Subah

A Subah is a term for a province or state in several South Asian languages. It was introduced by the Mughal Empire to refer to its subdivisions or provinces; and was also adopted by other polities of the Indian subcontinent. It was later adopted by the Maratha Empire, from 1720, as part of many reforms introduction by Shahu I. The word is derived from Arabic and Persian. The governor/ruler of a Subah was known as a subahdar (sometimes also referred to as a "Subeh"), which later became subedar to refer to an officer in the Indian and Pakistani armies. The subahs were established by Padishah (emperor) Akbar during his administrative reforms of the years 1572–1580; initially, they numbered 12, but his conquests expanded the number of subahs to 15 by the end of his reign. Subahs were divided into Sarkars, or districts. Sarkars were further divided into Parganas or Mahals. His successors, most notably Aurangzeb, expanded the number of subahs further through their conquests. As the empire began to dissolve in the early 18th century, many subahs became de facto independent or came under the influence of the regional powers or the suzerainty of the East India Company.

In the modern context, subah () is used in several Pakistani languages (most notably Punjabi, Balochi, and Urdu) to refer to a province of Pakistan.

History Initially, after the administrative reforms of Akbar, the Mughal Empire was divided into 12 subahs: Kabul, Lahore, Multan, Delhi, Agra, Avadh, Illahabad, Bihar, Bangal, Malwa, Ajmer and Gujarat. After the conquest of Deccan, he created three more subahs there: Berar, Khandesh (initially renamed Dandesh in 1601) and Ahmadnagar (in 1636 renamed as Daulatabad and subsequently as Aurangabad).

Jahangir increased the number of subahs to 17 during his reign; Orissa being carved out of Bangal in 1607. The number of subahs increased to 22 under Shah Jahan.Mahajan, V.D. (1991, reprint 2007). History of Medieval India, Part II, New Delhi: S. Chand, , p.236n In his 8th regnal year, Shah Jahan separated the sarkar of Telangana from Berar and made it into a separate subah. In 1657, it was merged with Zafarabad Bidar subah. Agra was renamed Akbarabad in 1629 and Delhi became Shahjahanbad in 1648.Habib, I (2003). The Agrarian System of Mughal India 1556-1707, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, , pp.8n, 451 Kashmir was carved out of Kabul, Thatta (Sindh) out of Multan, and Bidar out of Ahmadnagar. For some time Qandahar was a separate subah under the Mughal Empire but it was lost to Persia in 1648.

Aurangzeb added Bijapur (1686), Sira (1687) and Golkonda (1687) as new subahs. There were 22 subahs during his reign. These were Kabul, Kashmir, Lahore, Multan, Delhi, Agra, Avadh, Illahabad, Bihar, Bangalah, Orissa, Malwa, Ajmer, Gujarat, Berar, Khandesh, Aurangabad, Bidar, Thatta, Bijapur, Sira and Haidarabad (Golkonda).Habib, I (2003). The Agrarian System of Mughal India 1556-1707, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, , p.4 Aurangzeb made Arcot a Mughal subah in 1692.

During the Mughal Empire, the Punjab region consisted of three subahs: Lahore, Multan, and parts of Delhi subah. The Sikh Empire (1799–1849), originating in the Punjab region, also used the term Suba for the provinces it administered under its territorial delineation, of which there were five.

Current usage In modern usage in Urdu language, the term is used as a word for province, while the word riyasat (, "princely state" in English) is used for (federated) state. The terminologies are based on the administrative structure of British India which was partially derived from the Mughal administrative structure. In modern times, the term subah is mainly used in Pakistan, where its four provinces are called "Subah" in the Urdu language.

List of Subahs of the Mughal Empire

Akbar's original twelve subahs The twelve subahs created as a result of the administrative reform by Akbar(Mughal Emperor): #SubahCapital(s)Captured/TakenEstablishedAbolishedCause of Abolishment1Kabul Subah (Kashmir Sarkar added in 1586)KabulOctober 1504; from Mukim Beg Arghun158026 November 1738Captured by Nader Shah as a result of the Battle of Khyber Pass2Lahore SubahLahore15 January 1524; from Daulat Khan Lodi15 September 1758Captured by Ahmad Shah Durrani3Multan Subah (Thatta Sarkar added in 1593)MultanDecember 1527; from Shah Beg Arghun17524Ajmer SubahAjmer1556; from Maldeo Rathore1758Captured by Jayappaji Rao Scindia and Ram Singh5Gujarat SubahAhmedabad20 November 1572; from Muzaffar Shah IIIFebruary 1758Captured by Damaji Rao Gaekwad6Delhi Subah (also known as Shahjahanabad Subah)Delhi21 April 1526; from Ibrahim Khan Lodi'21 September 1857Captured by George Anson7Agra SubahAgra10 May 1526; from Ibrahim Khan Lodi12 June 1761Captured by Suraj Mal8Malwa SubahUjjain29 March 1561; from Baz Bahadur24 December 1737Captured by Bajirao I and Balaji Baji Rao9Awadh SubahFaizabad, later Lucknow28 March 1528; from Sheikh Bayazid Farmuli26 January 1722Seceded under Saadat Ali Khan I10Illahabad SubahIllahabad15741772Captured by Tukoji Rao Holkar and Visaji Krushna Biniwale11Bihar SubahPatna6 August 1574; from Daud Khan KarraniThe History of India: The Hindú and Mahometan Periods By Mountstuart Elphinstone, Edward Byles Cowell, Published by J. Murray, 1889, Public Domain1733Seceded under Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan12Bengal SubahTanda (1574–95) Rajmahal (1595–1610, 1639–59) Dhaka (1610–1639, 1660–1703) Murshidabad (1703–1717)12 July 1576; from Daud Khan Karrani1717Seceded under Murshid Quli Khan

