IGNOU HISTORY NOTES : India History From 8th to Mid 15th Century - Fiscal and Monetary System Prices

IGNOU HISTORY Study Notes for IAS, UPSC Exams

History India From 8th to Mid 15th Century

Fiscal and Monetary System Prices

Structure

20.0 Objactives
20.1 Introduction
20.2 Fiscal System
20.2.1. Tax= Other than Land Revenue
20.2.2 Mechanism of Collection
20.3 Currency System
20.3.1 The Coinage
20.3.2 The Mint~ng System
20.4 Prices
20.5 Let Us Sum Up
20.6 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

20.0 OBJECTIVES

In this Unit we will discuss the fiscal and monetary system of Mughal India.
After going through this Unit you would know about the
main taxes other than land revenue imposed by the Mughals;
the mechanism of collecting taxes;
the Mughal currency system and
the working of the mints, and
prices and their movement during the Mughal Rule.

20.1 INTRODUCTION

As we discussed in Unit 17, land revenue was the most important source of income
in Mughal India. Besides this, there were other sources of income for the state. In
the first section of this unit we will discuss the latter.
The contemporary sources provide detailed information about land revenue but on
other taxes it is sketchy and brief.
In the second section, we will discuss the monetary system. The Mughals had a
developed system of metallic currency. The Empire was dotted with mints issuing
coins of gold, silver and copper. Here we will discuss the relative value of various
currencies, system of minting and the location of mints.
In the third section, we will take note of prices. Among other things, we will also
discuss the impact of price fluctuation on the production and commercial activities
of the period.