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Theory and Practice of Muslim State in India c9: Expenditure of the State

Theory and Practice of Muslim State in India c9

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English

Contents

Expenditure of the State

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Expenditure of the State

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The income of the state was expended on various branches of government and administration, on the harems of kings and nobles, and on forts, palaces, mosques and tombs. Large amounts were sent abroad to Muslim holy places like Mecca and Medina and for the Caliphs. At home, men of letters and men of religion were given handsome awards and grants, pensions and lump sum amounts. Salaries and scholarships were given to students and mendicants. Dowries were distributed among the indigent for marriage of their daughters and free kitchens established for distribution of food among the poor. The most important and recurring item of expenditure was on the army and construction of buildings. All this information is provided by medieval chroniclers. What is not mentioned is the actual amount of money spent on them. These, if ever, are given sparingly. We shall, therefore, mention the actual amounts wherever given; about other items of expenditure a sort of probable assessment alone would be surmised. Expenditure was incurred on all the above mentioned items simultaneously. But we can assess the expenditure only item-wise. Architectural activity of the state may be taken up first. it was a major activity of the Muslim government. While the armies, the palaces and the harems have all disappeared with the disappearance of Muslim rule, the one thing that strikes the eye in Delhi and Agra and many other towns and cities is the buildings of the Muslim period called monuments today.

5.1. Monuments

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The first thing the Muslim Sultanate of Delhi started on was construction of impressive buildings. The first sultan Qutbuddin Aibak had to establish Muslim power in India and to raise buildings "as quickly as possible, so that no time might be lost in making an impression on their newly-conquered subjects".¹ Architecture was considered as the visual symbol of Muslim political power. It denoted victory with authority. The first two buildings of the early period in Delhi are the Qutb Minar and the congregational mosque named purposefully as the Quwwat-ul-Islam (might of Islam) Masjid. This mosque was commenced by Aibak in 592/1195. It was built with materials and gold obtained by destroying 27 Hindu and Jain temples in Delhi and its neighborhood. A Persian inscription in the mosque testifies to this.² The Qutb Minar, planned and commenced by Aibak sometime in or before 1199 and completed by Iltutmish,³ was also constructed with similar materials, "the sculptured figures on the stones being either defaced or concealed by turning them upside down". A century and a quarter later Ibn Battutah describes the congregational mosque and the Qutb Minar. "About the latter he says that its staircase is so wide that elephants can go up there." About the former his observations are interesting. "Near the eastern gate of the mosque their lie two very big idols of copper connected together by stones. Every one who comes in and goes out of the mosque treads over them. On the site of this mosque was *a bud khana*, that is an idol house. After the conquest of Delhi it was turned into a mosque."⁴ The cost of these edifices in terms of money cannot be known. A look at the gigantic Qutb Minar and the strong screen wall of the mosque shows that no amount of money alone could have created such awe-inspiring edifices. They were products of the age of Islamic slavery. People were captured in thousands in war; they were made slaves and drafted on such majestic works.

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¹ Architecture was considered as the visual symbol of Muslim

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How many slaves were needed to accomplish the task on these two and the other buildings of Qutbuddin Aibak and Iltutmish such as mosques, *madrasas*, mausoleums, qasrs and tanks (e.g..Hauz-i-Shamsi) in and outside Delhi? It is difficult to determine but easy to conjecture their numbers, for these two sultans had embarked on constructional activity on a very large scale.

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It is known that Alauddin Khalji, another great builder, had 70,000 slaves working on his buildings, as attested to by the contemporary chronicler Ziyauddin Barani.⁵ Alauddin built "masjids, minars, citadels and tanks". But his (incompleted) Qutb Minar alone was an edifice more than equal to all his undertakings. Thus the men working on the buildings of the first two sultans were probably not less than those of Alauddin Khalji; they may have been probably more. These slaves were to dismantle standing temples, very carefully, stone by stone, carry the carved columns, shafts and pillars to the new sites of construction, and raise the new structures. Hasan Nizami says that temples were demolished with the help of elephants and one elephant could haul stones for which 500 men were needed;⁶ yet it has to be recognised that not many mechanical devices were available. Most of the work was done by human hands and muscles. Furthermore, Hindu architects, masons and labourers turned slaves under the new dispensation had to do the work in record time. Barani in his enthusiasm says hyperbolically that during Alauddin's reign a palace could be built in 2-3 days and a citadel in two weeks.⁷

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In the Sultanate of Delhi, it was considered a matter of pride for a newly crowned king to build a new city of his own to give name and fame to himself and his dynasty. The old city of Iltutmish was abandoned by Balban who built the Qasr-i-Lal or the red palace, and Kaiqubad built the city of Kilughari. Jalaluddin Khalji constructed Shahr-i-Nau, Alauddin Khalji founded the fort-city of Siri, and his successor, Tughlaq Shah, founded Tughlaqabad. "It is their custom," writes Ibn Battutah, "that the king's palace is deserted on his death... and his successor builds a new palace for himself."⁸

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The buildings of Alauddin Khalji in Delhi alone would have cost millions of *tankahs*,⁹ but no figure of specific buildings have been given by any medieval Muslim chronicler. Constructional enterprises are money consuming. His expeditions in south India and severe revenue regulations had brought him immense wealth. His best architectural works were accomplished after 1311 by which time the Mongol invaders had been completely pushed back and lot of wealth had been brought from the Deccan. It is no mere guess that he spent quite a treasure on his buildings.

