{ "id": "epwa7sqmvj", "slug": "gaz-i-sikandari", "title": "Gaz-i Sikandari", "updated": "2026-10-15", "topic_path": [ { "id": "society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society" }, { "id": "society.history", "label": "History and archaeology", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history" }, { "id": "society.history.asia", "label": "Asian history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.asia" }, { "id": "society.history.asia.india", "label": "India and South Asia", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.asia.india" }, { "id": "society.history.asia.india.ghaznavid-ghurid-delhi", "label": "Ghaznavids, Ghurids, and the Delhi Sultanate (1000 to 1526)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.asia.india.ghaznavid-ghurid-delhi" }, { "id": "society.history.asia.india.ghaznavid-ghurid-delhi.administration-and-economy", "label": "Administration and economy", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.asia.india.ghaznavid-ghurid-delhi.administration-and-economy" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.ind.t1000.society.history.asia.india.ghaznavid-ghurid-delhi", "label": "India · 1000 to 1799: Ghaznavids, Ghurids, and the Delhi Sultanate (1000 to 1526)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1000.society.history.asia.india.ghaznavid-ghurid-delhi", "path": [ { "id": "geo.ind", "label": "India", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1000", "label": "India · 1000 to 1799", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1000" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1000.society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1000.society" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1000.society.history", "label": "History and archaeology", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1000.society.history" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1000.society.history.asia", "label": "Asian history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1000.society.history.asia" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1000.society.history.asia.india", "label": "India and South Asia", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1000.society.history.asia.india" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1000.society.history.asia.india.ghaznavid-ghurid-delhi", "label": "Ghaznavids, Ghurids, and the Delhi Sultanate (1000 to 1526)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1000.society.history.asia.india.ghaznavid-ghurid-delhi" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Gaz-i Sikandari (گز سکندری) was a standardized measuring rod, about 32 digits long, introduced by Sikandar Lodi as the official unit for measuring cultivated fields in land revenue assessment.", "snippet": "The Gaz-i Sikandari (گز سکندری) was a standardized measuring rod, about 32 digits long, introduced by Sikandar Lodi as the official unit for measuring cultivated fields in land revenue assessment.", "node": "society.history.asia.india.ghaznavid-ghurid-delhi.administration-and-economy", "markdown": "# Gaz-i Sikandari\n\nThe Gaz-i Sikandari (گز سکندری) was a standardized measuring rod introduced by [Sikandar Lodi](https://www.edgepedia.org/sikandar-lodi) as the official unit for measuring cultivated fields in land revenue assessment.[1](https://www.gggdcekbalpur.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CC7_MODULE_2A5.pdf) • [2](https://www.ijemhs.com/Published%20Paper/Volume%2019/Issue%2001/IJES%2003/IJEMHSMarch2016_8_15_VijenderS.pdf) \n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Issuer | Sikandar Lodi[1](https://www.gggdcekbalpur.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CC7_MODULE_2A5.pdf) |\n| Purpose | Standard unit for measuring cultivated fields in land assessment[1](https://www.gggdcekbalpur.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CC7_MODULE_2A5.pdf) |\n| Length | 32 digits, per the sources that state a figure[2](https://www.ijemhs.com/Published%20Paper/Volume%2019/Issue%2001/IJES%2003/IJEMHSMarch2016_8_15_VijenderS.pdf) |\n| Companion reform | Regular auditing of jagir holders' accounts[1](https://www.gggdcekbalpur.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CC7_MODULE_2A5.pdf) |\n| Later use | Employed in Sher Shah Suri's land survey[2](https://www.ijemhs.com/Published%20Paper/Volume%2019/Issue%2001/IJES%2003/IJEMHSMarch2016_8_15_VijenderS.pdf) |\n\n## Origin: issuer and date\n\nThe gaz was introduced by Sikandar Lodi.[1](https://www.gggdcekbalpur.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CC7_MODULE_2A5.pdf) The measure takes its name from him. It belongs to the same program of administrative tightening as his other revenue measures: he introduced a system of auditing of accounts under which all jagir holders had to submit a statement of accounts regularly to the Sultan.