The Mughal Empire was administered through a system of provinces (subas), the mansabdari ranking of officers, and revenue settlement under ministers such as Todar Mal. Imperial demand sustained a hierarchy of urban places, from the great capitals down to market and administrative towns (qasbas) and ports, knit together by roads, sarais and a monetised economy. Officials, garrisons and tax flows shaped where towns grew and how they were policed.
Mughal fiscal and military administration framed the urban network of early modern north India and its hierarchy of towns.
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