Chapter V
The Monetary System and Taxation in Adil Shahi Sultanate
The main focus of this chapter is particularly on the Monetary System and
Taxation, however it also attemps to find out Prices of various commodities and the salaries and wages of various services during the period of the study. An attempt has been made here to study; how money was provided in the economy of the kingdom through the institutions like mints, money and coinage, and finance was made available for the expenditure of state by imposing agricultural and non-agricultural taxes and custom duties. An endeavor is also made here to study how the prices of the commodities, salary and wages of various services were determined by manufacturing cost, market place, competition, market condition, quality of product.
1. Monetary System
1.1 Coinage
The discovery of coins associated with the remains of the early civilization is often cited as proof of the marketing systems. Coinage is viewed as the “consequence of the demand of market network that has evolved beyond previous localized commodity exchange. While earlier, localized exchange, was largely an extension of a reciprocity-based community, the use of coins implies less personalized marketplace, transactions and likely exchange with external economic agents. However, scholars have recently challenged this assertion by demonstrating that gold and silver coinage initially had prestige value in early societies, and might be used, especially in the case
207 of large-unit gold and silver coins in condition of reciprocity rather than market exchanges.”462
The coins belong to first four Adil Shahi rulers have not been found; hence it is believed that the Sultans preceding Ali Adil Shah I had not issued coins of their own. Therefore it may be presumed that they carried out transaction through the
Bahmani coins and hons of Vijayanagar. From the numismatic data available, it can be argued that the coinage tradition of Adil Shahi began during the reign of Ali Adil
Shah I (1558-1580 AD). It was continued by his successors. While most of the ‘Adil
Shahi coins so far found are primarily in copper, some gold and silver coins are also known. The Adil Shahi were the only dynasty of the post Bahmani period to issue coins in all three metals. The only known mint of the Adil shahis was located at
Dabhol, and the name of this mint appears only on the silver coin called larin. Other than larin no coin bears the mint name.463 a. Gold Coins
The gold coins were issued in the weight standard of the south Indian pagoda and fanam. These coins fall into two main categories: those with inscriptions and those without inscriptions. The latter may or may not have been struck during the sultanate period; some of them have an initial letter ‘ain or sin on them, suggesting that they were struck in the reigns of ‘Ali ‘Adil Shah II and Sikandar respectively.’464
The gold coins of Muhammad Adil used a legend written in the form of the Persian couplet, ‘Jahan zin do Muhammad giraft zeenat jah yake Muhammad mursil duam
462 Colin Renfrew, ‘Trade as Action at Distance: Question of Integration and Communication’, in Jeremy A. Sabloff and C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky, eds, Ancient Civilization and Trade, Albuquerque, 1975, p. 53. 463 Danish Moin, ‘The Coinage of Deccan Sultans: Some Observations’, Numismatic Studies, Vol. VI, pp. 171-72. 464 Stan Goron and J. P. Goenka, The Coins of the Indian Sultanates, New Delhi, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 2001, p. 314.
208
Muhammad Shah’, which translated means, ‘The world received beauty and dignity
from two Muhammads: the one is Muhammad the apostle the other Muhammad
Shah.” Some other gold coins with symbols are also attributed to Adil Shahi.
Firishta, writing during the reign of Muhammad Shah’s predecessor, Ibrahim
II, states that “after the dissolution of the Bahmuny dynasty, the several kings of the
Deccan assumed the chutr, or canopy, and the Khootba; but none struck coins of gold in their own name, or sounded the nobut five times daily, excepting the King of
Golconda, styled Kootb Shah.”465 It thus appears that Muhammad Shah was probably
the first of the Adil Shahi rulers to issue gold coins.
Descriptions of these gold coins have been given by Henry Cousins, who
described two gold coins’466 of Muhammad Adil Shah of Bijapur, which have also
been described by Dr. Taylor, ‘These very two coins had been, it seems, the average
weight of which was 52 grains, the size .4”(i.e. inch) and which had a couplet
mentioning the name of Muhammad Adil Shah. Those coins therefore can easily be
termed as Muhammad Shahi hons or the hons of Muhammad Adilshah.”467
In some Marathi documents one can find the mention of a certain Padashahi hon, the exchange value of which was most probably 3¾ rupees of the Alamgiri type.468 As there is no evidence found in the numismatic sources whether any hons
were coined by any Mughal emperor, as these hons were current in Maharashtra in the
beginning of the Dekkan expedition of Aurangazeb; and we do not know any other
Adil Shahi sultan except Muhammad who had struck hons in his name, however G.
465 Firishta, John Briggs translation, op. cit., Vol III, pp. 87-115. 466 Henry, Cousins, Bijapur and its Architectural Remains, op.cit., p. 128. 467 Numismatic Supplement to the JASB for 1925, p.43. 468 G.H. Khare, ‘Currency in Shivaji’s times’ published in the quarterly of the Bharata Itihasa Samshodaka Mandala, Vol. p. 51.
