() is an Arabic title, adopted in other Islamic or Islamicate cultures, for various civil or religious officials. As per the Persian records of medieval India, muqaddams, along with khots and

chowdhury Chowdhury (also: Choudhuri, Chaudhuri, Choudhury, Chaudhri, Chaudhary) is a title of honour, usually hereditary, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an adaption from Sanskrit. During the Mughal rule, it was a title awarded to eminen ...

s, acted as hereditary rural intermediaries between the state and the peasantry. Originating during the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

, the earliest known reference to the muqaddami system dates from the first decades of the 13th century, when

Hasan Nizami Hasan Nizami was a Persian language poet and historian, who lived in the 12th and 13th centuries. He migrated from Nishapur to Delhi in India, where he wrote ''Tajul-Ma'asir'', the first official history of the Delhi Sultanate. Early life Lit ...

wrote of a delegation of muqaddams offering gifts to Sultan

Qutb ud-Din Aibak Qutb ud-Din Aibak (; 1150 – 4 November 1210) was a Turkic general of the Ghurid emperor Muhammad Ghori. He was in charge of the Ghurid territories in northern India, and after Muhammad Ghori's assassination in 1206, he established his own ...

. Muqaddams were tasked with revenue collection in the areas under their jurisdiction, for which they received either 2.5% as remuneration or rent-free land equalling that amount. The socio-economic status of muqaddams varied over time; during the

revenue reforms of Alauddin Khalji The Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji (r. 1296-1316) implemented a series of major fiscal, land and agrarian reforms in northern India. He re-designated large areas of land as crown territory by confiscating private property, private properti ...

, many were impoverished due to the abolition of their traditional privileges. However, in other periods the muqaddams "were prosperous enough to ride on costly Arabi and Iraqi horses, wear fine clothes, and behave like members of the upper classes". Over time, muqaddams and chowdhurys took on the characteristics of landed gentry in their respective localities, with some even attaining the status of Zamindars during the Mughal period. Muqaddams could be dispossessed of their status by the state. In the

Tijaniyyah The Tijjani order () is a Sufi Tariqa, order of Sunni Islam named after Ahmad al-Tijani. It originated in Algeria but now more widespread in Maghreb, West Africa, particularly in Senegal, The Gambia, Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, Niger, ...

, Shadhiliyyah,

Rahmaniyyah The Raḥmâniyya (Arabic: الرحمانية) is an Algerian Sufi order (tariqa or brotherhood) founded by Kabyle religious scholar Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥman al-Azhari Bu Qabrayn in the 1770s. It was initially a branch of the Khalwat ...

, and other

Sufi orders A ''tariqa'' () is a religious order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking , which translates as "ultimate truth". A tariqa has a (guide) who plays the r ...

, a is a student of the Sufi path (a

murid In Sufism, a (Arabic ) is a novice committed to spiritual enlightenment by (traversing a path) under a spiritual guide, who may take the title , or . A or Sufi follower only becomes a when he makes a pledge () to a . The equivalent Pers ...

dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...

) who has been authorized by his/her Guide (''aka''

shaikh Shaikh usually refers to: * Sheikh, as an alternate Romanization; a term for elders, tribal leaders, and royalty in Arabic-influenced cultures It may also refer to: Communities * Shaikhs in South Asia, a social and ethnic grouping in South Asia ...

, pir, or

murshid ''Murshid'' () is Arabic for "guide" or "teacher", derived from the root ''r-sh-d'', with the basic meaning of having integrity, being sensible, mature. Particularly in Sufism it refers to a Spiritual director, spiritual guide. The term is freque ...

) to assist in teaching the path to other students. In

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, the s were the political leaders of their religious community. The last muqaddams disappeared in the beginning of the 17th Century.

Military use

In the militaries of several

Arab nations The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

, is equivalent to the Anglophone ranks of lieutenant colonel,

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

and

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

, depending on the service branch.

References

{{Authority control Sufism Arab culture Bengali words and phrases