Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c5.s2.t1.63

c5.s2.t1.63

In enumerating the officials who looked after royal amusements, I will confine myself in this place to those who supervised the royal stables of horses and elephants and the river boats. A description of amusements will follow later. The horse stables came under the supervision of an eminent noble with the title of *Amir-i-akhur* or *Akhur-bak* (or, in plain Persian, *Amir-i-astaha-i-shahi*, Master of the royal stables); the elephant stables under that of a *Shahna-i-pil* (or Superintendent of the royal elephants). The salary of the latter under Muhammad Tughluq was equal to ‘the income of a big province like ‘Iraq’.¹ The number of animals in the stables may be judged from the fact that Sher Shah employed 3,400 horses for royal postal communications in the kingdom, and maintained about 5,000 elephants on an average.² There was a separate officer, with the title of *Shahna-i-bahr-o-kashti* (or Superintendent of rivers and royal boats) to look after river picnics and the passage of armies over the rivers, as the occasion demanded.³