The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c15.s1.35

c15.s1.35

The pattern for these arrangements was set from the start by the Mughal- Rajput alliance, which made the empire in effect a joint venture. This meant that the Mughals had to tie some of the great Rajput houses into their system by establishing asymmetric marriage alliances with them, which virtually made the Mughal into the highest ranking Rajput, and by giving them high mansabdār ranks with the corresponding remunerations and court privileges. This particular alliance was a notable success. But the arrangement had as its corollary that many of the important roads running south from the Delhi-Agra area had to be left in the control of Rajput chiefs.