The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c9.s4.3

c9.s4.3

And after all, as per the convention, the king was the heir of the Umara. The Mughal emperors seem to have followed the Delhi Sultans in making a claim upon their nobles as if they were their slaves. We have seen how a high officer of the title of Imadul Mulk, was declared by Firoz Tughlaq as Bashir is my property (as a slave) and so his property is mine. The Mughal claim to such succession is not elaborated in the *Ain-i-Akbari*, but is noticed by a number of European travellers from the time of Akbar onwards.⁶⁹ It was not declared in so many words but the Mughal nobles in status were not much better off than slaves. The grandees were prohibited from contracting marriage alliances without the emperors permission. The noble was obliged, whatever be his rank, to fall prostrate on the ground in obeisance to his master. Although the price paid in human dignity was terrible, yet he paid it as his position, his promotion, indeed his very existence depended on the pleasure of the king. Manucci, writing about the last years of Aurangzeb says: To get the *hazari* or pay of one thousand, it is necessary to wait a long time and work hard.⁷⁰