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Similar is the case with the Tughlaqs. Firoz Tughlaq founded several cities, dug a few canals, constructed forts, palaces, *bands*, mosques, tombs, warehouses, sarais and khanqahs. He built eight large mosques in Delhi each of which could accommodate 10,000 devotees.¹⁰ He repaired the Qutb Minar as well as all the tombs and mausoleum of former sultans and saints. He built khanqahs for travellers who stayed in them as guests of the state for three days. "In 120 khanqahs Muslims (*bandgan-i-khuda*) could thus stay for 360 days (or almost the year round) as a guest of the government." His contemporary chronicler Shams Siraj Afif, says that "in the reign of Firoz Shah, Malik Bukhari was the Shahnah (superintendent) of the Buildings. (In appreciation of his work) the king had bestowed on him a gold baton. (His deputy?) Abdul Haqq, alias Jahir Sondhar, was given a golden mace. Under Firoz Tughlaq expenditure on building was colossal. The Diwan-i-Arz examined the plan of every proposed building and made provision for necessary money from the royal treasury. Such a magnificent Buildings Department, which had been set up during the reign of Firoz Shah, had not been established during the reign of any other king as lakhs (of *tankahs*) were spent on this department. indeed it would not be an exaggeration to say that countless wealth was spent on it."¹¹ This of course does not include the free labour of slaves as well as the loss of merchants who were forced to carry free of charge stones on their pack-animals from old Delhi to the site of Kotla Firoz Shah when it was under construction. Firoz was a kind-hearted sultan and so it may be presumed that he paid something to his slave labour also. For, even the shifting of the two Ashokan pillars to Delhi required the services of a few thousand men (*chandin hazar admi*).

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Besides the Sultanate, new independent Muslim states sprang up all over the country throughout the fifteenth century. In all of them feverish architectural activity was carried on with the help of local slaves and elephants and money acquired in expeditions. At the centre, Sultan Sikandar Lodi who took keen interest in the welfare of the Musalmans, founded masjids throughout his dominions, and appointed a preacher, a reader and a sweeper to each.¹² Thus he turned masjids almost into government institutions and made foundations of Islam strong.¹³

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Similar is the language of Persian historians for Sher Shah's endeavours in this field. Needless to say that all Muslim rulers constructed pious edifices at great cost with great enthusiasm - edifice like mosques, idgahs, dargahs, ziaratgahs (shrines), mazars (tombs), sarais, madrasas and maktabs. From Gaur to the confines of his dominions, Sher Shah built sarais and halting places at every *kos*. At every sarai a masjid, a royal chamber and a well were constructed. To every mosque a muazzin, an imam, and a manager were appointed. There was a road built from Bengal to Avadh, another from Agra to Burhanpur, another from Agra to Jodhpur and Chittor, and another from Bayana to Jaunpur. On the sides of every road were planted fruit trees and gardens. Sher Shah built a total of 1700 sarais. These were maintained by lands and villages allotted at the place for their support.¹⁴ The cost of all these public works was enormous.

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The cost of buildings of Sher Shah and Islam Shah particularly their forts, has not been given by contemporary writers. Figures given by later writers are confusing. According to the *Tarikh-i-Daudi*, Patna fort was ordered to be built by Sher Shah Suri in 1540. It was completed in record time of two years at a cost of five lakh *rupiyas*. The Salimgarh fort built by his son Islam Shah in 1546 cost four lakh *rupiyas*. It was not completed at the time of his death in 1552 and so a lakh or two more would have been spent. But Sher Shah's fort at Rohtas in Punjab cost 35 to 40 lakh rupees, according to Jahangir "4,025,000 rupees, according to the currency of Iran to 120,000 *tuman*, and in the currency of Turan to 1 *arb*, 21 lakhs and 75,000 *khami* (*khami* was equal to one third of a rupee), that is now current". In a footnote Rogers and Beveridge, the translators of *Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri*, rightly say that "the figures seem wrong, and the MSS differ..." Apparently the correct sum in rupees is 3.4 lakhs, 25,000.¹⁵ Even this sum is at great variance from the cost of other forts of the Afghans and is about equal to Akbar's magnificent fort built at Agra in fifteen years' time. And the cost of the network of roads of Sher Shah is difficult to estimate. This must have been enormous. However, much of the expense and labour was shared by local people just as the cost of maintaining his sarais was borne by villages in the vicinity.

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With the coming of the Mughals more artistic buildings came into being. More information is also available about the expenditure on some of them. Those who built them had unbounded command of both money and slaves. Babur writes that "680 men worked daily on my buildings in Agra... only; while 1491 stone-cutters worked daily on my buildings in Agra, Sikri, Biana, Dulpur (Dholpur), Gwalior and Kuil (Aligarh). In the same way there are numberless artisans and workmen of every sort in Hindustan." Some workers were wage-earners, for says he at another place, "Gifts were made to the stone-cutters, and labourers and the whole body of workmen in the way customary for master-workmen and wage-earners of Agra."¹⁶

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Akbar and Jahangir expended large sums in construction work in Agra and Lahore. Akbar's fort at Agra took fifteen years to build and cost 35 lakh rupees.17 He is credited by Abul Fazl with building in Agra five hundred edifices. Officers and troops used to be stationed in forts built at strategic points from Kashmir to the Deccan. Repair of old and construction of new forts was an ever ongoing activity of the Muslim state. Repair of a fort once cost 20,000 rupees.18 According to De Laet emperor Akbar had erected many women's apartments at every few miles from Agra, each of which could accommodate sixteen ladies with servants19 besides the forts of Allahabad and Fatehpur Sikri. "After the death of Akbar, Jahangir tried to rehabilitate towns and *qasbas* which had fallen to ruin." He directed the Jagirdars and administrators of the Khalisa estates that towns should be built, mosques erected, sarais constructed and wells dug, of course all at government cost.20 He also demolished old buildings to be replaced by new ones.21

