The Mughal and the Trading of Horses in India, 1526-1707

By: R.B. Azad Choudhary Assistant Professor, Hindu College, University of Delhi

International Journal of History and Cultural Studies (IJHCS)  Volume 3, Issue 1, 2017, PP 1-18  

ISSN 2454-7646 (Print) & ISSN 2454-7654 (Online)  DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20431/2454-7654.0301001  www.arcjournals.org 

Abstract: This paper is an effort to study about the Mughal military culture and socio-economic importance of  horses during the Mughal period. It explores the military and economic significance of the horses and its  importance in the cavalry that was the mainstay of the Mughal army.It was the Mughal army that was the  vanguard of the Mughal expansion. The most crucial feature of the Mughal army was its cavalry. The centrality  of the horses in the cavalry regiment helped in the centralisation of the Mughal Empire.¹The Mughal cavalry  was admixture of „Turco-Mongol‟, Central Asian, Middle East Asian and Indian warriors, especially the  horsemen. Apart from the military man power, the geographical fringes of the above mentioned also  procured/supplied the best quality of the Arabian, Persian, Turki, Tuzuki, Qabuli, Qandhari and Janglah Horses  to the Mughals. ² The good horses were imported to the Mughal state from Arabia, Iran, Turan, Turkey,  Turkestan, Badakhshan, Shirwan, Qirghiz, Tibbet, Kashmir and other countries. This paper argues that the  centrality of the horses in the Mughal „military-civil‟ necessities encouraged the Emperors to establish control  on the trade of war-horses, land-routes and other enterpots of the horses. The safety and security provided to  trading activities was aimed to encourage the continuous supply of war-horses to the Mughal army. The  continuous procurement of war-horses from Central Asian regions and neighboring countries established the  Mughal superiority in cavalry warfare. Apart from the land routes, horses were also imported trough the sea routes, mainly from the countries of the Safavids and the Ottomans and the Uzbeks. Kabul and Qandhar were  the major entrepots on the land-routes in the Mughal India for the horse traders. The ports of Surat, Cambay,  Kutch, Thatta,,Lahori Bandar and Sonargoan were the major entrepots for the bahri horses. This paper  suggests that due to the crucial role of horses in the state building, the Mughals encouraged horse trading and  invested in horse breeding too. In order to establish control over the horse trade, the Mughal Emperors  established friendly and diplomatic relations with the neighbouringcountries, provided protection to merchants  and facilitated the trade by constructing proper roads and caravansarais and controlled the banditry through  suppressing tribal and local insurgency. Apart from the construction of the fortified post at regular intervals,  the Mughal Emperors also issued farmans on regular intervals addressed to the state officials (like amin,  mansabdars, kotwals, zamindars and mutasaddis etc), for the remission of taxes for promoting the horse trade.  They further suggested to officers to reduce heavy taxes and to provide proper safety and security to the  merchants and their merchandise to encourage the trade within India. Due to the centrality of the horses, the  horse traders even enjoyed close ties with the courtiers, and got multiple favours and administrative post in  return. This paper also argues that the horses have been culturally considered more than the „resources‟ and  „units of state-formation‟. The utility and significance of horse in domestic, military and commercial milieu  revealed its symbolic value and it became a representative of power and authority. This research is an effort to  highlight the significance of the animal, who was mainstay of the Mughal military.  

Keywords: military-civil, bahri, luharnis, caravansarais, khasa entrepots, mutasaddi, darogha 

1. INTRODUCTION  

The Mughal had always given weightage to cavalry in their army structure.³ It was the elementary and  most reliable structure of their army. The horses were the integral part of the Mughal‟s military and  political culture which was specially used for the aristocratic occupations of war, pageantry and  riding.⁴ The ranking of the Mughal mansabdars were represented by the dual rank of zat and sawar;  the former determined mansabdar‟s personal pay (talab-i-khasa) and his status in official hierarchy  and the latter (sawar) rank indicated the size of cavalry (horses and horsemen) unit under his  command as well as the sanctioned amount of payment for maintaining the horsemen.⁵ It also draws  attention to the importance of warrior-administrators as an integral part of Mughal bureaucratic  structure.⁶ William Irvine has provided the detailed accounts on the number of the cavalry forces  employed in the army of various Mughal emperors.⁷ The estimated number of the cavalry force under  Mughal Emperor Muhamad Shah was 200,000; which was approximately half of the cavalry strength of Mughal Emperor Akbar.⁸ Throughout the dominant Mughal period, 1526-1707 A.D., the Mughals  maintained a larger cavalry force and it was their main military strength.  

The excessive hot and humid ecological conditions of India were not favourable for the ideal breeding  of the horses. Due to hot and monsoon conditions the breeding of the best quality of horses was not  possible in India. The adverse variations in Indian topography also decreased the standard life span  and breeding capacity of the horses. Further, the Indian grasses were less nutritional in comparison of  the grasses of the Central and Middle-East Asia. In India the breeding was popular in certain limited  areas but their standard was lower than the Arabian, Persian and Turki horses.⁹ The Indian breed of  the horses was not able to match the standard and quality of the horses imported from the foreign  countries. Therefore, to attain the superior quality of horses in the imperial army, the Mughals heavily  depended on the horse trade from the countries of Arab, Iran and Central Asia. The arid zone of  Middle-East Asia and Central Asia was the soul and centre for the breeding and produced the best  quality horses, like Arabian, Persian, Tuzuki, and Turki which were in huge demand by the Mughals  due to their political and military consumptions. Francisco Pelsaert describes that 76% of the imperial  horses were of Arabian, Persian and Turkish breed and were imported from the countries of Middle East Asia and Central Asia.¹⁰ The imported horses were more expensive and the imperial documents  reveal that the Mughal had spent maximum of their revenue share on the purchase of quality horses.  

From the period of 16^th to the end of 17^th century the Mughals played a very critical role in  maintaining and continuing the regular import of horses for the imperial services. In order to keep  control over the horse trade the Mughals even established friendly relations with the neighbouring  countries and provided protection to merchants by constructing proper road¹¹ and caravansarais.¹² They also controlled the banditry by appointing regional influential element into Mughal aristocracy and constructing fortified posts to guard the route. The Mughals even granted advantages and  subsidies to local tribal people for protecting the long distance trade in the north-western frontier  areas. The Mughals attempted to link the trade politics of the frontier and inter-regional areas with the  centre. They controlled the long-distance trade routes and made them safe by engaging the local  populace in imperial service. The consistently moving and shifting Mughal court and army through  the embracing large medieval capitals of Lahore, Delhi and Agra rooted their power deeply at inter regional level and granted security to trading activities.¹³ Mughal officials exercised the much deeper  control over commerce and production (agricultural and industrial) to regulate and collect the  revenues. It worked in the favour of the Mughal state and strengthened the imperial treasury. The  protection and security of overland trade routes also helped in the expansion of the Mughal  boundaries in dual way; first they provided protection and security to the trading activities which  generated extra revenue for the state; on the other hand, it increased the Mughal‟s conquest and  expansion through constant and regular supplying of the food and fodder during the war time.¹⁴ Abul  Fazl tells that the merchants brought the horses to the Mughal court from various countries of Arab,  Iran, Turan, Turkey, Turkestan, Badakhshan, Shirwan, Qirghiz, and other part of the Central Asia  through the overland routes via Kabul.¹⁵ The good bahri horses were also imported via sea-routes to  the Mughal ports of Surat, Cambay, Kutch, Thatta, Lahori Bandar, Broach, Hugli and Sonargoan.¹⁶  

2. LAND-ROUTES FOR HORSE TRADING IN INDIA  

The overland-route of the horses moved along the following regions of Mughal suba Kabul, Qandhar,  Multan, and Thatta. The borders of suba Kabul overlapped with the Uzbek‟s territories in north, while  the south-western part of suba Kabul, western part of Qandahar, Multan and Thatta bordered with the  political boundaries of the Safavids.¹⁷ Kabul and Qandhar were the major entrepots on overland trade  route for the commodities imported from the Empire of Uzbeks and Safavids. The overland caravan  trade routes from Kabul were diverted into two separate directions. One went to the territories of the  Uzbeks via the Hindu Kush passes to Balkh, Bukhara, Samarkand and Khiva. Consequently, another went to Qandahar in India and Herat in the territories of the Safavids. The Punjab and Sindh border of  suba Multan and Thatta was directly connected to Iran via the overland route from Qandahar. The  Mughal entrepot of Qandahar was connected to the Safavid cities of Herat, Kirman, Farrah, Isfahan,  Shiraz, Bandar Abbas and Bushira through trade routes. The overland trade route from Qandahar was  connected to Kabul, Peshawar, Atak (Attok), Amritsar, Lahore and Kashmir in north and northern east direction. While on the other hand it was connected to Shikarpur, Dera Gazni Khan, Thatta,  Multan, Bahawalpur, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jaipur and Jodhpur in south and southern-east direction.  Travernier says in his travels about the overland trade route from Agra to Qandahar that “there were  two routes to reach Qandahar via Kabul through crossing the Khyber pass or via Multan crossing the  Gomal, Sanghar and Sarwand passes”.¹⁸ The Multan route was shorter than the Lahore-Kabul Qandahar route by 10 days but the caravan merchants scarcely ever took Multan-Qandahar route.  

