Order of a Mughal official to landlords and peasants of district Dhar to pay full taxes for the year
The landlords and peasants of district (pargana) Dhar are instructed to pay up the full amount of assessed taxes since it has been a good year with adequate rainfall.
Functional document type: Orders
Formal document type: Parvana
Themes: Administration, Agriculture, Taxation and Tribute
Date:
Julus calendar: 15 Safar 30
Hijri-qamri calendar: 15 Safar 1067
Gregorian calendar:
3 December 1656
[Page 1r]
invocation (top centre): Arabic
الله اکبر
God is great
authorisation (right margin): Persian
… خان مرید … شاه جهان
[Round black ink seal] … Khan disciple of … Shah Jahan
main text: Persian
1چودهریان و زمینداران و قانونگویان و مقدمان و رعایا و مزارعان پرگنه
دهار
2از صوبه
مالوه
بدانند که چون درین سال بعنایت الهی و مناقب اقبال لایزال شاهی
3باران رحمت ایزدی از اول تا آخر موافق مدعا نازل شده و خوبیهای زراعات بکمال
4رسیده و باران آخر برای زراعت ربیع آب حیات بوده امسال سال کامل بلکه
5اکمل است و احدی را جای سخن نمانده و عین وقت مالگذاری فصلخریف
…
و تردد زراعت
6ربیع همینست باید که بخاطر جمع در ادای مالواجبی از قرار واقع و تردد زراعت ربیع و
افزونی
7آبادانی و معموری پرگنه مذکور آنچنان سعی و کوشش نماید که مجری دولتخواهی و آبادان
کاری
8آنها بظهور آمد که در خور آن رعایت خواهند یافت درین باب قدغن تمام لازم دانسته
9حسب المسطور بعمل آرند تحریر التاریخ
۱٥
شهر صفر سنه
٣۰
از جلوس مبارک
بیضه
1Chaudhris and zamindars and qanungos and peasants and agriculturists of pargana
Dhar
2of suba
Malwa, should know that since in this year, by divine favour and the infinite imperial
glorious virtues,
3the rain of compassion of God from beginning to end has fallen as planned, the
excellence of cultivation
4has reached perfection, and the last rains have been the the water of life for
the spring harvest; [so] this year is a perfect year - nay,
5the most perfect year.
1
And no one has any place to say anything, and the opportune moment of the payment of taxes of the autumn
harvest
…
is the same as [making] efforts for the cultivation of
6the spring [crop]. With peace of mind, make such efforts towards the
payment of taxes, which have been settled, and the cultivation of the spring crop and
enhancement of
7the population and cultivation of the aforementioned pargana that [these] efforts and exertions reveal what
they [the officials addressed in the letter] who cause the population and cultivation
8have manifested; [and] in fulfillment of that, they will be favoured. Knowing
that all legitimate prohibitions are applicable in this matter,
9execute as written. Written on
15 of the month of Safar in year 30 of the blessed
reign. Ended.
clerical notes (right margin): Persian
[بتاریخ] [۱۶] شهر صفر سنه ٣۰ نقل [سیاهه] حضور [شد] … د
[On the date of] 16 of the month of Safar in the year 30, a copy [reached the] siyaha huzur … 2
Notes
1. By "perfect year," the writer suggests that because of the fullness of the rains, it is a year in which the full tax demand should be paid. [BACK]
2. The meaning of the letter underneath this note is unclear. [BACK]
landlord (similar to desai, deshmukh)
landlord
record-keeper (similar to deshpande)
district
province (Mughal term)
district
a register of daily proceedings of a royal court
Participants
Language(s)
Arabic
Persian
Source
Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, LNS MS 235 d
Archival Collection: Purshottam Das collection
Transcribed from manuscript image.
Edited by Nandini Chatterjee
Encoding support and website development by Lizzy Williamson, Eva Bodenschatz, Richard Holding, Julia Hopkin and Gary Stringer