The Ruling Elite

The Mughal ruling elite organised under the mansabdari system, a benchmark institution of the state, was the most significant component in the administrative set-up of the Mughal Empire. The nobles who constituted governing elite were both civil officers and military commanders, bound to the emperor through a unique system of hierarchical gradation denoted in numbers called zat and sawar. In importance, they were next only to the Emperor, who was head of the monarchical state and as such enjoyed absolute power. Heterogeneity and diversity were outstanding characteristic features of the people who constituted this class, as they were men recruited from amongst the people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds. In due course the Mughal ruling class came to be comprised of certain well-recognised racial groups consisting of Central Asians (Turanis), Persians (Iranis), Afghans, Indian Muslims (Shaikhzadas), Rajputs and Deccanis (Bijapuris, Haidarabadis and.....