Question

Akbar borrowed the Mansabdari system from ____________.
A) Afghanistan
B) Balochistan
C) Mongolia
D) Greece

Answer 1

Hint: The Mansabdari arrangement was the directorial arrangement announced by Akbar in Mughal Empire at some point in 1571. The word 'Mansab' is of Arabic basis meaning status or class. Therefore, Mansabdari was an arrangement of grading the government bureaucrats and regulated their civil & military responsibilities, along with their remunerations.

Complete Answer:
The Mansabdar was a military part within the directorial arrangement of the Mughal Empire announced by Akbar. Every civil and military representative was given a mansab, which governed their salaries & payments. The term Mansabdar means an individual having a mansab. In the Mansabdari arrangement created by Akbar, the Mansabdars were military leaders, high civil and military representatives, and provincial councils. Those Mansabdars whose position was one thousand or beneath were called Amir, while those above 1,000 were called Amir-al Kabir (Great Amir).

Some great Amirs whose ranks were above 5,000 were also given the designation of Amir-al Umara (Amir of Amirs). It was an arrangement whereby aristocracies have approved the rights to hold a jagir, or profits obligation, for services extracted by them, with the unswerving command of these aristocracies in the hands of the monarch. Abu'l Faz'l revealed 66 rankings of Mansabdars, but in actuality, there were not more than 33 mansabs.

Throughout the early supremacy of Akbar, the lowest grade was 10 and the highest was 5,000 (later elevated to 7,000). Higher mansabs were given to princes and Rajput monarchs who acknowledged the suzerainty of the king. The arrangement was common to both the military and the civil subdivision and is alleged to have instigated in Mongolia. It was predominant throughout the sovereignty of Babur and Humayun as well. Akbar made vital variations to the arrangement and made it more effective.

Thus, option (C) is correct.

Note:
There were 33 rankings of Mansabdars vacillating from 'commanders of 10' to 'commanders of 10,000'. Till the middle of Akbar's rule, the uppermost rank a regular official could hold was that of a commander of 5,000. The more dignified rankings between commanders of 7,000 and 10,000 were held in reserve for the royal princes. Throughout the interlude succeeding Akbar's rule, the rankings were augmented up to 20,000 and 20-25 rupees per horse was remunerated to a Mansabdar.