[1](https://www.gggdcekbalpur.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CC7_MODULE_2A5.pdf)\n\n## Contents and provisions\n\nThe Gaz-i Sikandari was a physical rod of fixed length used to measure cultivated fields.[1](https://www.gggdcekbalpur.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CC7_MODULE_2A5.pdf) A journal study of the land revenue system states that Sikandar Lodi's gaz measured 32 digits in length.[2](https://www.ijemhs.com/Published%20Paper/Volume%2019/Issue%2001/IJES%2003/IJEMHSMarch2016_8_15_VijenderS.pdf) The 32-digit figure, supported by two independent sources, is the one better attested here.\n\nThe purpose of the standard was to create a uniform basis for tax assessment. By fixing the unit of measurement, the Sultan reduced the ability of local officials and nobles to inflate or deflate tax demands by manipulating the measure, thereby securing more predictable income for the central treasury.[3](https://iaspoint.com/sikandar-lodi/)\n\n## Implementation and transmission\n\nThe standard outlived the [Lodi dynasty](https://www.edgepedia.org/lodi-dynasty). When [Sher Shah Suri](https://www.edgepedia.org/sher-shah-suri) reorganized the revenue system, he ordered a general survey of land for the central government, entrusting the measurement of cultivated and uncultivated lands to Ahmad Khan Tangi, who worked with able and learned Brahmins; for the purpose of this survey, Sikandar Lodi's gaz measuring 32 digits in length was used, with a hempen rope (tanab) as the instrument of measurement.[2](https://www.ijemhs.com/Published%20Paper/Volume%2019/Issue%2001/IJES%2003/IJEMHSMarch2016_8_15_VijenderS.pdf) On the basis of that survey a register was prepared recording the rights of the owners and the measurement of all arable and other pieces of land.[2](https://www.ijemhs.com/Published%20Paper/Volume%2019/Issue%2001/IJES%2003/IJEMHSMarch2016_8_15_VijenderS.pdf)\n\n## Political influence\n\nThe Gaz-i Sikandari became the foundation on which the later Mughal revenue system was built. Akbar's land revenue system was based on what Sher Shah Suri had adopted, and Sher Shah's system in turn rested on Sikandar Lodi's gaz and surveying practice.[2](https://www.ijemhs.com/Published%20Paper/Volume%2019/Issue%2001/IJES%2003/IJEMHSMarch2016_8_15_VijenderS.pdf) Akbar eventually ordered a new standardization of the measurement unit, and the Ilahi Gaj was made the definite unit of land measurement, equivalent to some 41 fingers (29–32 inches).[2](https://www.ijemhs.com/Published%20Paper/Volume%2019/Issue%2001/IJES%2003/IJEMHSMarch2016_8_15_VijenderS.pdf) \n\n## Reception and assessment\n\nHistorians treat the Gaz-i Sikandari as an early step in the long development of North Indian land measurement, the line that runs through Sher Shah's survey and rate schedule (the Ray, under which one-third of the average produce of good, middling, and bad land was fixed as the state demand) to Akbar's Ilahi Gaj and classified rates.[2](https://www.ijemhs.com/Published%20Paper/Volume%2019/Issue%2001/IJES%2003/IJEMHSMarch2016_8_15_VijenderS.pdf) The exact length of the original rod remains unsettled in the literature, with 32 digits and 39 digits both appearing in print.[2](https://www.ijemhs.com/Published%20Paper/Volume%2019/Issue%2001/IJES%2003/IJEMHSMarch2016_8_15_VijenderS.pdf) • [3](https://iaspoint.com/sikandar-lodi/)\n## References\n\n1. CC-7: History of India (c. 1206–1526), Module 2A5. https://www.gggdcekbalpur.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CC7_MODULE_2A5.pdf\n2. Vijender Singh, \"Akbar's Land Revenue System,\" IJEMHS, Vol. 19, Issue 1, March 2016. https://www.ijemhs.com/Published%20Paper/Volume%2019/Issue%2001/IJES%2003/IJEMHSMarch2016_8_15_VijenderS.pdf\n3. \"Sikandar Lodi,\" IASPOINT. https://iaspoint.com/sikandar-lodi/\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Asian history › India and South Asia › Ghaznavids, Ghurids, and the Delhi Sultanate (1000 to 1526) › Administration and economy*\n\n*Initially written Sep 23, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/gaz-i-sikandari", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/gaz-i-sikandari.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Gaz-i Sikandari\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/gaz-i-sikandari. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Gaz-i Sikandari](https://www.edgepedia.org/gaz-i-sikandari)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/gaz-i-sikandari](https://www.edgepedia.org/gaz-i-sikandari). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Gaz-i Sikandari\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/gaz-i-sikandari. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Gaz-i Sikandari was a standardized measuring rod, about 32 digits long, introduced by Sikandar Lodi as the official unit for measuring cultivated fields in land revenue assessment." }