The Mansabdar was a military unit within the administrative system of the Mughal Empire introduced by Akbar. The word mansab is of Arabic origin meaning rank or position. The system determined the rank and status of a government official and military generals. Every civil and military officer was given a mansab, which determined their salaries & allowances. The term manasabadar means a person having a mansab. (which means a role) In the mansabdari system founded by Akbar, the mansabdars were military commanders, high civil and military officers, and provincial governors. Those mansabdars whose rank was one thousand or below were called Amir, while those above 1,000 were called Amir-al Kabir (Great Amir). Some great Amirs whose ranks were above 5,000 were also given the title of Amir-al Umara (Amir of Amirs). It was a system whereby nobles were granted the rights to hold a jagir, or revenue assignment (not land itself), for services rendered by them, with the direct control of these nobles in the hands of the king. Asad Yar Jung mentioned 66 grades of mansabdars, but in practice there were around 33 mansabs. During the early reign of Akbar, the lowest grade was ten and the highest was 5,000(later raised to 7,000). Higher mansabs were given to princes and Rajput rulers who accepted the suzerainty of the emperor. History It was prevalent during the reign of Babur and Humayun as well. Akbar made important changes to the system and made it more efficient. Zat and Sawar During later years of his reign, Akbar introduced the ranks of zat and sawar in the system. Different views have been expressed regarding these terms. According to Blochmann, every mansabdar had to maintain as many soldiers as were indicated by his rank of zat while the rank of sawar indicated the number of horsemen among them. Irlos IV expressed the view that zat indicated the actual number of cavalry under a mansabdar besides other soldiers while sawar was an additional honour. According to I W Butlar, the rank of sawar was given to mansabdars to fix up their additional allowances. A mansabdar was paid rupees two per horse. Therefore, if a mansabdar received the rank of 500 sawar he was given rupees one thousand additional allowance. Abdul Aziz is of the opinion that while the rank of zat fixed the number of other soldiers under a mansabdar, the rank of sawar fixed