The Army of the Indian Moghuls: Its Organization and Administration c3.1

c3.1

Few soldiers were entertained directly by the emperor himself; and for the most part the men entered first the service of some chief or leader. These chiefs were ranked according to the number of men that they had raised or were expected to raise. In this way originated the system of *manṣab*, first introduced by Akbar (*Āīn*, i, 237). This mode of recruiting the army through the officers, renders it necessary to begin by a statement of the manner in which the officers themselves were appointed and graded.