List of Administrative and Agrarian Terms used in Sultanate Period
Shakeel Anwar
The nature of state during the Sultanate period was militaristic and aristocratic, and also existence of Theocracy, i.e. the head of state was also the religious heard. In other word, the state was Islamic. This meant that the sultans did not allow any open violation of the Islamic law, but Muslim divines were not allowed to dictate the policy of the state because the Sultan was a perfect autocrat unchecked by any restrictions and his word was law. The real source of the sultan’s authority was military strength. He was the chief commander of forces, chief lawgiver and the final court of appeal.
Agriculture, trade and commerce were the chief sources of economy. This is the only reason sultans promoted technological assistance like Persian wheel or Shakiya was introduced into wells for carrying out water. Firuz Shah Tughlaq constructed a large number of canals. Here, we are giving the list of Administrative and Agrarian Terms used in Sultanate Period, which is very useful study material for the academic purposes as well as for those who are preparing for the competitive exams.
List of Administrative and Agrarian Terms used in Sultanate Period
| Administrative and Agrarian Terms |
Meaning |
| Alai Tanka |
Tanks of Alauddin Khilji |
| Alamatha-i-Sultanate |
Insignia of royalty |
| Amil |
Revenue officer |
| Amir |
Commander: The third highest official grade |
| Amir-i-dad |
Officer-in-charge of justice |
| Amir-i-akhur |
Officer commanding the horses |
| Amir-i-hajib |
Officer-in-charge of the royal Khalisa court: (also called barbek in Turkish) |
| Amir-i-koh |
Officer in-charge of agriculture |
| Ariz |
Officer in-charge of the muster, equipment of the soldiers and the horses |
| Arz-i- Mummalik |
Minister in-charge of the army |
| Barbek |
Officer in-charge of the royal court |
| Barid |
Intelligence officer appointed by the state to collect information |
| Barid-i-Mumalik |
Head of the state intelligence service |
| Dabir |
Secretary |
| Dabir-i-Mumalik |
Chief secretary |
| Dagh |
Mark of branding on the horses |
| Diwan |
Office: the central secretariat |
| Diwan-i-arz |
Office of the ministry of war |
| Diwan-i-insha |
Office of the chief secretary |
| Hukm-i-mushahida |
Assessment (Of land revenue) by inspection only |
| Iqtadars |
A person in whose charge an iqta has been placed |
| Jagir |
A piece of land assigned to a government officer by the state |
| Jitals |
Copper coins of the Delhi sultanate |
| Jeziyah |
A personal and yearly tax on non-Muslims |
| Karkhana |
Royal factory or enterprise; they were of two kinds - ratbi, for looking after animals and ghair-ratbi for producing commodities required by the state |
| Khalisa |
Land controlled directly by the king |
| Khidmati |
Service dues |
| Khuts |
Village headmen or revenue collector |
| Madad-i-mash |
Grant of land or pension to religious or deserving persons |
| Majlis-i-khas |
A meeting of the king and his high officers |
| Majlis-i-khilawat |
A secret meeting of the king and his high officers |
| Malik naib |
Regent of the kingdom; an officer, authorized to act on behalf of the king |
| Muhtasib |
An officer appointed to maintain law and order village headman; literally the first or senior man |
| Muqta |
Governor; person-in-charge of an iqta or a medieval province |
| Mustaufi-i-mamalakat |
Accountant for the whole kingdom |
| Mustaufi-i-mamalik |
Auditor, for the whole kingdom |
| Naib-i-arz |
Minister of war; or his deputy |
| Naib-i-mamlakat |
Regent or the king's representative for the whole kingdom, authorized to act on behalf of the king. |
| Diwan-i-Riyasat |
Office of the minister of trade and commerce |
| Diwan-i-Mustakhraj |
Office for collecting taxes |
| Doab |
Land between the Jamuna and the Ganga |
| Fatwa |
A verdict according to the Shashgani Shariat or religious law |
| Faujdar |
Commander of army |
| Haqq-i-Shirb |
Profits from canal irrigation |
| Hukm-i-masahat |
Assessment of land revenue according to measurement |
| Chungi-i-Galla |
Tax on grain |
| Amir-i-Tarab |
Entertainment tax |
| Galla Bakshi, Kankut |
System of collection of land revenue |
| Naib-i-mulk |
Regent of the kingdom |
| Qazi-ul-Qazzat |
The chief qazi |
| Sarai-Adl |
Name given to Alauddin Khilji's market in Delhi for the sale of cloth and other specified commodities |
| Sashgani |
A small silver coin equal to six jitals or copper coins |
| Shahna-i- mandi |
Officer in-charge of the grain market |
| Sipahsalar |
Commander |
In the above list the terms which are used in Sultanate Period for the administrative and agrarian purposes that can be useful study material for the academic purposes as well as for those who are preparing for the competitive exams.