The Mansabdari system was introduced by:

The Mansabdari system was the administrative and military system of the Mughal Empire. It was introduced by Emperor Akbar in the 1570s, and it continued in modified forms under his successors. The idea of ranks was borrowed partly from Central Asian (Mongol) practice.

Under this system, every officer of the empire, civil or military, was given a rank called a "mansab", and the holder was called a "mansabdar". Mansabs ranged from 10 to 10,000 (later raised for princes). The rank was expressed by two numbers:

Zat: the personal rank, which fixed the officer's status in the court and his personal salary.

Sawar: the number of cavalrymen (horsemen) the officer was required to maintain.

Mansabdars were paid either in cash (naqdi) or by the grant of a jagir, an assignment of land revenue from a particular area. The jagirs were transferable, and the post of mansabdar was not hereditary, so the officers depended on the emperor's favour. This kept power centralised and prevented the rise of hereditary nobles.

Akbar also introduced the "dagh" (branding of horses) and "chehra" (descriptive roll of soldiers) systems, borrowed from Alauddin Khalji, to prevent officers from keeping fewer horses and men than required. Jahangir later introduced the "du-aspa sih-aspa" system, allowing some mansabdars to maintain extra horses.

The Mansabdari system created a unified service class of nobles of many backgrounds: Turanis, Iranis, Afghans, Rajputs and Indian Muslims. Raja Man Singh of Amber held one of the highest mansabs, of 7,000. Under Aurangzeb, the number of mansabdars increased greatly, and the shortage of jagirs (the "jagirdari crisis") weakened the empire.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Babur founded the Mughal Empire in 1526 but did not introduce this system.
• ✗Humayun lost his empire to Sher Shah Suri and regained it in 1555.
• ✗Shah Jahan modified the system but did not introduce it.