Muqaddam

As per the Persian records of medieval India, muqaddams, along with khots and chowdhurys, acted as hereditary rural intermediaries between the state and the peasantry.

[2] Muqaddams were tasked with revenue collection in the areas under their jurisdiction, for which they received either 2.5% as remuneration or rent-free land equalling that amount.

[3] The socio-economic status of muqaddams varied over time; during the revenue reforms of Alauddin Khalji, many were impoverished due to the abolition of their traditional privileges.

However, in other periods the muqaddams "were prosperous enough to ride on costly Arabi and Iraqi horses, wear fine clothes, and behave like members of the upper classes".

[4] Over time, muqaddams and chowdhurys took on the characteristics of landed gentry in their respective localities, with some even attaining the status of Zamindars during the Mughal period.