Jalal-ud-din Akbar's portrait
1568
Mughal Emperor Akbar shoots the Rajput warrior Jaimal during the Siege of Chittorgarh.
1630
Akbar with Lion and Calf
Jalal-ud-din Akbar
Akbar hawking with Mughal chieftains and nobleman accompanied by his guardian Bairam Khan.
The court of young Akbar, age 13, showing his first imperial act: the arrest of an unruly courtier, who was once a favourite of Akbar's father.
Akbar holds a religious assembly of different faiths in the Ibadat Khana in Fatehpur Sikri.
Akbar triumphantly enters Surat.
Akbar hunting with cheetahs.
Portrait of Akbar
Jalal-ud-din Akbar
1568
Mughal Emperor Akbar shoots the Rajput warrior Jaimal during the Siege of Chittorgarh.
1630
Akbar with Lion and Calf
Jalal-ud-din Akbar
Akbar as a boy
Mughal Emperor Akbar training an elephant.
Akbar hawking with Mughal chieftains and nobleman accompanied by his guardian Bairam Khan.
The court of young Akbar, age 13, showing his first imperial act: the arrest of an unruly courtier, who was once a favourite of Akbar's father.
Akbar holds a religious assembly of different faiths in the Ibadat Khana in Fatehpur Sikri.
Akbar triumphantly enters Surat.
Akbar hunting with cheetahs.
Portrait of Akbar
Jalal-ud-din Akbar
Humayun
Hamida Banu Begum
Mariam-uz-Zamani
Jahangir
Daniyal Mirza
Ethnicity:
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar was from the Timurid dynasty. He was the grandson of the founder of the Mughal Empire.
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar was born on October 15, 1542, in Amarkot, Rajputana (now Umerkot, Sindh, Pakistan). He was a son of Mughal emperor Humayun and Hamida Banu Begum. Since Humayun was in exile, little Akbar was raised by his paternal uncles in Kabul.
Jalal-ud-din Akbar spent his youth learning to hunt, run, and fight. He never learned to read or write. However, he read a lot of texts on history, religion, science, philosophy and other topics.
Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar ascended the Mughal throne after Humayun's death in 1556. Bairam Khan became his regent. The regent wrested control of northern India from the Afghans, who had defeated Humayun, but in 1560 Akbar rid himself of the regent and assumed full imperial powers. Thereafter Akbar captured Agra and Delhi, where he stayed for a month before traveling to Punjab to deal with resurgent Sikandar Shah Suri, who, when pursued, fled to Bengal, leaving Lahore and Multan for the Mughals.
Akbar first attacked Malwa, a state of strategic and economic importance commanding the route through the Vindhya Range to the plateau region of the Deccan (peninsular India) and containing rich agricultural land. After the conquest of Ajmer and Nagor in northern Rajputana, he established his control over the entire Rajputana by forcing the states to accept his suzerainty, leaving aside the Mewar ruler, Udai Singh. In 1567, Akbar attacked the Chittorgarh fort in Mewar that represented a key strategic importance towards establishing rule in Rajputana. He captured it after four months, following which he raided Ranthambore Fort in 1568 which surrendered in the next couple months.
In order to trade with Asia, Africa and Europe through the Arabian Sea, Akbar raided Ahmedabad, Surat and other cities. In 1573 he conquered Gujarat, an area with many ports that dominated India's trade with western Asia, and then turned east toward Bengal. Its Afghan ruler, declining to follow his father's example and acknowledge Mughal suzerainty, was forced to submit in 1575. When he rebelled and was defeated and killed in 1576, Akbar annexed Bengal.
At the the end of his reign, Akbar embarked on a fresh round of conquests. In 1581, he captured Kabul and defeated his brother and Kabul ruler, Mirza Muhammad Hakim, who invaded Punjab. Upon Hakim's death in 1585, Kabul came under the power of the Mughal Empire. In 1589, Akbar conquered Kashmir. Later he conquered Sindh in 1591 and Kandahar and Baluchistan in 1595. In October 1605, he fell seriously ill with dysentery and died three weeks later.
Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar was one of the most powerful emperors of the Mughal Dynasty. During his rule, the Mughal Empire tripled in size and wealth. He created a powerful military system and instituted effective political and social reforms. In 1569, he established a new capital west of Agra to celebrate his victory over Chittorgarh and Ranthambore, which was named Fatehpur Sikri.
Several international novels, such as The Years of Rice and Salt, The Solitude of Emperors, and The Enchantress of Florence are based on his life. A number of television series and movies such as Akbar-Birbal, Jodha Akbar and Mughal-e-Azam chronicled the life of this powerful character.
During the early part of his reign, Akbar adopted an attitude of suppression towards Muslim sects that were condemned by the orthodoxy as heretical. From the early 1570s he came under the influence of pantheistic Sufi mysticism and it caused a great shift in his outlook and culminated in his shift from orthodox Islam as traditionally professed, in favour of a new concept of Islam transcending the limits of religion. During the latter half of his reign, he adopted a policy of tolerance towards the Shias and declared a prohibition on Shia-Sunni conflict, and the empire remained neutral in matters of internal sectarian conflict.
Akbar created the Ibadat Khana (House of Worship) at Fatehpur Sikri in 1575. In 1579, a mazhar, or declaration, was issued that granted Akbar the authority to interpret religious law, superseding the authority of the mullahs. This became known as the "Infallibility Decree," and it furthered Akbar's ability to create an interreligious and multicultural state. In 1582 he promulgated a new religious movement, Din-i-Ilahi, which combined the practices of Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism. However, not everyone appreciated these forays into multiculturalism, and many called him a heretic.
In his days of tolerance Akbar decreed that Hindus who had been forced to convert to Islam could reconvert to Hinduism without facing the death penalty. He celebrated Diwali (the Hindu festival of lights), allowed Brahman priests to tie jewelled strings round his wrists by way of blessing. He renounced beef and forbade the sale of all meats on certain days.
Akbar was also greatly impacted by some of Jaina's teachings. The arguments of Jains against eating meat persuaded him to become a vegetarian. Akbar also issued many imperial orders that were favourable for Jain interests, such as banning animal slaughter. He also removed the Jazia tax from Jain pilgrim places.
Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar reformed the administration of his empire's land revenue. A cultivated area where crops grew well was measured and taxed through fixed rates based on the area's crop and productivity.
Akbar organized his army as well as the nobility by means of a system called the mansabdari. Under this system, each officer in the army was assigned a rank and assigned a number of cavalry that he had to supply to the imperial army. The mansabdars were divided into 33 classes, based on the number of troops assigned to them.
In 1574 Akbar revised his tax system, separating revenue collection from military administration. Each subah, or governor, was responsible for maintaining order in his region, while a separate tax collector collected property taxes and sent them to the capital. This created checks and balances in each region since the individuals with the money had no troops, and the troops had no money, and all were dependent on the central government. The central government then doled out fixed salaries to both military and civilian personnel according to rank.
The reign of Akbar was characterized by commercial expansion. The Mughal government encouraged traders, provided protection and security for transactions, and levied a very low custom duty to stimulate foreign trade. Bands of highway police called rahdars were enlisted to patrol roads and ensure safety of traders. Other active measures taken included the construction and protection of routes of commerce and communications. Akbar introduced coins with decorative floral motifs, dotted borders, quatrefoil and other types.
In 1573, he signed a treaty with the Portuguese, under which the latter retained their power on the western coast in the Indian Ocean while the Mughals were allowed to send pilgrim ships for Hajj to Mecca and Medina.
Akbar appreciated the arts, culture and intellectual discourse, and cultivated them throughout the empire. He sponsored some of the best and brightest minds of the era including poets, musicians, artists, philosophers and engineers.
Quotations:
"The world is a Bridge, pass over it, but build no houses upon it. He who hopes for a day, may hope for eternity; but the World endures but an hour. Spend it in prayer for the rest is unseen."
"A monarch should be ever intent on conquest, lest his neighbours rise in arms against him."
"Most worshippers of God are intent on the advancement of their own destiny, not on His worship. In India, no one has ever claimed to be a prophet. The reason is that claims to divinity are customary."
"Learning is a plant that grows in all climes."
