Zitierweise / cite as:
Payer, Alois <1944 - >: Quellenkunde zur indischen Geschichte bis 1858. -- 14. Quellen auf Arabisch, Persisch und in Turksprachen. -- 5. Zum Beispiel: Abū 'l-Faẓl ibn Mubārak <1551 - 1602> (ابو الفضل): Ā’īn-i-Akbarī (آئین اکبری), II.19. -- Fassung vom 2008-05-16. -- http://www.payer.de/quellenkunde/quellen145.htm
Erstmals publiziert als:
Abū 'l-Faz̤l ibn Mubārak <1551-1602>: The Ā'īn- Akbarī / [by] Abū 'l-Faẓl 'Allāmī; translated into English by H. Blochmann [1838 - 1878]. -- 2nd ed. / revised and ed. by D. C. Phillott. -- Calcutta : Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1927-1949. -- 3 Bde : Ill. ; 25 cm. -- (Bibliotheca Indica ; work no. 61,270,271). -- Vol. 2-3: translated into English by H. S. Jarrett [1839 - 1919]; corrected by Jadu-Nath Sarkar. -- Bd. I, S. 278 - 285. -- Online: http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main. -- Zugriff am 2008-05-15
Erstmals hier publiziert: 2008-05-16
Überarbeitungen:
Anlass: Lehrveranstaltung FS 2008
©opyright: Public domain.
Dieser Text ist Teil der Abteilung Sanskrit von Tüpfli's Global Village Library
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His Majesty, in his care for the nation, confers benefits on people of various classes; and in the higher wisdom which God has conferred upon him, he considers doing so an act of divine worship.
His Majesty, from his desire to promote rank distinctions, confers lands and subsistence allowances on the following four classes of men,
Subsistence allowances, paid in cash, are called Wazīfa; lands conferred are called Milk, or Madad-i ma'āsh. In this way, krors are given away, and yet the grants are daily increasing in number.
As the circumstances of men have to be enquired into, before grants are made, and their petitions must be considered in fairness, an experienced man of correct intentions is employed for this office. He ought to be at peace with every party, and must be kind towards the people at large in word and action. Such an officer is called Ṣadr. The Qāzī and the Mīr 'Adl are under his orders. He is assisted in his important duties by a clerk, who has to look after the financial business, and is now-a-days styled Dīwān-i Sa'ādat.
His Majesty, in his mercy, orders his servants to introduce to him such [S. 279] as are worthy of grants, and a large number receive the assistance they desire.
When His Majesty commenced to enquire into this department, it was discovered that the former Ṣadrs had been guilty of bribery and dishonest practices. He therefore appointed, at the recommendation of near friends, Shaykh 'Abdu'n-Nabī to this important office. The lands which were then held by Afghāns and Chaudrīs, were taken away, and became domain lands (khalṣā), whilst all others that held grants were referred to the Shaykh who enquired into, and certified, their grants. After some time it was reported that those who held grants, had not the lands in one and the same place, whereby the weak whose grounds lay near khāliṣah lands or near the jāgīrs of Manṣabdārs, were exposed to vexations, and were encroached upon by unprincipled men. His Majesty then ordered that they should get lands on one spot, which they might choose. This order proved beneficial for both parties. The officers of the government, on receiving this order, told off certain villages for this purpose: those who were weak were protected, and the encroachments of the unprincipled were put a stop to.
But when Time, according to his custom, commenced to tear the veil of secrets, rumours also regarding this Ṣadr ['Abdu'n-Nabī] came to the ears of His Majesty. An order was therefore given that all those who held more than five hundred bīghas should lay their farmāns personally before His Majesty, and in default, should lose their lands. As, however, the practices of these grant-holders did not come up to the wise counsels of His Majesty, the order was passed, that the excess of all lands above one hundred bīghas, if left unspecified in the farmāns, should be reduced to two-fifths of it, three-fifths of the excess being annexed to the domain lands. Īrānī and Tūrānī women alone were excepted from this rule.
As it was reported that impudent, avaricious people used to leave their old grounds, and take possession of new places, it was ordered that every one who should leave his place, should lose one-fourth of his lands and receive a new grant.
