. The high officers
were enjoined to be sparing in capital punishments. In one rescript
addressed to the Governor of distant Gujarat, that functionary was
directed in no case, except in that of dangerous sedition, to inflict
capital punishment until his proceedings had received the
confirmation of the Emperor.

South of the Vindhyan range, in the division known as the Deccan, or
South, the imperial possessions were originally divided into three
subahs or commands. Subsequently, when new provinces and districts
had been acquired, they were increased to six. After the death of
Akbar these were all placed under one head, called the Subahdar, the
precursor of {194} the Nizam. With him, but subordinate to him, was
associated an administrative financial officer called the Diwan, or
Chancellor.

Akbar was a very magnificent sovereign. Though simple in his habits,
he recognised, as the greatest of British Viceroys recognised after
him, that show is a main element in the governing of an Eastern
people. It is necessary to strike the eye, to let the subjects see
the very majesty of power, the 'pomp and circumstance' attending the
being whose nod indicates authority, who is to them the personified
concentration on earth of the attributes of the Almighty. This is no
mere idea. The very expressions used by the natives of India at the
present day show how this thought runs through their imaginations. To
them the man in authority, the supreme wielder of power, sits in the
place of God. His _fiat_ means to them weal or woe, happiness or
misery. On days of ceremony, then, they expect that this all-powerful
being shall display the ensigns of royalty, shall surround himself
with the pomp and glitter which betoken state. Akbar thoroughly
understood this and acted accordingly.

We are not left to the descriptions of the author of the Ain to
realise the imposing grandeur of his ceremonies. The native
historians speak of his five thousand elephants, his twelve thousand
riding-horses, his camp-equipage containing splendid tents,
comprising halls for public receptions, apartments for feasting,
galleries for exercise, chambers for retirement, all of splendid
material and rich and varied {195} colours. They describe the Emperor
himself on the days of special ceremonial seated in a rich tent, the
awnings of which were thrown open, in the centre of carpeting of the
softest material, covering at least two acres of ground, receiving
the homage of