Mansabdar was a title in the military of the Mughal empire. The term is derived from Mansab, meaning rank. Hence, Mansabdar literally means rank-holder. A Mansabdar was in the service of the state and was bound to render service as and when asked to. Instituted by the Mughal emperor Akbar, mansabdari was a system of military ranking which assigned to every senior military commander and office-holder a numerical rank which governed his status and remuneration. Additionally, they were also graded on the number of armed cavalrymen, or sowars, which each had to maintain for service in the imperial army. Thus all mansabdars had a zat, or personal ranking, and a sowar, or a troop ranking. All servants of the empire, whether in the civil or military departments were graded in this system. There were thirty-three grades of mansabdars ranging from 'commanders of 10' to 'commanders of 10,000'. Till the middle of Akbar's reign, the highest rank an ordinary officer could hold was that of a commander of 5000; the more exalted grades between commanders of 7000 and 10,000 were reserved for the royal princes. During the period following the reign of Akbar, the grades were increased upto 20,000 or even more.

Appointment, promotion, suspension or dismissal of mansabdars rested entirely with the emperor. No portion of a mansabdar's property was hereditary, a mansabdar's children had to begin life a new. A mansabdar did not always begin at the lowest grade, the emperor, if satisfied, could and actually did grant higher or even highest grade to any person. There was no distinction between civil and military departments, officers both civil and military held mansabs and were liable to be transferred from one branch of the administration to another. Each mansabdar was expected to maintain prescribed number of horses, elephants, equipment etc according to his rank and dignity. These rules, though initially strictly enforced, were later slackened.

All senior mansabdars were awarded jagirs by way of salaries. Rates of remuneration, which included both the mansabdar's salry and so much per sowar, were matched by jagirs affording a similar aggregate yield. If their specified yield came to more, the surplus was due to the imperial treasury; if the jagirdar extracted more than the specified yield, he kept it.