Akbar

while in Kabul. Painted in 1550–56 After Mughal Emperor Humayun was defeated at Chausa (1539) and Kannauj (1540) by the forces of Sher Shah Suri, Humayun fled westward to modern-day Sindh. There, he met and married the 14-year-old Hamida Banu Begum, daughter of Shaikh Ali Akbar Jami, a Persian teacher of Humayun's younger brother Hindal Mirza. Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar was born to them the next year on 15 October 1542 (the fifth day of Rajab, 949 AH) at the Rajput Fortress of Amarkot in Rajputana (in modern-day Sindh), where his parents had been given refuge by the local Hindu ruler Rana Prasad. During the extended period of Humayun's exile, Akbar was brought up in Kabul by his paternal uncles, Kamran Mirza and Askari Mirza, and aunts, in particular, Kamran Mirza's wife. He spent his youth learning to hunt, run, and fight, and although he never learned to read or write, when he retired in the evening, he would have someone read to him. On 20 November 1551, Humayun's youngest brother, Hindal Mirza, died in a battle against Kamran Mirza's forces. Upon hearing the news of his brother's death, Humayun was overwhelmed with grief. About the time of nine-year-old Akbar's first appointment as governor of Ghazni, he married Hindal's daughter, Ruqaiya Sultan Begum, his first wife. Humayun gave Akbar command of Hindal's troops and conferred on the imperial couple all of Hindal's wealth. Akbar's marriage to Ruqaiya was solemnised in Jalandhar, Punjab, when they were both 14 years old. Following chaos over the succession of Sher Shah Suri's son Islam Shah, Humayun reconquered Delhi in 1555, leading an army partly provided by his Persian ally Tahmasp I. A few months later, Humayun died. Akbar's guardian, Bairam Khan, concealed his death to prepare for Akbar's succession. Akbar succeeded Humayun on 14 February 1556, while in the midst of a war against Sikandar Shah to reclaim the Mughal throne. In Kalanaur, Punjab, the 14-year-old Akbar was enthroned by Bairam Khan on a newly constructed platform (which still stands) and was proclaimed Shahanshah (Persian for "King of Kings"). ==Ancestry==

under Akbar, 1605. Areas that were only partially integrated are indicated by lighter shading and dotted lines.|270x270px Military innovations Akbar's military campaigns consolidated Mughal rule in the Indian subcontinent. Akbar introduced organisational changes to the mansabdari system, establishing a hierarchical scale of military and civil ranks. Organisational reforms were accompanied by innovations in cannons, fortifications, and the use of elephants. Akbar's vizier Abul Fazl once declared that "with the exception of Turkey, there is perhaps no country in which its guns has more means of securing the Government than [India]." Scholars and historians have used the term "gunpowder empire" to analyse the success of the Mughals in India. North India surrendering to the Mughal forces of Akbar at the Siege of Mankot (1557). Akbarnama (1590–95) Akbar's father Humayun had regained control of the Punjab, Delhi, and Agra with Safavid support, but Mughal rule was still precarious when Akbar took the throne. When the Surs reconquered Agra and Delhi following the death of Humayun, Akbar's young age and the lack of military assistance from the Mughal stronghold of Kabulwhich was in the midst of an invasion by the ruler of Badakhshan, Prince Mirza Suleimanaggravated the situation. When his regent, Bairam Khan, called a council of war to marshall the Mughal forces, none of Akbar's chieftains approved. Bairam Khan was ultimately able to prevail over the nobles and it was decided that the Mughals would march against the strongest of the Sur rulers, Sikandar Shah Suri, in Punjab. Delhi was left under the regency of Tardi Baig Khan. Akbar also faced Hemu, a minister and general of one of the Sur rulers, who had proclaimed himself Hindu emperor and expelled the Mughals from the Indo-Gangetic Plains. His army, led by Bairam Khan, defeated Hemu and the Sur army on 5 November 1556 at the Second Battle of Panipat, north of Delhi. Soon after the battle, Mughal forces occupied Delhi and then Agra. Akbar made a triumphant entry into Delhi, where he stayed for a month. Then, he and Bairam Khan returned to Punjab to deal with Sikandar Shah Suri, who had become active again. In the next six months, the Mughals won another major battle against Sikander, who fled east to Bengal. Akbar and his forces occupied Lahore and then seized Multan in the Punjab. In 1558, Akbar took possession of Ajmer, the aperture to Rajputana, after the defeat and flight of its Muslim ruler. Central India with Mughal chieftains and nobleman, accompanied by his guardian Bairam Khan. By 1559, the Mughals had launched a drive to the south into Rajputana and Malwa. However, Akbar's disputes with his regent, Bairam Khan, temporarily put an end to the