Subah

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(Redirected from
Subah (province)
)
For other uses, see Subah (disambiguation).

A Subah was the term for a

Mahals. His successors, most notably Aurangzeb, expanded the number of subahs further through their conquests. As the empire began to dissolve in the early 18th century, many subahs became effectively independent or were conquered by the Marathas or the British
.

In the modern context, subah (

Urdu: صوبہ) is a word used for province in the Urdu
language mainly in Pakistan.

History

Initially, after the administrative reforms of

Mughal empire was divided into 12 subahs: Kabul, Lahore, Multan, Delhi, Agra, Avadh, Illahabad, Bihar, Bangal, Malwa, Ajmer and Gujarat. After the conquest of Deccan
, he created three more subahs there: Berar, Khandesh (initially renamed Dandesh in 1601) and Ahmadnagar (in 1636 renamed as Daulatabad and subsequently as Aurangabad).

Jahangir increased the number of subahs to 17 during his reign; Orissa being carved out of Bangal in 1607. The number of subahs increased to 22 under Shah Jahan.[2] In his 8th regnal year, Shah Jahan separated the sarkar of Telangana from Berar and made it into a separate subah. In 1657, it was merged with Zafarabad Bidar subah. Agra was renamed Akbarabad in 1629 and Delhi became Shahjahanbad in 1648.[3] Kashmir was carved out of Kabul, Thatta (Sindh) out of Multan, and Bidar out of Ahmadnagar. For some time Qandahar was a separate subah under the Mughal Empire but it was lost to Persia in 1648.

Sira[4] and Haidarabad (Golkonda).[5] Aurangzeb
made Arcot a Mughal subah in 1692.

The Sikh Empire (1799–1849), originating in the Punjab region, also used the term Suba for the provinces it administered under its territorial delineation, of which there were five.[6]

Current usage

In modern usage in

provinces are called "Subah" in the Urdu
language.

List of Subahs of the Mughal Empire

Akbar's original twelve subahs

The twelve subahs created as a result of the administrative reform by Akbar(Mughal Emperor):

# Subah Capital(s) Year of establishment Year of disestablishment Cause of disestablishment
1
Kabul Subah (Kashmir Sarkar
added in 1586) 		Kabul 1580 1738 Captured by Nader Shah
2 Lahore Subah Lahore 1580 1758 Captured by Raghunath Rao
3 Multan Subah Multan 1580 1756 Captured by Ahmad Shah Durrani
4 Ajmer Subah Ajmer 1580 1758 Captured by Jayappaji Rao Scindia and Ram Singh
5 Gujarat Subah Ahmedabad 1573 1758 Captured by Damaji Rao Gaekwad
6 Delhi Subah Delhi 1580
7 Agra Subah Agra 1580 1761 Captured by Suraj Mal
8 Malwa Subah Ujjain 1568 1743 Captured by Bajirao I and Balaji Baji Rao
9 Awadh Subah Faizabad, later Lucknow 1572 1722 Captured by Saadat Ali Khan I
10
Illahabad Subah
Illahabad
 1580 1772 Captured by Tukoji Rao Holkar and Visaji Krushna Biniwale
11 Bihar Subah Patna 1576 1765 Captured by Hector Munro
12 Bengal Subah Tanda (1574–95)
Rajmahal (1595–1610, 1639–59)
Dhaka (1610–1639, 1660–1703)
Murshidabad (1703–72) 		1576 1765 Captured by Hector Munro

Subahs added after 1593

The subahs which added later were (with dates established):

# Subah Capital Year of establishment Year of disestablishment Cause of disestablishment Emperor
13 Thatta Subah Thatta 1593 1737 Captured by Noor Mohammad Kalhoro Akbar
14 Berar Subah Ellichpur 1596 1724 Captured by Asaf Jah I
15 Khandesh Subah Burhanpur 1601 1760 Captured by Balaji Baji Rao
16
Aurangabad
)
Aurangabad
 1601
(conquest completed in 1636) 		1724 Captured by Asaf Jah I
17
Orissa Subah
 Cuttack 1605 1751 Captured by Raghoji Bhonsle I Jahangir
18 Telangana Subah Nanded 1636 1657 Merged into Bidar Subah Shah Jahan
19
Qandahar Subah
Qandahar
 1638 1648 Captured by Abbas II
20 Kashmir Subah Srinagar 1648 1752 Captured by Ahmad Shah Durrani
21
Balkh Subah
 Balkh 1646 1647 Captured by Abd al-Aziz Khan
22
Badakhshan Subah
 Qunduz 1646 1647 Captured by Abd al-Aziz Khan
23 Bidar Subah Bidar 1656 1724 Captured by Asaf Jah I
24 Bijapur Subah Bijapur 1684 1724 Captured by Asaf Jah I Aurangzeb
25
Golkonda Subah
(later Haidarabad) 		Haidarabad 1687 1724 Captured by Asaf Jah I
26 Sira Subah Sira 1687 1766 Captured by Madhavrao I
27 Arcot Subah Gingee 1692 1710 Captured by Saadatullah Khan I

Gallery

Subahs of the Mughal Empire
Subahs of the Mughal Empire (North India)
Subahs of the Mughal Empire (South India)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ George Clifford Whitworth. Subah. An Anglo-Indian Dictionary: A Glossary of Indian Terms Used in English, and of Such English Or Other Non-Indian Terms as Have Obtained Special Meanings in India. London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co. 1885. p. 301.
  2. ^
    ISBN 81-219-0364-5
    , p.236n
  3. ISBN 0-19-565595-8
    , pp.8n, 451
  4. ^ a b Imperial Gazetteer of India: Provincial Series 1908, pp. 175–176
  5. ISBN 0-19-565595-8
    , p.4
  6. ^ Herrli, Hans (1993). The Coins of the Sikhs. p. 10.

References

  • Keay, John (2000). India: a History. Grove Press, New York.
  • Markovits, Claude (ed.) (2004). A History of Modern India: 1480–1950. Anthem Press, London.

Further reading

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