[Solved] What was Iqta in Medieval India? | Revenue System

Iqta in medieval India meant

[UPSC CDS I 2016]

Detailed Solution & Historical Context

Concept

To sustain a massive military without a modern cash economy, the Delhi Sultans adopted the Persian Iqta system, which decentralized revenue collection and military mobilization.

Authentic Source Evidence

An Iqta was a land revenue assignment given to an officer (Muqti or Iqtadar) in lieu of a cash salary. The officer was responsible for collecting the tax, maintaining a specified number of troops, and ensuring local administration.

Analytical Breakdown

Logic 1: Option B is correct. It was not ownership of land, but the right to collect revenue from it.

Logic 2: This system allowed the state to manage vast territories without direct central intervention at the village level, provided the Iqtadars remained loyal to the Sultan.

Conceptual Deep Dive & Logic

"What was the role of the Muqti in the Iqta system?"

The Muqti collected revenue, paid his soldiers from it, and remitted the surplus (fawazil) to the central treasury.

Examiner's Mindset & Pro-Tip

"The Iqta system was a tool of 'military-fiscal' management that prevented the rise of a landed hereditary aristocracy in the early Sultanate."

Topic Clusters (click to see related topic questions)

Muqti 4 Fawazil 2 Iltutmish 12

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