Editing Openai/691ef1a1-976c-800d-bd1d-06358880de2a (section)

==== - Mughals: The Mughal administration imposed heavy taxes.  Under Akbar’s Zabti system, up to ~50% of a peasant’s produce could be collected; non-Muslim peasants also paid the jizya (head tax) until Aurangzeb abolished it again in 1700.  The overall fiscal pressure on rural society was severe, contributing to peasant unrest (as described in sources like Abu’l Fazl’s Ain-i-Akbari).  Aurangzeb’s reimposition of jizya in 1679 (after decades of Akbar’s abolition) added a religiously punitive burden on Hindusrepository.rice.edu<ref>{{cite web|title=repository.rice.edu|url=https://repository.rice.edu/bitstreams/18b7ddd8-a843-4976-9892-9a484025b625/download#:~:text=The%20charges%20include%20forcing%20conversions%2C,How%20to%20Build%20a%20Villain|publisher=repository.rice.edu|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>.  Thus Mughal revenue policy could be harsh, though it was codified rather than ad-hoc. ====
* Marathas: The hallmark of Maratha economic policy in conquered regions was the Chauth (25% land revenue) and Sardeshmukhi (additional 10%) tribute.  For example, after repeated Bargi raids the Nawab of Bengal agreed in 1751 to pay Rs. 1.2 million annually to the Marathas as Chauthacademia.edu<ref>{{cite web|title=academia.edu|url=https://www.academia.edu/101844893/HISTORICAL_OVERVIEW_OF_BENGAL_AND_SOCIAL_EXCLUSION?uc-sb-sw=12311588#:~:text=Maratha%20invasions%20forced%20the%20Nawab,16%20The%20Bargi|publisher=academia.edu|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref> (plus a large lump sum for arrears).  Failure to pay invited renewed invasion – Bengal and Bihar were “economically ruined” by relentless Maratha extractionacademia.edu<ref>{{cite web|title=academia.edu|url=https://www.academia.edu/101844893/HISTORICAL_OVERVIEW_OF_BENGAL_AND_SOCIAL_EXCLUSION?uc-sb-sw=12311588#:~:text=would%20put%20the%20man%20to,in%20the%20Bargi%20raids%2C%20including|publisher=academia.edu|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>.  Contemporary accounts emphasize that the Marathas “demanded payments, and tortured or killed anyone who couldn’t pay” during their campaignsen.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maratha_Empire#:~:text=the%20Marathas%20perpetrated%20atrocities%20against,70|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>.  In short, Maratha taxation (and war finance) was extremely heavy and enforced by violence, though it took the form of tribute on semi-independent states rather than a uniform peacetime tax system.