An assignment of the Government revenue on a tract of land to families, individuals, or public officers. [Cited by P Ramanatha Aiyer’s The Law Lexicon]

Jagir, was a tenure common under the Mohammadan Government, in which the public revenues of a given tract of land were made over to a servant of the state together with the powers requisite to enable him to collect and appropriate such revenue, and administer the general government of the district. The assignment was either conditional or unconditional; in the former case, some public service, as the levy and maintenance of troops, or other specified duty, was engaged for; the latter was left to the entire disposal of the grantee. The assignment was either for stated term, or, more usually, for the life time of the holder, lapsing on his death, to the state, although not unusually renewed to his heir, on payment of nazarana, or fine, and sometimes specified to be a hereditary assignment. [Wilson’s glossary]