Subah

Initially, after the administrative reforms of Akbar, the Mughal Empire was divided into 12 subahs: Kabul, Lahore, Multan, Delhi, Agra, Avadh, Illahabad, Bihar, Bangal, Malwa, Ajmer and Gujarat. After the conquest of Deccan, he created three more subahs there: Berar, Khandesh (initially renamed Dandesh in 1601) and Ahmadnagar (in 1636 renamed as Daulatabad and subsequently as Aurangabad).

Jahangir increased the number of subahs to 17 during his reign; Orissa being carved out of Bangal in 1607. The number of subahs increased to 22 under Shah Jahan. In his 8th regnal year, Shah Jahan separated the sarkar of Telangana from Berar and made it into a separate subah. In 1657, it was merged with Zafarabad Bidar subah. Agra was renamed Akbarabad in 1629 and Delhi became Shahjahanbad in 1648. Kashmir was carved out of Kabul, Thatta (Sindh) out of Multan, and Bidar out of Ahmadnagar. For some time Qandahar was a separate subah under the Mughal Empire but it was lost to Persia in 1648.

Aurangzeb added Bijapur (1686), Sira (1687) and Golkonda (1687) as new subahs. There were 22 subahs during his reign. These were Kabul, Kashmir, Lahore, Multan, Delhi, Agra, Avadh, Illahabad, Bihar, Bangalah, Orissa, Malwa, Ajmer, Gujarat, Berar, Khandesh, Aurangabad, Bidar, Thatta, Bijapur, Sira and Haidarabad (Golkonda). Aurangzeb made Arcot a Mughal subah in 1692.

During the Mughal Empire, the Punjab region consisted of three subahs: Lahore, Multan, and parts of Delhi subah. The Sikh Empire (1799-1849), originating in the Punjab region, also used the term Suba for the provinces it administered under its territorial delineation, of which there were five.

In modern usage in Urdu language, the term is used as a word for province, while the word riyasat (Urdu: ریاست, "princely state" in English) is used for (federated) state. The terminologies are based on the administrative structure of British India which was partially derived from the Mughal administrative structure. In modern times, the term subah is mainly used in Pakistan, where its four provinces are called "Subah" in the Urdu language.

Akbar's original twelve subahs

The twelve subahs created as a result of the administrative reform by Akbar(Mughal Emperor):

Subahs added after 1596

The subahs which added later were (with dates established):

The subahs were introduced into the Maratha Empire in 1721 by Chhatrapati Shahu as a part of his administrative reforms. It did continue even after his reign as new territories were conquered by Marathas across the Indian subcontinent. By 1758, there were 30 subahs in Maratha India and 3 subahs were under Peshwa's rule.