RAS question
In the Mughal Mansabdari system, the term 'Zat' referred to what?
Correct answer: (A) Personal rank/status of the mansabdar.
In the Mughal mansabdari system, zat denoted the mansabdar's personal rank or status and determined his salary.
Explanation
Zat was the personal-rank component of a mansab. NCERT explains mansab as a position or rank, and says a mansabdar's rank and salary were determined by a numerical value called zat: the higher the zat, the more prestigious the noble's position in court and the larger his salary. That is why option A is right. Zat should not be confused with sawar, which covered the mansabdar's obligation to maintain a specified number of cavalrymen. Mansabs were non-hereditary and transferable, with ranks ranging from 10 to 10,000, and 7,000 for princes.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) A hereditary title is ruled out because mansabs were not hereditary; zat was a numerical service rank linked to status and salary.
- (C) A land revenue assignment was a jagir, whereas zat measured the mansabdar's personal rank and salary scale.
- (D) The number of cavalrymen to be maintained was the sawar component, not zat.
Concept
This tests Mughal administrative terminology, especially the distinction between zat, sawar and jagir in the mansabdari system. It recurs in RAS because medieval administration questions often depend on precise institutional terms.