  Because it was almost a desert country and the caravan had to move 3 or 4 days without water.¹⁹ Most  of the overland trade in-between Mughal and Safavid territories were channelized through the Multan Qandahar route via crossing the Bolan Pass in south and Sanghar and Gomal passes in north.  

The overland routes of Bukhara-Kabul-Lahore (via crossing Khyber pass), Qandahar-Kabul-Lahore  (via crossing Khyber pass), Qandahar-Multan (via crossing Sanghar, Sarwand and Gomal passes) and  Qandahar-Shikarpur (via crossing the Bolan Pass) were the main caravan overland routes through  which the horses were imported to India from the territories of Uzbeks and Safavids. Lahore,  Peshawar, Multan, Kabul, Qandahar, Shikarpur, Atak (Attok) and Amritsar were the major entrepots  on these land routes.²⁰ On the Indian side it connected to the inter-regional markets, cities, animal fair  and qasbas via the Grand Trunk Roads constructed by Sher Shah Suri. The Grand Trunk Road  connected the Ganga-Yamuna doab regions from Sonargaon on the edge of Bay of Bengal to Central  and Western Asia through Peshawar, Lahore, Delhi, Agra, Allahabad, Benares and Dhaka. In south ward direction the city of Agra was further connected to Burhanpur, on the borders of the Deccan,  while in the south-west direction it was connected to Jodhpur and Chittor, which were further  connected or linked to Lahore and Multan through the roads.²¹ This trade route network was the route  above which horses were imported into India from the countries of Iran, Turan and Central Asia.  

The environment of Central and Middle-East Asia was favourable for breeding of all kind of horses.  Especially the Arabian, Persian, Turki and Tuzuki horses were produced for trading purposes. Due to  their strength and stamina, the horses mainly of the Arabian, Persian, Tuzuki, and Turki breeds were  greater in demand among the people of the Mughal court. They were recruited mainly for the royal  services, and military necessities. The types of horses which were imported to India were mainly  Bahri (the Arabian and Persian horses) which were brought to India via sea (Bahr) routes and the  other are Turki and Tuzuki horses which were brought through the land routes. The horses of Turki  and Tuzuki breeds were brought to Hindustan via the long distance caravan trade routes of north western frontiers after crossing the Khyber, Sarwand, Sanghar, Gomal and Bolan passes. Mostly the  Central Asian horses were brought by the Luharnis and Afghani merchants who use to travel along  with caravans of Powindah trading nomads.²² 

Babur has narrated about the trading of horses in his auto-biography Babur-nama. He notes that about  7,000 to 10,000 Turki horses were annually taken to Kabul for their sale in the Indian markets.²³ It  was further sent to the Indian inter-regional markets and animal fairs by the horse trader and local  merchants. The detail given by Babur indicates that there was a huge demand of the horses in northern  Indian markets. Francois Bernier notes that about 25,000 horses were annually brought to India from  Uzbek‟s territory and the Arabian and Persian horses were brought to India by overland from Iran  through Qandhar route and the Bahri horses were also imported to India from the countries of Iran and  Africa via sea-routes.²⁴ The estimated number of imported horses highlighted by Francois Bernier  shows that the breeding of horses in India was not sufficient to fulfill the military demand of the  Mughals. He further asserts that during the 17th century the Mughals were the biggest consumer of  the foreign horses and were much dependent on the imports rather than the utilization of indigenous  horses. During the 17th century, Kabul was the main entrepot for the horse traders. The horses were  first brought here from the counties of Iran, Arab and Uzbech. After entering the Mughal‟s entrepot of  Kabul they further went into different direction to reach varied Indian markets, capitals, cities and  animal fairs. Jean-Baptiste Travernier has also explained about the importance of Kabul as the main  entreport for the imported horses and in support of his analysis he figured out that about 60,000 horses  were brought annually by the Uzbech merchant to Kabul and they moved to different directions for  their selling in the Indian markets.²⁵ The Italian traveller Niccolo Manucci who visited India during  17th century also noted the importation of the foreign horses and importance of the major Mughal  entrepots. He asserts that most of the horses used by the Mughal came from the regions of Balkh,  Bukhara and Kabul.²⁶ He has estimated that more than 100,000 horses were imported annually and  out of them the best 12,000 horses were directly chosen by the Mughal officers for the Emperor‟s  stables.²⁷ Due to its courage and strength, the Turki horses were the most preferred one for their recruitment in the Mughal cavalry.²⁸ The import of the horses played a significant role during the  Mughal period. It fulfilled the dual aim of the Mughal Empire. On the one hand it maintained the  regular supply of the horses to the Mughal cavalry and on the other hand it created an extra source of  income for the Mughal Empire in form of „duty-charges‟²⁹ imposed on horses while their trading in  India.  

After reaching the major entrepots of Kabul, Lahore, Peshawar, Multan, Kabul, Qandahar, Shikarpur,  Atak (Attok) and Amritsar, the horse merchants further moved towards the major animal fairs,  markets and capital centres of northern and southern part of India via inter and intra land routes. The  capital centres of the Mughal court, Delhi, Agra and Lahore were the favourite destinations for the  horse merchants and dealers. At the capital centres the merchants sold their horses directly to the  Mughal rulers, courtiers and nobles. They also sold it through auctions at the regional centres, animal  fairs and local market under the supervision and care of local subedar and kotwals. The Bahri horses,  especially the Arabian and Persian horses were popular for their beauty, strength, stamina and power.  These horses were reserved only for the usage of court people. These horses were costlier than the  other Central Asian Horses. Other than the Bahri horses, the Tuzuki, Turki, Qandhari and kabuli  horses were more popular among the Indian population due to their strength, stamina and  comparatively lower prices.³⁰ 

3. KABUL A MAJOR ENTERPOTS  

Through the overland route of Samarkand-Bukhara-Kabul-Lahore the Tuzuki and Turki horses were  imported from the territory of Uzbek to India. The demands of these horses were higher amongst the  Indian population due to its strength, stamina and comparatively lower prices. At the same time the  horses were also imported from the territories of Safavids to Mughal India via Herat-Kabul-Lahore  and Isfahan-Kirman-Qandahar-Kabul-Lahore overland caravan routes. Simultaneously, mainly the  Arabian and Persian horses from the country of Arab and Iran, and Turki horses from the countries of  Central Asia were being imported to India via these routes.  

Kabul emerged as an important intersection for these routes. Various trading land routes met at Kabul  and from here they were led into the inter-regional trading centres. This made Kabul an important  commercial centre. Abul Fazl writes that there were two gates to Hindustan i.e. Kabul and Qandahar.  The commercial significance of Kabul made it much wanted by the Mughals. This was due to the  strategic location of Kabul that whosoever controlled it, was also enabled to regulate trade routes from  Central Asia, Qandahar and Iran from where the horses were imported into India.³¹ Throughout the  Mughal period the suba of Kabul remained very important part for the Mughal Empire. Abul Fazl  notes that the suba of Kabul was comprised of Peshawar, Kashmir, Pakli, Bimbar, Swat, Bajaur,  Kandhar and Zubistan.³² The Mughals controlled this entire area as this was the best way to maintain  regular supply of horses and other trade items.  

Akbar and other Mughal Emperors tried to consolidate these routes to increase the constant and  regular supply of horses. For this they took various steps for the security of merchants. Politically the  trade-routes on the north-western border of Mughal India also worked as a check posts for the  Mughals. So, they ensured to protect the Mughal Empire from the possible foreign attacks through  appointment of military bureaucratic officials and further controlling trading activities on the north 

western borders through them.  

During initial phase of the establishment of the Mughal Empire, the north-western boundaries were  constantly under disturbance due to the political rebellions of adjoining Empires (the Safavids and the  Uzbeks) and tribal revolts of Afghans. All these disturbances hampered the political and commercial  interest of the Mughals. Akbar made efforts to establish his political contact and to control over the  regional rebellions. Initially, he established his capital at Lahore to influence and control local polity  for their submission under the Mughal aristocracy. Simultaneously, the Mughal bureaucracy deeply  penetrated the Mughal military power into the inter-regional areas of north-western boundaries by  challenging, suppressing and controlling the power of local rebellious groups and insurgency.33 At  the same time the Mughals also implemented numerous efforts to improve the trans-regional trade and  to facilitate India‟s commercial relations with the countries of Iran (Safavids) and Turan (Uzbeks). 

Akbar strategically occupied the suba of Kabul, Qandahar and Multan. He constructed the great forts  at cities of Multan, Lahore and Attock for surveillance over the political and economic activities of  the north-western frontiers. He linked the overland trade route from Multan-Lahore-Attock to the  newly constructed Grand Trunk Raod. He established numerous smaller forts, called thana and  financed the construction of various caravanserais to improve the caravan traffic throughout the north 

western frontiers. He appointed rahdars to patrol the routes and ensure the safety of the caravan  travellers, merchants and their commodities. He also followed the nasihat-namas of his ancestors that  the facilities provided to trading communities, merchants and caravan would legitimise his power, and  it would also help to generate a major portion of annual revenue for the state.  

