Synopsis This book establishes the links missing in the literature that has hitherto been available on the subject. It connects up several things--the process of the Mughal Empire's expansion, Akbar's political and administrative initiatives, and the rituals of the Mughal court. He provides explanations for the persistence of zamindars in the Mughal Empire, the peculiar nature of the status of the Mansabdar, and the apparent Mughal failure to enforce many of the regulations which applied to Mansabdars. By emphasizing the distinction between the image of the Mughal political structure in court rituals at the centre, and the reality of the situation in the provinces, Dr. Streusand explains how centralized the Mughal Empire was--or was not.