The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India: A History of the Establishment and Progress of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi, 1206–1290 A.D. c15.10

c15.10

The chronicles generally use the words iqta and wilayat to indicate a division of the kingdom. The former, which means, literally, a portion, is used much more frequently, seemingly with a technical meaning, on the exact determination of which depends a clear understanding of the nature of the local administration¹. The word iqta, meaning an administrative division, appears to have been used early in Central Asian states² from which the Turks borrowed it. It is needless to point out that Raverty’s translation of the word as ‘fief’—which at once suggests a feudal system in which the tenants-in-chief of the king were virtual sovereigns in their own domains—is misleading. A careful study of the chronicles will show that the so-called ‘fief-holders’ (muqtis) were subject to greater control than the term ‘fief’ implies. And yet considerable latitude was allowed to them in military affairs, which would be unthinkable for modern bureaucratic governors.