Question

What was zat?

Answer 1

Hint: The ‘zat’ was introduced along with another term, ‘sawar’. The ‘zat’ and ‘sawar’ were together introduced by the Mughal Emperor Akbar.

Complete Answer:
Zat was a rank in the Mansabdar system that operated during the Mughal rule in India. The Mansabdar system was a military department within the administrative system. This system is believed to have originated in Mongolia. It prevailed during Babur and Humayun’s reign but was not very significant. Later, when Akbar became the ruler, he made some important changes in the system and made it way more efficient. It was Akbar, who introduced the ranks of ‘Zat’ and ‘Sawar’ in the Mansabdar system. Though it was an efficient system, the following Mughal rulers did not maintain the practice of this system.

According to Akbar’s system, ‘Zat’ indicated the number of soldiers under the Mansabdar, whereas the ‘Sawar’ indicated the number of horsemen under him.
a) If the number of sawar was equal to the number of Zat, then the officer was a $1^{st}$ Class Mansabdar.
b) If the number of sawar was more than half the number of zat, then the officer was a $2^{nd}$ Class Mansabdar.
c) If the number of sawar was less than half the number of zat, then the officer was a $3^{rd}$ Class Mansabdar.

‘Zat’ was the actual ranking of the Mansabdar and ‘sawar 'was an additional allowance. The higher the sawar, the more additional allowance was paid to the Mansabdar. For e.g. each Mansabdar was paid Rs 2 for each horseman under him. Therefore, if a Mansabdar’s ‘sawar’ rank was 250, then he would be paid an extra allowance of Rs 500. The maximum ‘Zat’ rank that a Mansabdar could hold under the rule of Akbar was 5000. The higher ranks were reserved for the royal princes.

Note: After Akbar’s reign was over the following rulers increased the ranks of the ordinary Mansabdars from 5000 to 20,000. Along with this, they also increased the allowance from Rs 2 to Rs 25 per horseman. This gave the Mansabdars an unhealthy amount of power and resources, which finally caused the downfall of the Mughal Empire.