Cost of living in German towns

Der Wirtschaftsbetrieb als Betrieb (Arbeit)

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 866449027

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-93831

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Cost of living in German towns

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Stat. Off.

Year of publication:: 1908

Scope:: 1 Online-Ressource (LXI, 548 Seiten)

Collection:: Economics Books

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THE 1311s AND 1l4tH CENTURIES 53 he was employed in the Revenue Ministry; but he wrote late in life, when his patron was dead, when Delhi had been sacked by Timiir, and when the kingdom was rapidly falling to pieces. The contrast between the present and the past, on which he so often insists, is sufficient by itself to explain the warmth of his recurring eulogies of his deceased patron, and his language also must be rather heavily discounted; but fortunately he was fond of relating anecdotes, and a study of the gossipy reminiscences contained in his later chapters makes it possible to form a more just idea of the quality of the king’s administration than can be obtained from the formal portions of the chronicle. Firtiz was a devout Moslem, and some of his recorded actions towards Hindus may evoke criticism at the present day; but, taken as a whole, he may be described as benevolent, but essen- tially weak.! His reign was undoubtedly a golden age for the bureaucracy at headquarters, the source from which our information regarding it is derived; but control over the provincial Governors was lax, some very unsuitable appoint- ments to these posts are recorded, and there is room for doubt as to the extent to which the king's benevolent in- tentions were realised in the more distant provinces. The heart of the kingdom, however, appears to have been peaceful and prosperous for the greater part of the reign. On his accession Firiiz found the revenue administration in disorder, and one of the first tasks? of his Minister was to reorganise it. That there must have been disorder is clear from what has been already said: the River Country was still depopulated, while the provinces had fallen into the hands of speculators, who, it may safely be inferred, had been more concerned to make an immediate profit than to adhere to any regulations which were in force. The proportion of produce now claimed as revenue is not stated 1 It may perhaps be objected that a really weak king could not have held the kingdom together for nearly forty years, but Firdz had from the putset the services of a Vazir of exceptional strength and loyalty in Khanjahin Maqbil, who was succeeded by his son, another strong and {for the most part) loyal Minister; and these two men were clearly the backbone of the administration throughout the reign. ~ The collapse began when the second Khinjahdn became disloyal. 2 Barni, 571; Afif, 94. These passages are translated and discussed in Appendix C.

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Metadata: The agrarian system of Moslem India

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