Historywaves

Abstract Chand Sultana, popularly known as Chand Bibi, was a prominent political and military figure of the late sixteenth-century Deccan. A member of the Nizam Shahi ruling family of Ahmadnagar and later queen of Bijapur, she exercised political authority during periods of dynastic instability and increasing Mughal expansion. Her most celebrated achievement was the defence of Ahmadnagar against the Mughal army in 1595–96. This article examines Chand Sultana's political authority, military leadership and diplomatic strategy within the wider context of Deccan politics. It argues that her historical significance extends beyond the conventional image of a warrior queen. Her ability to mobilise military resources, negotiate with competing political groups and defend dynastic sovereignty demonstrates the complex nature of female political authority in the early modern Deccan. The article also considers the c...

  Introduction Raja Todar Mal occupies an important position in the history of medieval Indian administration, particularly in relation to the development of the Mughal revenue system under Emperor Akbar (1556–1605). His name is closely associated with land measurement, revenue assessment, taxation and the organisation of revenue collection . Todar Mal played a significant role in systematising and institutionalising fiscal practices within the expanding Mughal Empire , contributing to the development of a more organised relationship between agricultural production and state revenue. The Mughal state was predominantly agrarian, and agricultural production constituted the principal economic foundation of imperial finance. Land revenue was therefore one of the most important sources of state income. As Akbar expanded Mughal authority over large parts of northern and central India, the administration faced the problem of managing regions with different agricultural conditions, cro...