209
H. Khare presumes that Muhammad Shahi hons were meant by the term Padashahi
hons.469
G. H. Khare on the basis of a printed Marathi version of the assay report of
the Bombay Government prepared on 21-8-1826 A.D. and published on 6-10-1826
A.D. in the Bombay Gazetteer, quotes that, ‘there appears the name of a Muhammad
Shahi hon, the weight of which was 51.5 grains and the gold in which was of 78.75 p.c. fineness; its exchange value was equal to 3.69 Bombay rupees.”470
G. H. Khare also referred to a farman issued by Muhammad Adil Shah, to give some interesting details about the hons. Whiel he ws not sure that the hons mentioned in this farman were the same as those described in the assay report, he did suggest that they were the same. ‘The farman comes from one Sidramappa
Mallikarjunappa, the hereditary Deshmukh of Solhapur (Bombay). It was issued to one Hasan Rumikhan, the specially appointed havaladar and the administrator of the
muamila of Solhapur or Sandalapur as it is termed in the farman. It is dated the 22nd
of Rajab 1064 A.H. (29-5-1654 A.D.). The gist of the farman runs thus: “At present
it come to our notice that the bankers, merchants, the subjects and others residing in
villages, towns and market-places included in the said muamila, refuse to accept hons
bearing our name-stamp (Muhammadshah), do not exchange it for the coins of
smaller denominations and do not use it in sale and purchase. What a boldness it is
since it bears our name-stamp? Now we order that as the hons consist of gold of 43
‘ayars or Kas, as it is called in the language of the Dekkan (82.69% fineness),
whosoever terms it as a counterfeit, refuses to accept it after deforming the same and
postpones to exchange it for coins of smaller denominations, should be chastised in an
469 G.H.Khare, ‘Some More Information on the Hons of Muhammad Adil Shah’ op. cit., p. 130.
470.Ibid. p. 130.
210 exemplary manner and his movable and immovable property should be sent to the royal mint, where the same will be melted and transformed into standard ones.”471
The only point of difference is that the Muhammad Shahi hon of the farman had
82.69% of gold, while the hon assayed in the Bombay mint had only 78.75% gold.472
Khare further suggested that the 4% difference in the two regarding the purity of gold could be ignored, given the fact that the method of assaying was not as accurate as it became later. He stated that “The British assay expert might be giving the purity of gold precisely known from scientific methods.”473
Gold Coin of Muhammad Adil Shah (1627-1656)474
From the above information one may argue that from the period of
Muhammad Adil Shah, there could have been a greater need of gold coins for trade
471 G.H.Khare, ‘Some More Information on the Hons of Muhammad Adil Shah’ op. cit., p. 131. 472 Ibid. p. 131. 473 Ibid. p. 131. 474 Stan Goron and J. P. Goenka, The Coin of the Indian Sultanates, op.cit., p. 317.
211
and commerce of Sultanate. This argument is supported by the fact that some gold
pagodas and half pagodas are regularly found in the heartland of Bijapur domains in
such places as Dharwar, Hubli, Belgaum, Gudag and Bagalkot.475 This shows these
places were probably vital in the trade and commerce.
b. Silver Coins
No evidence about the silver coins of a type similar to the copper or gold coins current in the territories of the Adil Shahi sultanate have yet been found. The silver currency that has been found is, on the contrary, of a very different, foreign type, and is known as larin. As this type of coin had originally been made in the district of Lar at the head of the Persian Gulf, it came to be known as larin. This type of coin was adopted by the kings of Bijapur, and, in a slightly different form, the fish- hook, by the king of Kandy in Ceylon.476 This larin was made of silver wire, doubled
somewhat like a hairpin, with inscriptions stamped on the prongs.477 ‘The thick silver
wire used for making a larin was more than three inches in length, double in the
middle and slightly flattened to receive an impression of the stamp. It contained good
and fine quality silver without any alloy. The average weight of a larin was about 72
grains, but the length differed; if a larin was shorter than another it was also thicker
and the weight was equal.’478 A.R. Kulkarni points out that the larin was brought by
Persian merchants to the Konkan and was accepted by the people and also by Sultans
of Bijapur. We therefore find different types of larins bearing the names of places
where they were struck, like Dabholi, Chauli, Basra, and Hurmuzi and so on.479 Thus
475 Ibid. p. 319. 476 G.P.Taylor, ‘On the Bijapuri Lari or Larin’, Numismatic Supplement, Vol. VI. No. II, JASB, Dec, 1910, p. 687. 477 E.F.I., op. cit., Vol. X (1655-60), p. 243. 478 G.P. Taylor, ‘On the Bijapuri Lari or Larin’, op. cit. pp. 688-89. 479 A.R.Kulkarni, “Money and Banking under the Marathas” in Ameya Kumar Bagchi (ed.), Money and Credit in Indian History, Tulika Books, New Delhi, 2004, pp. 101-102.
212 the silver coin larins were for use in the mercantile trade with Persia and other maritime nations that used that type of coinage.
Pietro Della Valle describes this coin as follows, “the lari is a piece of money that I will exhibit in Italy, most eccentric in form, for it is nothing but a little rod of silver, of a fixed weight, and bent double unequally. On the bend it is marked with some small stamp or other. It is called Lari, because it was the peculiar money of the princes of Lar, invented by them when they were separated from the kingdom of
Persia.” 480 Jean Baptiste Tavernier also indicates the district in which, during his time
(1640-1667), this currency was widely used: “The Larins are one of the ancient coins of Asia; and though at this day they are only currant in Arabia and at Balsara, nevertheless, from Bagdatt to the Island of Ceylan, they traffick altogether with the
Larin, and all along the Persian Gulf.”481
As the territory of the monarchs of Bijapur embraced a large portion of the
Konkan littoral, it was probably with a view to meeting the local demand for this strange money that the Adil Shahi sultans caused larins to be struck in their own names. However, it is doubtful if these coins were current all over the Adil Shahi dominions, and it is more likely that their use was restricted to the narrow coastal tract.482
Other earlier travellers also mentioned the Larin. For example, Pyrard de
Laval stated that “60 reis equal in value 1 tanqa larin.”483 Mandelso gives the value of one pagoda as being equal to 10 laris of Dabhol 484 and about thirty-five years later
480 G.P. Taylor, ‘On the Bijapuri Lari or Larin’, op.cit., p. 687. 481 Ibid. p. 687. 482 Ibid. pp. 687-88. 483 Pyrard de Laval, op. cit., Vol I, p. 232, note 2. 484 A.R. Kulkarni, Maharashtra in the Age of Shivaji, op. cit. p. 246.
