Mansabdar

noun

/mʌnˈsʌbdɑːr/

A military-civil official in the Mughal Empire who held a ranked position (mansab) determining his status, salary, and obligation to maintain a prescribed number of cavalry, with dual designations of zat (personal) and sawar (horsemen) ranks.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

Akbar's institution of the mansabdar system fused civil and military authority into a single graded cadre, pre-figuring the modern debate over an all-India administrative service whose officers owe loyalty to the state rather than to any regional patron.

Synonyms

rank-holderimperial officerMughal officialdignitarymilitary commandernoble

Antonyms

commonersubjectryotpeasant

🌱 Word Family

mansabdari (n), mansab (n), zat (n related), sawar (n related)

🔡 Root

Arabic mansab (منصب) = rank, position, office + Persian -dar = holder; lit. 'holder of a rank'

📜 Etymology

From Arabic mansab (منصب, "rank, position, office"), combining with the Persian agent suffix -dar ("holder"); literally "holder of a rank" — the system was introduced by Akbar to replace the irregular Sultanate nobility with a graded, centrally controlled bureaucracy.

🧠 Memory Hook

Break it as "mansab" (rank) + "dar" (holder, as in zamindar, chowkidar, thanedar) — a MAN given a SAB-stantial rank he must hold (DAR) for the emperor.

🏛️ History & Culture 📖 Seen in: Medieval Administration & Revenue Syst...

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