Departing significantly from existing approaches this work forcefully argues that both the division of the Mughal empire into Subas (provinces) of varying size and potential and the merging of three geographically different regions into Suba Agra were strongly motivated by a desire to carve out a core region for the Empire that surpassed all other units in productivity and at the same time had the territorial reach that enabled it to influence other regions. At the local level, the book argues, Sarkar divisions were created to contain the Zamindars. It is found that Mughal policies were discriminatory towards erstwhile ruling families like the Bundelas and middle level potentates like the Jats. Of particular interest are discussions on agro-based industries wherein the level of technological attainment was in no way inferior to that of the nineteenth century. Other issues addressed are forest and field covers, patterns of population distribution, trade, and most fascinating of all, the emergence and development of Agra as the centre of one of the most important Empires in history.
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