Chapter – 4 History The Mughal Empire

•In the middle age, a very powerful empire was that of the Mughals. From the
latter half of the 16th century they expanded their kingdom from Agra and
Delhi, until in the 17th century they controlled nearly all of the subcontinent.
• The legacy left by them stands unparalleled.
• Who were the Mughals: The Mughals were descendants of two great
lineages of rulers.
• From their mother’s side they were descendants of Genghis Khan and from
the father’s side they were the descendants of Timur.

Mughal Military Campaigns:

(i) Babur, the first Mughal emperor, captured Delhi in 1526by defeating
Ibrahim Lodi in the Battle of Panipat.
(ii) Humayun captured Delhi back in 1555.
(iii) Akbar captured Chittor (1568), Ranthambor (1569), Gujarat, Bihar,
Bengal, Kashmir, Berar Khandesh, etc. (1585-1605).
iv) Jahangir took campaign against Sikhs and Ahoms.
v) Shah Jahan captured Ahmadnagar and Bijapur.
vi) Aurangzeb waged a long battle in the Deccan.

Mughal Traditions of Succession:

(i) The Mughals did not believe in the rule of primogeniture, where the eldest
son inherited his father’s estate.
(ii) They followed the custom of coparcenary inheritance, or a
division of the inheritance amongst all the sons.

Mughal Relations with othe Rulers:

(i) The Mughal rulers campaigned constantly against rulers who refused to
accept their authority.
(ii) But as the Mughals became powerful many other rulers also joined
them voluntarily. The Rajputs served the Mughals voluntarily.
iii) Mughals gave mansab and jagirs which helped them to expand
their territories.
iv) The main source of income available to Mughal rulers was tax on the
produce of the peasantry.

Akbar’s Policies:
i) Brahmanas, Jesuit priests who were Roman Catholics and Zoroastrians.
ii) Akbar’s works are found in the book Akbarnama written by Abul Fazal.
iii) Akbar’s nobles commanded large armies and had access to large amounts
of revenue.
iv) While Akbar was at Fatehpur Sikri, he started discussion on
religion with the ulemas, Akbar divided his kingdom into provices called
subas governed by a Subedar.
(v) The discussions tooks place in the ibadat khana.
(vi) Akbar realized that religious scholars emphasized rituals and dogmas
were often bigots.
vii) It led Akbar to the idea of Sulh-ikul or universal peace.
viii) Shah Jahan and Jhangir also followed this principle.
• The Mughals empire in the 17th Century and After:
i) The administrative and military efficiency of the Mugha l Empire led to great
economic and commercial prosperity.
ii) The Mughal emperors and their mansabdars spent a great deal of their
income on salaries and goods.
iii) The wealthier peasantry and artisanal groups, the merchants and bankers
profited in this economic world.
(iv) Primary producers, however, lived in poverty.
(v) By 18th century several provinces started declaring independence though
they continued to regard Mughals as their masters.

Short Answer Questions

What were the duties of mansabdars?

Answer: Their military responsibilities included maintaining a specified number of

sawar or cavalrymen. Their duty towards cavalrymen is:

 Bringing them for review

 Getting them registered
 Getting their horses branded and
 Paying their salary from the money received

Write in brief about Ain-I Akbari.

Answer: Volume III about Akbar’s reign written by Abul Fazl is the Ain-i Akbari. It
deals with Akbar’s administration, household, army, the revenues and the
geography of his empire. It also provides rich details about the traditions and
culture of the people living in India. The most interesting aspect about it is its rich
statistical details about things as diverse as crops, yields, prices, wages and
revenues.

How did the idea of sulh – I kul come into existence?

Answer: He was interested in the religion and social customs of various people.
His interaction with people of different faiths made him realize that religious
scholars who emphasized ritual and dogma were often bigots. Divisions and
disharmony amongst people was created by their teachings. Hence eventually
this led Akbar to the idea of sulh-i kul or universal peace.

Briefly describe Akbar’s nobles.

Answer: They commanded large armies and had access to large amounts of
revenue. Till they were loyal, the empire functioned very efficiently but by the end
of the 17th century many nobles had built independent networks of their own.
Their self interest was responsible for weakening their loyalties to the empire.

Long Answer Type Questions

Write a note on Aurangzeb’s reign with reference to mansabdars.

