Army of the Mughal Empire

The Army of the Mughal Empire was the force by which the Mughal emperors established their empire in the 15th century and expanded it to its greatest extent at the beginning of the 18th century. Although its origins, like the Mughals themselves, were in the cavalry-based armies of central Asia, its essential form and structure was established by the empire's third emperor, Akbar.

The army had no regimental structure and the soldiers were not directly recruited by the emperor. Instead, individuals, such as nobles or local leaders, would recruit their own troops, referred to as a mansab, and contribute them to the army.

The Mughals originated in Central Asia. Like many Central Asian armies, the mughal army of Babur was horse-oriented. The ranks and pay of the officers were based on the horses they retained. Babur's army was small and inherited the Timurid military traditions of central Asia.^[1] It would be wrong to assume that Babur introduced a gunpowder warfare system, because mounted archery remained the vital part of his army.^[2] Babur's empire did not last long and the mughal empire collapsed with the expulsion of Humayun, and the mughal empire founded by Akbar in 1556 proved more stable and enduring.^[3]Akbar restructured the army and introduced a new system called the mansabdari system. Therefore, the essential structure of the Mughal army started from the reign of Akbar.

Mughal emperors maintained a small standing army. They numbered only in thousands. Instead the officers called mansabdars provided much of the troops.

The Mughal Emperors maintained small standing armies. The emperor's own troops were called Ahadis. They were directly recruited by the Mughal emperor himself, mainly from the emperor's own blood relatives and tribesmen. They had their own pay roll and pay master, and were better paid than regular horsemen sowars.

They were gentlemen soldiers, normally on administrative duties in the palace. They also included palace guards, the emperor's own body guards-shahiwalas, and gatekeepers. They were better equipped and had their own horses. The emperor also maintained a division of foot soldiers and had his own artillery brigade.