213
John Fryer mentions that the value of the “pagoda at Rajapur was 10 and 1/2 laris,
value of a Zeraphin485 at Bombay was 3 Larees.”486
Some specimens of the Larin bearing the legend name ‘Ali’ are dated 1071
and some 1077, which goes to prove that this Ali Adil Shah was Ali II (A.H. 1067-
1083), i.e. 1656-1672 A.D.487
However, G.P.Taylor mentions a coin on which the words ‘Abu’l Muzaffar’
stand out “quite clearly on one prong, and (perhaps) ‘Ali’ on the other: so just
possibly—for this specimen is dateless—this Ali may be Ali I [( A.H. 965-988), i.e.
(1557-1580 A.D.) ] one of whose titles was Abu’l Muzaffar. Can it be that both the
silver larins of Bijapur and its copper currency were first issued under the auspices of
this king?”488
Silver Coins: Larin of Ali Adil Shah II (1656-1672)489
485 Ar. Ashrafi, a name applied to the Dinar or Gold Mohur. 486 John Fryer, op.cit., Vol II, p. 129, 131. 487 G.P. Taylor, ‘On the Bijapuri Lari or Larin’, op.cit., p. 688. 488 G.P.Taylor, ‘On the Bijapuri Lari or Larin’, op. cit., p. 688. 489 Stan Goron and J. P. Goenka, The Coin of the Indian Sultanates, op.cit., p. 318.
214
c. Copper Coins
Various types of copper coins (falus) have been found. The Adil Shahi rulers were Shia Muslims and their faith was reflected in their coins. Ali Adil Shah I issued his coins in the name of Ali, the first Imam of Shia and the fourth great Caliph. The legend reads ‘Asadullah Ghaib’ on one side and ‘Ali Ibn Talib’ on the other side.
Ibrahim Adil Shah called himself ‘Ghulam Ali’ (slave of Ali) on one side of his coins
and ‘Ibrahim Abla bali’ on the other. Similarly, Ali Adil Shah II used the legend
‘Ghulam Haider Safdar Ali Adil Shah’. As on the gold coins, Muhammad Adil Shah
also issued his copper coins with couplet.
Copper Coins of Ibrahim Adil Shah II (1580-1627)490
490 Stan Goron and J. P. Goenka, The Coin of the Indian Sultanates, op.cit., p. 316.
215
Bitter almonds and shells, called cowries, were used in for small transaction.
Tavernier mentions that, “other small money consists of shells called cowries, which have the edges inverted; they are not found in any other part of the world save only in the Maldive islands. They are the principle source of revenue of the king of these
Islands, for they are exported to all the States of the Great Mogul, to the kingdoms of
Bijapur and Golkonda.”491
1.1.1 Weight Standards of Coins
The gold coins of the Adil were issued to the pagoda weight standard of about 3.5 gm. The half pagoda (1.6 gm) and fanam (0.4gm) were also struck. The larins weighed around 4.2 to 4.9 gm. The copper coins were based on a unit called falus, which was around 11-12 gm., along with smaller denominations. The denominations are noted as two thirds (7-8 gm.), one third (3.5-4.3 gm.), one sixth
(2gm.), and one twelfth (1 gm.) falus. A few very rare heavier coins are known, which
491 Tavernier, op. cit., Vol I, p. 23.
216 must have been intended as one and half (1½) (17.3 gm) falus and were similar in weight to the late Bahamanid gani.
Table 5.1 Weight Standards of Adil Shahi Coins492
Sr. No. Metrology Denomination Weight 1 Gold Pagoda 3.5gm Half Pagoda 1.6gm Fanam 0.4gm 2 Silver Larin 4.2 to 4.9gm 3 Copper 1½ falus 17.3 gm Falus 11-12gm 2/3 falus 7-8gm 1/3falus 3.5-4.3 gm 1/6 falus 2gm 1/12falus 1gm
1.2 Mints
It is a curious fact that no mint name is mentioned in the gold and copper coins of the Adil Shahi. The silver coins, larins, however, mention the mint name
Dabhol. There was one mint that existed at Bijapur under the charge of a mint master.
Rafi al Din Ibrahim Shirazi, who wrote ‘Tadhkirat al-muluk’493 around 1612, also served as the Master of the Mint.494 Another mint of the Adil Shahis was located at
Bagalkot. There are references to licences issued by the state to private individuals to coin silver and copper money, for which they paid licence fees. It shows that apart from government or official mints several private mints also existed.
492 Stan Goron and J. P. Goenka, The Coin of the Indian Sultanates, op.cit., p. 317. 493 This work is a history of the ‘Adil Shah s of Bijapur’ 494 D.C. Verma, History of Bijapur, op.cit. p.272.
217
1.3 Rate of Exchange
Goods produced in the Deccan and Bijapur Sultanate was exported from
Surat by sea to different places of Asia and Europe. Tavernier describes the
purchasing of these goods, ‘when you leave Surat to go for the purchase of these
goods to the towns from whence they are obtained, you take silver from Surat and
dipose of it at the various places, giving coin for coin at par. But when it happens that
the merchant finds himself short of money in these places, and has need of some to
enable him to pay for the goods which he had bought, he must meet it at Surat, when
the bill is due, which is at two months, and by paying a high rate of exchange….