Answer: During the reign of Akbar, the jagirs were carefully assessed. This was
done to ensure that their revenues were roughly equal to the salary of mansabdar.
But during Aurangzeb’s reign, the actual revenue was less than the granted sum.
The number of mansabdars increased exponentially. This meant they had to wait
for long before they received a jagir. There was shortage of number of jagirs. As a
result, many jagirdars tried to extract maximum possible revenue from their jagirs.
Aurangzeb was unable to control these developmens and hence the peasants
suffered a lot during the last years of his reign.

What were salient aspects of the Mughal Empire in the seventeenth century?

Answer: There was great economic and commercial prosperity in the Mughal
Empire due to the administrative and military efficiency. There were contradictory
conditions during that time; on one hand there was so much prosperity that
international travellers called it the fabled land of wealth and on the other hand,
the same visitors were appalled at the state of poverty that existed parallelly. A
mere 5.6 % of the total number of mansabdars received 61.5 % of the total
estimated revenue of the empire as salaries for themselves and their troopers.
This glaring inequality was revealed by the documents of the twentieth year of
Shah Jahan’s reign. The major expenditure of the Mughal emperors was on
salaries and goods. The poor peasants and artisans were struggling for survival.

Describe the financial aspects during Akbar’s reign.

Answer: Todar Mal, Akbar’s revenue minister carried out a careful survey of crop
yields, prices and areas cultivated for a 10-year period i.e. from 1570 to 1580.
Based on this data, tax was fixed on each crop in cash. Each province was
divided into revenue circles with each circle having its own schedule of revenue
rates for individual crops. This revenue system is called zabt. It was prevalent in
the areas where Mughal administrators could survey the land and keep very
careful accounts. In provinces such as Gujarat and Bengal this was not possible.
The zamidars exercised great deal of power in some areas.

Who were the opponents of the Mughals? How did the Mughals behave with
them?

Answer: For a long time the Sisodiya Rajputs refused to accept the authority of
the Mughals. They were defeated by the Mughals but were not humiliated by
them. They were given their lands (watan) back as assignments. The principle of
defeating but not humiliating; followed by the Mughals was the main reason for
enabling them to extend their influence over many kings and chieftains. But it was
difficult to always keep the balance between defeating but not humiliating. For
example we have an instance of Aurangazed insulting Shivaji when he came to
accept Mughal authority.

What was the role of the zamindar in Mughal administration?

Answer: All the intermediaries; whether they were local village headmen or
powerful chieftains were called zamindars. The zamidars exercised great deal of
power in some areas and their exploitation by Mughal administrators forced them
to rebel against it. These revolts collectively by zamindars and peasants
challenged the stability of the empire from the end of the 17th century.

Match Columns
 Column I Column II

(1) Mansab (a) Marwar

(2) Mongol (b) Governor

(3) Sisodiya Rajput (c) Uzbeg

(4) Rathor Rajput (d) Mewar

(5) Nur Jahan (e) Rank

(6) Subadar (f) Jahangir

Answer: 1-e, 2-c, 3-d, 4-a, 5-f, 6-b

Fill in the blanks:

1. The capital of Mirza Hakim, Akbar’s half brother was _____.

Answer: Kabul
2. The five Deccan Sultanates were Berar, Khandesh, Ahmadnagar, _______
and _______.

Answer: Bijapur and Golconda

3. If zat determined a mansabdar’s rank and salary, sawar indicated his
______.

Answer: Military Responsibilities

4. Abul Fazl, Akbar’s friend and counsellor, helped Akbar frame the idea of
______ so that he could govern a society composed of many religions,
cultures and castes.

Answer: governance based on sulh-i kul

Answer the following questions

1. What were the Central provinces under the control of the Mughals?

Answer: Agra, Delhi, Chittor, Ranthambor, Qandahar, Kashmir, Kabul and

Mewar.
2. What was the relationship between the mansabdar and the jagir?

Answer: Mansabdars received their salaries as revenue assignments called

jagirs. But the same mansabdar served in some other suba.
3. How were the debates with the religious scholars important in the formation
of Akbar’s ideas of governance?

Answer: The discussions with people of varied religious background helped

him understand that the religious scholars were intolerant towards other’s
beliefs. They emphasised rituals which were to be followed without any
questioning. This led to the idea of sulh-i kul or universal peace; which was
the foundation of Akbar’s ideas of governance.
4. Why did the Mughals emphasise their Timurid and not their Mongol
descent?