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Akbar had begun to build his own mausoleum. Jahangir took much interest in rebuilding from its foundations this mausoleum at Sikandara. He caused fresh designs to be prepared for it and expended large sums on its construction and decoration, "and work went on for three or four years," writes Jahangir in his memoirs. "On the whole they told me the cost of this lofty edifice was 1,500,000 (fifteen lakh) rupees, equivalent to 50,000 current *tumans* of Persia and 4,500,000 *khamis*, according to the currency of Turan."22 Muhammad Taqi was the Diwan of buildings under Jahangir. Writing on the later years of Jahangir's23 reign, Francisco Pelsaert mentions that the tomb of Itmad-ud-daula at Agra had cost three and half lakh rupees up to the year 1626, and that ten lakhs more were required for its completion. He speaks also of the numerous sarais and palaces built by the empress Nur Jahan. Jahangir spent large sums in Agra and Lahore, but it was under Shahjahan that the most remarkable developments occurred. "Contemporary writers give figures for the cost of some of his buildings - 10 lakhs for the mosque at Daulatabad, 60 lakhs for the palace at Delhi, 917 lakhs for the Taj Mahal at Agra; and, while these may be inaccurate, they are comparable with the estimate of the Lahore canal, which comes from a similar source." These figures are completely inaccurate. For, while the repair of a mansion sometimes cost one lakh rupees,24 a canal also cost the same amount. "In 1639 Ali Mardan Khan proposed a canal taking off from the river Ravi, which was sanctioned *at an estimated cost of a lakh of rupees* (emphasis added). Some years later the existing canal from the Jamna to Delhi was reconstructed under his supervision. It was probably comparable in amount with the former and much less than what was being spent on buildings of an ornamental nature."²⁵

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Despite the discrepancies and inaccuracies in the expenditure on construction of individual edifices from the times of Babur to those of Shahjahan during whose "august reign, when... lovely things reached the zenith of perfection," money in millions and slaves in thousands were employed on erecting the hundreds of huge Mughal buildings still extant.²⁶ The Taj Mahal is the loveliest of all these building; it also stands as a monument of exploitation of poor labourers. Tavernier says that it was completed in twenty-two years for three crore rupees and 20,000 persons worked on it all the time. Three crores in 22 years comes to 13 lakhs per year and 65 rupees per person per year if he was actually paid the amount. The lower class workmen may have been paid only a rupee or so per month. Another "effect of such undertakings," writes W.H. Moreland, "was inevitably to hinder ordinary commercial activities. Thus all the carts at Agra were impressed for the works in progress at Delhi, and on one occasion goods in transit for the coast had to lie on the way for some months, after they had been by the king's officers cast down in the fields, and the carts taken for his use." But impressment was an ordinary occurrence of the period (Firoz Tughlaq had done it earlier). There appears to be no evidence on what is a matter of much greater interest - the treatment and remuneration of the large number of labourers employed on these buildings.

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The example of kings was universally imitated by their principal nobles.²⁷ The opulent grandees in the provinces esteemed it an honour and obligation to adorn towns and cities of the regions under their control with magnificent buildings. The law of escheat encouraged them to spend lavishly. Pelsaert perhaps has the last word on it. "I have often ventured to ask great lords," says he, "what is their true object in being so eager to amass their treasures, when what they have gathered is of no use to them or to their family (because of escheat)... I have urged they would share it with the poor, who in this country are hundreds of thousands, or indeed innumerable... Their answers have been based on the emptiest worldly vanity..." Buildings they constructed with great zest - gardens, tombs, and palaces - "they build them with so many hundreds of thousands...²⁸ Once the builder is dead, no one will care for his buildings, but every one tries to erect building of his own, and establish his own reputation alongside that of his ancestors. If all these edifices were attended to and kept in repair, the lands of every city, and even village, would be adorned (covered)²⁹ with monuments; but as a matter of fact the roads leading to the cities are strewn with fallen columns of stone."³⁰

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In short, the Turkish and Mughal sultans and nobles were ever busy on a building spree without any thought of preserving the edifices. Preservation may have been uneconomical. Ibn Battutah and Babur affirm that all was destroyed because of moisture. But economy was not a weakness of Muslim royalty and nobility. With them ceaseless construction was a craze.

5.2. The Army

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Muslim rule in India was not only established but throughout sustained by its army. In other words, Muslim rule in India was army rule. The state resembled the organisation of an army; its civil functions were meant to support this organisation. Medieval historians and political thinkers like Fakhr-i-Mudabbir, Ziyauddin Barani and Shams Siraj Afif asserted that kingship was the army and the army kingship.³¹ On the army was spent the largest chunk of the state income obtained through conquest and loot. Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban used to say, "I have devoted all the revenue of my kingdom to equip my army." His contemporary chronicler Ziyauddin Barani writing for the early hundred years of Muslim rule (c. 1250-1350) specifically mentions that "all income from Khalisa lands throughout the empire was earmarked to be spent on the soldiers and the Karkhanas (workshops) which manufactured weapons and equipment for the army".³² So, the agrarian sector, which was the greatest source of revenue of the Sultanate largely paid for the upkeep of the army. We have seen how this sector was fleeced and sponged. It was done to keep the army in good health and shape.