expansion. Bairam Khan was prepared to comply, but people who resented him and hoped for his downfall goaded him into rebellion against Akbar. Bairam Khan was assassinated on his way to Mecca, by a group of Afghans led by Mubarak Khan Lohani, whose father had been killed while fighting with the Mughals at the Battle of Machhiwara in 1555. In 1560, Akbar resumed military operations. He pardoned the rebellious leaders, hoping to conciliate them, but they rebelled again; Akbar quelled their second uprising. Following a third revolt, during which they proclaimed Mirza Muhammad HakimAkbar's brother and the Mughal ruler of Kabul to be their king, several Uzbek chieftains were slain. The territory was ruled over by Raja Vir Narayan, a minor, and his mother, Durgavati, a Rajput warrior queen of the Gonds. Durgavati committed suicide after her defeat at the Battle of Damoh, while Raja Vir Narayan was slain at the Fall of Chauragarh, the mountain fortress of the Gonds. Rajputana Having established Mughal rule over northern India, Akbar turned his attention to the conquest of Rajputana, which was strategically important as it was a rival centre of power that flanked the Indo-Gangetic plains. Chittorgarh fell in February 1568 after a siege of four months. The fall of Chittor was proclaimed by Akbar as "the victory of Islam over infidels [i.e., non-Muslims]." In his Fathnama (dispatches announcing victory) issued on 9 March 1575 conveying his news of victory, Akbar wrote: "With the help of our blood-thirsty sword we have erased the signs of infidelity in their minds and destroyed the temples in those places and all over Hindustan." Thereafter, Udai Singh never ventured out of his mountain refuge in Mewar. A legend, oft repeated by historians, has grown up that Akbar set up statues of Jaimal and Patta mounted on elephants at a gate of his fort in Agra to commemorate his victory. There are records from his time of two statues of elephants with their riders outside the eastern gate of his fort in Agra, but these may have had nothing to do with the Rajputs of Chittor, they may have been purely decorative. Indologist Eugenia Vanina found no account that connects the statues to Jaimal and Patta until a 1629 chronicle by Dutch merchants. She believes that the narrative that the statues were monuments grew up to "provide ideological, social and psychological substantiation" of the alliance between the Mughals and the Rajputs. The fall of Chittorgarh was followed up by a Mughal attack on the Ranthambore Fort in 1568. Ranthambore was held by the Hada Rajputs and reputed to be the most powerful fortress in India. Pratap Singh continued to attack the Mughals and was able to retain most of his kingdom during Akbar's reign. Western and Eastern India Akbar's next military objectives were the conquest of Gujarat and Bengal, which connected India with the trading centres of Asia, Africa, and Europe through the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Akbar intended to link the maritime state with the massive resources of the Indo-Gangetic plains. Akbar's ostensible casus belli for warring with Gujarat was that the rebel Mirzas, who had previously been driven out of India, were now operating out of a base in southern Gujarat. Moreover, Akbar had received invitations from cliques in Gujarat to oust the reigning king, which further served as justification for his military expedition. Akbar then returned to Fatehpur Sikri and left his generals to finish the campaign. The Mughal army was subsequently victorious at the Battle of Tukaroi in 1575, which led to the annexation of Bengal and parts of Bihar that had been under the dominion of Daud Khan. Only Orissa was left in the hands of the Karrani dynasty, albeit as a fief of the Mughal Empire. A year later, however, Daud Khan rebelled and attempted to regain Bengal. He was defeated by the Mughal general Khan Jahan Quli and fled into exile. Daud Khan was later captured and executed by Mughal forces. His severed head was sent to Akbar, while his limbs were gibbeted at Tandah, the Mughal capital in Bengal. For thirteen years, beginning in 1585, Akbar remained in the north, shifting his capital to Lahore while he dealt with challenges from Uzbek tribes, which had driven his grandfather, Babur, out of Central Asia. The Uzbeks also subsidised Afghan tribes on the border that were hostile to the Mughals. The tribes felt challenged by the Yusufzai of Bajaur and Swat and were motivated by a new religious leader, Bayazid, the founder of the Roshaniyya sect. In 1586, Akbar negotiated a pact with Abdullah Khan in which the Mughals agreed to remain neutral during the Uzbek invasion of Safavid-held Khorasan. In return, Abdullah Khan agreed to refrain from supporting, subsidising, or offering refuge to the Afghan tribes hostile to the Mughals. Akbar, in turn, began a series of campaigns to pacify