Medieval revenue mapping
Also called: Todarmal's land survey · Topic: Maps and Map Scale · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 1 "Introduction to Maps"
Meaning
In medieval India, land was surveyed and mapped so that rulers could collect revenue (land tax). Sher Shah Suri's revenue maps improved map-making techniques. Raja Todarmal, Akbar's finance minister, made land survey and map-making a regular part of revenue collection. Measuring each piece of land made it easier to fix a fair tax and keep records of who held the land.
Example
Under Akbar, the Mughal lands of north India were measured field by field under Todarmal's system. Tax was then fixed for each field. This idea is the root of today's village land records.
Don't confuse with
- Cadastral map: this is the modern map that shows who owns each plot, with plot boundaries and numbers. Villages are mapped at 1:4,000. Medieval revenue mapping was the early form of this practice.