Answer: Their Mongol descent was associated with Genghis Khan who was
remembered for the massacre of innumerable people. Since they were
proud of Timur’s capture of Delhi, they emphasized their Timurid ancestry.
5. How important was the income from land revenue to the stability of the
Mughal Empire?

Answer: Since the tax on produce of peasantry was the main source of
income of the Mughal rulers, it had a crucial impact on the stability of the
empire.
6. Why was it important for the Mughals to recruit mansabdars from diverse
backgrounds and not just Turanis and Iranis?

Answer: Because the empire had expanded to encompass different regions

and they had to respect the power and sentiments of other people.
7. Like the Mughal Empire, India today is also made up of many social and
cultural units. Does this pose a challenge to national integration?

Answer: As Jawaharlal Nehru said, India shows unity in diversity. India is a

multicultural and multi-religious country. There can be some instances of
clash of interests among various social groups but diversity is always good
for a society. Thus, it can be said that diversity promotes national integration
rather than being a challenge to national integration.
8. Peasants were vital for the economy of the Mughal Empire. Do you think that
they are as important today? Has the gap between the rich and the poor
changed a great deal from the period of the Mughals?

Answer: Since India is an agrarian economy, peasants are very important

for us even today. A large portion of the Indian population is still employed in
agriculture. Agriculture contributes significantly to the GDP of the country.
There is great gap between the income levels of the rich and the poor even
in the present times.
Mughal Empire
Learning Goals:

 Lineage of Mughals
 Military campaigns
 Mughals and Rajputs
 Mansabdars and Jagirs

It was a big challenge for any ruler in the Middle Ages to rule a territory as large
and diverse as the Indian subcontinent. The Mughals were the pioneers in
building an empire for a long period of time, contradicting their predecessors who
ruled only for short periods of time. They expanded their kingdom from the latter
half of the sixteenth century from Agra and Delhi to almost all parts of the
subcontinent in the seventeenth century. Their structures of administration and
ideas of governance had a place even after their reign was over. In other words,
they left a political legacy that even the succeeding leaders of the subcontinent
could not ignore.

The Mughals
Two great lineages of rulers were the ancestors of the Mughals. From their
maternal side they were the descendants of Genghis Khan (who died in 1227)
who ruled the Mongol tribes, China and Central Asia. From their paternal side
they were the descendants of Timur who ruled Iraq, Iran and modern-day Turkey.
Timur died in the year 1404. They did not like to be called Mughal or Mongol. The
reason for this is that Genghis Khan’s memory was associated with the massacre
of innumerable people. It was also associated with Uzbegs, their Mongol
competitors. However, they were proud to be in the lineage of Timur; to some
extent because of his capture of Delhi in 1398. They celebrated their genealogy
pictorially; with each ruler getting a picture made of Timur and himself.
The military campaign of the Mughals

Babar (1526 – 1530) was the first Mughal emperor. He succeeded the throne of
Ferghana in 1494; at the age of 12. But another Mongol group (the Uzbegs)
attacked and forced him to leave the ancestral throne. He wandered for many
years and then seized Kabul in 1504.

Succession traditions of the Mughals: The succession tradition of Mughals was

not that of primogeniture. Instead, they followed the Mughal and Timurid custom
 of coparcenary inheritance. In primogeniture, the eldest son inherits his father’s
estate. In coparcenary, the inheritance is divided amongst all the sons.

Mughal’s relations with other rulers

The Mughals campaigned constantly against rulers who did not accept their
authority. With a rise in their power, many rulers voluntarily joined them, e.g. the
Rajputs. Many Rajputs married their daughters into Mughal families. This enabled
them to secure high positions. However, many Rajputs resisted the Mughals as
well.

Opponents of Mughals: For a long time the Sisodiya Rajputs refused to accept
the authority of the Mughals. They were defeated by the Mughals but were not
humiliated by them. They were given their lands (watan) back as assignments
(watan jagirs). Mughals followed the principle of defeating but not humiliating. This
was the main reason for helping them to extend their influence over many kings
and chieftains. But Shivaji was humiliated by Aurangzeb; which was contrary to
the norms of the Mughals.