The land routes of India and Central Asia were connected through the major openings of Khyber Pass  and Bolan Pass. Lahore, Multan, Kabul and Qandahar were the major entrepots on the overland  routes, through which the merchandise and horses were imported and then exported into inter-regional  part of Middle-East Asia, Central Asia and India. The Mughal emperor Akbar realised the commercial  importance of these entrepots and established a firm control on north-western frontier by annexation  of Kabul. He also shifted his capital to Lahore and remained there for thirteen years from 1585- 1598.³⁴ He successfully asserted the imperial power over the entire north-western frontiers from  Lahore by subduing Yusufzai tribal confederation in the valley of Swat and Bajaur.³⁵ This further  facilitated a continuous and perennial inflow of horses and other commodities into India through  overland routes from the Empire of Safavids, Uzbeks and Ottomans.  

There was a constant tribal disturbance during the initial period of Akbar‟s reign. He regularly faced  trouble from the turbulent Afghan tribes namely Afridis and Urakzais, who were living around the  area of the Khyber Pass. The Khyber Pass was a major opening into India via Afghanistan connected  by the long distance caravan trade-route.³⁶ The constant disturbances and loots by these Afghani tribes  hampered the trading activities between India and the countries of the Central Asia. Therefore, Akbar  tried to subdue these turbulent tribesmen by a strict blockade. And finally in 1588, he succeeded in his  efforts and an agreement was reached with the Afridis and Urakzais tribes, who agreed to keep the  Khyber Pass open, peaceful and uninterrupted instead of subsidies and imperial services.³⁷ Further, he  constructed and broaden the roads to improve the passage accessible for the wheeled carts through the  Khyber Pass.³⁸ He also constructed the fortified posts and appointed the „offices‟ of muqaddams and   rahdars (guards) for guarding the overland trade routes.³⁹ Regarding the construction of the broad  roads through the Pass, Akbar instructed his chief engineer Qasim Khan to construct the passage for  frequent vehicular movements. Akbar was so impressed by Qasim Khan‟s effort that he appointed  him the governor of suba Kabul.⁴⁰ 

Akbar‟s policy to establish complete control on Kabul was strategically motivated to improve the  overland trade link between India, Iran, Turan and other part of Central Asia. All the overland routes  were running though the entrepots of Kabul. The Mughal Emperor had realised that the control on  Kabul was essential for its commercial importance and continuous horse supply in favour of Mughal  Empire. As Babur has mentioned in his autobiography that about 10 to 20 thousand Indian merchants  had travelled annually in caravan along with the trading items to Kabul, there they meet the caravans  from „Kashghar, Ferghana, Turkistan, Samarqand, Bukhara, Balkh, Hisar and Badakhshan‟.⁴¹ Kabul  was a frontier market and it worked as the „centre for the exchange of trade commodities‟ among the  Indian and Central Asian merchant communities; horse was one of these commodities; holding the  significant value. The Mughal control over Kabul, maintained the continuous supply of the Turki,  Tuzuki, Qadahari, Kabuli, Arabian and Persian horses to the Mughal army.  

All the overland routes from India to Kabul, Iran and Turan were running/passing through the Afghan  or Baluchi tribal territories. Ensuring the safe passage through these regions was the main aim of the  Mughal trade policy. For the safety and security of the trade routes, Akbar constructed various  caravansarais, roads, and bridges which improved the frequency and speed of wheeled vehicle and  accelerated the swift movement of trading activities. He also constructed the forts, appointed guards,  rahdars on the routes to provide safety and security to the merchants and their commodities from the  Afghan attackers. He ordered the Mughal army to suppress all the „unruly‟ elements on the Qandahar  and Lahore route. In some cases he negotiated with the „pastoral Afghan tribes‟ by granting economic  incentives and administrative posts to them and in lieu demanded protection of the caravan traffic.  Abul Fazl says that the efforts of Akbar resulted in the establishment of peaceful environment all over  the north-western frontier areas. By providing the security, Akbar improved and accelerated the  bilateral caravan traffic coming in and going out of India via Kabul and Qandahar route and restored  the confidence of the merchants. This ensured a regular supply of the horses and other commodities  for the Mughal army and Indian population. The safety and security provided to the trading activities  increased the commercial interest of the business communities, courtiers, nobles and gentries, and  substantially benefited the Mughal state through the collection of revenues levied in form of duty  charges.  

The guarantee provided for the security of lives and goods by Emperor Akbar helped in the  development of overland trade in-between the Safavids, Uzbeks and Mughals. It also inter-linked the  Indian communities and culture to the countries of Iran, Turan, Russia via the inter-exchange of the  community, goods, ideas and population through the caravan trading routes. Apart from trade, it also  helped in cementing and benefiting the polity and economy of Mughal rule in India, the Safavid rule  in Iran and the Uzbek rule in Turan.  

4. HORSE TRADE THROUGH SEA ROUTES 

Along with the land-route the horse-trade was also supplemented through the sea-routes. The trade of  horses was done via the sea routes since the early medieval times.⁴² Mainly the Arabian and Persian  horses were imported via sea-routes from Arab, Iran and north-eastern part of Africa. These horses  were considered to be the best quality. They were known for their beauty, sharp features, firm  strength, powerful stamina and pleasing colours. They were very popular and their demand was very  high among the royal families and gentry classes. These horses were always associated with the  interest of court and courtiers for its military importance. The port of Thatta in suba Thatta, Lahori  Bandar on Indus basin, Kutch, Cambay and Surat of Gujarat province and Tanda, Bada, Sripur and  Sonargaon of Bengal province were the major sea ports of Mughal India.⁴³The Mughal ports were  connected to the port of Muscat, Hormuz, Siraf, Basra, and Bandar Abbas of Persian Gulf. Especially  from the port of Basra, Muscat and Hormuz the best quality of Arabian and Persian horses were  imported to the Mughal ports and to the ports of Goa and Malabar⁴⁴ Coast. They were then transferred  into the inter-regional markets, animal fairs and capital-centres by local merchants via the regional  overland trade routes.  

The Mughal ports that catered to the horse trade had a very sophisticated administration. The  elaborate arrangements and huge investment made by the Mughal state authenticated the significance  of horse trade in the Empire. The Mughal ports were the main „centre of commercial and financial  exchanges‟. Every trading port was under the supervision of a separate mutasaddi (collector,  governor), who supervised and regulated the mercantile commercial activities and was also  responsible to report back to the Mughal court about the various activities of the ports via news letters.

⁴⁵ The mutasaddi had the legitimate authority to collect and impose custom duties on the  imported commodities. It was within his jurisdiction to resolve all the disputes regarding the trading  activities as per the imperial orders. He also established the friendly and diplomatic relations with the  administrator of other ports for the regular and continuous supply of imported commodities into the  territories of the Mughal state. The Mughal ruler ruled over the port areas efficiently and controlled  the mercantile activities through the mutasaddis. On the eve of coronation, nearly all the Mughal  Emperors received numerous horses and other gifts sent by the Safavids and other Sultans via the sea routes. ⁴⁶ And under the supervision and guidance of the respective mutasaddi these gifts were  delivered from the ports to the Mughal court. The mutasaddi also maintained recording of political  negotiations between the Mughal emperor and the Sultans of neighbouring countries. The mutasaddi  under the Mughal system shared power and responsibility with the Qiladar and other officials. ⁴⁷  During the Mughals, the ports were placed under the mutasaddi (governor or administrator of the  Mughal port) who exercised wide power and was perceived as a high Mughal administrative officer of  the port.⁴⁸ The mutasaddis were appointed directly from the Imperial court by a sanad (office) of the  diwan-i-ala.⁴⁹ The collection of custom and checking of imported or exported goods was the central  part of his duty. ⁵⁰ The mutasaddi administered over the port with the help of other subordinate  officials, clerks and helpers such as shahbandar, bandardar, qiladar, qazi, kotwal, darogha, muhtasib,  waqa-i-navis, sawanih-navis, harkara, thanadar, mushrif, tahwildar, muqim and piyadas (troopers,  helpers, porters, carters and peons) to look after general administration, justice, law and order and  defence both within and outside the port town. All the Mughal ports were governed by similar  administrative structures and were under direct control of the Imperial court.  

The port town was divided into four distinct mahals (fiscal divisions). Each of the Mughal port town  consisted of mahal farza (concerned with sea borne trade), mahal khushki (dealt in trade through  land), mahal langer jahajat (looked after the charges such as supervision of harbour, anchorage of  ships and anchorage fee) and mahal jihat godi or mahal marammat jahazat (looked after ship-repairing  and ship-building work-shops). The constituents of a bigger port were different from the constituents  of a smaller one. The mechanism of administration of a bigger port was also different from the  administration of smaller port. The bigger ports were always consisted of four distinct mahals. Each  mahal had separate subordinate officials, clerks and helpers who worked collectively under the  guidance of the Mughal port collector or governor, the mutasaddi. The bigger ports were never part of  the suba territory. The administrations were never managed by the subedar of the concerned suba in  which it was located. The bigger ports were constituted into separate units which were the sub division of the suba and were managed and administered by an independent authority of the mutasaddi who was a direct appointee from the imperial court. The mutasaddis of the bigger ports  were the chief administrative officer who guided and supervised his sub-ordinate officials to work  properly.  