the Yusufzais and other rebels. Akbar ordered Zain Khan to lead an expedition against the Afghan tribes. Raja Birbal, a renowned minister in Akbar's court, was also given military command. The expedition failed, and on their retreat from the mountains, Birbal and his entourage were ambushed and killed by Afghans at the Malandarai Pass in February 1586. Akbar immediately fielded new armies to reinvade the Yusufzai lands under the command of Raja Todar Mal. Over the next six years, the Mughals contained the Yusufzai in the mountain valleys, forcing the submission of many chiefs in Swat and Bajaur. Dozens of forts were built and occupied to secure the region. Abdullah Khan died in 1598 and the last of the rebellious Afghan tribes were subdued by 1600. The Roshaniyya movement was suppressed, its leaders were captured or driven into exile, and the Afridi and Orakzai tribes which had risen up under them were subjugated. Jalaluddin, the son of the Roshaniyya movement's founder, Bayazid, was killed in 1601 in a fight with Mughal troops near Ghazni. The Mughals also moved to conquer Sindh in the lower Indus valley. Since 1574, the northern fortress of Bhakkar had remained under imperial control. In 1586, the Mughal governor of Multan tried and failed to secure the capitulation of Mirza Jani Beg, the independent ruler of Thatta in southern Sindh. The Mughal general Mir Masum led an attack on the stronghold of Sibi, which was northeast of Quetta, and defeated a coalition of local chieftains in battle. had connections with the Mughals from the time of the Empire's ancestor, Timur, the warlord who had conquered much of Western, Central, and parts of South Asia in the 14th century. However, the Safavids considered it to be an appanage of the Persian-ruled territory of Khorasan, and declared its association with the Mughal emperors to be a usurpation. In 1558, while Akbar was consolidating his rule over northern India, Safavid Shah Tahmasp I seized Kandahar and expelled its Mughal governor. The recovery of Kandahar had not been a priority for Akbar, but after his military activity in the northern frontiers, he moved to restore Mughal control. At the time, the region was also under threat from the Uzbeks, but the Emperor of Persia, himself beleaguered by the Ottoman Turks, was unable to send reinforcements. Rostam Mirza pledged allegiance to the Mughals; he was granted a rank (mansab) of command over 5,000 men and received Multan as a jagir. In 1593, Akbar began military operations against the Deccan Sultans, who had not submitted to his authority. He besieged Ahmednagar Fort in 1595, forcing Chand Bibi to cede Berar. A subsequent revolt forced Akbar to take the fort in August 1600. Akbar occupied Burhanpur and besieged Asirgarh Fort in 1599, and took it on 17 January 1601, when Miran Bahadur Shah of the Khandesh Sultanate refused to relinquish Khandesh. Akbar then established the Subahs of Ahmadnagar, Berar, and Khandesh under Prince Daniyal. "By the time of his death in 1605, Akbar controlled a broad sweep of territory from the Bay of Bengal to Kandahar and Badakshan. He touched the western sea in Sind and at Surat and was well astride central India." ==Administration==

Political structure Akbar's system of central government was based on the system that had evolved since the Delhi Sultanate. Akbar reorganised the sections with a detailed set of regulations. The revenue department was headed by a wazir, responsible for finances and management of jagir and inam land. The head of the military was called the mir bakshi, appointed from among the leading nobles of the court. The mir bakshi was in charge of intelligence gathering, and made recommendations to the emperor for military appointments and promotion. The mir saman was in charge of the imperial household, including the harems, and supervised the functioning of the court and royal bodyguard. The judiciary was a separate organisation headed by a chief qazi, who was also responsible for religious beliefs and practices. Taxation Akbar reformed the administration land revenues by adopting a system that had been used by Sher Shah Suri. The village continued to remain the primary unit of revenue assessment. Cultivated areas were measured and taxed through fixed rates—on the basis of prices prevailing the imperial court—based on the type of crop and productivity. This system burdened the peasantry because prices at the imperial court were often higher than those in the countryside. Akbar also introduced a decentralised system of annual assessment, which resulted in corruption among local officials. The system was abandoned in 1580 and replaced with the ' (also known as '), under which revenue was calculated as one-third of the average produce of the previous ten years, to be paid to the state in cash. This system was later refined, taking into account local prices and