1. The main source of income available to Mughal rulers was tax on the produce of the peasantry. In most places, peasants paid taxes through the rural elites, that is, the headman or the local chieftain. The Mughals used one term zamindars to describe all intermediaries, whether they were local headmen of villages or powerful chieftains.
2. In some areas the zamindars exercised a great deal of power. The exploitation by Mughal administrators could drive them to rebellion. Sometimes zamindars and peasants of the same caste allied in rebelling against Mughal authority. These peasant revolts challenged the stability of the Mughal Empire from the end of the seventeenth century.

Role of Zamindars in Mughal Administration

Some of the learners also asked:
Describe the economic prosperity during Mughat period?