Sarkar ( hi, , ur, , pa, ਸਰਕਾਰ, bn, সরকার also spelt Circar) is a historical
administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
,
used mostly in the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
. It was a division of a
Subah
A Subah was the term for a province (State) in the Mughal Empire. The word is derived from Arabic and Persian. The governor/ruler of a ''Subah'' was known as a '' subahdar'' (sometimes also referred to as a "''Subeh''"), which later became ''sub ...
[ or province. A sarkar was further divided into ]Mahalla
is an Arabic word variously translated as district, quarter, ward, or "neighborhood" in many parts of the Arab world, the Balkans, Western Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and nearby nations.
History
Historically, mahallas were autonomous social i ...
s or Pargana
Pargana ( bn, পরগনা, , hi, परगना, ur, پرگنہ) or parganah, also spelt pergunnah during the time of the Sultanate period, Mughal times and British Raj, is a former administrative unit of the Indian subcontinent and each ...
s.[
The Sarkar system was replaced in the early 18th century by the Chakla system.]
See also
* Northern Circars
The Northern Circars (also spelt Sarkars) was a division of British India's Madras Presidency. It consisted of a narrow slip of territory lying along the western side of the Bay of Bengal from 15° 40′ to 20° 17′ north latitude, in the pre ...
, the five individual districts making up a former division of British India's Madras Presidency
* Rajamundry Sarkar Rajamundry Sarkar was one of the five Northern Circars in the Golconda Sultanate, Deccan Subah of Mughal empire and later in the Nizam's dominion of Hyderabad. During Qutb Shahi, Mughal and Nizam rule it was referred in official records with name R ...
, one among the Northern Circars
* Pakhli
Pakhli Sultanate was an ancient sarkar (district) of the Mughal Subah of Punjab, now part of Hazara, Pakistan. It roughly corresponds to the ancient Urasa, the Aρσa or Οΰaρσa which Ptolemy placed between the Bidaspes (Jhelum) and the Indu ...
, an ancient sarkar now part of Hazara, Pakistan
* Pakhal Sarkar
Pakhal is an area of the Mansehra district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It was ruled by the Sarkar Sultanate between 1190 and 1519. Also known as the Sarkar Kingdom, it was known for agricultural products such as rice and tobacco. The territory ...
, an area of Mansehra district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
References
Subdivisions of the Mughal Empire
Former subdivisions of Bangladesh
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