The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c9.s1.8

c9.s1.8

The Umara were highly paid. Their remuneration was paid sometimes in the form of a cash salary, at others by the grant of a revenue assignment or *iqta*. The *iqta* was basically a salary collected at source. According to the chroniclers of the Sultanate period every Khan received two lakh *tankahs*, every Malik from 50 to 60 thousand *tankahs*, every Amir from 40 to 50 thousand *tankahs*, and so on.¹² The salaries during the Mughal period were equally high. It has been computed by expert opinion that a commander of 5000 could count on at least Rs. 18,000 a month under Akbar and his successor. He could even improve upon this amount if he practised judicious economy in his military expenditure and had the good fortune of securing a profitable *jagir*. A commander of 1000 could similarly count on receiving Rs. 5000 a month (equal to from rupees 25,000 to 30,000 in 1914), while a commander of 500 would have received the equivalent of Rs. 5000 to 6000 at the same rate. While therefore the precise figures are uncertain, it appears to be reasonable to conclude that the higher ranks of the Imperial Service were remunerated on a scale far more liberal than that which now prevails in India (C. 1914), or for that matter in any portion of the world.¹³