Berar Subah
| Berar Subah | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Subah of the Mughal Empire | |||||||||
| 1596–1724 | |||||||||
 Alam flag of the Mughal Empire | |||||||||
Hyderabad becomes the de jure sovereign of Berar | 1724 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Berar". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. | |||||||||
The Berar Subah was one of the
Origin of name
According to the Ain-i-Akbari, the original name of Berar was Waradatat (the banks of Varada River).[1]
History
Before the Mughal occupation, Berar was part of the Nizam Shahi sultanate of
In 1611, the southern provinces of Ahmadnagar, Berar and Khandesh defied Mughal sovereignty under Malik Ambar. Jahangir sent Man Singh and others to crush the revolt. Man Singh died a natural death on 6 July 1614 at Ellichpur. During Jahangir’s rule, Malik Ambar till his death in 1626 recovered a substantial part of the Deccan from the Mughals including Berar. In 1628, the first year of reign of Shah Jahan, Berar again came under the Mughal sway.
In 1636, the Mughal possessions in Dakhin (Deccan) were divided into 4 Subahs. Berar was one of them with
In 1724, when Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah declared independence, the existence of Berar as a Mughal Subah came to an end. It became (though nominally) a part of Nizam's state.[4]
Administrative divisions
Berar came under Mughal administration in 1596. Todar Mal's famous system known as bandobast was made applicable to the Berar Subah.
The area of the Berar Subah during Akbar's reign was 72,000 sq. miles. According to Ain-i-Akbari, its northern limit was Handia, the eastern limit was the fort of Vairagad near
The sarkars and parganas of the Berar Subah (province) were:[6]
| Sarkar (district) | No. of Parganas (tehsil) |
|---|---|
Gavil |
46; Ellichpur was the capital of Berar
|
| Khedala | 35 |
| Pavanar | 5 |
| Narnala | 34 |
| Kalamb | 31 |
| Washim | 8 |
| Mahur | 20 |
| Manikdurg | 8 |
| Pathri | 18 |
| Telangana | 19 |
| Ramgad | 5 |
| Mehkar | 4 |
| Baitulawadi | 9 |
Economy
The jama (revenue assessed) from Berar in 1596 was 64,26,03,270 dams (Delhi).[7] Land revenue formed the major part of the total income from the Subah. Other sources of income were zakat, customs, salt tax, khums, mint, currency, jizya, escheats, presents, octroi, tolls and tributes. The coins current were tanka-i-Barari, dam and Rupee. One tanka-i-Barari was equal to 16 Delhi dams[8] (but later raised to 24 dams) or eight Delhi tankas.
See also
- Berar Sultanate (pre-Mughal)
- Berar Province (after, British colonial)
Notes
- ^ Abul Fazl-i-Allami (1949, reprint 1993). Ain-i-Akbari Vol. II (tr. H.S. Jarrett, rev. J.N. Sarkar), Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, p.236
- ^ "Wardha district e-gazetteer – administrative history".
- ISBN 81-219-0364-5, p.143
- ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 7, p. 369
- ^ Abul Fazl-i-Allami (1949, reprint 1993). Ain-i-Akbari Vol. II (tr. H.S. Jarrett, rev. J.N. Sarkar), Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, pp.236-9
- ^ Abul Fazl-i-Allami (1949, reprint 1993). Ain-i-Akbari Vol. II (tr. H.S. Jarrett, rev. J.N. Sarkar), Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, pp.240-4
- ISBN 0-19-565595-8, p.462
- ^ Abul Fazl-i-Allami (1949, reprint 1993). Ain-i-Akbari Vol. II (tr. H.S. Jarrett, rev. J.N. Sarkar), Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, p.239n
References
- Abul Fazl-i-Allami (1949, reprint 1993). Ain-i-Akbari Vol. II (tr. H.S. Jarrett, rev. J.N. Sarkar), Calcutta: The Asiatic Society.