The zamindars played a multifaceted and significant role in Mughal India, functioning as a crucial link between the state and the agrarian society.

Social and Economic Status: The zamindars were landed proprietors who enjoyed certain social and economic privileges by virtue of their superior status in rural society. They constituted the very narrow apex of the social pyramid in the Mughal countryside. Caste was one factor that accounted for their elevated status, with Abu'l Fazl's account indicating an "upper-caste" Brahmana-Rajput background. Another factor was that they performed certain services (khidmat) for the state.

Control over Land and Resources: The zamindars held extensive personal lands termed milkiyat, meaning property. These lands were cultivated for their private use, often with the help of hired or servile labour. The zamindars could sell, bequeath or mortgage these lands at will. They also sold the produce from their milkiyat lands and often established markets (haats) to which peasants also came to sell their produce.

Revenue Collection and Military Power: Zamindars derived their power from the fact that they could often collect revenue on behalf of the state, a service for which they were compensated financially. Control over military resources was another source of power. Most zamindars had fortresses (qilachas) as well as an armed contingent comprising units of cavalry, artillery and infantry.

Role in Agricultural Expansion: Zamindars spearheaded the colonisation of agricultural land and helped in settling cultivators by providing them with the means of cultivation, including cash loans. The buying and selling of zamindaris accelerated the process of monetisation in the countryside.

Relationship with the Peasantry: Although zamindars were an exploitative class, their relationship with the peasantry had an element of reciprocity, paternalism and patronage. The bhakti saints, who condemned caste-based oppression, did not portray zamindars as oppressors of the peasantry. In agrarian uprisings in north India in the seventeenth century, zamindars often received the support of the peasantry in their struggle against the state.