grouping areas with similar productivity into assessment circles. Remission was given to peasants when the harvest failed during times of flood or drought. Other local methods of assessment continued in some areas. Lands which were fallow or uncultivated were assessed at concessional rates. Akbar also encouraged the improvement and extension of agriculture. Zamindars were required to provide loans and agricultural implements in times of need, and to encourage farmers to plough as much land as possible and sow high-quality seeds. In turn, the zamindars were given a hereditary right to collect a share of the produce. Peasants had a hereditary right to cultivate the land as long as they paid the land revenue. Military organisation Akbar organised his army and the nobility by means of a system called the mansabdari. Under this system, each officer in the army was assigned a rank (a mansabdar) and assigned a number of cavalry, which he was required to supply to the imperial army. Persons were normally appointed to a low mansab and then promoted based on merit and the favour of the emperor. Each mansabdar was required to maintain a certain number of cavalrymen and twice that number of horses. The number of horses was greater because they had to be rested and rapidly replaced in times of war. Akbar employed strict measures to ensure that the quality of the armed forces was maintained at a high level; horses were regularly inspected and usually only Arabian horses were employed. The mansabdars were the highest paid military service in the world at the time. In 1599, Akbar moved his capital back to Agra, where he ruled until his death. Culture Akbar was a patron of the arts and culture. He had Sanskrit literature translated and participated in native festivals. Akbar established the library of Fatehpur Sikri exclusively for women, and he decreed the establishment of schools for the education of both Muslims and Hindus throughout the realm. He also encouraged bookbinding to become a high art. ==Economy==

Trade Akbar's government prioritised commercial expansion, encouraging traders, providing protection and security for transactions, and levying a low custom duty to stimulate foreign trade. It also required that local administrators provide restitution to traders for goods stolen while in their territories. To minimise such incidents, bands of highway police called '''' were enlisted to patrol roads and ensure the safety of traders. Other active measures taken included the construction and protection of routes of commerce and communications. Akbar made concerted efforts to improve roads to facilitate the use of wheeled vehicles through the Khyber Pass, the most popular route frequented by traders and travellers journeying from Kabul into Mughal India. He also established an international trading business for his chief consort, Mariam-uz-Zamani, who ran an extensive trade of indigo, spices, and cotton to Gulf nations through merchant's vessels. Coins ; the declaration reads: There is no god except Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. Akbar introduced coins with decorative features, including floral motifs, dotted borders, and quatrefoil. The coins were issued in both round and square shapes, including a unique 'mehrab' (lozenge) shaped coin. Akbar's portrait type gold coin (Mohur) is generally attributed to his son, Prince Salim (later Emperor Jahangir), who had rebelled and then sought reconciliation by minting and presenting his father with gold Mohurs bearing Akbar's portrait. During the latter part of Akbar's reign, coins portrayed the concept of Akbar's newly promoted religion, with the Ilahi type and Jalla Jalal-Hu types. ==Diplomacy==

Matrimonial alliances Prior to Akbar's reign, marriages between Hindu princesses and Muslim kings failed to produce stable relations between the families involved; the women were lost to their families and did not return after marriage. Akbar departed from that practice, providing that the Hindu Rajputs who married their daughters or sisters to him would be treated equally to his Muslim fathers- and brothers-in-law, except that they would not be allowed to dine or pray with him or take Muslim wives. Akbar also made those Rajputs members of his court. Some Rajputs considered marriage to Akbar a sign of humiliation. Other Rajput kingdoms also established matrimonial alliances with Akbar, but Akbar did not insist upon matrimony as a precondition for forming alliances. When Akbar met with the Hada leader, Surjan Hada, to effect an alliance, Surjan accepted on the condition that Akbar could not marry any of his daughters. Consequently, no matrimonial alliance was entered into, but Surjan was made a noble and placed in charge of Garh-Katanga. Akbar's policy of religious tolerance ensured that employment in the imperial administration was open to all on merit, irrespective of creed, strengthening his imperial rule. Akbar's daughter Meherunnissa was rumoured to be enamored of Tansen and might have played a role in his coming to Akbar's court. Tansen converted to Islam from Hinduism, apparently on the eve of his marriage with Akbar's daughter. ==Foreign relations==