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An idea of the expenditure on the army can be had from the computation of salary of soldiers, the pay of officers, maintenance of the various corps like elephant, horse and camel, the cost of building and maintaining forts where army contingents were stationed, and expenditure on the karkhanas (workshops) which turned out weapons and other materials required for war. We shall try to estimate the expenses incurred on these items under the Sultanate and the Mughal empire. This will give an idea of the burden borne by the people mainly agriculturists, for maintaining the Muslim army.

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*Mercenaries*

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The army of the Sultanate comprised of the soldiers in the permanent employment of the ruler and special recruits enrolled on the eve of an expedition or for performing a specific task. The Ghaznavid tradition of enrolling mercenaries was continued by the Turkish sultans in India. Writing early in the reign of Iltutmish, Fakhr-i-Muddabir mentions a body of troopers "who have voluntarily joined the forces". Balban employed 3,000 Afghan horse and foot in his campaign against the Mewatis,³³ and appointed thousands of Afghan officers and men in the forts of Gopalgir, Kampil, Patiali, Bhojpur and Jalali to contain the restive elements there.³⁴ On his way to Lakhnauti Balban enrolled about 2,00,000 horsemen and infantry.³⁵ So also used to do Sultan Raziyah. Throughout the medieval period, mercenaries (Muslims, says Afif for Sultan Firoz's times) used to be enrolled in the army. Recorded instances imply that such recruitment was an established practice.³⁶ "It is perhaps safe to guess that such recruitments (with the object of fighting against the infidels) were confined to Muslims only", says Habibullah.³⁷ Enrolment of fresh levies was a continuous process. It was necessary to replenish the troops, for losses used to be great. in his campaigns against the Mewatis alone Balban is said to have lost one hundred thousand men in the course of one year. Rebels like Tughril Beg of Bengal took two years to subdue only after great losses had been inflicted on the royal troops on two earlier occasions.

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The cost of emergency recruitment was high. In the fourteenth century the cost of emergency recruitment and equipping 1000 horsemen in a short time came to three lakh *tankahs*.³⁸ Prince Alauddin Khalji was the *muqta* of Kara. He was permitted by his uncle Sultan Jalaluddin Khalji to recruit extra troops to lead an expedition into central Hindustan. He enrolled three to four thousand horsemen and two thousand infantry in a short time for leading an expedition to Chanderi en route to Devagiri. The cost of recruiting them can be estimated from the statement of Barani quoted above.

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*Regular Troops*

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The soldiers in the permanent employment were paid a regular salary. Since war (Jihad) was a permanent and ever expanding activity of the Muslim regime, most sultans maintained a large standing army on a permanent basis, and did not disband troops after a conquest was accomplished or a foreign invasion repulsed. According to Farishtah Alauddin Khalji's regular army consisted of 4,75,000 horsemen well equipped and accoutered. There were two separate forces. One was meant to repulse Mongol invaders while the other was sent out on the conquest of newer regions.³⁹ The annual salary paid to a cavalrymen by the Sultan was 234 *tankahs*. In addition 78 *tankahs* were paid to a *do aspa* or to one who possessed an additional horse because maintenance of an extra mount added to the soldier's efficiency.

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The salary bill of 4,75,000 horsemen at the rate of 234 *tankahs* alone would have come to 111 million or eleven crore *tankahs* annually. This was high by any standards, more so when it did not include the allowance to *do aspas*, payment to the infantry and expenses on the large staff of officials involved with the upkeep of such a large army. The salary paid to soldiers under the Khaljis was high. Besides there was unrestrained plunder in every campaign. it was probably because of this reason that Alauddin changed the rule regarding Khams. He took away 4/5 of the booty (*ghanimah*) and distributed 1/5 to the participating soldiers. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq maintained his army on the pattern and regulations of Alauddin Khalji.⁴⁰ Muhammad Tughlaq's cavalry is said to have consisted of 900,000 horsemen,⁴¹ double the size of that of Alauddin Khalji. Alauddin had freezed the prices of articles of daily use by soldiers through his Market Control. So, he paid a fixed salary to them. Under Muhammad Tughlaq there was no market control and the salary of troops would probably have gone up. Even at the rates fixed by Alauddin, the salary bill would have come to twenty-two to twenty-five crores annually. Muhammad Tughlaq's empire was vast and revenue from far-off regions of Dwarsamudra to Satgaon and Telingana to Malwa and Gujarat used to be collected without much problem (before the spate of rebellions started). Firoz Tughlaq's army was not that large.42 Nevertheless as will be seen presently, the expenditure on his army establishment was no less large. There were Arab and Persian contingents in Firoz Tughlaq's army. Sure enough, the size of the army varied from time to time. The Saiyyads were weak and the Lodis not so strong. But even in the newly created Muslim kingdoms of the fifteenth century like Gujarat, Malwa, Jaunpur etc., war remained the most prominent activity and 'the army consumed most of the revenue.

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*Salary of the Mughal Soldiers*

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The salary of soldiers under the Mughals is given in Abul Fazl's *Ain-i-Akbari*. There were several classes of foot soldiers who performed various kinds of duties. The first class infantry man got 500 *dams*; the second, 400 *dams*; the third, 300 *dams*,, the fourth, 240 *dams* per month. As a rupia was equal to 40 *dams* the pay of the best foot soldier was about 12 rupia and of the lowest 6 rupia per month. The cavalry was better paid. A cavalryman with an Iraqi horse got 30 rupia per mensem, with a Turki horse 20 rupia, with a Tazi 15 rupia, with a *jangla* (local breed) 12 rupia. Their salary was equal to the (civil) collectors of revenue. "The revenue collectors of domain lands got formerly 25 rupia, but now only 15 rupia."