On the other hand, the smaller ports were placed into the dependency of the larger ports for the  administrative purposes or were combined together to form a separate unit under the authority of an  individual mutasaddi; who often single handedly enjoyed the power of the faujdar, thanadar,  bandardar, darogha and the shahbandar of the particular port.⁵¹ The smaller ports were generally  called as bara.⁵² The bara was generally connected to seas through the rivers and accessible only by  the smaller boats. Since at the smaller ports, the mutasaddi also held the office of faujdar and  thanadar, he maintained a strong military contingent and fortified the port town for its defense. As a  bandardar and darogha of the smaller port, he also patrolled the coastal areas and kept the vigilance  over the activities which lay within his jurisdiction. And finally as the shahbandar, he controlled the  port and the custom house individually. The administrative authority of smaller ports was also shared  by the faujdari of the sarkar, in which they existed.  

The knowledge of assessing a quality horse was one of the essential requirements or qualifications  that the state looked for in recruiting the mutasaddi.⁵³ Beside this, as the chief controller and caretaker  of the Mughal ports, he was expected to have remarkable „skills to judge‟ the rarities, stones, jewels,    pearls and other precious and luxurious commodities that were imported through the sea-routes. Ali  Akbar, a merchant of Isfahan was appointed as the mutasaddi of the Surat and Cambay just because  he had efficiency and skills to judge the quality of horses and jewels.⁵⁴ On behalf of the Mughal  government mutasaddi was given the right of first purchase⁵⁵ and was supervised to purchase the best  horses for the Mughal cavalry directly from the horse-trader. Annually a large number of the horses  were purchased by the mutasaddi at the Mughal ports for the royal stable. Nothing was permitted to  be sold in the port-markets without the mutasaddis‟s knowledge. The foreigners and merchants first  approached him for the permission of trading activities. On behalf of the Mughal government the  mutasaddis were advised to purchase the commodities required for the state such as horses, corns,  grains, arms, jewels and rarities. He also acted as the “negotiator” for entire foreign trade on behalf of  the Mughal government.  

The Mutasaddi was not only concerned with horse trade. He had wider duties and responsibilities. The  wider Imperial mercantile activities and policies were executed via him throughout the port towns. He  was granted authority to „fix the prices‟ of the commodities according to their quality and value of the  goods. All the fiscal administration within the port areas was also completely under his control.⁵⁶ He  supervised his subordinate officials regarding the collection of the custom duties and independently  controlled all administrative and fiscal activities of the harbour. The commodities that entered at the  ports were further channelized within India via in-land trade routes. But before any further movement  of the commodities into the regions of Mughal Empire, the merchants needed to pay the custom duty  levied on it in the custom house of the port town. After the payment of custom duty a seal was fixed  on the list of mercantile goods and a deed was granted to merchant which relaxed them from the  further levied duty charges with-in countries of the Mughal Empire.  

The shahbandar official worked as the naib under the supervision of mutasaddi.⁵⁷ His responsibility  was to look after the payment of custom duties and nothing could be imported or exported without  this payment. The imported goods were checked at mahal farza and exported goods from the country  were checked at mahal-i-khushki.⁵⁸ Both these two mahals were under his direct control. He was  authorised to check the goods and released them after having been stamped with the king‟s seal and  collection of custom duties. ⁵⁹ The function of the qiladar was independent from mutasaddi and  responsible for the protection of the port city. The mushrif for mahal farza and mahal khushki,  tahwildar, darogha-i-khizana and muqim were the officials to collect the custom duties, keep treasury  and maintain the custom register in Persian and local languages. They were the direct representative  of the Mughal headquarters and worked under the mutasaddi.  

The qazi, thanadar, kotwal and darogha looked after the law and order of the port cities. The qazi was  responsible to solve the disputes and to look after corruption, abuse of authority and tyranny by the  local officials. ⁶⁰ The thanadar was responsible to maintain military contingent to strengthen the  fortification and defend the port city from attacks. He had to keep vigilance over the activities of the  port city. He also patrolled the coastal areas for surveillance of the illegal activities. The kotwal was  the caretaker of the city gates so that none could leave without paying the custom and fulfilling the  other formalities of the port‟s administration. The darogha was appointed to look into the abuses in  minting and other irregularities. Significantly, he was also in-charge of purchasing the Bahri horses  for the royal stables. The amin managed the expenses. The officials of waqai-navis, sawanih-navis,  khufia-navis and harkara (messenger) were known as the akhbar-navis and were posted by the  Imperial headquarters to obtain the news of all the activities going on at the port cities. The office of  the akhbar-navis was independent from the mutasaddi but before sending the news to imperial court  they had to show it to the mutasaddi.⁶¹ A large number of piyadas were engaged as the helper of the  government. They were also hired by the passengers and merchants for different jobs. They also  worked as watchman, carters and porters at the port.  

To a large extent the Mughals invested in this elaborate port administration because they wanted to  maximize profits from trade such as custom duties. These profits were used to procure the best quality  of the horses for the royal stable. The Arabian and Persian breed which were produced in the  peninsular part of Arabia, Iran and north-eastern part of Africa were imported to India via sea and  land routes. The horses were also brought from Jedda (Jeddah).⁶² After reaching of the horses at the  Mughal ports, it was responsibility of the mutasaddi to purchase the good quality horse first from the  horse-merchants and send them to royal stables. The period of 16th to 18th centuries was specifically  prosperous for the horse traders. The merchants and traders were getting the maximum profit in  importing and selling of the horses in the Indian market. It was easier and safer to import horses via  land routes but sea-routes were also preferred by the merchants living on Indian coastal areas of  Lahori Bandar, and Kutch, Cambay and Surat of Gujarat, Malabar and Bengal. Consequently, the trading of quality horses via sea routes was safer than the overland routes, due to its safety from  banditry, theft and disturbances caused by political revolts, and also took lesser time than the trading  via the overland routes, simultaneously. 

5. HORSE MERCHANTS AND THE MUGHAL STATE  

If horse trade triggered the Mughals to develop port cities and administration, the horse merchants  emerged as major investors in Mughal economy. The Mughals encouraged horse-trading and invested  in horse-breeding because it was crucial for state building. The horses played an important role in  Mughal military operations and Mughal political organisation. During the medieval period, the horses  had a social and economic value and it was regarded as a status symbol in the Mughal society. The  Mughals paid great attention to the horses due to its military, economic and political importance. The  expansion of the Mughal state depended on the cavalry unit and demanded an increased supply of the  war-horses to improve the military and political efficiency of the Mughal army. The growth in  demand for war-horses by the Mughals triggered horse-trading and fore fronted the need to improve  horse-breeding. The Mughals took administrative steps to encourage horse-trading in order to increase  the supply of good-quality of horses. They appointed officials to protect the long distance overland  caravan-trade-routes. Horse merchants emerged as privileged traders in the Empire. The Mughals  lured the horse-traders and merchants by granting security, through letter of deed, relief from paying  of rahdari tax and bestowing administrative posts.  

At the same time attempts were made to facilitate horse-breeding in India so as to support the  additional supply of the horses to the Mughals and local population. Numerous personal or  institutional breeding centres and studs were established all over the Mughal country. The primary  concern of horse-breeding projects was to achieve the high standards set by the Arabian and Persian  horses. Indian horses of similar stature were attempted to be bred so that they could survive in Indian  environment.  

 

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Foreign breed horses were a coveted possession for a gentleman. Thus they were in high demand. In  order to maintain the continuous supply of ideal breed horses, the Mughal state controlled the horse trading by extending finances and protection to the horse merchants. The Mughal state also  encouraged the cross-breeding. Akbar established a bureaucratic edifice to oversee the purity of horse  breeds, supply of the horse and to ensure their imports from the neighbouring lands. Akbar attempted  to control major horse dealers, who sold imported horses from various parts of Iran and Central Asia  to the imperial stables at Agra. Only few trusted and privileged merchants were allowed to trade the  horses with the Mughal state. He took substantial steps to encourage the horse-dealers to trade with  the state. He ordered for the construction of suitable place (sarais), where the horse-dealers could stay  in convenient quarters with their horses to protect them from the adversities of seasons, robberies and  insurgency. An experienced and knowledgeable official of amin-i-karvansara was appointed to keep  watch over horse-dealer in order to regular procurement of good horses.⁶³ He appointed clerks to keep  the records on purchasing of horses. Apart from this, experienced man was employed to determine the  prices of horses and to examine their quality as well.⁶⁴ Apart from this, Akbar also established a  special department of the imperial stable and employed the specialised officials of the Atbegi,⁶⁵ Darogha, ⁶⁶ Mushrif (an accountant), ⁶⁷ Dida-war, ⁶⁸ Akhtachis, ⁶⁹ Chabuksuwar, ⁷⁰ Hada, ⁷¹ Baytar  (horse-doctor), ⁷² Naqib, ⁷³ Sais, ⁷⁴ Nalband, ⁷⁵ Zindar, 76 Abkash, ⁷⁷ Farrash, ⁷⁸ Sipandsoz, ⁷⁹ and  Khakrub⁸⁰ for caring, maintaining, training, feeding, and healing of horses and for the maintenance of  royal stables.⁸¹The horses were categorized according to their origin and qualities.⁸² In-spite of all  these control and restrictions horses were frequently sold in the markets and fairs through open  auctions.⁸³ Thus it appears that state monopoly over horse trade was not full proof. Horses were also  available for the Indian population, especially for the moderately rich people.  

