Fawazil in the Sultanate period meant

The correct answer is Option 3.

During the Sultanate period, the Iqta system was a crucial administrative and agrarian mechanism. An Iqtadar (or Muqti) was assigned a specific territory to collect land revenue, from which they were required to maintain a designated number of troops and meet their own administrative and personal expenses.

The term Fawazil referred to the surplus or excess amount that remained after the Iqtadar had deducted these sanctioned expenditures from the total revenue collected. According to state regulations, this balance had to be remitted to the central treasury (Diwan-i-Wizarat).

• Option 1 & 2: These are incorrect as they describe the nature of the Iqta itself (revenue in lieu of salary), not the surplus balance.
• Option 4: Illegal exactions were known as Abwabs, not Fawazil.

Strict auditing of Fawazil began under Ghiyasuddin Balban and became more stringent under Alauddin Khalji to ensure central control over provincial surpluses.