Which is at Golkonda from 4 to 5; and on Goa the same; at Deccan to 3; at Bijapur to
3; at Daulatabad fro 1 to 1½. 495
2. Taxation System
2.1 Land Revenue System in Bijapur
As was the case throughout the country, land revenue was the most important source of the income of the Bijapur Kingdom also. For the purpose of revenue administration, land was divided into four classes:
1. Crown land.
2. Jagir land.
3. The principalities of the Hindu chiefs, and
4. The land given to Muslim scholars and saints in gift.
495 Tavernier, op. cit., Vol I, p. 30.
218
The crown land was directly administered by the central government.496 The
methods of collection were often oppressive, and the peasants were apparently
exploited. The revenue administration in the Jagirs was even more oppressive than
was the case in the crown lands, for no control was exercised by the central
government. The central government in fact cared little how the revenue was
collected by the jagirdars. The jagirdars had three main duties: first of all he was
required to keep a fixed number of cavalry and infantry for royal service. Secondly,
he was to maintain law and order in his region and thirdly had to pay to the sultan annually a fixed sum of money as tribute. So long as a jagirdar performed these
duties diligently his position was quite secure.
The Hindu Rajas who owed allegiance to the Sultan enjoyed complete autonomy in their respective states and were required only to pay the agreed tribute.
The land which was given to the learned and religious men was free of land revenue.
The ‘Adil Shahs did not interfere with the revenue administration of their land and the old pattern dating back to the time of Hindu rulers continued in many respects.
Revenue collection was given to the highest bidders who used to pay to the state or nobles a fixed sum annually and they were usually left free to collect from the peasants as much as they could. The Deccani rulers retained the local revenue collection machinery. Revenue officials of different ranks worked at different levels.
For instance, the tax official for crown land was called havaldar while, at pargana level, there were the desai and the deshmukh. Accountants were known as
Deshkulkarni and Deshpande. The village headmen, accountants etc. were named muqaddam, patel and kulkarni. All of them received a monetary share on the revenue for their work which varied from state to state. In the coastal belt, separate governors
496 V. K. Rajwade, Marathyanchya Itihasachi Sadhane, Vol.XV, pp.24-25.
219
(sar-samatu) were appointed who paid a fixed sum annually, similar to the revenue
farmers. Though amils were appointed to serve as check on their powers, the states’
interest lay primarily in getting regular payment.
2.2 Revenue Collection
The duties and functions of a desai concerning security, military affairs, and
judicial administration were basically the same in a crown districts as in a pargana area. But there seems to have been an important difference in his duties concerning revenue collection between the two kinds of administrative divisions. To understand the collection and management of revenue in the pargana area following facts gives important information.
In general, there were three ways in which a pargana was administered.497
• The first method was to assign the entire pargana to an official, and leave it
to him to organise administration and revenue collection.
• The second was to assign a part of teh pargana to an official, and keep the
rest under the central government; this part would be placed under the charge
of teh desai of the pargana.
• The third method was to keep the whole pargana under the central
government, in which case the entire administration was the desai’s
responsibility. However, a supervisor (called mahaldar) was sent to check
his administrative practices.
In the pargana (or its parts) temporarily attached to the central government,
the desai has both the right and responsibility of collecting the revenue and sending it
to the capital. A farman dated 20 January 1612 specially forbids the havaldar of
497 Hiroshi Fukazawa, The Medieval Deccan, op. cit. p.19.
220
muamala Torgal to meddle in the revenue collection of the neighbouring pargana
Gadag and states that the revenue of the pargana will be collected by its desai and
sent by him to the capital.498 There are other farmans sent to various parganas to the effect that the desai should collect the revenue from the villages and send it to the
‘Royal Presence (huzur) or the Royal Court (dargah).’499 It was not always the huzur
or dargah to which the desai was send the revenue. Occasionally, he was ordered to
send it to some other places specified by the Court.500
The procedure of revenue collection was as follows. The desai and the
deshkulkarni assessed (sanchni) the revenue of each village, along with its patil and
kulkarni, and reported the assessed amount to the Court, which in turn examined the
reported amount, determined the sum to be actually collected (jamabandi) and
informed the desai. The desai was to collect the sum thus fixed from each village
through its patil and send it to Court.501
Some other responsibilities of a desai related to the collection of revenue
were:
1. Any goods or materials required from the pargana for military or other
government activities were to be procured by him. 502 He could extract
‘forced labour’ (bigar) for building, military and other government works, or
to collect money in place of forced labour, employ workers, pay them their
wages, and send them to the place specified by the Government.503
498 G.H. Khare (ed.), Persian Sources of Indian History (Aitihasik Farsi Sahitya), Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal, Poona, vol. III, no. 37. (Henceforth cited as PSIH ); Fukazawa, p.19. 499 PSIH, Vol. III, nos. 56, 65, 71 ; Hiroshi Fukazawa, The Medieval Deccan, op. cit. p.19. 500 PSIH , vol. III, no. 73, Hiroshi Fukazawa, The Medieval Deccan, op. cit. p.19. 501 Shiva Charitra Sahitya, vol. VIII, Poona, no. 8. (Henceforth cited as SCS ). 502 PSIH , vol. III, no. 72, Hiroshi Fukazawa, The Medieval Deccan, op. cit. p.20. 503 Ibid., vol. III, no. 55, Hiroshi Fukazawa, The Medieval Deccan, op. cit. p.20.
221
2. Some desais were given the revenue due from certain villages, which was to
be used for maintaining a regular supply of a fixed number of foot-soldiers to
the Government (viz. recruitment-farming).504
The desai was responsible for collecting the revenue in the attached pargana and sending it to the Government, but in case of the crown district the havaldar had these responsibilities. One farman clearly states that the havaldar of a muamala sent
the revenue collectors (tahasildar) from his office to collect the revenue from
villages.505 Hence desai in a crown district was deprived of the important function of
direct collection of revenue.
