{"id":9324,"date":"2026-04-03T16:35:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T11:05:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/?p=9324"},"modified":"2026-04-10T18:12:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T12:42:02","slug":"mansabdari-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/mansabdari-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Mansabdari System, Origin, Merits and Demerits"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mansabdari System was a unique system developed by the Mughals in India. Mansabdari System was a <\/span><b>grading system<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that determined an individual's rank or status based on their position in the official hierarchy and salary. The Mansabdari System was modified by <\/span><b>Akbar<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in<\/span><b> 1567<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, during his eleventh year of reign,\u00a0 to serve as the foundation for both civil and military administrations during the Mughal era. The word <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mansab <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is of Arabic origin, meaning rank or position. Hence, Mansabdar means holder of a rank.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mansabdari system designated ranks for the officials, determined their status in the official hierarchy, determined the pay of the holder, and maintained a specified number of contingents with horses, horsemen, and equipment. It served as the backbone of the Mughal Empire.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mansabdari System Origin<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mansabdari system was of Central Asian origin, based on the Mongolian Military system. It can be traced back to Changez Khan, who structured his army on a decimal basis, with the lowest unit of command being ten and the highest being ten thousand (toman), whose commander was called Khan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Expansion using Mansabdari:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Akbar expanded and safeguarded his empire through the Mansabdari system by efficiently organizing the nobility and maintaining a strong army.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Innovation by Akbar:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> During 1595-96, <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/akbar\/\" target=\"_blank\">Akbar<\/a> introduced a new concept in the Mansabdari system, where the rank of a mansabdar became denoted by dual ranks, Zat and Sawar, instead of one number.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mansabdari System Nature and Structure<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mansabdari system was highly structured, categorizing mansabdars based on their ranks. Each mansab had a specific number of troops and responsibilities. In the Mansabdari System Akbar established<\/span><b> 66 grades<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> corresponding to the command of ten (deshbhasi) to the commander of ten thousand (dahhazar), but in practice, as mentioned by <\/span><b>Abul Fazl<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, there were 33 grades of mansabdars. The nature and structure are discussed in detail below:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Components of Mansab:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Mansab denoted three things, i.e. determining the status of its holder (the mansabdar) in the official hierarchy, fixing the holder's pay, and requiring the holder to maintain a specified number of contingents with horses, horsemen, and equipment.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-9380\" src=\"https:\/\/d35xcwcl37xo08.cloudfront.net\/upsc-exam-wp-uploads\/2025\/03\/Component-of-Mansabdari-System.png\" alt=\"Component of Mansabdari System\" width=\"536\" height=\"382\" \/><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Allocation of Mansab:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Akbar divided services from 10 to 5000 into the formally recognized hierarchy of grades. By the end of Akbar's reign, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">mansab<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> had increased to 7000. Rajput kings and princes who recognized Akbar\u2019s suzerainty, such as Raja Man Singh, were given higher mansab.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Hierarchy of Mansabs:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Mansabdari System had the following hierarchy:-<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Mansabdar:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Rank holders up to 500\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Amir: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rank holders from 500 to 2500\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Amir-i-umda, or Amir-i-azam:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Rank holders from 2500 and above<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Later, all those below 1000 were called mansabdars.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-9377\" src=\"https:\/\/d35xcwcl37xo08.cloudfront.net\/upsc-exam-wp-uploads\/2025\/03\/Hierarchy-under-Mansabdari-System.webp\" alt=\"Hierarchy under Mansabdari System\" width=\"588\" height=\"292\" \/><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Ranking of officers:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> A mansab was issued to each civil and military officer, and different numbers, which could be divided by ten, were used for ranking officers.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Compensation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Mansabdars were compensated in two ways, either with cash (naqd) or by receiving land assignments (jagir).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Division of Ranks:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The mansab rank was divided into two, i.e. Zat, a personal rank indicating his rank and pay, and Sawar rank, which stated the number of horsemen the noble had to maintain.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Concept of Zat and Sawar Rank<\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The dual rank system, the Zat and Sawar system, was introduced in 1595-96 by Akbar. Abul Fazl mentioned in his official report that this arrangement classified the mansabdars into three groups.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>First Group:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The first group consisted of people who kept the number of Sawar equal to their mansab.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Second Group:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The second group retained half or more than half of the Sawar but less than equal to their mansab rank.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Third Group:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The third group included those who kept Sawar less than half their mansab rank.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Sawar mansab would only outnumber the Zat mansab in exceptional situations, such as an act of war or foreign invasion. The Zat rank also denoted the number of horses, elephants, beasts of burden, and carts a mansabdar was supposed to maintain. The quality of horses and elephants was well-defined. A mansabdar of 4000 Zat maintaining 2000 Sawar was higher than a mansabdar of 3000 Zat and 3000 Sawar.