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How were mansabdars ranked in Akbar’s government?
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Akbar
A painting titled Akbar Hunting from a folio of Akbarnama (“History of Akbar”), late 16th century; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
In the Mughal Empire, the term mansabdar refers to a holder of a mansab, which was a rank determined by the command of a specific number of men. Under the mansabdari system organized by Akbar, this hierarchy was structured as follows:1
- Grading System: There were 33 distinct grades within the system, ranging from 10 to 5,000. A rank of 5,000 represented the highest position attainable by a subject.1
- Nature of Rank: These ranks were not hereditary; they were administrative and military designations that defined an individual's position within the imperial bureaucracy.1
- Responsibilities: Mansabdars served as both military commanders and civil officials, governing the empire and leading armies in the emperor's name.1
- Integration: Akbar utilized this system to transform a loose confederation of nobles into a cohesive, multiethnic bureaucracy that integrated both Muslims and Hindus, including Rajputs.21
The system ensured imperial control by preventing mansabdars from establishing local power bases, as their positions were subject to frequent transfers and their estates were not hereditary.1