However, there was a constant effort by the state to ensure that the best quality of horses should be  sold only to royal stables. For this purpose they lured the horse merchants by granting relief to them  from paying rahdari tax and port dues (the tamgha). The Mughal court encouraged the Irani and  Afghani merchants for the direct supply of the best horses to the Mughal stables and guaranteed them  the administrative posts or economic gains in return. Many times the Mughal emperor also sent their  personal representative to Iran and Turan for purchasing and importation of the horses. Like the  Mughal Emperor Jahangir instructed his commercial agent Kamran Beg to purchase the best quality  of horse while visiting the Safavid court. At the Indian markets, animal fairs and capital centres, the  horses were freely sold by the foreign and Indian merchants through auctions. The state‟s  officials/courtiers/nobles could also purchase horses from the open markets, animal fairs and trading  centres by participating in auctions in capacity of individual bidder.  

The Mughal state played an important role in maintaining the regular supply of horses to the inter regional markets and regional animal fairs. The horse traders and merchants were directly in touch  with the Mughal court through the agents. The mansabdars and jagirdars were informed about the  coming of foreign breed horses at the regional markets, fairs, and ports centres by barids or local spies  or local kotwals, amins, daroghas, munshi, rahdars and muqaddams. The Mugha bureaucrats  influenced the horse dealers through the administrative structure of subadar (the provincial governor),  diwan (revenue chief of the province), kotwal (local police in-charge), munshi (clerks) and muqaddam  (village revenue officers). The Mughal officials kept vigilance over the movement of horse traders  and their caravans with-in the inter-regional commercial centres. ⁸⁴ All the local officials were  instructed to inform the ruler through letters about the coming of horse traders in their region. The  kotwal was responsible for keeping the vigilance on commercial activities of horse traders, munshi  was appointed for maintaining the records about the prices and quality of the horses and muqaddam  and rahdars was to ensure the safety and security of the traders and their commodities from the local  thieves. The kotwal also exercised the power to regulate the selling and purchasing of the horses. The  appointment of darogha was directly done by the imperial court. He supervised the purchase of horses  for the imperial army. A person having skills and knowledge to identify a qualitative horse was  appointed as the darogha. All these efforts of the Mughal state also generated extra revenues for the  state, which was extracted from the merchants in exchange of safe and secured commercial activities.  

The Mughal state also tried to control the price of the horses. The state fixed the prices of the horses  as per the quality and variety of the horses. The prices varied as per the breed and quality of the  horses. The price of horses was fixed in rupiya and muhrs.⁸⁵ The price of horses ranged from 2 rupees  to 500 muhrs as per the quality of the horses.⁸⁶ The price fixing was also an important criteria for the  classification of the royal stables that were established to maintain the Arabian, Persian, Turki, and  Tuzuki horses separately; according to their breeds. The imperial stables were classified as stables of  the Khasa (high breed) horses and Bad-Khasa (low breed) horses. The imperial stables of Khasa  horses were further divided into six different Khasa stables and each was containing 40 horses of  Arabian, Persian and Turkish breed respectively.⁸⁷ The horses costing more than of haftad-muhri (70  muhrs) were kept in the Khasa stables. The horses costing between dah-muhari (10 muhrs) to haftad muhri (70 muhrs) were kept in the non-Khasa stables.⁸⁸ The non-Khasa stables were of three kinds,  for instance si-aspi, bist-aspi and dah-aspi stables which were containing 30, 20 and 10 horses  respectively.⁸⁹This suggests that prices of horses in the imperial non-Khasa stables varied normally  from 10 to 70 muhrs.⁹⁰ It was also aimed to determine how many horses of the royal stables belonged  to various price categories. The price detail of the purchased horses also leads us to understand that  most of the horses used in the royal stables were of qualitative and higher breed. Almost all of them  were procured from the neighbouring foreign countries of the Iran, Uzbek and Central Asia. The  fixation of the price of horses was also aimed to control the price of imported horses and to revive the  horse trade in favour of India by providing assistance and encouragement to the Indian agricultural  

  

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and industrial productions. It was also aimed to control the out flow of Indian bullions in-exchange of  foreign breed horses.  

The Mughal state had a close contact with the merchants and their activities. Akbar and the other  Mughal Emperors leaned on merchants for assistance in the financial affairs of the state. The Mughal  chronicles Ain-i-Akbari, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, Shahjahan-nama, Ma‟asir-i-„Alamgiri and the  contemporary foreign travelogue reflect the presence of merchants and horse-trading communities in  the Mughal court. The merchants traded in horses and other commercial activities, but they also  worked as the representative of the Mughal state with-in and out-side India. Several kinds of favours  and facilities were bestowed upon them by the state to ensure their uniform and continuous services.  The merchants were associated closely with affairs of Mughal court. They were proficient in Persian  and other dialects and interacted closely with the Mughal officials at local level. This enabled them to  expand their commercial activities across Mughal India and into Central Asia. The close association  of merchants with the Mughal court encouraged „patron-client‟ relations between them, which  remarkably depended on their commercial benefits. Because the people of Mughal court like, rulers,  courtiers, princes, princesses, nobles and their families were very ambitious about their commercial  ventures. They appreciated and encouraged the commercial activities for their own personal financial  gains as well as for firming up the state. At many level the Mughal princes, princess and nobles were  personally involved in the commercial activities and also tried to influence the administrative  decisions of the state for their personal benefits.  

Their association with the Mughal state also guaranteed them safety and security, and also ensure the  safe passage of their goods to neighbouring counties of Iran and Turan. It also brought foreign goods,  bullions and horses to Mughal India. The close association with the officials of the court also enabled  them to get the letter of deed of commercial and financial contracts from the Mughal judicial  authorities. Such deed documents facilitated the establishment of trade monopolies by certain  merchants. It was the close affiliations of the Luhanis, Powindas and Afghans with the Afghan  administrators of the Mughal state which expanded their horse trading activities. Simultaneously,  merchants worked as shipping agents for transporting the horses which were purchased by Indo Muslim and non-Muslim merchants from Iran, Turan and Central Asia in exchange of Indian goods.  

Among the Multani and Shikarpuri non-Muslim merchants, the Punjabi Khatri groups were visibly  the largest section who was involved in commercial and trading activities. Their sphere of commercial  activities involved the trading in-side and outside India. They dominated in larger part of Punjab,  Sindh, Iran, Central Asia and southern part of Russia in terms of commercial activities.⁹¹They directly  or indirectly influenced the commercial relations of the Mughal state to the countries of Safavids and  Uzbeks. They worked as humble merchant-traders, bankers, goldsmiths, dealers, shopkeepers, grain  sellers and moneylenders. They dominated in Indo-Central Asian commercial exchange,⁹² and played  a significant role in importion of the foreign bullion into Mughal India.  

Due to the dominant role played in the commercial activities of the regions of Punjab and north western India, some of the Khatri merchants became very influential. They even enjoyed a dominant  influence among the people of the Mughal court system and were appointed as high-level Mughal  officials. Todar Mal was one of the best known Khatri officials who became diwan, the chief revenue  officer under the reign of Emperor Akbar. ⁹³ The Mughal courtiers and nobles opposed the  appointment of Todar Mal as the diwan under the Mughal administration. They argued that  appointment of Todar Mal as diwan would lead to their personal loss of financial and commercial  gains and further it would also shift their commercial interests in the favour of Khatri community.  They also hoped that it would harm their personal financial affairs. They even criticised Akbar on the  appointment of Todar Mal as a revenue minister and claimed that it would also harm the financial  affairs of the Mughal state.⁹⁴ Basically the critics of Akbar aimed to pressurise him to cancel the    appointment of Tadar Mal. They hoped that this would ensure their own personal gains associated  with the trading activities. But they never succeeded in their aim.  

Through the appointment of a Khatri Hindu Todar Mal, as the diwan of the Mughal administration,  Akbar tried to secure also the commercial and financial upper edge in the Indo-Central Asia  commercial ties. A large number of Khatri merchants/Baniyas were scattered within the countries of  Iran, Turan, Russia, Uzbek and Central Asia and were controlling trading activities. Their loyalty was  won over with the appointment of Todar Mal. Akbar also supposed that the affiliation of the Indo 

Muslim and non-Muslim merchant communities with the state‟s administration would generate an  extra amount of revenue that would strengthen the state‟s treasury. All these fiscal gains would enable  the Mughals to maintain a large cavalry force by spending these revenues on purchasing the horses of  the foreign and hybrid origins. The same revenue was also invested on the building of a strongest and  unchallengeable military power, which was an essential demand of the medieval times for the  protection and expansion of Mughal political boundaries.  

Abul Fazl claims that the presence of merchant communities in the Mughal court was prominently  visible and they were also very close to both the ruler and nobles. Akbar and other Mughal rulers had  realised the potential of merchant class and tried to concentrate their commercial activities to  strengthen the state by firming the military structure. Therefore, it would be correct to say that the  appointment of Hindu Khatri Todar Mal, Kishan Chand and Chander Bhan by the Mughal Emperors  was certainly aimed to please the Hindu merchant communities as well as to win their loyalty for the  Mughal state.  

