The Iqta system was an important administrative and revenue-collection institution that developed under the Delhi Sultanate. The term ‘Iqta’ referred to a territorial assignment given by the Sultan to an officer, generally in lieu of salary or for maintaining troops and performing administrative duties. The holder of an Iqta was known as the Muqti or Iqtadar. The system enabled the Sultanate to administer extensive territories and maintain a large military establishment without making all payments directly from the central treasury. The foundations of the Iqta system in India were laid during the reign of Qutb-ud-din Aibak and were developed systematically under Iltutmish in the thirteenth century. Iltutmish organized the territories of the Sultanate into Iqtas and appointed trusted military officers