Mansabdars and Jagirs

With the expansion of the empire, the Mughals recruited diverse bodies of people.
What began as a small nucleus of Turkish nobles (Turanis) expanded to include
Iranians, Indian Muslims, Afghans, Rajputs, Marathas and other groups. The
Mughals enrolled these people as mansabdars.
Mansabdars

This term refers to an individual who holds a mansab which means a position or
rank. It was a grading system for fixing rank, salary and military responsibilities.

A numerical value; known as zat; was used to determine the rank and salary of a
mansabdar. A higher zat meant a higher rank in the court. It also meant a higher
salary.

Duties of Mansabdar: Their military responsibilities included maintaining a

specified number of sawar or cavalrymen. Their duties towards cavalrymen were
as follows:

 Bringing them for review

 Getting them registered
 Getting their horses branded and
  Paying their salary from the money received

Rights of Mansabdar: They received their salaries as revenue assignments

called jagirs which were somewhat like iqtas. Most of them did not reside in or
administer their jagirs, unlike muqtis. They only had rights to the revenue of their
assignments. The revenue was collected by their servants. The mansabdars
themselves served in other part of the country.

Learning Goals:
 Zabt and zamindars
 Principles of Akbar's rule
 Akbar Nama
 Respect for religions

During the reign of Akbar, the jagirs were carefully assessed. This was done to
ensure that their revenues were roughly equal to the salary of mansabdar. But
during Aurangzeb’s reign, the actual revenue was less than the granted sum. The
number of mansabdars increased exponentially. This meant they had to wait for
long before they received a jagir. There was shortage of number of jagirs. As a
result, many jagirdars tried to extract maximum possible revenue from their jagirs.
Aurangzeb was unable to control these developmens and hence the peasants
suffered a lot during the last years of his reign.

Zabt and zamindars

Tax on the produce of peasantry was the main income of the Mughal rulers.
Taxes were paid through the rural elites in most places. Rural elites included the
headman or the local chieftain. The Mughals used one term – zamindars for
referring to all intermediaries, whether they were local headmen of villages or
powerful chieftains.

Principles of Akbar’s rule

Financial Aspects: Todar Mal was Akbar’s revenue minister. He carried out a
careful survey of crop yields, prices and areas cultivated for a 10-year period i.e.
from 1570 to 1580. Based on this data, tax was fixed on each crop in cash. Each
province was divided into revenue circles. Each circle had its own schedule of
 revenue rates for individual crops. This revenue system was called zabt. It was
prevalent in the areas where Mughal administrators could survey the land and
keep very careful accounts. But it was not possible in provinces; such as Gujarat
and Bengal. The zamidars exercised great deal of power in some areas. Their
exploitation by Mughal administrators forced them to rebel against it. These
revolts collectively by zamindars and peasants challenged the stability of the
empire from the end of the 17th century.
A closer look at Akbar’s policies

Abul Fazl wrote a book titled Akbar Nama. Its last volume is called the Ain-i-
Akbari. It contains elaborate discussion of the broad features of administration laid
down by Akbar. According to Abul Fazl the empire was divided into provinces
called subas-

 which were governed by a subadar who carried out both political and military
functions.
 which also had a financial officer or diwan.

The subadar was supported by ‘other officers’ for the maintenance of peace and
order. The ‘other officers’ included:

 The military paymaster: bakhshi

 The minister in charge of religious and charitable patronage: sadr
 Military commanders: faujdars
 The town police commander: kotwal

Akbar Nama and Ain-i Akbari

Abul Fazl was Akbar’s close friend and courtier. He was given the responsibility of
writing the history of his reign. He wrote a three-volume history of his reign titled
Akbar Nama.

 Volume I: It dealt with Akbar’s ancestors.

 Volume II: It recorded the events of Akbar’s reign.
 Volume III: It is the Ain-i Akbari. It deals with Akbar’s administration, household,
army, the revenues and the geography of his empire. It also provides rich details
about the traditions and culture of the people living in India. The most interesting
aspect about it is its rich statistical details about things as diverse as crops,
yields, prices, wages and revenues.

Akbar's Nobles

They commanded large armies and had access to large amounts of revenue. Till
they were loyal, the empire functioned very efficiently. But by the end of the 17th
 century many nobles had built independent networks of their own. Their self
interest was responsible for weakening their loyalties to the empire.
Akbar’s approach to religion

Akbar started discussions on religion with the ulama, Brahamanas, Jesuit priests
who were Roman Catholics, and Zoroastrians; when he was at Fatehpur Sikri
during the 1570s. These religious discussions took place in the ibadat khana. He
was interested in the religion and social customs of various people. Through these
interactions he could realize that religious scholars who emphasized ritual and
dogma were often bigots. Divisions and disharmony amongst people was created
by their teachings. Eventually; this led Akbar to the idea of sulh-i kul or universal
peace. This idea of tolerance was universal in nature i.e. it did not discriminate
between people of different religions. It instead focused on a system of ethics
(comprising of honesty, justice and peace) which were universally acceptable.

