XII. Aurangzeb's Revenues

Extract

The late Mr. Edward Thomas made an examination of the revenues of the Moghal Empire, and, among other things, gave tables for Aurangzeb's revenues for the years 1654–5, 1663–4 (?), 1697, and 1707. But he omitted to notice the statistics given in the Mirātu-l-‘Aālam, and which relate, apparently, to the year 1078 a.h. or 1668 a.d. They are very full, and appear to have been carefully compiled. The author, whether he was Batāwar ān or, as is more likely, Muhammad Baqā, was in Aurangzeb's service and had good opportunities of acquiring information. The paragraphs have been translated by Sir Henry Elliot, and appear in his History, vol. vii, pp. 162 et seq., but his manuscript was probably not perfect, and the translation is not quite correct. Lately I have been reading the paragraphs in the copy of the Mirāt belonging to our Society and described by Mr. Morley, and I have also consulted the MSS. in the British Museum. The account begins in what the writer calls the Third Numāyi of the Seventh Ārāyish, and at p. 252b of the R.A.S. copy. First, the length and breadth of the empire are given both in royal (bādāhī) kos and in ordinary (rasmī) kos, that is, kos commonly used in most parts of India; the writer stating that the royal kos is one of 5,000 cubits (ẕarā’) of the dimension of 42 finger-breadths, and that 2 such kos are equal to 3½ ordinary kos.