The agrarian system of Moslem India

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 1804119261

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-188010

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Moreland, William Harrison http://d-nb.info/gnd/172263670

Title:: The agrarian system of Moslem India

Edition:: 2. ed. Reissue (d. Ausg. Cambridge) 1929; [Reprint]

Place of publication:: Delhi

Publisher:: Oriental Books, Munshiram Manoharlal

Year of publication:: 1968

Scope:: XVII, 296 S.

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter II. The 13th and 14th centuries

Collection:: Economics Books

THE 13tu AND 1411 CENTURIES 35 increase in the number of officials; and in the 14th, as in the 16th, century such an increase was apt to result in an orgy of corruption and extortion. That something of the sort occurred on this occasion must be inferred from the chroni- cler’s description (pp. 288-9) of the measures taken by the Deputy-Minister for the audit of the local officials’ accounts, measures so drastic as to render the Service unpopular for the time being; ‘‘ clerkship was a great disgrace,” and execu- tive position was accounted ‘worse than fever.” The only point, however, which concerns us is that the records of the village-accountants were used in the audit. This is one of the very rare glimpses we obtain of the interior of a village at this period, with the accountant recording meticulously every payment, whether lawful or not, made to each official. We shall see in a later chapter that Aurangzeb’s Revenue Minister advised his controlling staff to adopt the same expedient in order to detect unauthorised levies by their subordinates; and we may fairly infer that the functions of the village-accountant constitute one of the permanent features of the agrarian system. The main changes effected by Alauddin originated in the effort to realise internal security; but one important detail was the result of the pressure of the Mongols on the frontier. Shortly after the adoption of the regulations which have just been described, the King made an expedition into Rajputana. It was not very successful, and when he returned with his army tired and disorganised, a strong force of Mongols appeared suddenly outside Delhi. For a short time the kingdom was in imminent danger; and, when the Mongols eventually withdrew, the King turned his attention to the prevention of such attacks in future. The frontier detences were duly re-organised; but, in addition to the troops stationed there, he decided that it was neces- sary to maintain a large and efficient standing army, not scattered over the country in Assignments, but concen- trated in the neighbourhood of the capital, and paid in cash from the royal treasury. Here, however, financial con- siderations obtruded themselves. It was a time of in- flation; prices, and consequently wages, were high; and it

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