The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c22.30

v4.c22.30

On one point of great practical importance the authorities are ambiguous; it is uncertain whether these standard yields were calculated separately for each agricultural tract, or whether single standards were adopted for the kingdom as a whole. If the latter course was followed, over-pressure on the less productive regions must, in an extensive kingdom, have led to a complete breakdown on the occurrence of unfavourable seasons; if the former, the arrangements might have been reasonably successful; but, as has been said above, the reign was too short for them to be adequately tested, and the political instability of the years intervening between the death of Sher Shāh and the accession of Akbar was such as to mask the operation of economic factors.