The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c9.13

c9.13

The chief dignitary of the household was the *wakīl-i-dar*.¹ *Wakīl-i-dar.* Under the Abbasids the office had assumed great importance, though it was known by the name of *ustād-u’d-dar*. So influential was this post that, under the weaker caliphs, it was the *amīr-u’l-umarā* who held it; the Buwayhid princes even adopted the title as a mark of distinction.² The office sank into insignificance under the later Abbasids, but at other courts it was always bestowed on a noble of rank and prestige.³ The *wakīl-i-dar* controlled the entire household and supervised the payment of allowances and salaries to the sovereign’s personal staff.⁴ The royal kitchen, the *sharābkhānah*, the stables, and even the royal children were under his care.⁵ All royal orders relating to the household were communicated through him; it was he who reported all affairs requiring royal sanction.⁶ He had a separate secretariat where every order was first registered and then received the impression of his seal.⁷ As the courtiers and *nadīms*, the princes, the queens and all forming part of the royal household or dependent on it had to approach him, the *wakīl-i-dar* exercised great influence and was, in many respects, considered to be, the sultan’s deputy.⁸ As he was always dealing with men of importance, he had to be exceedingly tactful, and the office could not be a mere sinecure. If he had not possessed rank and ability, he could not have discharged his duties efficiently. Even his staff had to be selected very carefully.¹ He had to keep the sultan well-informed regarding the affairs under his control, and, therefore, had need of vigilance, because most of the important personages, with whom he had dealings, had themselves direct access to the sultan.² The *wakīl-i-dar* was by no means a mere *maître d'hôtel*, because his powers were extensive and his jurisdiction embraced men and women of great political importance, so much so that the office was sometimes held by men who were virtually regents to the reigning monarch.³ He was not the royal representative in the *darbār*, nor should he be confused with the Mughal *wakīl-u's-salṭanah* who was the chief minister.⁴ Under Ghaznavid rule the governors and other officials serving in the provinces kept their agents at the court through whom all official correspondence was conducted.⁵ An agent of this type was styled the *wakīl-i-dar* of his master, but his position was entirely different from that of the royal *wakīl-i-dar* in the sultanate of Dehlī. This officer had existed under the Ghaznavids but was known by a different name; he was called *ṣāḥib-i-dīwān-i-wikālat*.⁶ The *wakīl-i-dar* was the controller of the household. Under Humāyūn he was called *wakīl-i-dar-i-khānah* and had not lost his importance, in spite of the fact that there was a separate functionary called *mīr-i-sāmān* to look after household stores.⁷ The *wakīl-i-dar* was assisted by another noble of standing who was styled *nā'ib wakīl-i-dar*.⁸