Akbar framed a vision of governance around the idea of sulh-i-kul; with thelp of
Abul fazl. Jahangir and Shah Jahan followed this principle of governance.

The scenario in the seventeenth century

There was great economic and commercial prosperity in the Mughal Empire due
to the administrative and military efficiency. There were contradictory conditions
during that time. On one hand, there was so much prosperity that international
travellers called it the fabled land of wealth. On the other hand, the same visitors
were appalled at the state of poverty that existed parallelly. A mere 5.6 % of the
total number of mansabdars received 61.5 % of the total estimated revenue of the
empire as salaries for themselves and their troopers. This glaring inequality was
revealed by the documents of the twentieth year of Shah Jahan’s reign.

Expenditure
A great deal of income of the Mughal emperors and mansabdars was spent on
salaries and goods. This benefited the peasants and artisans who supplied them
with produce and goods. The scale of revenue collection was so high that it left
very little in the hands of the primary producers for investment. The poorest
among them were struggling for subsistence and could hardly consider investing
in additional resources in the form of tools and supplies. The gainers in this
economic world were wealthier peasantry and artisanal groups, the merchants
and bankers.
 In the late seventeenth century the Mughal elite who had enormous wealth and
resources, became an extremely powerful group of people. The servants of the
Mughal emperors emerged as powerful centres of power in the regions, with the
decline of the power of the Mughal emperors. They constituted new dynasties and
held command of provinces like Awadh and Hyderabad. Although they continued
to recognize the Mughal emperor in Delhi as their master, the provinces of the
empire had consolidated their independent political identities by the eighteenth
century.

Learning Goals:
 Mughal campaigns
 Major events
 Zat rankings
 Mughal Rajput Marriages

Jahangir’s court - Nur Jahan’s influence: Mehrunnisa married the Emperor

Jahangir in 1611 and she received the title Nur Jahan. As a reward for her loyalty
and support, Jahangir struck silver coins bearing his own titles on one side and on
the other the inscription “struck in the name of the Queen Begum, Nur Jahan.” Nur
Jahan’s farman (order) has praising and respecting words for her.

Mughal emperors
Babur (1526 - 1530)
 Defeated Ibrahim Lodhi and his Afghan supporters.
 Defeated Rana sanga, Rajput rulers and allies
 Established control over Agra and Delhi before his death.

Humayun (1530 - 1540 and 1555 - 1556)

 His brothers were each given a province. His brother’s (Mirza Kamran)
ambitions weakened his cause against Afghan competitors.
 Was defeated by Sher Khan at Chausa and Kanauj
 Recaptured Delhi in 1555.

Akbar (1556 - 1605)

 Was 13 years old when he became emperor.
 1556 – 1570: launched military campaigns against the Suris and other Afghans,
against kingdoms of Malwa and Gondwana, and to suppress the revolt of his
half brother Mirza Hakim and Uzbegs. Seized Chittor and Ranthambor.
  1570 – 1585: Campaigns in Gujarat were followed by those in Bihar, Bengal and
Orissa. Revolt in support of Mirza Hakim complicated these.
 1585 – 1605: expanded the empire. Seized Qandahar, annexed Kashmir and
Kabul. Deccan campaigns seized Khandesh, Berar and Ahmadnagar. Prince
Salim, the future emperor Jahangir; distracted Akbar during the last years of his
reign.

Jahangir (1605 - 1627)

 Continued Akbar’s military campaigns, defeated Sisodiya ruler of Mewar.

 Had less successful campaigns against the Sikhs, Ahoms and Ahmadnagar.
 Prince Khurram, the future emperor Shah Jahan rebelled in his last reigning
years. His wife, Nur Jahan’s efforts to marginalize him were in vain.

Shah Jahan (1627 - 1658)

 Continued campaigns in the Deccan.
 Defeated Afghan noble Khan Jahan Lodi and Bundelas (seized Orchha).
 Lost Qandahar to Safavids
 Failed to seize Balkh
 Annexed Ahmadnagar
 His sons had conflict over succession; which Aurangzeb won and killed his three
brothers. Shah Jahan was imprisoned for the rest of his life in Agra.

