Humayun set aside two days of the week for business of state. Drums were beaten to summon officials and give notice that the hall of audience was open. Any subject might appear and ask for justice. Suits of fine apparel and purses of money were at hand to reward the worthy, and executioners stood by with drawn swords to punish the guilty. Guns were fired at the close of the audience to notify officials that they might retire. Aurangzeb held general court in the great hall of audience for two hours on regular days. Persons who had petitions to present held them up, and these were taken by the emperor, read by him, and often granted on the spot. On at least one day in the week he sat with the two _Kazis_ of the city, and on another day he heard privately ten cases of persons of low rank. In the evening the chief officers were commanded to be present in a smaller hall, where Aurangzeb sat to “grant private audiences to his officers, receive their reports, and deliberate on important matters of state.” This gathering resembled the Divan of Suleiman, but it lacked most of the latter’s judicial work; in India such work was done by the chief judges sitting separately, or by the emperor in the great audiences. Furthermore, it was the sovereign and not a grand vizier who presided in this council. The assembly was deliberative in matters of policy and general administration, and judicial in that it had jurisdiction of cases which involved officers of high rank. For purposes of local government the empire was divided into _subahs_, or provinces, each under a _Nawab_ (a plural of majesty, from _naib_, often called “nabob” by Westerners), or governor. Under Akbar the number of _subahs_ varied from fifteen to eighteen. Like the _Beylerbeys_ of the Ottoman Empire, the _Nawabs_ tended to increase in number, the size of their provinces diminishing accordingly. The _Nawab_ was almost a little emperor in his province. He held audiences, commanded the army, conferred lesser titles, appointed and dismissed most officials, and was the highest judicial authority. His power was limited, however, by the emperor’s right to recall him, by the right of appeal in judicial cases from him to the emperor, and by the fact that the financial and judicial officers were separately appointed and were responsible only to the throne. The _Nawab_ and his court were supported by lands granted in _jagir_. He might suspend the _jagirs_ of officers pending imperial decision. He was responsible for the security and order of his province, and had _Faujdars_ under him in the several districts, who exercised military command and the powers of chief of police and police judge, their position resembling somewhat that of the _Sanjak Beys_ of the Ottoman system. The chief financial officers in each province were the _Diwans_, who, as explained above, collected the imperial revenue and had oversight of all lesser revenue officers. They and their deputies