Mughal Empire: Silver Rupiya and Historical Writing

Introduction

• From the 15th through the 18th century, the Mughal Empire dominated
• The Mughals created a high-quality, lightweight cotton fabric that was more pleasant to wear in the heat than wool or linen, as Europeans discovered
• Cotton was one of the numerous valuable trading items that fueled the Mughal economy, along with agricultural output
• In terms of their economic situation, agricultural output was crucial to the Mughal economy since the empire was primarily rural
• The Mughal authorities made certain that these agricultural items were taxed in order to generate income
• And, as agricultural fields grew in the 17th and 18th centuries, Mughal economic development soared, with the economy reaching hundreds of millions of rupees every year
• Foreign trade augmented agricultural output in the Mughal economy. For ages, India has served as the focal point of Indian Ocean commerce
• However, by the 16th century, with Europeans linking the globe via sea channels, India had been connected into the global network
• The Mughals also started allowing European ports to be built along the coastlines
• Silver from Spanish America and foreign consumables flooded into the Mughal Empire as a result of this foreign trade
• However, by the end of the 18th century, the British had taken control of the Mughal Empire

The Flow of Silver

• The Mughal Empire was one of Asia’s most powerful territorial empires. The Ming (China), Safavid (Iran), and Ottoman empires were the three empires in question
• All of these empires’ political stability aided the development of thriving overland commerce networks stretching from China to the Mediterranean
• As a result, India’s international trade had become more geographically diverse
• Large amounts of silver bullion were carried into Asia by expanding trade to pay for products purchased in India
• Because India lacked natural silver resources, this ensured that metal currency, notably the silver Rupya, was always available

The Ain i Akbari of Abu l Fazl Allami

• It was the climax of Emperor Akbar’s instruction for Abu ‘l Fazl to complete a massive historical and administrative classification project
• It was part of a wider historical writing endeavor commissioned by Akbar. The Akbar Nama was a three-volume history written by Akbar
• The first two told a story about history
• The third volume, the Ain-i Akbari, served as a compendium of imperial legislation as well as a gazetteer of the empire
• The Ain is divided into five books (daftars), the first three of which detail the administration
• The imperial family and its upkeep are the subjects of the first book, manzil-Abadi
• The military and civil administration, as well as the establishment of servants, are covered in the second book, sipah-abadi. Notices and brief biographical sketches of imperial officials (mansabdars), erudite men, poets, and artists are also included
• The third volume, mulk-abadi, deals with the empire’s finances and includes detailed quantitative data on revenue rates, followed by the “Account of the Twelve Provinces”
• The geographical, geographical, and economic profiles of all subas, as well as their administrative and fiscal divisions (sarkars, Parganas, and mahals), total measured area, and assessed revenue, are all included in this section (Jama)
• It examines the sarkars in-depth, including parganat/mahal qila (forts) arazi and zamin-i paimuda (measured area) naqdi, revenue assessed in cash suyurghal, and revenue grants to charitable zamindars
• The castes of these zamindars are listed in columns 7 and 8
• The fourth and fifth books feature a collection of Akbar’s “auspicious sayings” as well as religious, literary, and cultural traditions
• The author updated the manuscript five times, and oral testimonies were cross-checked and verified