Relations with the Portuguese At the time of Akbar's ascension in 1556, the Portuguese had established several fortresses and factories on the western coast of the subcontinent, and largely controlled navigation and sea trade in that region. As a consequence, all other trading entities were subject to the terms and conditions of the Portuguese, which was resented by rulers and traders, including Bahadur Shah of Gujarat. , in front of the Portuguese in 1537 In 1572, the Mughal Empire annexed Gujarat and acquired its first access to the sea, but local officials informed Akbar that the Portuguese had begun to exert control in the Indian Ocean. Akbar obtained a cartaz (permit) from the Portuguese to sail in the Persian Gulf region. At the initial meeting of the Mughals and the Portuguese during the Siege of Surat in 1572, the Portuguese, recognising the superior strength of the Mughal army, chose to adopt diplomacy instead of war. The Portuguese Governor, upon the request of Akbar, sent him an ambassador to establish friendly relations. Akbar accepted the offer of diplomacy, but the Portuguese continually asserted their authority and power in the Indian Ocean; Akbar expressed concern when he was required to request a permit from the Portuguese before any ships from the Mughal Empire could depart for the Hajj to Mecca and Medina. In 1573, Akbar issued a firman directing Mughal administrative officials in Gujarat not to provoke the Portuguese in the territory they held in Daman. The Portuguese, in turn, issued passes for members of Akbar's family to go on Hajj to Mecca. The Portuguese made mention of the extraordinary status of the vessel and the special status to be accorded to its occupants. Akbar was unsuccessful in purchasing compact artillery pieces from the Portuguese, hindering his efforts to establish a Mughal navy along the Gujarat coast. In September 1579, Jesuits from Goa were invited to visit the court of Akbar. The emperor had his scribes translate the New Testament and granted the Jesuits freedom to preach the Gospel. One of his sons, Sultan Murad Mirza, was entrusted to Antoni de Montserrat for his education. While debating at court, the Jesuits denigrated Islam and Muhammad. Their comments enraged the Imams and Ulama, who objected to the remarks, but Akbar ordered their comments to be recorded. This event was followed by a rebellion of Muslim clerics in 1581 led by Mullah Muhammad Yazdi and Muiz-ul-Mulk, the chief Qadi of Bengal; the rebels sought to overthrow Akbar and put his brother Mirza Muhammad Hakim on the Mughal throne. Akbar successfully defeated the rebels, but he became more cautious about inviting guests to his court, seeking advice from his counselors. Relations with the Ottoman Empire ambush against the galleys of Seydi Ali Reis (Akbar's allies) in the Indian Ocean In 1555, while Akbar was still a child, the Ottoman Admiral Seydi Ali Reis visited the Mughal Emperor Humayun. In 1569, during the early years of Akbar's rule, Ottoman Admiral Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis visited the Empire. These Ottoman admirals sought to end the growing threats of the Portuguese Empire during their Indian Ocean campaigns. During his reign, Akbar six documents addressing the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. In 1576, Akbar sent a contingent of pilgrims on Hajj, led by Khwaja Sultan Naqshbandi, with 600,000 rupees and 12,000 khalats (honorific robes) for the needy of Mecca and Medina. In October 1576, Akbar sent a delegation, which included his aunt Gulbadan Begum and his consort Salima, on Hajj by two ships, including an Ottoman vessel, from Surat, which reached the port of Jeddah in 1577 and then proceeded to Mecca and Medina. Four more caravans were sent from 1577 to 1580, with gifts for the authorities of Mecca and Medina. During this period, Akbar financed the pilgrimages of many poor Muslims from the Mughal Empire and also funded the foundations of the Qadiriyya Sufi Order's dervish lodge in the Hijaz. Akbar's attempts to build Mughal presence in Mecca and Medina reassured the local Sharifs of the Mughal Empire's ability to provide financial support, lessening their dependency upon Ottoman bounties. The imperial Mughal entourage stayed in Mecca and Medina for nearly four years and attended the Hajj four times. In 1582, the Ottoman authorities forced them to return to India. Historian Naimur Rahman Farooqi has suggested that their expulsion may explain why Akbar broke relations with the Hijaz and stopped sending Hajj caravans after 1581. According to some