However there are references to some responsibilities that were to be given to the desai. For example, the havaldar and clerks (karkunan) of qalah Shahdurg were ordered by the Sultan ‘not to undertake any work necessary for security, the distribution of revenue-burdens among the villages, justice, and so on without his (the desai’s) agreement.., (and) to understand properly his honour and customary rule.’506
And when the patils in Muamala Sandalpur pointed out to the havaldar the unequal
rates of revenue between different regions of the Muamala and requested him to make
them equal, the havaldar answered, ‘Since we have obtained the agreement of
deshmukh (deshmukhacha katba) to collect the revenue at revenue at this rates, we
have already reported the matter to the huzur. As we are not allowed to collect
revenue (at a changed rate) without the permission (of the huzur), we shall report your
case to the huzur and try to meet your wishes after we have received a reply (from the
huzur).’ 507 In short, the desai in a crown district had neither the right nor the
responsibility directly to collect the revenue and send it to the court. Nevertheless, it
504 Ibid., vol. III, no. 81, Hiroshi Fukazawa, The Medieval Deccan, op. cit. p.20. 505 Ibid., vol. III, no. 37, Hiroshi Fukazawa, The Medieval Deccan, op. cit. p.20. 506 Ibid., vol. V, no. 29, Hiroshi Fukazawa, The Medieval Deccan, op. cit. p.20. 507 SCS, Vol. XI, no, 96, p. 66.
222
was necessary to get his agreement in distributing revenue burdens of deciding
revenue-rates.
Kanoji Deshamukh of tarf Bhor of the Qalah Rohir petitioned to the Court:
“Village Anborah with its market-place (bazar) and Village Kari since the time of
Malik Ambar [Prime Minister of Nizamshahi Sultanate], and Village Chikalgaon and
Village Natanbi of the above tarf through the favour [of the Adilshahi dynasty]: the
above four villages have been continued as my inam along with the all items of revenue (kulbab), all kind of dues (kulvajuhat), miscellaneous customary dues (sayar kanunat), various emoluments (lavazimat), and collection of items and shares (jamia- i-babha va pattiha) according to Nizamshahi farman and the farman (of the present dynasty). Beside these, small dues (haqq lavazima), dues in cloth (patti pachori), and sane sari (?) (from each village of the tarf) have also been continued (as mine). At present, however, the local police station (thanah) denies the farmans and creates disturbances. It demands money which the above villages have not paid hitherto.
Please grant royal consideration to the matter.’ What is the reason that thanah denies the farmans and creates disturbances and troubles on account of the money which the above villages have never paid before, while the above villages and other emoluments are to be enjoyed (by him) according to the Nizamshahi farman and the auspicious and holy farman (of the present dynasty)? Therefore as soon as this farman reaches there, acknowledge the above four villages with the market place along with all items of revenue, all kinds of dues, miscellaneous customary dues, various emouluments and collection of items and shares, as well as the small dues, dues in cloth and sane sari (?) (from each village of tarf), as confirmed for the inam of the above desmuk
223
according to the Nizamshahi farman and the auspicious holy farman (of the present dynasty), and restore them to him.” 508
2.3 Kind of Taxes
Various kind of taxes were in practice. These included the “purchase-tax
(zakat patti), well-irrigation-tax (zakat hundah), tax on the additional cultivation of waste land (chikalvetah), coconut tax (belekati), shoe-tax (paiposhi), feasting tax
(mezbani), nausel bel (?), consumption tax (? Kharchpatti), war tax (jangpatti), the
presents (peshkashi), taqaddama vajh ek mah ahudehdar (?), mango tax (ambarai), menial service of mahar (parevar), bed-stead supplied by carpenter (palang sutar), timber (sar), fines(gunhe), business tax (muhtarfa), forced labour (bet va bigar), tribute (farmaish), other dues in kind (ghairah mahsul), betel-leaves (patrakeni), and other dues (baze babha) which are levied at present or will accrue in future from the above villages shall be given to him.”509
A farman dated 17th August 1646 of Muhammad Adil Shah to the mahaldar
Hasan Rumi Khan of Muamala Solapur, describes how total village tax of 42 hon from village Mauze Dahithane, Mauze Yakruke,and Mauze Bale should be collected
and submitted into the government treasury. 510 The same is described in the table
given below.
508 Hiroshi Fukazawa, The Medieval Deccan, op. cit. p.22. 509 Ibid. p.23. 510 Gajanan Mehendale (ed.), Adil Shahi Farmane (in Marathi), op.cit, p. 158.
224
Table 5.2 Some Taxes in the Villages of Muamala Solapur around 1646511
Sr. Village Belekati Jangapatti Gaonjarradkhana Total No. (coconut (war tax) tax) 1 Mauze 7 hon 5.75 hon & 2.50 hon 15. 25 hon Dahithane 3 duwwal & 3 duwwal 2 Mauze 7.75 hon 5.75 hon & 2.50 hon 16 hon & 3 Yakruke 3 duwwal duwwal 3 Mauze 6.75 hon & -- 3.50 hon 10. 25 hon Bale 1 chawwal & 1 chawwal 4 Total 21.50 hon & 11.75 hon 8.50 hon 42 hon 1 chawwal & 1 chawwal
2.4 Royal Monopoly on the Tobacco
There was a royal monopoly on the tobacco, hence while granting any
village or other unit, tobacco as a general practice excluded from the realisation of
abwabs (cesses). ‘A farman of Ali Adil Shah II, dated, 31st May, 1664, A.D.,
conveying Imperial orders, to the effect that Islampur alias Bangalore, has been
granted to Ekoji Bhonsle with the authority to realise the abwabs (cesses), except on
tobacco’. 512 And one more Farman of Sultan Sikandar Adil Shah addressed to
revenue officials of Nusratabad mentions the giving of the grant of inam in perpetuity
to Pitaji Lakshman Sen, Desai and deshkulkarni from the village of Koparla Buzurg with authority to realize the abwabs (cesses) except on tobacco.513
2.5 Other Sources of the State Income
Next to the land revenue, plunder and booty acquired in the time of war
formed an important source of state income. Bijapur continued to acquire huge booty
511 Ibid. p. 158. 512 P. Sitapati, ed. Farmans and Sanads of Deccan Sultans (1408-1687 A.D.), State Archives, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, 1980, p.14. 513 Ibid. p. 15.