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mansabdar Appointment\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The ruler appointed Mansabdars on the advice of Mir Bakshi. However, if the mansabdar received a promotion, his pay would increase based on the number of Zat. Demotion was based on non-performance, but it was generally not practiced. Akbar started the rule of the <\/span><b>Dahbisti system<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, in which the mansabdar was required to maintain twenty horses for every ten cavalrymen, as horses needed rest during marches and replacement during wartime. However, the Mansabdari system was not hereditary.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Manasabdari System under Successive Rulers<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mansabdari system, established by Akbar, played a critical role in shaping the military and administrative framework of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/mughal-empire\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mughal Empire<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Jahangir and Shah Jahan recognized the system's limitations and inefficiencies and implemented substantial reforms to address these issues and combat corruption.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><b>Changes introduced by Jahangir: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He introduced the <\/span><b>Du-Aspah Sih-Aspah System<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, in which only selected nobles could maintain double or triple the number of soldiers without changing their Zat rank.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This allowed him to maintain a larger number of soldiers without incurring additional costs.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><b>Changes introduced by Shah Jahan: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He introduced the <\/span><b>Month ratio or Month scale system<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, in which the salaries of Mansabdars were based on a month scale of ten months, eight months, six months, or even less.<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The number of sawars maintained by mansabdars was reduced without changing their rank.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mansabdari System Merits\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mansabdari System had several merits which including the promotion of uniformity in administration, reducing caste based discrimination, curbing the power of the feudal class, promoting merit-based promotion, etc. The merits are as follows:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Promoted Uniformity in Administration:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It introduced the Uniformity Concept, promoting political unity and reducing the influence of nobles and feudal classes.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Reduced Caste based Discrimination:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The system weakened the caste and feudal system by making it mandatory for mansabdars to appoint soldiers from all castes and religions.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Curbed power of Feudal Class:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The Mansabdari system effectively reduced the power of the feudal and nobility classes, recognizing them as administrative classes with fixed service conditions rather than being part of the nobility class.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Merit Orientation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The Mansabdari system also recognized merit. Akbar implemented strict measures to prevent dynastic influences.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Strengthened Mughal Rule:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The Mansabdari system strengthened the ruler's authority and solidified the monarchical type of government, transitioning the Mughal state to a more rigorous administrative structure under Akbar's reign.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mansabdari System Demerits<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Mansabdari system helped consolidate the Mughal rule, but the system had inherent weaknesses. The demerits of the system include rampant corruption, undue influence by mansabdars, lack of loyalty, hindrance to military efficiency, etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Rampant Corruption:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Mansabdars cheated the government by bringing street-based men in military uniform and presenting them as soldiers. Akbar's ability as administrator and disciplinarian helped stamp out corruption, but it took years due to less vigilance and discipline.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Undue Influence of Mansabdars:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The Mughal Empire faced a lack of strong successors, giving mansabdars immense power and allowing them to enter political affairs.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This weakness occurred after Aurangzeb's death, as each mansabdar sought their interests, making maintaining a balanced and uniform administration difficult.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Lack of Loyalty:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The Mansabdari system lacked a cohesive force necessary for a national army. The troops' loyalty was with the mansabdars rather than the emperor, who paid them.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Pomp and Show:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The mansabdars' tendency for pomp and display hindered military efficiency.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Exploitation of Citizens:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The system was also susceptible to corruption as mansabdars had the power to collect revenue, which led to the exploitation of common people.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mansabdari system, despite its flaws, played a crucial role in the Mughal military establishment. However, it required proper guidance and was only effective till Aurangzeb's reign. The system eventually became weak and led to the Mughal Empire's fragmentation. Despite its shortcomings, it had advantages, such as its diplomatic use against rival Rajput chiefs and its ability to ensure loyalty to the emperor. <\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Mansabdari System, established by Akbar, was a hierarchical grading system that determined ranks, pay, and military responsibilities. It had dual ranks\u2014Zat (personal) and Sawar (horsemen). The system evolved under Jahangir and Shah Jahan but faced challenges like corruption and lack of loyalty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":9376,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[40,596],"class_list":{"0":"post-9324","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-medieval-history-notes","8":"tag-quest","9":"tag-upsc-medieval-history"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9324"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19603,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9324\/revisions\/19603"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}