Mughal Administration c14.s2: § 2. Treasuries distinguished from State factories.

Mughal Administration c14.s2

Language: English

§ 2. Treasuries distinguished from State factories.

c14.s2.1

It is also necessary, at the outset, to say something about the different treasuries (*khazinahs*) in the palace, because they were intimately concerned with the stores and *karkhanahs*. About these, Akbar’s Court-historian proudly tells us,—

c14.s2.2

“In Iran and Turan, where only one treasurer is appointed, the accounts are in a confused state; but here in India, the amount of the revenues is so great, and the business so multifarious that twelve treasuries are necessary for storing the money in,—nine for the different kinds of cash payments, and three for precious stones, gold, and inlaid jewellery. ......A separate treasurer was appointed for the tribute (*peshkash*) receipts, another for receiving heirless property (*bait-ul-mal*), another for *nazar* receipts, *i.e.*, presents, and another for the monies expended in weighing the royal person and for charitable donations.” (*Ain*, i. 14.)

c14.s2.3

Here we get the designations and functions of eight of the treasuries, besides the grand or general treasury (called the *khazinah-i-amara*). A Persian history written by Shakir Khan in the middle of the 18th century gives the names of the twelve treasuries thus:—

c14.s2.4

(1) *Andarun-i-mahal*, *i.e.*, the treasury inside the harem. This was the last financial line of defence of the Mughal Emperors, as we know from Aurangzib’s letters in the sad closing years of his reign.

c14.s2.5

(2) *Baqāyā*, *i.e.*, treasury of arrears collected.

c14.s2.6

(3) *Jeb-i-khās*, or the treasury for supplying the Emperor’s pocket-money, *i.e.*, for the payments made by him with his *own hands*.

c14.s2.7

(4) *Jeb-i-faiz*, or treasury for pious donations, *i.e.*, the money which the Emperor annually spent in charity, as well as his weight in gold, silver and several other things, which were all given away to the poor and to religious mendicants.

c14.s2.8

(5) *Khazinah-i-rikab* or the treasury that accompanied the Emperor during his marches.

c14.s2.9

(6 & 7) *Khazinah-i-nazar wa peshkash*. These treasuries contained the tributes, presents, gifts made in accomplishment of vows, or donations for averting evil astral influences from the Emperor’s body made to the Emperor by his subjects. Abul Fazl makes them two distinct treasuries, but Shakir Khan (middle 18th century) joins them into one.

c14.s2.10

(8) *Khazinah-i-sarf-i-khās*, i.e., the Emperor’s privy purse for his personal or *household* expenses. [This money was disbursed by the Lord Chamberlain *Khan-i-saman* and not by the Emperor with his own hands.]

c14.s2.11

(9) *Bait-ul-māl*. Here the properties of persons dying without heirs were kept, with a view to afterwards spending them for the relief of the people in general. According to the Quranic law, the Emperor could not touch any part of this money for his own use. [*Encyclo. Islam*, i. 598.]

c14.s2.12

The other three treasuries, as we know from the *Ain-i-Akbari*, were:—
(10) Treasury of precious stones,
(11) Treasury of goldware, and
(12) Treasury of inlaid jewellery.

c14.s2.13

Two Marathi works, namely the *Sabhasad Bakhar* (written in 1694) p. 95 and the *Chitnis Bakhar of Shivaji*, (written in 1810), p. 76, give a different list of the twelve, which is due partly to their writers having made a confusion between treasuries and stores and partly also to the probability of the Maratha administrative system having been in some respects a departure from its Mughal model and exemplar. These treasuries are called the *Bārā Mahāl* or *Kosh* and named *fota*, *saudagari*, *palki*, *kothi*, *imarat*, *paga*, *seri* (or *sair-i-bagh*), *daruni*, *thatti*, *tankshal* or mint, *chhabina*, and *bahili* (variant, *jamdarkhanah* or wardrobe).

c14.s2.14

Now, here *paga* (which means cavalry) seems to be a mistake for *baqaya* or arrears collected; *bahili* is *bahlah*, a Hindi word meaning the privy purse, (see *Ain.* i. 15); *chhabina* is the Marathi corruption of the Persian word *shabina*, meaning a body of horsemen accompanying a king on the march; and I take it to be a loose translation of *rikab* or the stirrup, which, as we have seen above, designated the Emperor on the march; *fota* stands for the general cash treasury; *daruni* is *andaruni* or the harem treasury.

c14.s2.15

The rest are stores and not treasuries at all. *Sair-i-bagh* means excursion to pleasure gardens, and I doubt whether a special treasury was kept to supply the expenses for this purpose. *Thatti* means the cattle department. [*Junya Aitihasik Goshti*, i. 38.]

c14.s2.16

The *Zawabit-i-Alamgiri*, folio 132b, names 24 treasuries, of which one is the General Treasury, and five others are included in the above list, while 18 are different. These last are the sub-treasuries for *ashrafis* (gold coins), the Lady Begams, fines, *rās-mahāl* (? *ras-ul-mal*, ch. III. § 4), *dām*, *āhadis*, *shagird-pesha* (menial servants), exchange of jagirs, *topkhanah* (artillery), record offices, *qular-i-Haidarabadi*, food of cattle, rewards, cash (*mablaghi*), perquisites of the clerks of elephant-stables, general expenditure (*kharch-i-kul*), and two illegible items, looking like *thika* (contract, hire) and *mutafarqa* (miscellaneous.)

c14.s2.17

From the *Mirat-i-Ahmadi* (ii. 178) we learn that the provinces had only four treasuries, viz., (*a*) *Khazinah-i-āmara*, also called *bait-i-kharaj* or house of land revenue from the Crownlands, tributes and duties on the goods of Hindus, &c., (*b*) *Khazinah-i-baqaya* or dues for *taqavi*, tribute, &c., (*c*) *Khazinah-i-sadqa* containing the tithe of 2½ per cent, from Muslims* and (*d*) *Khazinah-i-jaziya* or poll-tax on non-Muslims.