ADMINISTRATION OF

THE EMPIRE
First of all, it should be recognized that the
Mughals drew heavily on the past, for the
organization of their government was on
essentially the same lines as that of the
sultanate. The principal officers of the
central government were four: 1) diwan
2) mir bakhshi 3) mir saman and 4) sadr.
The first of these dignitaries, the diwan,
often called the wazir (the chief minister),
was mainly concerned with revenue and
finance, but as he had a say in all matters
where any expenditure was involved, the
work of other departments also came under
his control. All the imperial orders were first
recorded in his office before being issued,
and the provincial governors, district
faujdars, and leaders of expeditions came to
him for instructions before assuming their
duties. All the earning departments were
under his direct control, and could spend
only what was allotted to them by the diwan.
The mir bakhshi performed those duties
which had been the responsibility of
the ariz-i-mamalik during the earlier period.
Owing to the organization of the civil
services on military lines, his power
extended far beyond the war office, and
some foreign travelers called him the
lieutenant-general or the captain-general of
the realm. The main departure from the
sultanate was in respect to work relating to
state karkhanas, stores , ordinance, and
communications, now so important that the
dignitary dealing with it, called the mir
saman, as an important minister often senior
in rank to the sadr. The sadr (or, more fully,
sadr-i-jahan) was, as in the earlier period,
director of the religious matters, charities,
and endowments.
Occasionally a higher dignitary, superior
to the wazir and other ministers was also
appointed. He was called the vakil, and
functioned like the naib (deputy) of the
sultanate period. This appointment, as under
the sultanate, was sporadic, depending on
the wish of the monarch and the
requirements of the situation. During the
reigns of Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan, a
period of ninety-seven years (15601657),
there were ten vakils whose terms of service
totaled about thirty-nine years. Ibn Hasan,
the author of the Central Structure of the
Mughal Empire, argues that the post was
primarily for show and honor, with the vakil
as the head of the nobility but not of the
administration. To a large extent this is true,
and normally the vakil was less effective
than the wazir, who controlled the purse, but
theoretically the vakil was the king's deputy
and even the wazir referred to him whatever
was "beyond his own ability." Abul Fazl
calls him "the emperor's lieutenant in all
matters connected with the realm and the
household," adding that "although the
financial offices are not under his immediate
superintendence, yet he receives the returns
from heads of all financial offices and
wisely keeps abstracts of their return.
 The splendor and stability of the
Mughal rule was due to a succession of very
capable rulers who attempted to build up an
efficient administrative system, choosing
their principal officers on the basis of merit.
The most famous diwan under Akbar was
Raja Todar Mal, who for a time acted as the
chief minister of the realm, but the
contribution of Khwaja Mansur and Mir
Fathulla Shirazi to the building up of
Akbar's revenue administration was perhaps
equally great. Under Jahangir, Itimad-ud-
Daula, the father of Nur Jahan, who was a
diwan even before his daughter married the
emperor, remained the chief wazir and
diwan until his death. He was succeeded by
his son, Asaf Khan, who became the vakil
just before the death of Jahangir. Itimad-ud-
Daula and Asaf Khan were able, efficient
officers. Asaf Khan maintained his position
until his death, but his successors were
selected on the basis of their scholarship and
technical efficiency. Allami Afzal Khan
remained Shah Jahan's diwan for ten years,
and the office was held from the nineteenth
to the thirtieth years of Shah Jahan's reign
by the celebrated Saadulla Khan who, like
his predecessor, had won his post because of
his learning, wisdom, and resourcefulness.