Remunerations of sovereignty
Topic: Mughal Agrarian Society and Economy · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Through the Eyes of Travellers"
Meaning
This is how Abu'l Fazl described Mughal land revenue. He said it was a payment the ruler claimed from his subjects for protecting them. He did not see it as rent on land that the ruler owned. The phrase matters because it shows the Mughal state did not claim to own all the land.
Example
In the Ain-i Akbari, completed in 1598, Abu'l Fazl calls land revenue "remunerations of sovereignty". Historians set this against the French traveller François Bernier. Bernier claimed that the Mughal emperor owned all the land and that there was no private property in land.
Don't confuse with
- Rent: a payment to the owner of land. Abu'l Fazl's idea was a payment for protection, not for the land.
Related concepts
- Mughal land revenue system
- Jama
- Hasil
- Amalguzar
- Kankut
- Batai
- Khet-batai
- Lang batai
- Classification of lands under Akbar
- Polaj