A. Akbar The Mansabdari system was the administrative system of the Mughal Empire introduced by Akbar in 1595-96 CE. The word mansab is of Arabic origin meaning rank or position. The system, hence, determined the rank of a government official. Every civil and military officer was given a ‘mansab’ and different numbers which could be divided by ten were used for ranking officers. It was also meant for fixing the salaries and allowances of officers.