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world witnessed the unique development of arts proved to be very damag-
and culture of the Mughal Empire. Shah Jahan ing for the Mughals later
has been called the “architect king”. The Red on. During his 50 years of
Fort and the Jama Masjid, both in Delhi, stand rule, Aurangzeb tried to
out as towering achievements of both civil fulfill his ambition of
engineering and art. Yet above all else, Shah bringing the entire sub-
Jahan is remembered today for the Taj Mahal, continent under one rule.
the massive white marble mausoleum con- It was under him that the
structed for his wife Mumtaz Mahal along the Mughal Empire reached
banks of the Yamuna River in Agra. its peak in matter of area.
AURANGZEB (1658-1707) He worked hard for years Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb ascended the throne in 1658 and but, his health broke
ruled supreme till 1707. Thus, Aurangzeb ruled down in the end. He left behind no personal
for 50 years, matching Akbar’s reign in longevity. wealth when he died in 1707, at the age of 90
But unfortunately, he kept his five sons away years. With his death, the forces of disintegration
from the royal court with the result that none of set in and the mighty Mughal Empire started
them was trained in the art of government. This collapsing.
CASE STUDY peasants were given the choice of paying in cash
Mughal Administration – Akbar’s or in kind, though the government preferred cash
Contribution payment. Akbar was concerned about the
peasant’s welfare. The peasant was given remis-
Apart from being a brilliant military commander,
sion in the land revenue, if crops failed on
Akbar was also a meticulous and farsighted
account of droughts, floods, etc. peasants were
administrator. We come to know the details of
given loans to buy seeds implements and ani-
Akbar’s administration from his biographer Abul
Fazl and his book ‘Akbarnama’, particularly mals. The peasant could not be thrown out of the
from its last volume ‘Ain-i-Akbari’. land as long as he paid the land revenue.
Following are some of the major innovations in Emperor Akbar decided to classify land accord-
ing to its fertility. Pulaj is a land which is culti-
administration introduced by Akbar.
vated every year and is never allowed to remain
Land Revenue System
uncultivated so that it regains its natural fertility.
Akbar designed his land revenue system with
Chachar is a land that has remained uncultivated
the help of a brilliant revenue-expert, Raja
for three or four years. Banjar is a good which is
Todar Mal. Under Akbar’s and Todarmal’s
uncultivated for five years or more. In Akbar’s
system called dashala or ten yearly settlement,
empire, different revenues were fixed for each of
average production of different crops as well as
these land categories. Akbar’s land revenue
their average prices prevailing over the last ten
system continued till the end of the Mughal
years, was calculated. Each province had some
Empire.
fixed revenue circles with fixed revenue rates for
Relationship with Other Rulers
individual crops. This system of revenue collec-
Akbar was a far-sighted ruler, who understood
tion was called Zabt system. One-third of the
that by winning over the Rajputs, he can get
average production was the state’s share. The
Social Science-7 45