The Mughal state encouraged the development of agricultural and textile production to support the  import of foreign horses in exchange of Indian goods and textile materials. Throughout the period of  the 16th and 17th century, horses were imported from the countries of Arabia, Iran, Turan and Central  Asia to India. The nomads of Iran, Turan and Central Asia were the chief suppliers of horses to the  Mughal armies. The expenditure on the importation of horses was counter balanced by exporting  commodities which were sent to the inter-regional markets of Central Asia. Export from India to Iran,  Turan and other part of Central Asia included commodities such as Indian cotton cloth,⁹⁵ indigo,⁹⁶ silk, sugar,⁹⁷ slaves,⁹⁸ opium, spices (specially pepper, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, cloves, ginger),  medical drugs,⁹⁹ grains and Indian handicraft materials and textiles etc. These items were exported to  the inter-regional markets of Central Asia, Iran, Russia and Turan (Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent  and Khiva) via entrepots of Iran and Turan by the Indian merchants. While in return, horses, dry and  fresh fruits, musk, wine, furs, falcons, corals and carpets were imported from the countries of Central  Asia and Middle East Asia to India. Francois Bernier noted that horses from the Uzbeks and Persia  (about 25,000 horses were annually brought to India from Uzbek‟s territory) and fruits such as  melons, apples, pears, and grapes which had great demand at Delhi, were imported from the countries  of Samarkand, Balkh, and Persia.¹⁰⁰ Similarly the dry fruits such as almonds, pistachio, nuts, plums,  apricots and raisins were imported to India throughout the year and were sold at very high prices.¹⁰¹ Simultaneously, good horses were also imported from the countries of the Arabia, Persia and Ethiopia  through the port of Bassora, Bandar-Abassi and Moka to India.¹⁰² Apart from the luxury items, the  foreign horses and bullion were also imported to Mughal India. Profits made by the Indian merchants  after selling the Indian commodities in the inter-regional markets of Iran, Turan, and Central Asia,  were invested in the purchase of the Arabian, Persian, Turani, Tuzuki, and Turki horses for the Indian  markets.  

Initially, during the early phase of the 16th century, the long-distance trade was not in favour of India  due to political instability. There was also constant fear of banditry on the north-western frontier trade  routes that could lead to heavy loss. The Mughal court was aware of it and was looking for alternate 

  

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options. Hence, to control the banditry and provide safety and security on trade routes, Akbar  established the Mughal capital at Lahore and monitored the crushing of the unruly Afghan tribal  banditry in the north-western areas. While on the other hand to make horse trade profitable for the  Indian merchants and to regulate and control the prices of horses in the Indian market, the Mughal  state also encouraged the agricultural and textile productions, which were in demand in the inter 

regional markets of Iran, Arab, Turan and Central Asia. The Mughal state was much interested in  foreign trading activities for the financial and commercial gains. To support the financial gains of the  Mughal court, Akbar and Jahangir themselves got involved and took part in commercial activities that  benefitted the state.  

The Mughal state welcomed the foreign traders and provided ample protection and security to their  transactions. Further a very low custom duty was also levied on the imported and exported  commodities to increase and encourage the commercial activities of merchants. The Mughal court was  aware of the demand of important Indian export items like indigo, saltpetre, spices, opium, sugar,  woollen and silk and cotton cloths, yarns, salt, beads, borax, turmeric, lac, sealing wax, and drugs of  various kinds in the foreign markets. The deep interest of the Mughal Emperors in commercial  activities was the main reason behind the reduction in custom duties. Regarding the remission of toll  taxes and custom duties, the especial farmans and orders were issued by the Mughal Emperors to  kotwals, amins, mutasaddis, and jagirdars of every provinces and districts. These concession grants on  merchandise were mainly aimed for the promotion of trade.¹⁰³ To make it more profitable and convert  the horse trade in favour of Mughal India, the Mughal state took special interest for the development  of indigenous agricultural and textile industries. Akbar established silk and cotton weaving industries  at Bengal, Lahore, Agra, Fatehpur-sikri, and Gujarat, and the workshops were established to  encourage the craftsmen for increasing the production of woven handicraft items.¹⁰⁴ Bernier noted  that during the Mughal period, Bengal was providing the best quality of cotton and silk products in  huge quantity to the foreign world. ¹⁰⁵ At the same time the Mughal court also encouraged the  agricultural productions of cash crops such as cotton, sugarcane, indigo, opium, grains, and lac etc.  All these efforts were for the development of Indian industries and to support the foreign demands.  Through all these constructive efforts the Mughal state tried to protect their aim of financial gains and  court consumption, simultaneously they also tried to provide the commodities for both the domestic  and foreign markets.  

The efforts of the Mughals for the development of agricultural and textile industries ensured the  continuous supply of foreign horses, goods and bullions to Mughal India. The Indian merchant  communities started making huge profits in exchange of Indian commodities (Indian goods like  grains, handicrafts, herbal plants, spices etc.). They were earning large amount of money in form of  gold and silver bullions and the same bullions were invested for purchasing of the Arabian, Persian,  Turki and Tuzuki horses for the Indian markets. The exchange of Indian cotton, indigo, opium, sugar,  spices and other commodities for Central Asian horses became profitable for Indian merchants. The  above mentioned business activities by the Indian merchants profited the Mughal Empire in form of  imports of the bullions and qualitative horses which helped in strengthening the Mughal economy and  its military power. While on the socio-cultural front it also influenced the foreign people for their  migration to the Mughal capitals in search of better opportunities as merchants or as nobles in the  Mughal court.  

6. CONCLUSION 

The military power of the Mughals was mainly centred on the implementation of the Middle East  Asian, Central Asian and European traditions of military technology, tactics, and logistics that  revolutionised the Mughal‟s mechanism of warfare and strengthened their standing army of cavalry  and infantry. Throughout the Mughal period, their military organisation remained centred on the force  of heavy cavalry. Speed, strength, swift movement and faster retreating capacity of the horse were the  fundamental features for their heavy dependence on trained cavalry. The Mughals implemented  highly successful military tradition of horseback warfare tactics adopted from the Middle-East Asia  and Central Asia.  

Besides highlighting the importance of horses in the Mughal cavalry, this study is also an effort to  characterise the social, political and cultural significance of horse as a „gentle‟ animal. As Abul-Fazl  notes in the Ain-i-Akbari, “His Majesty is very fond of horses, because he believes them to be of great  importance in the three branches of the government, and for expeditions of conquest, and because he  sees in them a means of avoiding much inconvenience.”¹⁰⁶Politically, the possession of horses played  a crucial role in the establishment of hierarchies within the Mughal nobility. It was associated to the  distribution of ranks to the mansabdars. Apart from this, it also consolidated the strength of the  imperial army and helped in the political expedition by enhancing the retreating, attacking and  withdrawing capabilities of the Mughals.  

For the continuous procurement of war-horses, the Mughals were depended on horse traders of the  neighbouring countries of the Central Asia and Middle East Asia. Horses were imported to India via  the long-distance caravan trade-routes and sea-routes as well. Horses imported via the sea-routes were  called as bahri. I have shown that the Mughal Empire encouraged various methods and established  separate institutions to give momentum to the trading and commercial activities. The Mughals were  well aware about the presence of corporate and merchants groups. The Mughals were supportive and  helpful towards trading and mercantile activities. This study has shown that the establishment of  Mughal Empire in India provided a peaceful, safe and prosperous environment for the development of  trading activities with-in and out-side India. The Mughal Empire was not only an agricultural based  society; it was also a corporate and mercantile based society. These corporate and mercantile groups  indulged in trading activities with foreign countries in exchange of Indian agricultural and other  products. The agrarian products, textile goods, medicinal herbs and spices etc. were exported to  foreign countries in exchange of good horses (especially the Arabian, Persian, Mujannas, Turki,  Yabus, Tazi, janglah, kabuli, qandhari etc.), precious stones and jewellery, pleasurable items, dry  fruits and bullions of gold and silver. The centrality of horses for the military and administrative  necessities and for the purpose of transportation and personal usage encouraged the Mughals to  control and regulate the horse trade in favour of the state. Rather than explaining the Indian trading  and commercial activities, I have focussed on the efforts of the Mughal state and their officials for  controlling, regulating and encouraging horse trade. During the Mughal period, India was the  favourite destination for the Central Asian Luhanis, Afghanisand Powindas „pastoral-nomads‟ horse  trader. The good horses were imported to the Mughal court from the countries of Arab, Iran, Turan,  Turkey, Turkestan, Badakhshan, Shirwan, Qirghiz, Tibet, Kashmir and other countries.¹⁰⁷During the  Mughal period, horse trade between India and the countries of the Central Asia and Middle East Asia  was done through the long-distance caravantrade-routes and sea-routes as well. Kabul and Qandhar  were the major entrepots on the land-routes in India. The ports of Surat, Cambay, Kutch, Thatta,  Lahori Bandar and Sonargoan were the major entrepots for the bahri, the Arabian and Persian horses. 

FOOT NOTES

1 R.B. Azad Choudhary, “The Horse and the Mughal Military Culture in Transition, 1526-1795”,  M.Phil.Dissertation, Department of History, Delhi University, 2014. 

2AbulFazal, Ain-i-Akbari, ed. H. Blochmann (Calcutta: Bib. Ind., 1867-77). 