Again, when His Majesty discovered that the Qāzīs were in the habit of taking bribes from the grant-holders, he resolved, with the view of obtaining God's favour, to place no further reliance on these men [the Qāzis], who wear a turban as a sign of respectability, but are bad at heart, and who wear long sleeves, but fall short in sense. He examined into the whole matter, and dismissed all Qāzīs, except those who had been appointed during the Ṣadrship of Sulṭān Khwājah. The Īrānī and Tūrānī [S. 279] women also were convicted of fraud, and the order was passed that every excess of land above one hundred bīghas held by them, should be enquired into, whether it was correctly held or not.
During the Ṣadrship of 'Azīu'd-DaWla [Mīr Fathu'llāh of Shīrāz] the following order was given:—If any one held a Suyūrghāl together with a partner, and the farmān contained no reference to the share possessed by each partner, the Ṣadr should, in the event of one of the partners dying, proceed without further enquiry to a division, the share of the deceased partner lapsing to the Crown and remaining domain land, till the heirs should personally apply to His Majesty. The new Ṣadr was at the same time prevented from granting, without previous reference to His Majesty, more than fifteen bīghas.
On account of the general peace and security in the empire, the grant-holders commenced to lay out their lands in gardens, and thereby derived so much profit, that it tempted the greediness of the Government officers, who had certain notions of how much was sufficient for Suyūrghāl-holders, to demand revenue taxes; but this displeased His Majesty, who commanded that such profits should not be interfered with.
Again, when it was found out that holders of one hundred bīghas and even less were guilty of bribery, the order was given that Mīr Ṣadr Jahān should bring these people before His Majesty; and afterwards it was determined that the Ṣadr with the concurrence of the writer of this work should either increase or decrease the grants. The rule now followed is this, that all Suyūrghāl land should consist of one-half of tilled land, and of one-half of land capable of cultivation; if the latter half be not so [i. e., if the whole be tilled land], one-fourth of the whole should be taken away and a new grant be issued for the remainder.
The revenue derived from each bīgha varies in the several districts, but is never less than one rupee.
His Majesty, with the view of teaching wisdom and promoting true piety, pays much attention to this department, and appoints disinterested men as Ṣadrs of districts and Ṣadr of the realm.
In this Ā'īn—one of the most interesting in the whole work—the Chagatā'ī word sayūrghāl is translated by the Arabic madadul-ma'āsh, in Persian madad-i ma'āsh, for which we often find in MSS. madad o ma'āsh. The latter term signifies ‘assistance of livelihood,’ and, like its equivalent milk, or property, it denotes lands given for benevolent purposes, as specified by Abū'l-Fazl. Such lands were hereditary, and differ for [S. 281] this reason from jāgīr or tuyūl lands, which were conferred, for a specified time, on Manṣabdārs in lieu of salaries.
This Ā'īn proves that Akbar considerably interfered with Suyūrghāl lands, arbitrarily resuming whatever lands he liked, and increasing the domain, or khāliṣah, lands to the ruin of many a Muhammadan (Afghān) family. He also completely broke the power of the Ṣadr, whose dignity, especially before the Moghul dynasty, had been very great. It was the Ṣadr, or as he was then generally styled, Ṣadr-i Jahān, whose edict legalized the julūs, or accession, of a new king. During the reign of Akbar also, he ranked as the fourth officer of the empire (vide end of Ā'īn 30). Their power was immense. They were the highest law-officers, and had the powers which Administrators-General have among us; they were in charge of all lands devoted to ecclesiastical and benevolent purposes, and possessed an almost unlimited authority of conferring such lands independently of the king. They were also the highest ecclesiastical law-officers, and might exercise the powers of High Inquisitors. Thus 'Abdu'n-Nabī, during his Ṣadrship, ordered two men to be killed for heresy (vide p. 186, l. 4 from below).
In the times before the Moghuls, the terms idrārāt, wazāif, milk, in'ām-i dehhā, in'ām-i zamīnhā, &c., occur for the word sayūrghāl (or siyūrgāl, or sughurghāl, as some dictionaries spell it.)
