ed
cultivation prohibitive to the poor man. The evil, he thought, might
be remedied if some plan could be devised for dividing the profits of
the first year between the government and the cultivator. After a
thorough examination of the whole question, he arranged that the
several parganas, or subdivisions of the districts, should be
examined, and that those subdivisions which contained so much land
as, on cultivation, would yield ten million of tankas,[1] should be
divided off, and given in charge of an honest and intelligent officer
who was {122} to receive the name of Karori. The clerks and
accountants of the exchequer were to make arrangements with these
officers and send them to their respective districts, where, by
vigilance and attention, the uncultivated land might in the course of
three years be brought into a state of production, and the revenues
recovered for the government. This scheme was carried out, and was
found to realise all the advantages it promised.

[Footnote 1: Blochmann, in his _Ain-i-Akbari_ (note, p. 16), states
that, according to Abulfazl, the weight of one dam was five tanks. As
the copper coin known as 'dam' was one fortieth part of a rupee
(Ibid. p. 31), it follows that ten million of tankas would equal
50,000 rupees. A pargana is a division of land nearly equalling a
barony. A parganadar was called 'lord of a barony.']

The nineteenth year of the reign of Akbar was thus in all respects
save one a glorious year for the young empire. Bengal and Behar had
been added to North-western, Central, and Western India. Practically,
in fact, all India north of the Vindhya range acknowledged the
supremacy of the son of Humayun. The exception to the general
prosperity was caused by a terrible famine and pestilence in Western
India, the effects of which were most severely felt. Grain rose to a
fabulous price, 'and horses and cows had to feed upon the bark of
trees.' The famine and pestilence lasted six months.

The early part of the following year, 1575, was occupied with the
pursuit of Daud and the conquest of Orissa. I have already stated how
the Afghan prince was defeated at Bajhura, midway between Mughalmari
and Jaleswar, and how, pursued to and invested in Cuttack, he had
surrendered. The treaty concluded with him provided that he should
govern the province of Orissa in the name and on behalf of the
Emperor Akbar. It may be added that Daud did not keep {123} the faith
he plighted on this occasion