In the Mughal mansabdari system, the numerical rank that fixed a mansabdar's personal status and salary was called:

In the Mughal mansabdari system, "zat" was the numerical rank that fixed a mansabdar's personal status in the official hierarchy and his personal salary.

The mansabdari system:

• "Mansab" means a rank or position, and a "mansabdar" was a person holding a mansab.
• Every officer of the Mughal state, civil or military, was given a mansab.
• The system was organised by Akbar.

The dual ranks - zat and sawar:

• "Zat": the personal rank, which showed the mansabdar's status and fixed his personal salary; the higher the zat, the more prestigious the noble's position at court.
• "Sawar": the number of cavalrymen (horsemen) the mansabdar was required to maintain.
• For example, a mansab of "1000 zat / 500 sawar" meant that the mansabdar had a personal rank of 1000 and had to maintain 500 horsemen.

NCERT on the mansabdars:

• NCERT explains that mansabdars were graded by a numerical value called zat; the higher the zat, the more prestigious the noble's position at court and the larger his salary.
• It also notes that a mansabdar of 5,000 zat was ranked higher than one of 1,000 zat.
• Mansabdars received their salaries as revenue assignments called jagirs, which were somewhat like iqtas.
• Unlike the muqtis, most mansabdars did not actually reside in or administer their jagirs; they only had rights to the revenue.

Ranks:

• Mansabs ranged from 10 to 10,000 (and higher for princes).
• High mansabs were usually given to princes and important nobles.

Checking the cavalry:

The cavalrymen's horses were branded (dagh) and a descriptive roll of the soldiers (chehra) was kept.

Later changes:

Under Aurangzeb, the number of mansabdars increased greatly, leading to a shortage of jagirs (the "jagirdari crisis").

Why not the other options?

• ✗Sawar was the cavalry rank.
• ✗Jagir was the revenue assignment.
• ✗Dagh was the branding of horses.