Among the former kings, 'Alāu'd-Dīn-i Khiljī is notorious for the disregard with which he cancelled the grants of former rulers. He resumed the greater part of the madad-i ma'āsh tenures, and made them domain lands. He also lowered the dignity of the Ṣadr by appointing his keybearer to this high office (Tārīkh-i Fīrūzshāhī, p. 353). Quṭbu'd-Dīn Mubārakshāh, however, during the four years and four months of his reign, reinstated many whom 'Alāu'd-Dīn had deprived (T. F., p. 382). Fīrūz Shāh is still more praised for his liberality in conferring lands (T. F., p. 558).
That Sher Shāh has often been accused by Moghul Historians for his bounty in conferring lands, has been mentioned above (p. 256, note); and this may have been one of the reasons why Akbar shewed such an unexpected severity towards the grant-holders of his time.
Each Ṣūbā had a Ṣadr-i juz, or Provincial Ṣadr, who was under the orders of the Chief Ṣadr (Ṣadr-i Jahān, or Ṣadr-i kul, or Ṣadr-i Ṣudūr).
As in every other department, bribery was extensively carried on in the offices of the Ṣadrs. The land specified in the farmān of a holder [S. 282] rarely corresponded in extent to the land which he actually held; or the language of the farmān was ambiguously worded, to enable the holder to take possession of as much as he could, and keep it as long as he bribed the Qāzīs and provincial Ṣadrs. Hence Akbar had every reason, after repeated enquiries, to cancel grants conferred by former rulers. The religious views of the emperor (vide p. 167), and the hatred which he shewed to the 'Ulamā, most of whom held lands, furnished him with a personal, and therefore stronger, reason to resume their grants, and drive them away to Bhakkar in Sind, or to Bengal, the climate of which, in those days, was as notorious as, in later days, that of Gombroon. After the fall of 'Abdu'n-Nabī—a man whom Akbar used once to honor by holding the slippers before his feet,—Sulṭān Khwājah, a member of the Divine Faith, (vide p. 204) was appointed as Ṣadr; and the Ṣadrs after him were so limited in conferring lands independently of Akbar, and had so few grants to look after, as to tempt Badāonī to indulge in sarcastical remarks. The following were Akbar's Ṣadrs:—
Abū'l-Fazl also mentions a Ṣadr Mawlānā 'Abdu'l-Bāqī; but I do not know when he held office.
I extract a few short passages from Badāonī.
Page 29. Shaykh Gadā'ī cancelled the Madad-i ma'āsh lands, and took away the legacies of the Khānzādas (Afghāns), and gave a Suyūrghāl to any one that would bear up with humiliating treatment, but not otherwise. Nevertheless, in comparison with the present time, when obstacles are raised to the possession of every jarīb of ground, nay, even less, you may call the Shaykh an 'Ālambakhsh (one who gives away a world).
Page 52. After Shaykh Gadā'ī, Khājagī Muḥammad Ṣāliḥ was, in 968, appointed Ṣadr; but he did not possess such extensive powers in conferring lands as madad-i ma'āsh, because he was dependent on the Dīwāns.
Page 71. In 972, or perhaps more correctly in 971, Shaykh 'Abdu'n-Nabī was made Ṣadr. In giving away lands, he was to consult Muzaffar Khān, at that time Vazīr and Vakīl. But soon after, the Shaykh acquired [S. 283] such absolute powers, that he conferred on deserving people whole worlds of subsistence allowances, lands, and pensions, so much so that if you place the grants of all former kings of Hindūstān in one scale, and those of the Shaykh into the other, his scale would weigh more. But several years later the scale went up, as it had been under former kings, and matters took an adverse turn.