225 from Bidar in early years, from Vijaynagar Empire after the battle of Talikota, it also acquired war booty during its wars with Ahmednagar, Berar and Golconda. After the death of Ali Adil Shah I, the state & Ibrahim Adil Shah II was under the regency of
Ikhlas Khan. ‘Once Dilawar Khan, the chief commander of army plundered a large number of Qutub Shahi elephants and horses. On counting, it came to the knowledge that there were 120 huge elephants, and the horses were countless.’514 It thus became a permanent source of income to the government of Bijapur. Annual tributes from the vassal Hindu chiefs greatly added to the finance of the kingdom. Muhammad ‘Adil
Shah received about thirty million rupees as annual tribute from the Hindu chiefs.515
This income was, however, not permanent, for these kings evaded the payment of tribute very often and in some cases annual punitive expeditions had to be sent for the purpose.
The other substantial source of income was the money derived from taxes other than land revenue. Not less than fifty different types of cesses (abwabs) were prevalent.516 Some of these taxes were levied probably once in life time. Others were collected on special occasions, while some of them were undoubtedly confined to a particular locality. Besides land revenue, the central government reserved for itself revenue derived from certain other items. In the reign of ‘Ali ’Adil Shah II mention is made of the Jagirdars paying revenue derived from tobacco and bhet.517 The bhet was the tribute paid by the subjects and petty chieftains to the king on certain occasions.
Customs duty was also prevalent but no detailed information is available about it.
514 Fuzuni Astrabadi, Futuhat-i ‘Adil Shahi, unpublished English translation by Dr. P.M.Joshi, Vol IV, pp. 44-45. 515 Muhammad Ibrahim Zubairi, Basatin al Salatin, Marathi translation, op. cit., p.247. 516 Surendranath Sen, Administrative System of the Marathas, op. cit., pp 82-83. 517 B.I.S.M., Vol. XI, I, pp47-48; Vol. XII, iii, p.32.
226
As mentioned earlier, there was only one mint at Bijapur518 under the charge
of a mint master. Private individuals were also allowed to strike silver and copper
coins on the payment of license fee. The Bijapur administration earned a handsome
amount out of this fee.519 Muhammad ‘Adil Shah imposed the jizya or the poll tax
upon the non-Muslim,520 which, given the number of non-Muslims in the kingdom,
was probably a fairly significant source of revenue. In addition to these, the Bijapur
government had a regular income from the diamond mines of the Raichur doab. It was
because of these diamond mines and other mineral deposits that the Raichur Doab
was always coveted by the Bahamanis and after them by Bijapur and Vijaynagar.
Several wars took place for its possession and it frequently changed hands. After the
battle of Talikota it permanently came into the possession of Bijapur and greatly
increased the state’s resource.
2.6 Revenue Collection from various places
While the figures available in the sources about the revenue collection are
not sufficient to make any concrete judgement, they nevertheless give a picture of the
overall economy of the sultanate during this period.
During the reign of Muhammad Adil Shah his kingdom comprised 18
sarkars and 281 parganas. Asafjahi records mentions the total revenue of this period
as Rs. 7, 84, 61,770 and 1.5 Annas. 521 However the total revenue collected from
Karnatak is quoted as Rs.5, 25, 61,649.522The detailed break up of this amount could be understood from the table given below.
518 D.C. Verma, History of Bijapur, op.cit. p. 235. 519 Basatin al Salatin, op. cit., p.350. 520 Ibid. p.355. 521 Basatin al Salatin, p. 375; Abdul Gani Imaratwale, History of Bijapur Subha, op.cit. p. 24. 522 Basatin al Salatin, op. cit., pp. 375-76.
227
Table 5.3 Revenue Collection from the Karnatak
Place Income Place Income Shrirangpattan 3,58,51,361 Kotikhada 75,000 ---- 1,02,63,635 Manori 5,640 Saundha 7,20,871 Kalwadi 37,500 Durg 11,25,000 ----- 93,000 Jarimulla 93,750 Haanhaali 10,29,060 Terikhanda 1,72,500 Anagondi 1,73,550 Ratangiri 93,757 Lokori 2,25,000 Sarhaati 75,000 Gangagiri 9,91,165 Pawagarh 1,23,750 Ballari 86,250 Mangpala 15,000 Korikota 1,87,500 Jagpala 1,92,500 Sabargarh 37,500
Apart from the places mentioned above some of the figures are available about the revenue collection from the ports of the sultanate. The information is useful to understand the trade and commerce of the sultanate.
Table 5.4 Revenue Collection from the Ports during the Reign of Muhammad
Adil Shah523
Port Income Port Income Dabhol & Wisavi 7000 Khalhati 7000 Chaul 15000 Sankar 10000 Goa 375000 Rajapur(Islambandar) 10000 Kharepatan 24000 Harchiri 5000 Satoli 3500 Mahmadabad/Sirdhon 5000 Kheda 5000
The total revenue of the Qutub Shahi sultanate in the year 1685-86 was quoted as Rs. 48 million. 524 When this figure is compared with the figure Rs 52 million, the annual revenue of Bijapur sultanate in the 1650s, it can argued that the economy of Adil Shahi sultanate was at the peak during mid of the seventeenth century.
523 Basatin al Salatin, op. cit., p. 375. 524 Arasaratnam Sinnappah, ‘Merchants, companies and Commerce on the Coromandel Trade, 1650-1740, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1986, p.96.
228
2.7 Custom Duty
Some information is also available about various duties that were collected.