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The pay of Banduqchis or Matchlock bearers, who were (non-commissioned) officers of four grades got 300, 280, 270 and 260 *dams*. The common Banduqchis divided into five classes received 250 to 110 *dams*. The best paid were the Ahadis, "the immediate servants of His Majesty". These "worthy persons whom His Majesty does not appoint to a Mansab, but whom he frees from being under the orders of any one", got as much as 500 rupia per mensem.43 These are specimens of salaries paid. There were hundreds of types of troops, wrestlers, slaves and chelas and hundreds of grades of pay for them and their administrative officers. The remuneration money spent on the troops was, on the whole, not much. This is the conclusion one arrives at by certain statements of Jahangir. "On the day on which the royal troops were ordered to pursue (the rebel prince) Khusrau, 15,000 rupees were given to Mahabat Khan and 20,000 to the Ahadis, and 10,000 more were sent with the army to be given to whom it might be necessary to give it on the way." On another occasion a body of 3,000 (superior kind of) cavalry was despatched under Shah Beg. For the expenses of this force 200,000 rupees were given.⁴⁴ These amounts for overall expenses were not much, when to an officer Taj Khan who had been nominated to beat the Afghans of Bangarh, he gave, obviously as a reward, 50,000 rupees.⁴⁵

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*Pay of Officers*

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As against the troops and according to all contemporary chroniclers, the army officers were highly paid throughout Muslim rule. Shihabuddin al-Umri says that a Khan received 200,000 *tankahs*, each being worth eight dirhams (silver coin). "This sum belongs to him personally, and he is not expected to disburse any part of it to his soldiers." Every Malik received from 50 to 60 thousand *tankahs* and every Amir 40 to 50 thousand *tankahs*.⁴⁶ This amount was paid sometimes in the form of cash salary, at others by the grant of a revenue assignment called *iqta*. There were officers with other ranks as well.

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The nobles or Umara were graded as Khans, Maliks, Amirs, Sipehsalars in the Sultanate period and as Mansabdars under the Mughals. According to Barani, a Sarkhail commanded ten horsemen; a Sipehsalar ten Sarkhails; an Amir ten Sipehsalars; a Malik ten Amirs; and a Khan ten Maliks.⁴⁷ According to the author of the *Masalik-ul-Absar* a Khan commanded more or less 100,000 troops, an Amir 10,000, a Malik a thousand and so on.⁴⁸ The term Amir was normally used in a generic sense to denote a high officer. In Akbar's time and after, all the great men of the Mughal empire were graded and appointed to a Mansab (rank) in the imperial service. From the lowest rank, that of the commander of ten, upto the rank of 400 an officer was known as Mansabdar. From 500 onwards a noble was known as Amir, or Khan, or Khan-i-Azam. They were all generally spoken of as Umara.

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The salaries of the Mughal officers and grandees were equally high. W.H. Moreland, the economic historian of the Mughal Empire, computes that a commander of 5000 could count on at least Rs. 18,000 a month under Akbar and his successor. A commander of 1000 could similarly count on receiving Rs. 5000 a month, while a commander of 500 would have received the equivalent of Rs. 500 to 600 "at the present day" (1914). Certainly there was at the time no other career in India which could offer such prospects and prizes. It is therefore no wonder that the most enterprising men from a large portion of Western Asia should have been attracted to the Mughal court.⁴⁹ The government both civil and military was conducted by means of officials entered in the army list and graded in successive ranks or Mansabs. According to Jadunath Sarkar, "of these, all those who held any grade from 3 *hazari* upwards were called grandees (*umara-i-azam* or grand commanders), and those below the command of 3000 horse (nominal) were styled simply *mansabdars* or officers". The total number of officials including both Umara and Mansabdars were 1,803 under Akbar (c. 1596), 2,945 under Jahangir (c. 1620), 8,000 under Shahjahan (c. 1647) and 14,449 under Aurangzeb (c. 1690). There was enormous inflation of the army list under Aurangzeb. Under him the annual salary and allowances of the Mansabdars, including the pay of their troops were as follows for the first classes in each grade - 3.5 lakhs of rupees for a 7-*hazari*, 2.5 lakhs for a 5-*hazari*, 50,000 for a *hazari* and 1,000 for a commander of twenty.⁵⁰

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*Strength of the Mughal Army*

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V.A. Smith says that Akbar did not maintain a large standing army. According to him the strength of Akbar's army "equipped by the State and paid directly from the Treasury", could not have exceeded 25,000 men. However, on the testimony of Monserrate he himself writes that at the time of his expedition to Kabul (1581), Akbar had 45,000 cavalry, besides 5000 elephants and an unnumbered host on foot.⁵¹ The military character of the Mughal government of Akbar is vouched by all, and yet the estimates of the standing army of the Mughal emperors from Akbar to Aurangzeb have wide variations. Had it been so large as has been made out by some scholars, "we should arrive at so huge an army that it should have been impossible for the country, however heavily taxed, to meet such an expense".⁵² The standing army was not large because, according to Abul Fazl, "the zamindars of the country furnish more than four million, four hundred thousand men, as shall be detailed below".⁵³ These details are given in the Third Book of the *Ain-i-Akbari*. From the detailed Tables provided - a laborious work only a scholar like Abul Fazl could produce - it appears that a quota of troops to be provided to the Mughal emperor on demand by every Raja or Zamindar was fixed in the same manner as was the revenue amount. The Rajput forces were thus completely merged with the Mughal army. Or, it was like the Subsidiary Alliance of the Raj days. Jahangir writes that from "this Subah (of Ajmer) in time of war 86,000 horses and 304,000 Rajput foot are provided".⁵⁴ From Malwa, "when needful there are obtained from it about 9,300 horse and 4,70,300, footsoldiers, with 100 elephants".⁵⁵ This system continued under Jahangir and Shahjahan making the Mughal empire the strongest empire in the world till Aurangzeb's bigotry alienated the Rajputs and weakened the Mughal army and the empire.