3 Abul Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, vol. I, pp. 241-61.

4 Jean Deloche, Transport and Communications in India Prior to Steam Locomotion, Volume 1: Land  Transport, James Walker (trans. from the French) (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1993), p.228.

5 Shireen Moosvi, The Economy of the Mughal Empire, pp. 201-23. Also see Shireen Moosvi, „The Evolution  of the “Mansab” System under Akbar Untill 1596-7‟, pp. 173-85; William Irvine, „The Army of the Indian  Moghuls: Its Organization and Administartion‟, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and  Ireland, (Jul., 1896), pp. 509-570. The mansab granted to mansabdars was not hereditary. The dual ranking of  zat and sawar granted to mansabdar was divided into three categories. The first category was of those  mansabdar who had sawar ranks equivalent to their zat ranks. Under second category the mansabdars were  granted to maintain sawar lesser than of their zat ranks but not lesser than half of their zat ranks. The third and  last category was of those mansabdars who were granted to maintain the sawar lass than half of their zat ranks.  According to the Ain-i-Akbari, the ranks varied from the dahbashi (commander of 10 horses) to the dah-hazari (commander of 10,000 horses). 

6 Maarten Van der Wee, „Semi-Imperial Polity and Service Autocracy: The Mansabdars in Mughal India (ca.  1550 to ca. 1750)‟, pp. 209-225. 

7 William Irvine, The Army of the Indian Moghuls, p. 61. 

8 Ibid, p. 61. 

9 Abul-Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, vol. I, p. 140. 

10 Shireen Moosvi, The Economy of the Mughal Empire, p. 274. 

11 Abul Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, ed. H. Blochmann (Calcutta: Bib. Ind., 1867-77), I, p. 590; T.H. Holdich, The Indian  Borderland: 1800-1900 (Delhi, 1987), pp. 47-8.

12 Abul-Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, vol. I, pp. 140-1. Emperor Akbar paid much attention regarding the horse-dealers.  He constructed convenient quarters where the horse-dealers could secure them and their animals from the  hardships of seasons. Also see, Jahangir, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, vol. I, pp. 7-8 (Emperor Jahangir ordered to his  official about the construction of sara‟is, mosque and wells for the merchants, travellers and people to secure  their safety and security while travelling); Francisco Pelsaert, Jahangir‟s India: The Remonstrantie of Francisco  Pelsaert, trans. W.H. Moreland and P. Geyl (Cambridge, 1925), p. 50; Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, Travels in India,  vol. I, trans. V. Ball, ed. William Crook (London, 1925), p, 77, 118; Peter Mundy, The Travels of Peter Mundy,  vol. II (London, 1914), p. 78, (explains about the Noor mahal sarai at Agra which having accommodating  capacity of 3000 men and 500 horses); Niccolao Manucci, Storia Do Mogor, vol. I, trans. William Irvine  (London, 1907), pp. 68-9

13 Jos Gommans, Mughal Warfare, pp. 100-111. 

14 During the Mughal period, the Banjaras worked as commissariat for supplying the food. Emperor Akbar  encouraged Banjaras for the regular procurement of grains for their armies during the campaigning seasons. He  even issued several farmans for the exemption of toll and taxes over the trading activities of Banjaras. For  detail see, Fr. A. Monserrate, The Commentary Father Monserrate, S.J. on his Journey to the Court of Akbar,  translated by J.S. Hoyland & annotated by S.N. Banerjee (London, 1922), pp. 79-80. 

15 Abul-Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, vol. I, p. 140. 

16 Abul-Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari; vol. II, trans. H.S. Jarrett (Calcutta: Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1949), pp. 248,  249, 250, 338; Jahangir, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, vol. I, pp. 167, 415-6, 441. Niccolao Manucci notes that Surat was  the largest port of the Mughal India. This was connected to different ports of the Europe, Persia, Arabia, Mecca,  Bassora, the coast of Malabar and Masulipatnam, Bengal, Siam, Acheen, Queddah, the Maldives, Malacca,  Batavia, Manilla, China and many other ports of the world via Arabian and Indian oceans, for detail see,  Niccolao Manucci, Storia Do Mogor, vol. I, p. 61. For detail on the ports of Bengal see, Radhakumud Mookerji,  Indian Shipping: A History of the Sea-Borne Trade and Maritime Activity of the Indians from the Earliest Time (Calcutta: Longmans, 1912), pp. 218-20. 

17 Irfan Habib, An Atlas of the Mughal Empire: Political and Economic Maps with Detailed Notes, Bibliography  and Index (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1982), p. xviii. 

18 Jean-Baptiste Travernier, Travels in India, vol. I, trans. V. Ball, ed. William Crook (London, 1925), p. 73.

19 Ibid, p. 73. 

20 Arup Banerji, Old Routes: North Indian Nomads and Bankers in Afghan, Uzbek and Russian Lands (New  Delhi: Three Essays Collective, 2011), p. 121; Scott C. Levi, The Indian Diaspora in Central Asia and its  Trade, pp. 33, 40, 111; 

21 Muzaffar Alam, „Trade, State Policy and Regional Change: Aspects of Mughal-Uzbek Commercial Relations,  c. 1550-1750‟, pp. 202-227; Jos Gommans, Mughal Warfare, p. 137. 

22 Stephen Frederic Dale, Indian Merchants and Eurasian Trade, p. 63. 

23 Babur, Babur-Nama, p. 202. 

24 Francois Bernier, Travels in the Mogul Empire, p. 203.

25 Jean Baptiste Tavernier, Travels in India, vol. II, trans. V. Ball, ed. W. Crooke (London, 1925), p. 63;  Surendranath Sen (ed.), Indian Travels of Thevenot and Careri (New Delhi: Published by National Archive of  India, 1949), p. 80. 

26 Niccolao Manucci, Storia Do Mogor, vol. II, p. 390. 

27 Ibid, pp. 390-91.

28 Ibid. P. 391. 

29 Ibid, p. 390. 

30 Ibid, pp. 390-91.

31 Abul-Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, vol. I, p. 140. 

32 Abul-Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, vol. II, trans. H. S. Jarrett, p. 349.

33 John F. Richards, The Mughal Empire, p. 50. 

34 Jos Gommans, Mughal Warfare, p. 23; John F. Richards, The Mughal Empire, pp. 49-52.  35 Abul-Fazl, Akbar-Nama, vol. III, trans. H. Beveridge (Delhi: Low Price Publications, 1989), p. 802; John F.  Richards, The Mughal Empire, p. 50. 

36 Abul-Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, vol. II, trans. H. S. Jarrett, pp. 404-5.

37 Abul-Fazl, Akbar-Nama, vol. III, trans. H. Beveridge, p. 810. 

38 Abul-Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, vol. II, trans. H. S. Jarrett, p. 406. Abul-Fazl notes that khaibar pass was the  connecting link between Iran and India for the traders and merchants.

39 Abul-Fazl, Akbar-Nama, vol. III, trans. H. Beveridge, p. 792. 

40 Abdul Qadir Badauni, Muntakhabu-t-Twarikh, vol. II, ed. Ahmad Ali and W. N. Lees (Calcutta: Bib. Ind.,  1864-69), p. 372; Cf. M. Athar Ali, The Apparatus of Empire, p. 13. 

41 Babur, Babur-Nama, p. 202. 

42 Travels of Marco-Polo, trans. and ed. Henry Yule and H. Cordier (London, 1903). Marco-Polo (c. 1292), a  13th century traveller, remarks that India has an age old tradition of practicing of sea trade with the countries of  Arabia, Persia and central Asia and the greater part of the Indian revenues was expended on importing or  obtaining Arabian and Persian horses from these foreign countries. Malabar was the main centre for the  importation of Arabian and Persian horses which was further transferred into Indian fairs and market by land  routes from where they were supplied to the state.

Abul-Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari; vol. II, trans. H.S. Jarrett, pp. 248, 249, 250, 338; Jahangir, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, vol. I,  pp. 167, 415-6, 441. Niccolao Manucci notes that Surat was the largest port of the Mughal India. This was  connected to different ports of the Europe, Persia, Arabia, Mecca, Bassora, the coast of Malabar and  Masulipatnam, Bengal, Siam, Acheen, Queddah, the Maldives, Malacca, Batavia, Manilla, China and many  other ports of the world via Arabian and Indian oceans, see, Niccolao Manucci, Storia Do Mogor, vol. I, p. 61.  For detail on the ports of Bengal see, Radhakumud Mookerji, Indian Shipping, pp. 218-20. Ralph Finch was the  first English traveler at Bengal (1586) who observed that Tanda was one of the busiest port from where there  was “great trade and traffic of cotton and cotton cloth” was carried to the west and east.

44 For sea-mercantile activities, Malabar was called as the key of Hind, whose production, such as rubies,  aromatics, spices and pearls were carried to Iraq, Khurasan, Syria, Rum and Europe. 

