List of Administrative and Agrarian Terms used in Sultanate Period

Shakeel Anwar

20-MAR-2017 17:42

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.

Delhi Sultanate

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.

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