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The actual armed strength of the empire at the close of Shahjahan's reign (1647) was 2 lakhs of troopers brought to the muster and branding, 8 thousand Mansabdars, 7 thousand Ahadis and Barqandaz, 1,85,000 Tabinan or additional troopers of the princes, Umara and Mansabdars, and 40,000 foot musketeers, gunners, and rocket-men. These numbers underwent a still further increase with Aurangzeb's fresh warfare in the Deccan,⁵⁶ for "the total amount of pay claims generated by grant of mansabs pressed directly upon the empire's revenue resources".⁵⁷

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*Army Corps*

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The army of the Sultanate comprised both cavalry and infantry. It had an elephant corps also. Elephants were not generally purchased. They were captured from jungles or taken as tribute from defeated rulers. Camels and ponies and other animals were also used for commissariat service. The most important wing of the army was the cavalry. And horses were costly. In India, good horses were found only in some regions like the eastern Punjab and the Salt Range, but they were inferior to the horses of the West Asian breed. This made the importation of war horses from abroad a matter of necessity for the sultans of Delhi. Medieval chronicles speak of Yamani, Shami, Bahri and Qipchaqi horses as being in use by soldiers in India, and there was large-scale importation of horses into India from Arabia, Afghanistan and even the steppe lands of southern Russia known as Tatars. According to Ibn Battutah and Wassaf their cost was high. "The good horses are worth 500 (silver) *dinars* or more." Besides making direct purchases from abroad, the sultans of Delhi replenished their *paigahs* with horses of foreign breed obtained from defeated Indian princes, particularly those with access to the sea as they imported such horses in large numbers. Gujarat and the South provided war horses in particular when, for example, the rulers of Warangal, Dwarsamudra and the Pandya kingdoms surrendered thousands of horses to Malik Kafur in the fourteenth century. The Hindu rulers of the South had imported foreign breed horses through the sea route. Wassaf says that 10,000 horses were imported annually into Mabar, Kambayat and other western Indian ports at the cost of 220 gold *dinars* each. But many times horses obtained in tribute had to be given to Muslim soldiers when their mounts got disabled in battle. Al-Umri mentions that Sultan Muhammad Tughlaq distributed to his army 10,000 Arab horses and countless others. The two great kings of the Sultanate period, Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughlaq, had under their command 475,000 and 900,000 horsemen. Even Firoz Tughlaq who is said to have neglected his army, maintained extensive *paigahs*.58 The size of the cavalry varied from time to time. The Saiyyads were weak, the Lodis not so strong, but even in the provincial kingdoms of Gujarat, Malwa and Jaunpur the cavalry wing was maintained at high cost. The expenditure on Sher Shah's army too was large. He had 150,000 cavalry and the same numbers were maintained in cantonments. The infantry was 25,000 and 50,000 in garrisoning the forts. He had 5,000 elephants. "It was known that a suitable garrison was maintained in every fort in the country."59

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Under the Mughals, according to Abul Fazl, "Merchants used to bring to court good horses from Iraq-i-Arab and Iraq-i Ajam, from Turkey, Turkestan, Badakhshan, Shirwan, Qirghis, Thibet, Kashmir and other countries." But unlike the Sultanate period cross-breeding was now freely done in India. In "the breeding of this sensible animal... after a short time Hindustan ranked higher in this respect than Arabia... There are fine horses bred in every part of the country; but horses of Cachh excel, being equal to Arabs", writes Abul Fazl. So, by Akbar's time good quality horses were available in many parts of the country. There were 12,000 horses in Akbar's stables. Their prices were fixed by experts. Khasa horses, meant for the personal use of the king, cost 10 to 20 *mohurs*. Their officers, servants, harness and food all were fixed, and cost not a little. For, Akbar was a man of details and his officers also became so.60

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The *Ain-i-Akbari* gives a detailed description of the elephant stables under Akbar. The Emperor possessed 5,000 of them. The price of an elephant in his reign varied from one lakh to one hundred rupees. During the reign of Jahangir the price of a well trained war elephant rose much higher. Some elephants were imported from Ceylon (as by Firoz Tughlaq) and some others from Africa (as under Jahangir) and Burma (as by Shahjahan). But they were mostly available in all parts of India. The classification of the imperial elephants, the food allowed to them, the money spent on their harness and their five attendants were all fixed and settled. His Majesty's Khasa (personal) elephants had their personal names. The elephant was a costly corps of the Mughal army.⁶¹ Jahangir gives the unmistakable impression that the Mughals loved their elephants and gave them endearing names. Some of these are Hawai, Ran Bhaga, Bansi Badan, Rup Sundar, Ran Rawat, Panchi Gaj, Fauj Singar, Surat Gaj, Mahipati, Durjansal, Giranbar. One was called Nur Bakht after Jahangir's own name. There are many reasons for this phenomenon. Unlike camels and horses, elephants were bred in India and were found in almost all parts of the country like Agra, Bayana, Narwar, Bastar, modern Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bengal, Orissa and elsewhere. Abul Fazl says that Panna elephants were the best. Hence the tradition of giving them Hindu names. Moreover, elephant fights provided good entertainment. It was a sagacious animal. The beginning of muster review was with the elephants.⁶³

