“The Great Emperor [Akbar] has directed that the mansabdars, who hold positions of trust and command, must maintain their designated contingents of cavalry and matchlockmen. Let it be known that the chiefs of the Rajputs and the nobles of the conquered Deccan provinces, having submitted to the shadow of the imperial throne, are granted estates [jagirs] to sustain their troops. By this means, the imperial host is swelled by the very men who once opposed it, and the borders of the empire are pushed ever further into the southern lands.”
—Abu'l-Fazl, Akbarnama (Book of Akbar), c. 1590s
Which of the following best describes the primary political purpose of the administrative policy detailed in the passage?
- AThe replication of the Ottoman devshirme system in India to recruit enslaved Christian youth as elite matchlock units.
- BThe adoption of Safavid administrative models that relocated the Mughal capital to Persia to coordinate joint offensives against the Ottomans.
- The incorporation of defeated regional elites into a centralized military-bureaucratic system to stabilize and sustain territorial expansion.Cevap
- DThe institutionalization of Sikhism as a state-sponsored syncretic faith to eliminate religious friction along the northern borders.
Cevap
The incorporation of defeated regional elites into a centralized military-bureaucratic system to stabilize and sustain territorial expansion.
The correct option is correct because the Mughal Empire consolidated and expanded its rule by integrating local leaders and former adversaries (such as Rajput rulers and Deccan nobles) into the imperial administration. This co-optation secured local loyalty and provided the state with the cavalry and taxes necessary to continue expanding its borders.
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Anahtar Kavram
The use of centralized bureaucratic systems, such as the Mughal mansabdari system, to integrate conquered elites and consolidate imperial authority during territorial expansion.