The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c9.s1.7

c9.s1.7

The nobles were called Umara and were graded as Khans, Maliks, Amirs and Sipehsalars in the Sultanate period, and as Mansabdars under the Mughals. According to Barani a Sarkhail commanded ten horsemen; a Sipehsalar ten Sarkhails; an Amir ten Sipahsalar; a Malik ten Amirs; and a Khan, ten Maliks.¹⁰ According to the author of *Masalik-ul-Absar*, a Khan commanded more or less 100,000 troops, an Amir 10,000, a Malik a thousand, and so on.¹¹ The term Amir was normally used in a generic sense to denote a high officer. In Akbars time and after, all the great men of the Mughal Empire were graded and appointed to a *mansab* (rank) in the imperial service. From the lowest rank, that of the commander of ten, upto the rank of 400 an officer was known as Mansabdar. From 500 onwards a noble was known as Amir, or Khan, or Khan-i-Azam. They were all generally spoken of as Umara.