Short Essay on the Mansabdari System of Akbar

The mansabdari system introduced by Akbar was a unique feature of the administrative system of the Mughal Empire. The term mansab (i.e. office, position or rank) in the Mughal administration indicated the rank of its holder (mansabdar) in the official hierarchy. The mansabdari system was of Central Asian origin. According to one view Babur brought it to North India.

But the credit of giving it an institutional framework goes to Akbar who made it the basis of Mughal military organization and civil administration. The mansabdars formed the ruling group in the Mughal Empire. Almost the whole nobility, the bureaucracy as well as the military hierarchy, held mansabs.

Conse­quently, the numerical strength of the mansabdars and their composition during different periods materially influenced not only politics and ad­ministration but also the economy of the empire.


Basic Features:

The mansabdars belonged both to the civil and military departments. They were transferred from the civil side to the military department and vice versa. The Mughal mansab was dual, represented by two members, one desig­nated zat (personal rank) and the other sawar (cavalry rank). The chief use of zat was to place the holders in an appropriate position in the offi­cial hierarchy.

In the early years of Akbar's reign the mansabs (ranks) ranged from command of 10 to 5,000 troops. Subsequently the highest mansabs were raised from 10,000 to 12,000; but there was no fixed number of mansabdars.

From the reign of Akbar to Aurangzeb their number kept on in­creasing. In or about 1595 the total numbers of mansabdars during the reign of Akbar was 1803; but towards the close of Aurangzeb's rein their number rose to 14,449.


The jagirs were by nature trans­ferable and no mansabdar was allowed to retain the same jagir for a long period. The watan-jagirs were the only exception to the general system of jagir transfers. The watan-jagirs were normally granted to those zamindars who were already in possession of their watans (homelands) before the expansion of the Mughal empire.