45 Ali Muhammad Khan, Mir‟at-i-Ahmadi (suppl.), ed. Nawab Ali (Baroda, 1930), pp. 180-81, 183-4, 194, 223;  Ali Muhammad Khan, Mir‟at-i-Ahmadi, vol. I, p. 353; Ashin Das Gupta, Indian Merchants and the Decline of  Surat, p. 24; Farhat Hasan, State and Locality in Mughal India, pp. 38-9. For more detail see Syed Ali Nadeem  Rezavi, „The Mutasaddi of Surat in the Seventeenth Century‟, Proceeding of the Indian History Congress, 44th Session, Burdwan, 1983, pp. 214-221; Farhat Hasan, „The Mutasaddi of Surat – Evidence of Persian Records of  the 17th Century‟, Proceeding of the Indian History Congress, 53rd Session, Warangal, 1993, pp. 276-280;  Shireen Moosvi, „Mughal Shipping at Surat in the First Half of Seventeenth Century‟, Proceeding of the Indian  History Congress, 51st Session, Calcutta, pp. 308-320. The rank and personal status of the mutasaddi depended  upon the mansab granted by the Imperial court. He was assumed to be a nobleman of greatest quality. The  mutasaddi held the high status and rank both as individual and official. 

46 Saqi Mustaid Khan, Ma‟asir-i-„Alamgiri, trans. Jadunath Sarkar (Calcutta, 1947), p. 20.

 47 Ashin Das Gupta, Trade and Politics in 18th Century India, Islam and the Trade of Asia, in D.S. Richards  (ed.) A Colloquim (Oxford, 1970), pp. 191-192; Lakshmi Subramanian, „A Trial in Transition: Courts  Merchants and Identities in Western India, circa 1800‟, The Indian Economic and Social Science History  Review, Vol. 41, No. 3 (2004), pp. 269-292.

48 The foreign traveller Hawkins, Travernier, Thevenot and Finch has described the Mughal official of  mutasaddis as the governor and administrator of the port areas. He was the direct appointee of the Mughal  Emperor and had enjoyed the first right to purchase. 

49 Ali Mohammad Khan, Mirat-i-Ahmadi (Suppl.), pp. 194, 222. 

50 Sayed Ali Nadeem Rezavi, „The Mutasaddi of Surat in the Seventeenth Century‟, pp. 214-222. 51 Ali Mohammad Khan, Mirat-i-Ahmadi (suppl.), pp. 193-4. For instance, the port of Surat, Cambay and Hugli  were the larger one and it was under the administration of a separate mutasaddi. Due to smaller in size and  lesser traffics, the ports of Cambay, Gogha and Gandhar were initially placed under the administration of the  mutasaddi of Surat. But due to increased traffics and greater inflow of merchants, the ports of Cambay, Gogha  and Gandhar were later separated from the port of Surat. These ports were combined together into a separate  unit under the port of Cambay and their administration was given to the mutasaddi of Cambay. Similarly, the  port of Hugli and Qasimbazar was under the authority of an individual mutasaddi who administered both the  ports. All the Mughal ports were governed by similar administrative structure and were under direct control of  the Imperial court. 

52 Ali Mohammad Khan, Mirat-i-Ahmadi, vol. I, pp. 205, 222, 239-40.

53 Ali Mohammad Khan, Mirat-i-Ahmadi, vol. I, p. 222; Muhammad Amin Qazwini, Padshahnama, vol. II, p.  607.

54 Padshahnama, vol. II, p. 607. Jahangir appointed his favorite Muqarrab Khan as the mutasaddi of Surat  because he had an expert quality in identifying and procuring rareties and stones. 

55 Ali Mohammad Khan, Mirat-i-Ahmadi, vol. I, pp. 260-62; Sayed Ali Nadeem Rezavi, „The Mutasaddi of  Surat in the Seventeenth Century‟, pp. 214-222. 

56 Farhat Hasan, „The Mutasaddi of Surat – Evidence of Persian Records of the 17th Century‟, pp. 276-280.  57 Ali Muhammad Khan, Mirat-i-Ahmadi (suppl.), pp. 194, 222. 

58 Ali Mohammad Khan, Mirat-i-Ahmadi (suppl.), p. 194. 

59 After the payment of the custom duties, a receipt (dakhila-i rawai mahsul) was issued to the merchants. It  included the seals of the mutasaddi, mushrif, tahwildar and signature of the muqim. It verified the payment of  custom duties and the merchant was able to sell their goods in the markets of the Mughal countries. The receipt  symbolised the Mughal authority and granted to avoid any kind of double levy. 

60 Farhat Hasan, State and Locality in Mughal India, p. 61.

61 Since the officials of akhbar-navis was independent from the authority of the mutasaddi. On several occasion  they inform the Imperial court about the corruption and irregularities of the mutasaddi. The continuity of a  particular person as the mutasaddi of the port city totally depended on the news report provided by the waqai of  the akhbar-navis. They were even transferred or punished for their misdeed. That‟s why the mutasaddi were  always afraid of the news-reporters (waqai) and always tried to lure them for his favour. Kartalab Khan, the  mutasaddi of Surat had bribed the courier for not to report matters to the Emperor correctly. For more detail, see  Ali Muhammad Khan, Mirat-i-Ahmadi, vol-I, Nawab Ali (ed.), p. 312. 

62 Shireen Moosvi, „Mughal Shipping at Surat in the First Half of Seventeenth Century‟, Proceeding of the  Indian History Congress, 51st Session, Calcutta, 1990, pp. 308-320. Emperor Shahjahan sanctioned two lakhs of  rupees to the mutasaddi of Cambay and Ahmedabad to purchase the merchandise for export to Jedda and in  return the merchant were advised to import pearls, qualitative horses and other rarties.

63 Abul-Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, vol. I, p. 141. 

64 Ibid, p. 141. 

65 The Atbegi was the in charge of all horses belonging to the imperial stables. He directed the duties of all the  officers associated to the management of horses. 

66 The Darogha was appointed to check the quality and maintenance of horses in the royal stables. Every royal  stable had an individual Darogha to look over the maintenance of horses. 

67 The Mushrif kept the roll of horses and look over all the expenditure associated to stable.  68 The Dida-war was the imperial inspector to inspect horses before their mustering by the Emperor. He also  determined the rank and condition of horses. He used to work under the guidance of the Mushrif.  69 The Akhtachis was responsible to look after the harnessing and saddling of horses. 

70 The Chabuksuwar was responsible to check the speed of horses. 

71 The Hadda trained the horses for the different purposes of cantering, trotting, galloping and stepping.  72 The Baytar was appointed for the healing of horses from animal-diseases. 

73 The Naqib was retained for supervision. He used to inform the condition of each stable to the Darogha and  Munshif of the imperial stables. 

74 The Sais was responsible for the grooming of one or two horses individually. 

75 The Nalband was appointed for the horse-shoeing. 

76 The Zindar was the saddle holder. 

77 The Abkash was water carrier in the imperial stable. 

78 The Farrash was appointed for dusting of the royal stable. 

79 The Sipandsoz used to burn mustard-seed (sarso or sipand) in the stables of forty horses for the purpose of  prevention of horses against the nazar-bad (evil eye). 

80 The Khakrub was the sweeper, who used to clean the dung of horses. 

81 Abul Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, vol. I, pp. 145-47. 

82 Ibid, p. 243; William Irvine, The Army of the Indian Moghuls, p. 51; J.P. Pigott, Treatise on the Horses of  India, pp. 1-46.

83 Fr. A. Monserrate, The Commentary of Father Monserrate, S.J. on his Journey to the Court of Akbar, p. 208;  Cf., Shireen Moosavi, The Economy of the Mughal Empire, p. 242.

84 Abul-Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, vol. I, p. 141. 

85 Ibid, pp. 142, 

86 Shireen Moosvi, The Economy of the Mughal Empire, p. 243. 

87 Abul-Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, vol. I, p. 141. 

88 Ibid, pp. 141-42.

89 Ibid, p. 141. 

90 Ibid, p. 142.

91 C.A. Bayly, Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars, p. 155; Arup Banerji, Old Routes, pp. 46-49.  92 Muzaffar Alam, Trade, State, and Regional Change: Aspects of Mughal-Uzbek Commercial Relations, c.  1550-1750, pp. 202-227. 

93 Abul-Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, vol. I, p. 377. 

94 Abdul Qadir Badauni, Muntakhabu-t Tawarikh, vol. II, trans. G. Ranking, ed. B.P. Ambashthya (Patna:  Academica Asiatica, 1973), p. 65.

95 Babur, Babur-Nama, p. 202. 

96 Francisco Pelsaert, Jahangir‟s India, pp. 10-18.

97 Babur, Babur-Nama, p. 202. 

98 Ibid, p. 202. 

99 Francisco Pelsaert, Jahangir‟s India, pp. 44-46.

100 Francois Bernier, Travels in the Mughal Empire, pp. 203-04. 

101 Ibid. pp. 203-04. 

102 Ibid, p. 203.

103 Before the establishment of the Mughal state in India, the custom duties charged on the merchandise at the  ports of Gujrat was very high, it was about 8 to 10% of the merchandise value. Mughal Emperor Jahangir  reduced it to 2 to 2½ %. For more information see, Jahangir, Tuzuk-i- Jahangiri, trans. Rogers and Beveridge,  Delhi, 1968, p. 417. Similarly, in 1669, Aurangzeb remitted all the road toll and taxes on food stuffs. 

104 S.M. Edwards and H.L.O. Garrett, Mughal Rule in India (Delhi, 1956) , p. 265. 

105 Francois Bernier, Travels in the Mughal Empire, p. 202. 

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