in the form of a bamboo staff which was provided with iron rings at
definite intervals. For purposes of assessment land was divided into
four classes according to the kind of cultivation practiced upon it.
The first class comprised arable land with a constant rotation of
crops; the second, that which had to lie fallow for from one to two
years in order to be productive; the third from three to four years;
the fourth that land which was uncultivated for five years and longer
or was not arable at all. The first two classes of acreage were taxed
one-third of the crop, which according to our present ideas seems an
exorbitantly high rate, and it was left to the one assessed whether he
would pay the tax in kind or in cash. Only in the case of luxuries or
manufactured articles, that is to say, where the use of a circulating
medium could be assumed, was cash payment required. Whoever cultivated
unreclaimed land was assisted by the government by the grant of a free
supply of seed and by a considerable reduction in his taxes for the
first four years.

Akbar also introduced a new uniform standard of coinage, but
stipulated that the older coins which were still current should be
accepted from peasants for their full face value. From all this the
Indian peasants could see that Emperor Akbar not only desired strict
justice to rule but also wished to further their interests, and the
peasants had always comprised the greatest part of the inhabitants,
(even according to the latest census in 1903, vol. I, p. 3, 50 to 84
percent of the inhabitants of India live by agriculture). But Akbar
succeeded best in winning the hearts of the native inhabitants by
lifting the hated poll tax which still existed side by side with all
other taxes.

The founder of Islam had given the philanthropical command to