Mansabdar

During his rule over the Mughal Empire of India, Akbar the Great brought the whole of his military organization under a new system of administration called the mansabdari. The title was taken from the term “mansab,” which means rank. Officers in the Mughal army were given a mansab and then expected to be servants of the state, with their dismissal or suspension resting directly in the hands of the emperor. There were thirty-three grades of mansabdars, differentiated by the Zat and the Sawar. The Zat referred to the number of troops that the mansabdar maintained, while the Sawar referred to the number of horses that he maintained. The number of soldiers under a man’s command could start at ten and rise into the ten thousands. Of course, the highest rank that any common officer could hold only offered a command of 5,000 men. Larger forces were always first allotted to royal princes. Yet, after the death of Akbar at the beginning of the seventeenth century, the grades were increased. Common officers could reach the mansabdar grade corresponding to a command of over 20,000 men.

From the game's History encyclopedia, AoE3: DE 100.19.18309.