A
Subah was a
province of the
Mughal Empire in
South Asia. The governor of a
subah was known as a
subahdar, which later became
subedar to refer to an officer in the
Indian Army. The
subahs were established by the emperor
Akbar during his administrative reforms of 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 effectively independent, or were conquered by the
Marathas or the
British.