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No less important was the camel corps. As in the case of horses, the quality of the camels of the country breed improved with time, and according to Abul Fazl, Indian camels soon surpassed those of Iran and Turan. Camels were numerous in Rajputana, as is the case even today. They were also found in large numbers in Kutch, Gujarat and Bhatinda in Punjab. During the Mughal period their greatest abundance was found in Sindh. Details regarding their food, furniture, servants, expenses have been mentioned in the *Ain-i-Akbari*.⁶⁴ The mules were pack animals preferred for transport of men and goods. They were mostly bred in North Punjab and Kashmir.⁶⁵

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As in any organisation, there were some good points and some weaknesses in the Muslim army. We cannot go into all these. One point each of the two may receive our attention. On the positive side there was constant vigil and inspection of the forces leading to savings; on the negative side there was corruption which led to loss of revenue. in the Sultanate period there were regular inspections of troops and their horses. There was the system of branding horses and keeping an account of the credentials of soldiers. Sometimes it used to take a fortnight to inspect all the contingents which set out on a campaign. Periodical reviews of the army, whether in headquarters or in camp, kept the soldiers on their toes and their mounts in good shape. The system of *dagh wa chehra* (cauterization and descriptive roll) was introduced by Alauddin Khalji; it was revived by Sikandar Lodi and reintroduced by Sher Shah. It ensured that at the time of review no soldier could send a substitute and no horse could be presented twice, or replaced by an inferior one after the review.⁶⁶

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Still better was the position under the Mughals. Akbar was an administrative genius. Most of the important appointments were made and promotions effected by him personally. The muster of men and horses and other animals was often inspected by him. There were regulations about the branding of horses and keeping full complements of the mounts.⁶⁷ Even the highest officers' contingents were inspected.

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*Army Reviews*

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Emperor Jahangir writes, "On the 25th (March 1617) the contingent of Itimad-ud-daulah passed before me in review on the plain under the *jharokha*. There were 2,000 cavalry well-horsed, most of whom were Moghuls, 500 foot armed with bows and guns, and fourteen elephants. The bakhshis reckoned them up and reported that this force was fully equipped and according to rule."⁶⁸ This paragraph in the *Tuzuk* is very important for it brings into prominence three characteristics which made the Mughal army efficient. It shows that even in the reign of the pleasure loving Jahangir, the contingents of the Mansabdars were thoroughly checked by bakhshis and regularly reviewed by the emperor. Secondly, even a high dignitary and close relative of the king like Itimad-ud-daulah was not exempt from equipping and accoutering his troops except "according to rule". Thirdly, the mention of the fact that most of the cavalry was foreign, confirms the observation of Bernier that the Mogul (emperor) is considered a foreigner in India and he ruled with the terror of the foreign army rather than love or respect of the people at large.

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At another place he writes that after receiving Prince Khurram on the completion of his Deccan mission, "The bakhshis were ordered to arrange according to their mansabs the Amirs who had come with my son to pay their respects. The first Khan-i-Jahan. After this Abdullah Khan, then Mahabat Khan..."⁶⁹ it shows that protocol was maintained and noblemen were positioned in the *darbar* in conformity with their status. This was a positive aspect.

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*Corruption in the Army*

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On the negative side, corruption among officers of the army was rampant. From the very beginning of Turkish rule the conquered land used to be distributed by the king among army officers, nobles, government officials and even soldiers as rewards and also in lieu of personal salary, and for paying their soldiers. These grants were not hereditary, and were given as pay for military service. But many a time the land-holders continued in possession of their land without rendering any military service. This is what Sultan Balban found about 2,000 of his cavalry officers. Over and above this, corruption was galore in the Diwan-i-Arz. Horses of little value were brought to the Diwan and were passed as serviceable, obviously by greasing the palms of the clerks. This was the situation in the Sultanate period. During Mughal times Abdul Qadir Badaoni writes that "the whole country, with the exception of the *khalisa* lands, was held by the Amirs as *jagir*, and as they were wicked and rebellious, and spent large sums on other stores and workshops, and amassed wealth, they had no leisure to look after the troops or take interest in the people". In case of emergency they came with bedraggled slaves and attendants to the scene of war, "but really useful soldiers there were none".⁷⁰ Under Akbar, Shahbaz Khan, the Mir Bakhshi, introduced the custom and rule of *dagh/mahalli* of the times of Alauddin Khalji and Sher Shah, but cheating continued. Akbar divided the Ahadis into *do aspa*, *yak aspa* and even *nim aspa* (having half a share in a horse)", in which latter case two troopers kept one horse together, and shared the stipulated salary, which amounted to six rupees.⁷¹

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The salary of the soldiers and expenditure on their horses usually formed part of the pay of the Umara or Mansabdars who were expected to spend it on them. But this system gave the nobleman an opportunity to retain some money from every man's pay and prepare false returns of the horses he was supposed to provide. "Many of the lords who hold the rank of 5000 horse, do not keep even 1000 in their employ."⁷² This practice was universal throughout the medieval period. Niccolao Manucci's comment on the situation is quotable as there was corruption in payment of salaries to the soldiers from the very beginning of Muslim rule in India.⁷³

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"Throughout the world the vice is rampant of being ambitious for the acquisition of wealth. But in no part of the world is this so much the case as in the Mogul Empire and the rest of India. There our Italian proverb applies: 'The big fish eat the little ones.' Particularly is it true at the court and in the army of the Mogul, where the captains and generals observe no fixed rules in paying their soldiers, conforming neither to the rank they have granted them nor to the men's merit. The rank the soldiers receive is high in name, but as for the pay, it is never more than half what the rank indicates.