Subahs added after 1596 The subahs which added later were (with dates established): #SubahCapitalYear of establishmentYear of disestablishmentCause of disestablishmentEmperor13Berar SubahEllichpur159611 October 1724Seceded under Asaf Jah IAkbar14Khandesh SubahBurhanpur17 January 16011760Captured by Balaji Baji Rao15Ahmadnagar Subah(renamed Daulatabad in 1636)(further renamed Aurangabad)Ahmadnagar (1601–1636)DaulatabadAurangabadJuly 1600(conquest completed in June 1636)1724Seceded under Asaf Jah I16Orissa SubahCuttack1605March 1717Seceded under Murshid Quli KhanJahangir17Thatta SubahThatta16291737Seceded under Noor Mohammad KalhoroShah Jahan18Telangana SubahNanded16361657Merged into Bidar Subah19Qandahar SubahQandahar16381648Captured by Abbas II20Kashmir SubahSrinagar16481752Captured by Ahmad Shah Durrani21Balkh SubahBalkh16461647Captured by Abd al-Aziz Khan22Badakhshan SubahQunduz23Bidar SubahBidar165611 October 1724Seceded under Asaf Jah I24Bijapur SubahBijapur168431 July 1724Captured by MarathasAurangzeb25Golkonda Subah (later Hyderabad) Hyderabad12 September 1687Seceded under Shahu I26Sira SubahSira16871766Captured by Madhavrao I27Arcot SubahGingee16921710Seceded under Saadatullah Khan I

List of Subahs of the Maratha Empire The subahs were introduced into the Maratha Empire in 1721 by Chhatrapati Shahu as a part of his administrative reforms. It did continue even after his reign as new territories were conquered by Marathas across the Indian subcontinent. By 1758, there were 30 subahs in Maratha India and 3 subahs were under Peshwa's rule. #SubahCapital(s)Year of establishmentYear of disestablishmentCause of disestablishment1Hindu Kush SubahKabul (1741–1758), Kunduz (1758–1761)17411761Captured by Durrani Empire2Punjab SubahAttock (1741–1756; 1758–1800), Lahore (1756–1758)1800Independence of Sikh Empire3Rajput SubahMultan (1735–1758), Ajmer (1758–1813)17351813Subsidiarised by the East India Company4Delhi Subah (under Mughal influence)Delhi17581818Ended with the empire's overthrow5Baroda SubahBaroda17216Konkan Subah Raigad (1674–1721), Shahapur (1721–1818)16747Agra Subah (under Mughal influence)Agra17588Western Bengal SubahRajshahi (1742–1751), Murshidabad (1751–1775)17421775Captured by the East India Company9Prayagraj SubahAllahabad1749180310Peshawar SubahPeshawar17431761Captured by the Durrani Empire11Thatta SubahThatta17331800Captured by Kalhoras12Bhopal SubahBhopal17371792Independence of Bhopal State13Indore SubahIndore17321818Ended with the empire's overthrow14Bahawalpur SubahRahim Yar Khan (1751–1761), Bahawalpur (1761–1782)17511782Independence of Bahawalpur State15Khandesh SubahAhmednagar17481818Ended with the empire's overthrow16Poona SubahPune167417Satara SubahSatara18Raigad SubahRaigad172119Thanjavur SubahThanjavur (1674–1680; 1713–1818), Arcot (1680–1682)167420Jinji SubahGingee (1682–1721; 1752–1818), Arcot (1721–1752)168221Ganga SubahKanpur (1748–1752), Lucknow (1752–1803)17481803Captured by the East India Company22Jamuni SubahLucknow (1748–1752), Patna (1751–1803)23Adilabad SubahAdilabad (1751–1772), Berar (1772–1792)17511792Ceded to Hyderabad State24Karnataka SubahBelgaum17501803Captured by the East India Company25Khed SubahKhed17001818Ended with the empire's overthrow26Andhra SubahAmaravati17581775Captured by the East India Company27Kashmir SubahSrinagar1800Captured by Sikh Empire29Cuttack SubahCuttack17521803Captured by the East India Company30Sagar SubahSagar17351818Ended with the empire's overthrow

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Subah

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