Power, Administration and Finance in Mughal India

From the mid-16th to the early 18th centuries the Mughal empire was the dominant power in the Indian subcontinent. Contrary to what is sometimes suggested, John Richards argues that this centralised state was dynamic and skillfully run. The studies here consider its links with the wider early modern world, and focus on three related aspects of its history. The first concerns the nature of imperial authority, in terms both of the dynastic ideology created by Akbar and his successors, and the extent to which this authority could be enforced in the countryside. The second aspect is that of fiscal and monetary policy and administration: how did the Mughals collect, track and expend their vast revenues, and what effects did this have? Finally, the author asks why the system could not cope with the changes it had helped engender, and what were the weaknesses and pressures that led to the breakup of the empire in the first decades of the 18th century. De la moiti du 16e sicle au dbut du 18e, lempire moghol tait le pouvoir dominant du sous-continent indien. Contrairement ce qui peut parfois tre suggr, John Richards soutient que cet tat centralis tait dynamique et adroitement men. Les tudes examinent ses liens avec le reste du monde moderne et se concentrent sur trois aspects de son histoire. Le premier concerne la nature de lautorit impriale, en termes didologie dynastique, telle quelle avait t cre par Akbar et ses successeurs et du point jusquauquel cette autorit pouvait tre impose dans les milieux ruraux. Le second aspect est celui de ladministration et de la politique fiscale et montaire: comment les Moghols faisaient-ils pour collecter, retrouver et dpenser leurs vastes revenus et quel tait leffet dune telle politique? Enfin, lauteur cherche savoir pourquoi ce systme narrivait pas faire face aux changements quil avait contribu engendrer et quelles avaient t