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 What were the central provinces under the control of the Mughals? 

Mughals controlled several central provinces which they called subas. Most subas, total 22, were recorded under the rule of Aurangzeb. They were namely—Kabul, Kashmir, Lahore, Multan, Delhi, Agra, Awadh, Illahabad, Bihar, Bangal, Orissa, Malwa, Ajmer, Gujrat, Golkonda, Berar, Bijapur, Thatta, Khandesh, Aurangabad, Bidar and Sira.

What was the relationship between the mansabdar and the jagir? 

The mansabdari system was administered during the rule of Mughal emperor Akbar.

The mansabdars were high ranking officials who joined the royal service under the Mughal government.

The mansabdars received a certain salary for their service from the empire which defined their rank. The rank and salary were also called zat which defined their position in the royal court.

One of the assignments of the mansabdars is to collect revenues from certain areas. This area is referred to as jagir.

The mansabdar mostly did not reside in the jagir but sent his men from his service to collect revenues, while they served the king in other parts of the empire.

What was the role of the zamindar in Mughal administration? 

In the Mughal administration, the zamindars were used to collect revenue directly from the peasants. They were the connection between the peasants and the sovereign.

In rural areas, the zamindars acted as village chieftains in absence of any other official from the Mughal court. Sometimes zamindars and peasants of equal castes together rebelled against the ruler.

How were the debates with religious scholars important in the formation of Akbar’s ideas on governance? 

Akbar, the greatest ruler of the Mughal dynasty, was curious about religious and social customs. To quench his interests, he often used to arrange debates among scholars of different religions.

Various information learned from those debates helped him to understand that religious texts and leaders of different religions emphasise more on rituals and dogma to give rise to bigotry, which caused divisions and disrupted the harmony of the society.

Thus, he created the idea of ‘universal peace’ or ‘sulh-i-kul’, which emphasised tolerance, justice, peace throughout the society irrespective of religion or caste.

Akbar’s minister and writer Abul Fazl helped him in building this vision of governance and was later followed by Akbar’s son Jahangir and grandson Shah Jahan during their rule as well.

Why did the Mughals emphasise their Timurid and not their Mongol descent? 

Ghengis Khan, the great Mongol emperor and his army of Huns left a trail of massacre and destruction behind him over the larger part of central Asia.

Though Indian history remembers Timur Long similarly, Mughals took great pride in that he seized Delhi in 1398. The Mughal kings wanted to see themselves as Timur.

Thus, Mughal rulers emphasised more of Timur as their ancestor compared to Mongol king Ghengis Khan.

How important was the income from land revenue to the stability of the Mughal Empire? 

The Mughal empire’s main income source was revenues collected from peasants and from agricultural products. This money was collected by the zamindars and submitted to the Mansabdars. They put the money into the Mughal treasury.

Salaries of soldiers, government workers, tasks for the welfare of the commoners were paid from those taxes.

To keep law and order over the empire, land revenue was the most important income source

Why was it important for the Mughals to recruit mansabdars from diverse backgrounds and not just Turanis and Iranis? 

When the first mansabdari system was introduced by Mughals, they first recruited Turkish noblemen or Turanis and the Persian nobleman or Iranians as mansabdar.

Later Muslims of Indian descent, Afghans, Rajputs, Marathas, and people from other backgrounds were also recruited as mansabdars.

The reason behind recruiting mansabdars from diverse communities was to gain the trust of common people and to create a balance of power in the administration.

This discussion helped the Mughals to expand and solidify their hold over various regions and provinces