Fakhar Bilal

Mansabdari System Under the Mughals (1574-1707) Fakhar Bilal

Mr. Fakhar Bilal's book presents a readable, comprehensive account of the Mughal Mansabdari system. It begins with the dynastic background of the Mughals with various theoretical types of Weber's authority and focus is Patrimonial Bureaucracy model. It is an attempt to analyze the Mansabdari system's birth, growth, maturity, senility and decay under the Mughal Emperors till 1707. The whole narration has been in a very telling style so that the birth of system stands on its merit and moves on. It argues that the Mughals lost control over the system after Jalal ud Din Muhammad Akbar, the founder of Mansabdari system and the successors of the emperor Akbar were unable to grasp the spirit of the system. In the end a critique is given of the system that contributed to the downfall of Mansabdari system. Mansabdari System under the Mughals (1574-1707) draws upon the primary as well as secondary sources and theoretical framework for better understanding of the Mughal administration.