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"The soldiers accept anything and everything, being forced by necessity; for if they cannot obtain military service they have no means of living. Speaking generally, all these soldiers are badly paid and ill-satisfied, for what should be given them in eight months they do not receive in a year. What is worst of all, they are never paid the exact amount due, but little by little. Then they always have to take in the course of a year's service two months pay in second hand goods. In many cases they are kept two and three years in arrears. This forces the soldiers to borrow money at interest from the traders in the camp; these lend it with the consent of the men's own captains and generals."⁷⁴

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To conclude. A brief description of the various wings of the army cannot give an idea of the heavy expenditure incurred on them. For example, many army contingents were stationed in forts spread all over the country. An estimate of the cost of some forts has been given in the section on monuments. The estimates of expenditure on the maintenance of soldiers and artillery stationed there is not possible because of paucity of information available. But it was enormous. In fact Muslim rule in India was military rule so that "the order of the household, the efficiency of the army, and the welfare of the country, are intimately connected with the state of this (Arsenal) department". Akbar took great interest in watching the practice of mechanical arts, and often worked at them, himself. He paid special attention to the founding of new cannon and the manufacture of matchlock guns. He was inventor of good armour, bullet-proof breast-plates and other weapons. "His Majesty has made several inventions... He made a gun which, on marches, can easily be taken to pieces, and properly put together again when required. By another invention, His Majesty joins seventeen guns in such a manner as to be able to fire them simultaneously with one match."⁷⁵ There were many kinds of swords. As usual there were Khasa swords and guns.⁷⁶ All this and much more was manufactured in the royal karkhanas or workshops. Naturally much of the royal revenue, both during the Sultanate and Mughal period, was expended on these karkhanas.

5.3. Royal Karkhanas

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During the Sultanate period, royal karkhanas were established to cater to the needs of the king and his army. Their numbers and items of production went on multiplying with time, side by side with the production in private workshops. The domestic needs of the ruling class were vast enough, but the political and military requirements were vaster. Huge standing armies had to be equipped and maintained. Arsenals and store houses of every kind had to be kept full. Artisans worked separately at home or jointly in karkhanas. In the royal karkhanas worked the tent-makers and the saddlers, the upholsters and cloth-makers, the metal workers and armourers and producers of dozens of sundry articles.

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Skilful engineers in karkhanas manufactured *minjiniqs* and *arradas* and other engines of war and swords and other arms of every kind for the army. When Balban marched against the rebel Tughril Beg of Bengal, the karkhanas overworked to equip the army till the day of the expedition.⁷⁷ When Muhammad Tughlaq was in Gujarat preparing for leading an effective expedition to Sindh, arms and other articles were despatched to the king from Delhi . "Weapons alone cost seven lakh *tankahs*," writes Shams Siraj Afif and adds that "on this basis the cost of other items from other *karkhanas* can be calculated".⁷⁸ Ibn Battutah gives a list of the presents which he carried on behalf of Muhammad Tughlaq to Toghan Timur or Shunti, the Mogol emperor of Cathay. These were all stored or manufactured in the karkhanas. Besides men and women slaves, the gifts included 100 pieces of cotton fabric called *bairami* priced at 100 *dinars* per piece, 100 pieces of silk called *juzz* of variegated tints, 104 pieces of *salahiya*, 100 pieces of *shirinbaf*, 100 pieces of *shanbaf*, 500 pieces of *muraz*, a kind of woollen fabric of various colours, 100 pieces of *katan-i-Rumi*, 100 gowns without sleeves, a tent with six pavilions, four golden candlesticks and four embroidered with silver, four gold basins and six silver. There were ten dresses of honour, ten caps one of which was embroidered with jewels, ten quivers one of which was studded with pearls, 10 swords the scabbard of one of which was inlaid with pearls and jewels, 10 gloves embroidered with pearls.⁷⁹ All these were prepared in the royal karkhanas. Thus all kinds of civil and military goods were produced in the karkhanas. According to Shahabuddin al-Umri "every year the Sultan (Muhammad Tughlaq) distributes 200,000 complete dresses: 100,000 in spring and 100,000 in autumn (among nobles)... Dresses are also distributed to the monasteries and hermitages (*khanqahs* and *dargahs*). The Sultan keeps in his service 500 manufacturers of golden tissues, who weave the gold brocades worn by the wives of the Sultan, and given away as presents to the amirs and their wives." Shams Siraj Afif writes that there were thirty-six karkhanas in the reign of Firoz Tughlaq and the expenditure on one karkhana was not less than the expense on the city of Multan.⁸⁰ The recurring and non-recurring (*rabti wa ghair rabti*) expenditure on one karkhana in a month came to one lakh sixty thousand and six lakh *tankahs* each respectively.⁸¹ Each karkhana was placed under the supervision of an important noble. Khwaja Abul Hasan was the overall administrator and superintendent of all these karkhanas. There were karkhanas of gold, silver and brass and other metals. There was a manufactory each of wines, perfumes armours. Weapons were all prepared in the karkhanas. There were *paigahs* of horses, camels and dogs. There was pil khana, shukra khana, salah khana and tashdar khana. Some figures of expenditure on karkhanas were like this: alam khana, 80,000 *tankahs* per year, farrash khana 2 lakhs. In jamdar khana six lakh *tankahs* per year were expended on obtaining raw materials per year. 12000 slaves worked in the karkhanas of Firoz Tughlaq and were given a salary of from 100 to 10 *tankahs* according to each one's competence. these workers formed some sort of guilds and produced excellent articles. There was no occupation in which the slaves trained as artisans, handicraftsmen and mechanics did not work. Despite some repetition and confusion in the figures mentioned by Afif, the expenditure on the karkhanas was enormous.

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