The treaty with the Portuguese on 22nd October 1576, mentioned earlier, had promised
Ali Adil Shah I freedom to purchase horses at Ormuz and to land them at Goa, for
being transported to Bijapur, paying the ‘usual customs due of 40 pagodas per
horse’.525
It was common practice during the period to collect various duties or taxes at
a number of places. Zakat (transit or custom duties) was to be paid at the entrance to
different kingdom and even the jurisdiction of different nobles, octroi or market
duties to be paid at the place of sale, and cesses to be paid to the officers of the
market. These various taxes and duties were paid in cash or in kind as a certain
portion of the goods, though there seems to have been no uniform scale for them.526
Abbé Carré mentions that, on arriving at “Chandgala [Chandgad, in Belgaum district],
the first town of that kingdom [Adil Shahi]... we found a toll-house, where I paid
three ruppes as transit-duty.” 527 He further mentions another transit duty he paid
during his travel, “at a little walled town called Necery [Nesari, near Ghatprabha
river, Kolhapur]….. a transit-duty of four rupees, which I had to pay.” 528 As
mentioned in the earlier chapter, the Dutch were permitted to purchase cloth, indigo,
saltpetre and other goods in the Jinji province and transport them to the ports of
Devenampatanam, Puduchery, Porto Novo and others on payment of half the
525 H.K. Sherwani, and P.M.Joshi (ed.), History of Medieval Deccan, op. cit., Vol.I, p. 334 526 Tapan Raychaudhary and Irfan Habib (ed.), The Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol. I, New Delhi, Orient Longman, 2007, pp.201-02. 527 Abbe Carre, The Travels of The Abbe Carre, op.cit. Vol I, p.226. 528 Ibid. p. 228.
229
embarkation duty of 2½ per cent, in addition to the ‘usual inland road dues’. However,
we do not know how much these ‘usual dues’ were.529
3. Prices
It is difficult to find out prices of the commodities in the Adil Shahi
Sultanate. However, some documents mentions prices prevail in the Mughal Deccan during the period of present study are useful to assume the prices in Adil Shahi
Sultanate. These documents shows market rates of various commodities, exchange rates of different coins, buying and selling rates of gold and silver.
3.1 Rates of Currency
A daily Mughal news-report dated 16th Muharram 1072 (August 1661), of
the fort Fathbad, (Dharur) gives us the following information about the rates for
currency.
Table 5.5 Selling and Buying Rate of Ashrafi and Hun in Mughal Deccan530
Items Buying Selling Items Buying Selling Rate Rate Rate Rate Shah Jahani Rs. 14/12/- 14/13/- Akbari Rs. 14/14/- Rs. 14/15/- Ashrafi Ashrafi Ajit Rai Hun Rs. 4/-/6 Rs. 4/1/- Badshai Rs. 3/12/9 Rs. 3/13/- Hun Tilai- per tola Rs. 15/9/ - Rs. Nuqra- 11 ¼ masa 12 masa 15/10/- Chandi
529 J.E. Heeres and F.W. Stapel, ed. Corpus Diplomaticum Neerlando-Indicum, op. cit., Vol.II. 10 August 1654, pp. 25-30. 530 P. Sittapati (ed.), Mughal Documents Catalogue of Aurangzeb’s Reign’ (1658-63 A.D.), vol. I, Part II, Andhra Pradesh State Archives, Hyderabad, 1981, p.43.
230
Table 5.6 Selling & Buying Rate per rupee of Copper Coins in Mughal Deccan531
Items Buying Selling Items Buying Selling Rate Rate Rate Rate Shah 15 15 Chalni 15 Tanka/6 15 Tanka Jahani Tanka/25 Tanka/18 ¼ Dam Dam ¾ Dam Aurang 15 15 Golcondi 15 Tanka/18 15 Tanka/12 Shahi Tanka/25 Tanka/18 ¾ Dam ½ Dam Dam ¾ Dam
Table 5.7 Selling & Buying Rate per rupee of Grains etc. in Mughal Deccan532
Items Buying Selling Items Buying Selling Rate Rate Rate Rate Wheat -/15 Pailis -/14 Pailis Long? 1Maund/12 1Maund/11 Pailis Pailis Nakhud 1Maund/4 1Maund/3 Korsi 2Maund/10 2Maund/8 (gram) Pailis Pailis Pailis Pailis Jawari 1Maund/4 1Maund/3 Karlah 1Maund/5 1Maund/4 Pailis Pailis Pailis Pailis Masur 1Maund/12 1Maund/11 Shali 1Maund/ Maund/5 Pailis Pailis Pailis (Paddy) (?) Adas 1Maund/4 1Maund/3 Methi 1Maund/12 1Maund/11 (lenlil) Pailis Pailis Pailis Pailis Rai 2Maund/8 2Maund/6 Kunjud -/14 Pailis -/13 Pailis (Mustard) Pailis Pailis (Grain Sesame) Mash -/12 Pailis -/11 Pailis Mung 1Maund/8 1Maund/7Pailis Pailis Cotton 26 Asar 25 Asar Ghee 4 ¾ Asar 4 ½ Asar Brinch 15 Asar 14 Asar Jaggery 20 Asar 19 Asar (Rice) Sugar (1st 5 ¼ Asar 5 Asar Red 13 Asar 12 Asar quality) Sugar Muraj (?) 4 ¾ Asar 3 ½ Asar Pukuta 8 ½ Asar 8 Asar Soap 6 Asar 5 Asar Khattah 4 ½ Asar 4 Asar Basoli 8 ½ Asar 8 Asar Laung 21 Asar 20 Asar Ajwain 24 Asar 22 Asar Oil 12 Asar 11 Asar
531 Ibid. p. 43. 532 Ibid. pp. 43-44.
231
Another daily news-report dated 11th Muharram 1073 (17 August 1662), of the qasaba Udgir provides some information about grain rates.
