Abstract

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This paper is an effort to study about the Mughal military culture and socio-economic importance of horses during the Mughal period. It explores the military and economic significance of the horses and its importance in the cavalry that was the mainstay of the Mughal army.It was the Mughal army that was the vanguard of the Mughal expansion. The most crucial feature of the Mughal army was its cavalry. The centrality of the horses in the cavalry regiment helped in the centralisation of the Mughal Empire.1 The Mughal cavalry was admixture of "Turco-Mongol", Central Asian, Middle East Asian and Indian warriors, especially the horsemen. Apart from the military man power, the geographical fringes of the above mentioned also procured/supplied the best quality of the Arabian, Persian, Turki, Tuzuki, Qabuli, Qandhari and Janglah Horses to the Mughals. 2 The good horses were imported to the Mughal state from Arabia, Iran, Turan, Turkey, Turkestan, Badakhshan, Shirwan, Qirghiz, Tibbet, Kashmir and other countries. This paper argues that the centrality of the horses in the Mughal "military-civil" necessities encouraged the Emperors to establish control on the trade of war-horses, land-routes and other enterpots of the horses. The safety and security provided to trading activities was aimed to encourage the continuous supply of war-horses to the Mughal army. The continuous procurement of war-horses from Central Asian regions and neighboring countries established the Mughal superiority in cavalry warfare. Apart from the land routes, horses were also imported trough the searoutes, mainly from the countries of the Safavids and the Ottomans and the Uzbeks. Kabul and Qandhar were the major entrepots on the land-routes in the Mughal India for the horse traders. The ports of Surat, Cambay, Kutch, Thatta,,Lahori Bandar and Sonargoan were the major entrepots for the bahri horses. This paper suggests that due to the crucial role of horses in the state building, the Mughals encouraged horse trading and invested in horse breeding too. In order to establish control over the horse trade, the Mughal Emperors established friendly and diplomatic relations with the neighbouringcountries, provided protection to merchants and facilitated the trade by constructing proper roads and caravansarais and controlled the banditry through suppressing tribal and local insurgency. Apart from the construction of the fortified post at regular intervals, the Mughal Emperors also issued farmans on regular intervals addressed to the state officials (like amin, mansabdars, kotwals, zamindars and mutasaddis etc), for the remission of taxes for promoting the horse trade. They further suggested to officers to reduce heavy taxes and to provide proper safety and security to the merchants and their merchandise to encourage the trade within India. Due to the centrality of the horses, the horse traders even enjoyed close ties with the courtiers, and got multiple favours and administrative post in return. This paper also argues that the horses have been culturally considered more than the "resources" and "units of state-formation". The utility and significance of horse in domestic, military and commercial milieu revealed its symbolic value and it became a representative of power and authority. This research is an effort to highlight the significance of the animal, who was mainstay of the Mughal military.