Hoofprint of Empire: An Environmental History of Fodder in Mughal India (1650–1850)

Abstract

The Mughal Empire did not feed itself only on its agrarian surpluses. While extraction from its vast agrarian hinterland was a crucial source of revenue, realizing those surpluses was critically dependent on the Mughal horse-borne cavalry, which comprised its main fighting arm and was a defining feature of its military strength. However, supporting this equine-based resource depended on enabling a constant and voluminous supply of fodder. The Mughal Empire, in other words, sought to sustain an ecological hoofprint, so to speak, that involved the cultivation and systematic transport of a range of nutritious grasses.