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How did a mansab determine a Mughal official’s status and military duties?
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Mughal dynasty
Emperors (from left, seated) Jahangir, Akbar, and Shah Jahan are depicted with their ministers (foreground) and Prince Dara Shikoh in a watercolor from India, c. 1630–40.
In the Mughal Empire, a mansab was a numerical rank granted by the emperor that served as the foundation of the imperial bureaucracy and military organization.12
The mansab determined an official's status and duties in the following ways:
- Rank and Status: The mansab functioned as a formal rank, with 33 grades ranging from 10 to 5,000. It defined an official’s personal status within the imperial hierarchy.12
- Military Obligations: The rank specified the number of troops a mansabdar was required to maintain and command in the emperor's name.12
- Compensation: The mansab determined the official's salary. While early in the system salaries were paid in cash, they were later typically met through jagirs—temporary assignments of land revenue that matched the official's salary requirements.12
Because mansabs were neither hereditary nor permanent, they ensured that officials remained dependent on the emperor. Frequent transfers of these assignments prevented officials from building local power bases or private armies, maintaining the centralized authority of the Mughal state.12