbek invasion.
Shah Abbas tried to capture Qandahar after Akbars death but moved away after arrival of Mughal reinforcements.
After Jahangir came to throne Abbas sent lavish gifts to him that was later returned by Jahangir.
Many Indian traders settled in areas of Yezd, Shiraz, Isafahan, Tehran and Gilan including Hindus.
Safavids took interest in Mughal deccan but it was limited.
Persians attacked Qandahar in 1622 and captured it. Shah Abbas tried to play it down but the damage on the relationship was already done.
This led to Mughals getting closer to Uzbeks. The Uzbeks kept the Persian Shah informed about the intrigues of the Mughals.
Shah Jahan put up a common plan to attack Persia from 3 sides with the help of Uzbeks but they denied it.
The Persians befriended the Ottomans to attack Qandahar but the Shah died on the way.

Shah Jahans Balkh Campaign 1646

In 1646 is considered a high watermark in Mughal foreign policy but its failure is also sometimes said to be the beginning of Mughal military decline.
After death of Abdullah Khan Uzbek. Imam Quli became the rules and assigned Balk and bactria to his younger brother Nazr Muhammad.
Nur Jahan and Imam Quli’s mother exchanged embassies during this time.
Nazr Muhammad attacked Kabul but was defeated. Imam Quli sent a friendhsip offering. Vice versa happened when Shah Jahan attacked occupied Bamiyan.
Frequent sharing of embassy took place since 1633.
Nazr Muhammad asked for Mughal help when his son joined the rebels. Prince Murad was sent to help but instead he had to occupy Balkh.
A counter attack from Uzbeks was routed by the Mughal forces. Who had to then retreat due to the hostile population and approaching winter of 1647.
The contemporary historians have stressed that Uzbek population wanted protection from raiding tribes who were tyrants and sinners.

Riazul Islam has accused Shah Jahan of being an adventurist inspired by restoration of Timurid power.

SJ wanted to protect the Kabul Kandahar line from united powerful Uzbek Khanate.
It was not a failure since it ensure the safety of Kabul until the rise of Nadir Shah.

Mughal Persian Relations Last Phase

Aurangzeb made repeated attempts to capture Qandahar from the Persians but failed. Darah failed at it too.
Diplomatic relations resumed after the failure to capture Qandahar. But Shah Abbas II was of unstable character and threatened invasion after disparaging Mughal ambassador.

Conclusion

Mughals succeeded in maintaining a scientific fronteir in north west. Their basic foreign policy was based on the defence of India buttressed by diplomatic means.
It gave India security from foreing invasions till the disintegration of Mughal empire.
They insisted on relations of equality with the Asian nations.
Used foreign policy to promote India’s commercial interest. Kabul and Qandahar were twin gateways. Indian traders settled all over Central Asia due to this.

Mughal British Relations

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