What was the provincial (Iqta) system of Delhi Sultanate

 In the period of Sultanate, standard provincial administration was not established. The standard provincial administration was in the time of Akbar for the first time. According to Ibn Battuta, the chief of 100 or 84 villages under the subdivision( परगना ) was called the century, its chief was Chaudhary.

Ibn Battuta came to India in the time of Muhammad bin Tugluq.

For the first time, Balban founded Shic(शिक), his kingdom was divided into Shics.

Ibn Battuta talked about 23 provinces in the time of Muhammad bin Tugluq.

Information about 55 subdivisions( परगनों ) gets in the time of Feroz Tughlaq.

Iqta system-

The features of this system are as follows:

• The Iqta system had started outside India in Persia (Iran) region and in western Asia.
• The first Iqta in India– The region of Hansi (Haryana) given by Muhammad Gauri to Kutubuddin Aibak in the form of an Ikta was the first Iqta.
• After some time, the territory of Uchchh (Sindh) given to Naseeruddin Kubacha as an Iqta by Muhammad Gauri.
• But the administrative establishment of Iqta was by Iltutmish.
• Iltutmish started the Iqta system. Meaning of Iqta is- providing land in the form of salary instead of money.

Iqta was of two types

• Big Iqta – Such areas were given to the important wealthy and the army officers. These Iqtedars used to do military and administrative duties, along with revenue recovery in the land of Iqta.
• Small Iqta – These were usually provided to the soldiers in the form of salary. These Iqtedar used to recover only the revenue.

Requirement of Iqta system

The Iqta system started with the need of early Turkish Sultans. Those areas of the Sultanate located away from the capital, which was not easy for the revenue collection, given as an Iqta by the Sultan. These provinces( इक्तायें ) were provided in exchange for the administrative and military service of Sultan.

Thus, by distributing provinces by the Sultan, the influence of the Sultanate was established in the border areas and revenue were also recovered regularly. On the other hand, the concerned officer got an area under his own, in which he could get revenue according to his merit.

Iltutmish gave 2000 provinces to rich Shamsi Turkish to break the power of Hindu landlords in Ganga-Yamuna area.

Work of Iqtedar

Iqtedar used to fulfill administrative and military operations in his Iqta.He took out his salary and administrative & military expenditures from the revenue received from the Iqta and deposited the remaining amount in the treasury of Sultan. The balance was called Fawajil.

Iqtedar used to rule in the name of Sultan in his Iqta, his post was not hereditary. Iqtedar did not even have the right to run coins.

Iqtedar’s post was transferable. The Sultan transferred Iqtedars on time to time. Here the Sultan’s authority glimpses on Iqtedar. Thus, in the feudal method of the Rajput era, Sultan had more control over his Iqtedars.

Firoz Tughlaq had made the post of Iqtadar hereditary.

The Defect of the Iqtedari system

Iqtedar usually used to corruption in the income and expenditure of Ikta. To prevent this and put control over the Iqtedars, different steps had taken by different sultans, like-

• Balban appointed an officer named Khwaja, who used to assess the income of Iqta land.
• Alauddin emphasized on the transfer of the Iqtedars and did not keep any Iqtedar more than 3 years in one Iqta. In addition, he stepped up the intervention of the central administration in the Iqta system.
• Gayasuddin Tuglaq fixed the personal income of Iqtedar and the salaries of the soldiers under him. Vasalat-e- Hasham : Register of the salary of soldiers.
• Muhammad bin Tugluq imposed excessive control over the Iqtedars. He appointed an officer equivalent to the Iqtedars named Amir in the Iqta region, who used to administer the Iqta, while the right of recovery kept with Iqtedar.
• Similarly, Muhammad bin Tuglaq announced the salary in cash from the Central Treasury to the soldiers under Iqtedar.
• Due to this excessive control, Iqtedars did many revolts in the time of Muhammad bin Tugluq.