Table 5.8 Selling & Buying Rate (per rupee) of Grains etc. in Mughal Deccan533
Items Buying Selling Items Buying Selling Rate Rate Rate Rate Wheat 1 Mound 29 1 Mound Gram 2 Mound 11 2 Mound 8 ½ ¼ Srs. 27 Srs. ¼ Srs. Srs. Jawar 2 Mound 24 2 Mound Salt 31 ¼ Srs. 26 ¼ Srs. Srs. 20 ¾ Srs. Ghee 1 4 ¾ Srs. 4 ½ Srs. Ghee 2 1 ¾ Srs. 1 ¾ Srs. Karar 16 Srs. 14 Srs. Seasame 12 ½ Srs. 11 ¼ Srs. Oil Oil Kitan 16 ¼ Srs. 14 ¼ Srs. Karhila 16 ¾ Srs 14 ¾ Srs.
3.2 Price of the Horse
The importance of horses in the trade to India has been well described by
many contemporary accounts. Barbosa describes the trade carried out in Goa, “from
the kingdom of Ormus come every year many ships laden with horses and great
number of dealers from the great kingdom of Narsyngua and from Daquem come
hither to buy them. They pay for them at the rate of two to three hundreds cruzados a
piece, as the case may be, and take them away to sell them to the kings and lords of
their lands, and by this means one and all they make great gains, and the King our
Lord as well, who receives a duty of forty cruzados on each horse.”534 Tavernier sold
some pearls to Shaista Khan at Ahmadabad in the year 1653. On one of Tavernier’s
visits, for receiving the payment for the pearls, Shaista Khan presented him a horse.
533 P. Sittapati ed. ‘Mughal Documents Catalogue of Aurangzeb’s Reign’ (1658-63 A.D.), op. cit., Vol. I, Part II, p.176. 534 Barbosa, op.cit. Vol I, p. 178.
232
Tavernier describes the horse, “it was a large Persian horse, which had formerly cost
5.000 ecus [£1,125, at 4s. 6d. the ecu] when young, but it was then more than twenty-
eight years old.”535 Tavernier sold this horse to a Frenchman at Golconda for 400 rupees. 536 Another source mentions a nobleman named Hindurao in Ali Adil
Shah’s537 troop, who had 2000 horses, at a time when even a small horse could cost
“up to 300 hons.”538
4. Salary and Wages
Some sources give information about the salary of people who served the
sultanate in various departments. During the reign of Ali Adil Shah I, who was a great
lover of books and has maintained a good collection in his library, it is reported that,
‘to his library he appointed Waman Pandit bin Anant Pandit Shesh, a Sanskrit scholar
and member of a learned and distinguished family. The salary of this scholar librarian
was fixed at 1,000 hons per year.’539 It seems that Muhammad Adil Shah was very
conscious about providing employment. He gave instructions to his officials that
‘whenever some new areas are conqured by the sultanate then the soldiers and the
generals should be enrolled in our service and provided by salary or jagir.540 John
Fryer in his travel account mentions the salaries of some noble, who served during the
reign of Sultan Muhammad Adil Shah, Ali Adil Shah II and Sikandar Adil Shah. The
same is given in the table below.
535 Tavernier, op. cit., Vol I, p. 18. 536 Ibid. p. 247. 537 Ali Adil Shah I was on throne 1558-1580 A.D. 538 Muhammad Ibrahim Zubairi, Basatin al Salatin, Marathi translation, op. cit., p. 109. 539 Sherwani and Joshi (ed.), Medieval Deccan, pp. 396-97. 540 Basatin al Salatin, op. cit., p.377.
233
Table 5.9 Information of Salary, Number of Horse and Foot of the Nobles541
Sr. No Noble Horse Foot Salary per Annum 1 Bahlol Khan 20,000 1,00,000 60 Lecgue Pagodas 2 Shirzah Khan 3000 10,000 15 Lecgue Pagodas 3 Sunda Raja 3000 12,000 30 Lecgue Pagodas 4 Sambhaji542 10,000 20,000 30 Lecgue Pagodas 5 Ekoji Raje543 2,000 8,000 10 Lecgue Pagodas 6 Sidi Johar 2000 16,000 28 Lecgue Pagodas 7 Rustam Zaman 10,000 20,000 30 Lecgue Pagodas 8 Sidi Masud 5,000 10,000 20 Lecgue Pagodas
On the basis of the information given in Table 5.9, it is clear that salaries of the nobles were determined by the number of horses they possesed.
Tavernier mentions about the low wages of workers at Raolconda mines,
‘these poor people only earn 3 pagodas per annumn; i.e. equal to about one rupee or
27 pence per mensem or less than a penny a day.544 Abbé Carré reported that the
coolies or labourers that carried the headloads from Goa to Bijapur were to be paid
“2½ écus”545 a load for a trip which required twenty-five to thirty days. He himself
had “utilized eight coolies for his palanquin and luggage. He paid each of them three
rupees, which was 1½ écus, to take him from Goa to Biapur.”546
Sometimes the wages may have been paid in kind or in grain. For example,
the Gazetteer547 suggests that the workmen employed for the construction of ‘Ibrahim
Roza, were probably paid in grain.’548
541 John Frayer, op. cit., Vol II, pp. 56-57. 542 Brother of Shivaji and eldest son of Shahji and Jijabai. 543 Half brother of Shivaji and son of Shahji and Tukabai. 544 Tavernier, op. cit., p. 46. 545 One écues is equal to two rupees. 546 The Travels of Abbe Carre, op.cit, Vol. I, pp. 224-225. 547 Imperial Gazetteer, vol. xxiii. P. 611.
234