ABSTRACT
Nurul Hasan accepted the universal character of the zamindars, and described the position and the role of the chiefs in the Mughal Empire. However, he divided the zamindars into three categories: the autonomous chiefs, the intermediary zamindars, and the primary zamindars. Hasan also touches upon the different roles the chiefs must have played in the economic and cultural life of the country before and after their submission to the Mughals. However, his observations, based as they are on a general survey of the Mughal Empire covering a period of about 150 years, need a close region-wise and period-wise scrutiny before they can be accepted. Barring the reign of Akbar, information provided by Persian sources on the reign of Jahangir, Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb and the later Mughal period is fragmented. Similarly, only brief references to a few chieftaincies are available in European travel accounts.
