The Vakil-i-Mutlaq (), variously translated as the Lieutenant Plenipotentiary, the Regent Plenipotentiary, the Vicegerent or the Imperial Regent, was an important office in the

Government of the Mughal Empire The government of the Mughal Empire was a highly centralised bureaucracy, most of which was instituted during the rule of the third Mughal emperor, Akbar. The central government was headed by the Mughal emperor; immediately beneath him were fou ...

, first in ministerial hierarchy and only next to

Mughal Emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

. Vekil is an Arabic word which means "representative". The Vakil was considered as the Emperor's lieutenant in all matters connected with the realm and household. From the reign of

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Babur Babur (; 14 February 148326 December 1530; born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also ...

to Emperor Shah Jahan, the title of

grand vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

was also given to the Vakil. But afterwards it remained only as dignitary post. The degree of powers of the Vakil's office varied from era to era. However the Vakil required Emperor's approval in each and every decision. During the era of Babur and

Humayun Nasir al-Din Muhammad (6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), commonly known by his regnal name Humayun (), was the second Mughal emperor, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Northern India, and Pakistan from ...

, he had the powers of

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

while early in the reign of

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

, Vakil Bairam Khan acted as regent and ruled on the behalf of Emperor. Bairam Khan had his own ''Vakil-i-Mutlaq'', who in this case was a general manager. This position was held by

Pir Muhammad Khan Shirwani Maulana Pir Muhammad Khan Shirwani was a senior official of the Mughal Empire and a commander in the Mughal Army. Biography Pir Muhammad was the Vakil-i-Mutlaq (general manager) of the regent of the Mughal Empire, Bairam Khan, who had granted h ...

and when he was temporarily dismissed, given to Haji Muhammad Sistani. In 1564, Akbar revived the office of Vakil and didn't give him the responsibilities of finance department. In the reign of

Jahangir Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...

, the office of Imperial Diwan gained prominence and ultimately during Shah Jahan's regime, the title of grand vizier was transferred from Vakil's office to Imperial Diwan.

References

{{reflist Government of the Mughal Empire Mughal nobility Titles in India

See also

References