Subah
A Subah is a term for a province or state in several South Asian languages. It was introduced by the Mughal Empire to refer to its subdivisions or provinces; and was also adopted by other polities of the Indian subcontinent. The word is derived from Arabic and Persian. The governor/ruler of a Subah was known as a subahdar, which later became subedar to refer to an officer in the Indian and Pakistani armies. The subahs were established by Padishah Akbar during his administrative reforms of the years 1572–1580; initially, they numbered 12, but his conquests expanded the number of subahs to 15 by the end of his reign. Subahs were divided into Sarkars, or districts. Sarkars were further divided into Parganas or Mahals. His successors, most notably Aurangzeb, expanded the number of subahs further through their conquests. As the empire began to dissolve in the early 18th century, many subahs became de facto independent or came under the influence of the Marathas or the suzerainty of the East India Company.
In the modern context, subah is used in several Pakistani languages to refer to a province of Pakistan.
History
Initially, after the administrative reforms of Akbar, the Mughal empire was divided into 12 subahs: Kabul, Lahore, Multan, Delhi, Agra, Avadh, Illahabad, Bihar, Bangal, Malwa, Ajmer and Gujarat. After the conquest of Deccan, he created three more subahs there: Berar, Khandesh and Ahmadnagar.Jahangir increased the number of subahs to 17 during his reign; Orissa being carved out of Bangal in 1607. The number of subahs increased to 22 under Shah Jahan. In his 8th regnal year, Shah Jahan separated the sarkar of Telangana from Berar and made it into a separate subah. In 1657, it was merged with Zafarabad Bidar subah. Agra was renamed Akbarabad in 1629 and Delhi became Shahjahanbad in 1648. Kashmir was carved out of Kabul, Thatta out of Multan, and Bidar out of Ahmadnagar. For some time Qandahar was a separate subah under the Mughal Empire but it was lost to Persia in 1648.
Aurangzeb added Bijapur, Sira and Golkonda as new subahs. There were 22 subahs during his reign. These were Kabul, Kashmir, Lahore, Multan, Delhi, Agra, Avadh, Illahabad, Bihar, Bangalah, Orissa, Malwa, Ajmer, Gujarat, Berar, Khandesh, Aurangabad, Bidar, Thatta, Bijapur, Sira and Haidarabad. Aurangzeb made Arcot a Mughal subah in 1692.
During the Mughal Empire, the Punjab region consisted of three subahs: Lahore, Multan, and parts of Delhi subah. The Sikh Empire, originating in the Punjab region, also used the term Suba for the provinces it administered under its territorial delineation, of which there were five.
Current usage
In modern usage in Urdu language, the term is used as a word for province, while the word riyasat is used for (federated) state. The terminologies are based on the administrative structure of British India which was partially derived from the Mughal administrative structure. In modern times, the term subah is mainly used in Pakistan, where its four provinces are called "Subah" in the Urdu language.List of Subahs of the Mughal Empire
Akbar's original twelve ''subahs''
The twelve subahs created as a result of the administrative reform by Akbar:| # | Subah | Capital | Year of establishment | Year of disestablishment | Cause of disestablishment |
| 1 | Kabul Subah | Kabul | 1580 | 26 November 1738 | Captured by Nader Shah as a result of the Battle of Khyber Pass |
| 2 | Lahore Subah | Lahore | 1580 | 15 September 1758 | Captured by Ahmad Shah Durrani |
| 3 | Multan Subah | Multan | 1580 | 1752 | Captured by Ahmad Shah Durrani |
| 4 | Ajmer Subah | Ajmer | 1580 | 1758 | Captured by Jayappaji Rao Scindia and Ram Singh |
| 5 | Gujarat Subah | Ahmedabad | 1573 | February 1758 | Captured by Damaji Rao Gaekwad |
| 6 | Delhi Subah | Delhi | 1580 | 21 September 1857 | Captured by George Anson |
| 7 | Agra Subah | Agra | 1580 | 12 June 1761 | Captured by Suraj Mal |
| 8 | Malwa Subah | Ujjain | 1568 | 24 December 1737 | Captured by Bajirao I and Balaji Baji Rao |
| 9 | Awadh Subah | Faizabad, later Lucknow | 1572 | 26 January 1722 | Seceded under Saadat Ali Khan I |
| 10 | Illahabad Subah | Illahabad | 1580 | 1772 | Captured by Tukoji Rao Holkar and Visaji Krushna Biniwale |
| 11 | Bihar Subah | Patna | 1576 | 1733 | Seceded under Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan |
| 12 | Bengal Subah | Tanda Rajmahal Dhaka Murshidabad | 12 July 1576 | 1717 | Seceded under Murshid Quli Khan |