The army was on a feudal basis. The regular soldiers of the army received grants of land| which were sufficient for their comfortable living. The irregular soldiers (Ghairwajh) were paii direct from the royal treasury. There were soldiers who were supplied with transferable assignments on the revenue.
The assignments were purchased in the capital by middlemen at one-third of their value and were sold to the soldiers in the districts at one-half. Thus, certain persons gained the expense of the soldiers. The army of the Sultan consisted of 80,000 or 90,000 cavalry which could be increased by the retainers sent by the nobles. The army could not be efficient.
The Sultan passed a new regulation that if a soldier became incapable of service in the field on account of his old age, his son or son-in-law or his slave could he sent in his place. Obviously, the recognition of the hereditary claim in military service was highly objectionable.
The retainers supplied by the nobles could not be relied upon by the Sultan as they looked to their masters and not to the Sultan for their recruitment, promotion and discipline. The system of assignments mentioned above was also faulty and not conducive to efficiency. Old and inefficient soldiers were allowed to approach the Sultan and he intervened on their behalf unmindful of its effects on the efficiency of the army.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The inspectors who inspected soldiers and horses were corrupt and in spite of his knowledge the Sultan would not dismiss them on a account of his tender heart. We are told that the Sultan overheard a trooper complaining to a comrade the hardship of being compelled to submit his horse for inspection. The Sultan enquired of the trooper about his hardship and he was told that he could not expect his horse to be passed unless he paid the inspector at least one gold Tanka.
The Sultan gave him the coin to be paid to the inspector instead of taking action against the inspector. Thus, in a way, the Sultan became a party to the general corruption that was prevailing in the administration.