Akbar kept a lot of hunting cheetahs during his reign and trained many himself. He was said to have been a wise emperor who had a remarkable memory. He rarely indulged in cruelty and is said to have been affectionate towards his relatives.
Physical Characteristics: Antoni de Montserrat, the Catalan Jesuit who visited his court described him as follows: "He has broad shoulders, somewhat bandy legs well-suited for horsemanship, and a light brown complexion. He carries his head bent towards the right shoulder. His forehead is broad and open, his eyes so bright and flashing that they seem like a sea shimmering in the sunlight. His eyebrows are not strongly marked. His nose is straight and small though not insignificant."
Quotes from others about the person
B. B. Lal: "Akbar's liberalism can be adjudged from another fact, namely that he issued gold and silver coins bearing the figures of Rama and Sita and inscribed with the legend Rama Siya."
Harsh Narain: "Akbar was the first emperor to abolish Jizyah with one stroke of pen, along with all its associations and implications, including the distinction of Muslim and Dhimmî into the bargain. His son and grandson followed his example in regard to Jizyah, generally speaking, but reimposed upon the Hindus all the other restrictions and disabilities suffered by them before."
Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar had 30 wives and concubines. His first wife was his cousin, Ruqaiya Sultan Begum. They married in 1551. His second marriage, which was a political one, took place in Delhi in 1556. Akbar's third wife was the daughter of Abdullah Khan Mughal. His fourth wife was his cousin, Salima Sultan Begum who gave birth to a son and a daughter. In 1562, Akbar married Mariam-uz-Zamani. The marriage produced two sons. Later he married the woman, who was the wife of Abdul Wasi and the daughter-in-law of Shaikh Badah. His next marriage took place in 1564 - this time he wed Raziya Begum, the daughter of Miran Mubrak Shah, the ruler of Khandesh.
In 1564, one of his consorts gave birth to Hassan Mirza and Hussain Mirza, however, they died in the same year. In 1570, Akbar married another Rajput princess who was the daughter of Kahan, the brother of Rai Kalyan Mal Rai, the ruler of Bikanir. In the same year he married he daughter of Rawal Har Rai, the ruler of Jaisalmer. She was the mother of Princess Mahi Begum, who died on 8 April 1577. Akbar's eleventh wife was Qasima Banu Begum, the daughter of Arab Shah. The marriage took place in 1575. His twelfth wife was Bibi Daulat Shad. She was the mother of Princess Shakr-un-Nissa Begum and Princess Aram Banu Begum. Akbar also married Bibi Khiera and later Bhakkari Begum.
Humayun (6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), also known as Nasir-ud-Din Muḥammad, was was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern India, and Bangladesh from 1530 to 1540 and again from 1555 to 1556.
(1527 – 29 August 1604)
(29 April 1553 – 10 October 1585) was the second son of Mughal Emperor Humayun and the ruler of Kabul in Afghanistan.
(November 1528 – 1536)
Bakshi Banu Begum (September 1540 – 1596) was a Mughal princess and was the second daughter of Emperor Humayun and his consort Gunwar Bibi.
Ruqaiya Sultan Begum (1542 – 19 January 1626) was empress consort of the Mughal Empire from 1557 to 1605 as the first wife and chief consort of the third Mughal emperor Akbar.
(died 1596)
(1564 – 1564)
(1564 – 1564)
Mariam-uz-Zamani (1542 – 19 May 1623) also known as Hira Kunwari, Harkha Bai and Jodha Bai, was a wife of the Mughal Emperor Akbar.
Jahangir (August 1569 – 28 October 1627) also known as Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim, was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until his death in 1627.
Daniyal Mirza (11 September 1572 – 19 March 1605) was an Imperial Prince of the Mughal Empire who served as the Viceroy of the Deccan.
(died January 1, 1653)
(December 22, 1584 – June 17, 1624)
Salima Sultan Begum (February 1539 – 27 December 1612) was the fourth wife of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, and the granddaughter of Babur.
Murad Mirza (15 June 1570 – 12 May 1599) was a Mughal prince as the second surviving son of Mughal Emperor Akbar.
(November 21, 1569 – 1603)
(died 1599)