Page 204. In 983, His Majesty gave the order that the Ayimahs of the whole empire should not be let off by the krorīs of each Pergana, unless they brought the farmāns in which their grants, subsistence allowances, and pensions were described, to the Ṣadr for inspection and verification. For this reason, a large number of worthy people, from the eastern districts up to Bhakkar on the Indus, came to Court. If any of them had a powerful protector in one of the grandees or near friends of His Majesty, he could manage to have his affair settled; but those who were destitute of such recommendations, had to bribe Sayyid 'Abdu'r-Rasūl, the Shaykh's head man, or make presents to his farrāshes, darbāns (porters), syces (grooms), and mihtars (sweepers), ‘in order to get their blanket out of the mire.’ Unless, however, they had either strong recommendations, or had recourse to bribery, they were utterly ruined. Many of the Ayimahs, without obtaining their object, died from the heat caused by the crowding of the multitudes. Though a report of this came to the ears of His Majesty, no one dared to take these unfortunate people before the emperor. And when the Shaykh, in all his pride and haughtiness, sat upon his masnad (cushion), and influential grandees introduced to him, in his office, scientific or pious men, the Shaykh received them in his filthy way, paid respect to no one, and after much asking, begging, and exaggerating, he allowed, for example, a teacher of the Hidāya (a book on law) and other college books 100 Bīghas, more or less; and though such a man might have been for a long time in possession of more extensive lands, the Shaykh took them away. But to men of no renown, to low fellows, even to Hindus, he gave primitive lands as marks of personal favour. Hence science and scientific men fell in estimation. ... At no time had a Ṣadr, for so long a time, exercised more tyrannical powers.
The fate of Abdu'n-Nabī has been related above. Akbar gave him money for the poor of Makkah, and sent him on a pilgrimage. When he came back, he was called to account for the money, was put in prison, and murdered ‘by some scoundrel’ in 992. [S. 284]
The next Ṣadr was Sulṭān Khwājah. Matters relating to Suyūrghāls now took a very different course. Akbar had rejected the Islām, and the new Ṣadr, who had just returned from Makkah, become a member of the Divine Faith. The systematic persecution of the learned and the lawyers had commenced, and His Majesty enquired personally into all grants (vide p. 199, second para.). The lands were now steadily withdrawn, and according to Badāonī, who had managed to get 1000 bīghas, at first to the great disgust of 'Abdu'n-Nabī, many a Muhammadan family was impoverished or utterly ruined.
In 993, Fathu'llāh of Shīrāz (vide p. 34) was appointed Ṣadr. As the Suyūrghāl duties, and with them the dignity of the Ṣadr, had dwindled down to nothing, Fathu'llāh, though Ṣadr, could be spared for missions to the Dakhin, Bad. p. 343.
“His Shīrāzī servant Kamāl officiated for him during his absence, and looked after these lacklands of Ayima-dārs, who had a few spots here and there; for the dignity of the Ṣadr had approached its kamāl (perfection). Fathu'llāh had not even the power of conferring five bīghas: in fact he was an imaginary Ṣadr, as all lands had been withdrawn. And yet, the lands which had been withdrawn became the dwelling-places of wild animals, and thus belonged neither to the Ayima-dārs, nor to farmers. However, of all these oppressions, there is at least a record left in the books of the Ṣadr, though of the office of the Ṣadr the name only is left.
Page 368. Fathu'llāh [the Ṣadr himself] laid before His Majesty a bag containing the sum of Rs. 1,000, which his collector by means of oppression, or under the pretext that an Ayima-dār was not forthcoming or dead, had squeezed out of the widows and unfortunate orphans of the Pargana of Basāwar [which was his jāgīr], and said, “My collectors have this much collected from the Ayima-dārs as a kifāyat (i. e. because the collectors thought the Suyūrghāl holders had more than sufficient to live upon).” But the emperor allowed him to keep the sum for himself.
The next Ṣadr, Ṣadr Jahān, was a member of the Divine Faith. Though appointed Ṣadr immediately after the death of Fathu'llāh, Badāonī continues calling him Muftī-yi mamālik-i maḥrūsa, the Muftī of [S. 285] the empire, which had been his title before. Perhaps it was no longer necessary to have a separate officer for the Ṣadrship. Ṣadr Jahān continued to serve under Jahāngīr.
A great portion of the Suyūrghāl lands is specified by Abū'l-Fazl in the geographical tables of the Third Book.
Zu: 6. Zum Beispiel: Abū 'l-Faẓl ibn Mubārak <1551 - 1602> (ابو الفضل): Ā’īn-i-Akbarī (آئین اکبری), III.5 - 14.