Aurangzeb (1658 - 1707)

 Defeated Ahoms but they rebelled again

 Intervened in the internal politics of Rathor Rajputs
 Insulted Shivaji who escaped from Agra, declared himself an independent king
and resumed his campaigns against the Mughals.
 Prince Akbar who rebelled against him and received support from the Marathas
and the Deccan Sultanate; finally fled to Safavid Iran.
 Annexed Bijapur and Golconda. Personally managed campaigns in the Deccan
against the Marathas. Also faced rebellion in north India; of the Sikhs, jats and
satnamis and in the north-east; of the Ahoms and in the Deccan; of the
Marathas.
 There was a succession conflict amongst his sons after his death.

Kings and Queens

There were many great monarchs in the sixteenth century in different parts of the
world. One of them is the ruler of Ottoman Turkey, Sultan Suleyman (1520-1566).
He expanded the Ottoman state into Europe, seizing Hungary and besieging
Austria. He also seized Baghdad and Iraq. He also reconstructed the Ottoman
navy. The monarch was given the title of ‘al-Qanuni’ i.e. the lawgiver because of
the large number of regulations passed during his reign. These regulations were
aimed to standardise administrative procedures throughout the empire and these
specifically aimed to protect the peasantry from forced labour and extraordinary
 taxes. His reign was remembered as a period of ideal governance when public
order declined in the17th century.

Zat rankings: Nobles with a zat of 5000 were ranked higher than those having a
zat of 1000. During Akbar’s reign there were 29 mansabdars having a zat of 5000;
the number had increased to 79 during Aurangzeb’s reign.

Mughal Rajpur Marriages: The mothers of Jahangir and Shah Jahan were
Rajputs. While the former was a Kachhwaha princess and daughter of the Rajput
ruler of Amber; the latter was a Rathor princess (daughter of the Rajput ruler of
Marwar).
Keywords:

 Dogma: A statement or an interpretation declared as authoritative with the

expectation that it will be followed without question/objection.
 Bigot: An individual who is intolerant of other person’s religious beliefs or
culture.

Match Columns
Column I Column II

(i) Military paymaster (a) Sadr

(ii) Minister in charge of religious and charitable patronage (b) bakhshi

(iii) Military commanders (c) Kotwal

(iv) Town police commanders (d) fauzdars

Answer: i - b, ii - a, iii – d, iv - c

Fill in the blanks:

1. ______ means position or rank.

Answer: Mansab
2. Tax on the ______ was the main source of income for the Mughal rulers.

Answer: Produce of the peasants

3. The single term used to describe all intermediaries is ____.

Answer: Zamindars
 4. Mansabdars received their salaries as revenue assignments called ______.

Answer: Jagirs

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Grading system was used by the Mughals to fix
a. Rank
b. Salary
c. Military responsibilities
d. All of the above

Answer: (d) All of the above

2. Which of the following are examples of rural elites?
a. Headman
b. Local chieftain
c. Peasant
d. Both a and b

Answer: (d) Both a and b

3. The revenue system followed during Akbar’s reign was called ____
a. Zamindary system
b. Zabt
c. Suba
d. Diwan

Answer: (b) Zabt

4. The principle of governance around the idea of sulh-i kul was followed by
a. Aurangzeb
b. Shah Jahan
c. Jahangir
d. Both b and c

Answer: (d) Both b and c

Very Short Answer Questions

1. Name the diverse bodies of people recruited by the Mughals.

Answer: Apart from Turkish nobles; they recruited Iranians, Indian Muslims,
Afghans, Rajputs, Marathas and other groups.
2. What is the difference between mansabdars and muqtis?

Answer: Mansabdars did not actually reside in or administer their jagirs.

They served in some other part of the country. Whereas muqtis used to
reside in their iqtas. The term ‘muqti’ was used during the Sultanate period,
while the term ‘jagir’ was used during the Mughal period.
3. Where was zabt prevalent?
 Answer: It was prevalent in the areas where Mughal administrators could
survey the land and keep very careful accounts.
4. What is the system of ethics that sulh-i kul focused on?

Answer: It focused on the system of ethics that was universally acceptable;

like honesty, justice and peace.