The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c12.7

c12.7

There was a ministry for war called *dīwān-i-'arḍ*. At its head was the *‘āriḍ-i-mumālik*; he was responsible for maintaining the army in a state of efficiency and for the entire administration of military affairs.¹ He acted as the chief recruiting officer and fixed the salary of each recruit; the candidates displayed their skill and prowess in his presence and were then put on the pay roll.² At least once a year he inspected the troops and examined the condition of each trooper's equipment and mount.³ The promotion and degradation of the soldiers depended on the *‘āriḍ* who kept the muster rolls and revised salaries at each annual review.⁴ His office was responsible for the recommendation of assignments to soldiers and for the payment of the troops.⁵ When a campaign was undertaken, the *‘āriḍ* was in charge of all preparations.⁶ The choice of troops was generally left to him, though the general was nominated by the sulṭān.⁷ In all important wars the *‘āriḍ* himself accompanied the army; sometimes he nominated a deputy.⁸ The *‘āriḍ* also saw to matters of supply and transport; the commissariat was under his control. After a victory the *‘āriḍ* supervised the collection of the booty which was divided in the presence of the commander-in-chief.⁹ The *Ādāb-u'l-mulūk* describes a review. The *‘āriḍ*, from a place of vantage, saw the left wing, the centre and then the right wing march past him, both cavalry and infantry. The *naqībs* stood by, and the *‘āriḍ* scrutinized each soldier, his arms and his horse. Every soldier had an appointed place; the *naqībs* had charts for arranging the soldiers in battle array.¹⁰ Fīrūz Shāh's unwise leniency undermined discipline; in spite of repeated postponements a number of soldiers failed to attend for examination.¹ Balban’s *‘āriḍ* treated the troops kindly and helped deserving men with money or material from his private resources, but he insisted on a high standard of efficiency.² He had a high sense of his responsibility and considered his post as “the guardianship of the empire.”³ The *dīwān-i-‘arḍ* was rightly called the ‘source of the livelihood of the fighters for the Faith’; more difficult to understand, however, is a statement by Baranī that ‘Alā-u’d-dīn Khaljī’s court poets received their salaries from this department.⁴ This implies that all salaries were disbursed by the *‘āriḍ*’s office; if so, one can see the beginnings in this system of the Mughul custom of putting all public servants on the army pay-list and giving them *manṣabs*. The *‘āriḍ* was assisted by a large clerical staff and had his lieutenants at the centre as well as in the provinces.⁵