Qandahar. He "combined the valour of a
soldier with the administrative capacity of a
civil servant." As Paymaster of Aurangzib's
army in Balkh he had displayed ability, and
when Aurangzib came to the Deccan again,
Murshid Quli accompanied him as diwan of
Balaghat. The Emperor highly commended
him to the Prince as his adviser in revenue
matters. The Prince, too, valued him as highly,
and soon afterwards secured for him the title of
Khan or Lord. Three years later Painghat was
added to his charge, and he became diwan of
the entire Deccan (28th January, 1656). But it was in Balaghat that he began his revenue reforms and first achieved success for his new system.
A century earlier the revenue collection of Northern India had been brought into a system by Todar Mai, the diwan of Akbar. But the Deccan had no system at all. Here the marking out of plots, the measurement of land by chain survey, the assessment The old irregular revenue administration of the Deccan of revenue at so much per higha, or the sharing of the actual produce between the State land-lord and the cultivator, were unknown. The
Khafi Khan, i. 714, 732—735. Adab, 24b, 27a, 28a, 43a, 99a, 41a, 30b, 47b. Waris, 67b, 101a, 106a.