accounts, Akbar expressed a desire to form an alliance with the Portuguese against the Ottomans, but nothing came of the idea. Relations with the Safavid dynasty Before Akbar's rule, the Safavids and the Mughals had a long history of diplomatic relations. The Safavid ruler Tahmasp I provided refuge to Humayun when he was forced to flee the Indian subcontinent following his defeat by Sher Shah Suri. However, the Safavids differed from the Sunni Mughals in following the Shia branch of Islam. One of the longest-standing disputes between the Safavids and the Mughals pertained to control of the city of Kandahar in the Hindu Kush region, which formed the border between the two empires. Military strategists of the time considered the region to be militarily significant due to its geography. The city, which was administered by Bairam Khan at the time of Akbar's accession, was invaded and captured by the Persian ruler Soltan Hosayn Mirza, a cousin of Tahmasp I, in 1558. Subsequent to this, Bairam Khan sent an envoy to the court of Tahmasp I in an effort to maintain peaceful relations with the Safavids. This gesture was reciprocated and a cordial relationship prevailed between the two empires during the remainder of the first two decades of Akbar's reign. The death of Tahmasp I in 1576 resulted in civil war and instability in the Safavid empire, and diplomatic relations between the two empires ceased for more than a decade. They were restored only in 1587 following the accession of Shah Abbas to the Safavid throne. Diplomatic relations continued to be maintained between the Safavid and Mughal courts until the end of Akbar's reign. Kandahar remained in Mughal possession, and the Hindu Kush was the empire's western frontier for several decades until Shah Jahan's expedition into Badakhshan in 1646. Relations with other contemporary kingdoms Vincent Arthur Smith has observed that the merchant Mildenhall was employed in 1600 to bear a letter from Queen Elizabeth to Akbar requesting liberty to trade in his dominions on terms as good as those enjoyed by the Portuguese. Akbar was also visited by the French explorer Pierre Malherbe. ==Religious policy==

prayer Akbar and other members of his family, are believed to have been Sunni Hanafi Muslims. except his mother who was a Persian Shia His early days were spent in the backdrop of an atmosphere in which liberal sentiments were encouraged and religious narrow-mindedness was frowned upon. From the 15th century, a number of rulers in various parts of the country adopted a more liberal policy of religious tolerance, attempting to foster communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims. These sentiments were earlier encouraged by the teachings of popular saints like Guru Nanak, Kabir, and Chaitanya, The Timurid ethos of religious tolerance persisted from the times of Timur to Humayun, and influenced Akbar's policy of tolerance in matters of religion. Akbar's childhood tutors, including two Irani Shias, were largely above sectarian prejudices, and made a significant contribution to Akbar's later inclination towards religious tolerance. Association with the Muslim aristocracy Akbar welcomes his son Prince Salim at Fatehpur Sikri (Akbarnameh). During the early part of his reign, Akbar adopted an attitude of suppression towards Muslim sects that were condemned by the orthodoxy as heretical. In 1567, on the advice of Shaikh Abdu'n Nabi, he ordered the exhumation of Mir Murtaza Sharifi Shirazi – a Shia buried in Delhi – because of the grave's proximity to that of Amir Khusrau, arguing that a "heretic" could not be buried so close to the grave of a Sunni saint. This reflected a restrictive attitude towards the Shia, which continued to persist until the early 1570s. He suppressed Mahdavism in 1573 during his campaign in Gujarat, in the course of which the Mahdavi leader Bandagi Miyan Sheik Mustafa was arrested and brought in chains to the court for debate and released after eighteen months. As Akbar increasingly came under the influence of pantheistic Sufi mysticism from the early 1570s, his outlook shifted from orthodox Islam as traditionally professed, to a new concept of Islam that transcended the limits of Islam. In 1579, the Mughal Emperor Akbar referred to himself as: To strengthen his position in dealing with the ulema (Muslim legal scholars), Akbar issued a mazhar, or declaration, that was signed by all major ulemas in 1579. The mahzar asserted that Akbar was the Khalifa of the age, a higher rank than that of a Mujtahid; in case of a difference of opinion among the Mujtahids, Akbar could select any one opinion and could also issue decrees that did not go against the nass. Given the prevailing Islamic sectarian conflicts in various parts of the country at that time, it is believed that the mazhar helped stabilise the religious situation in the empire. In 1580, a rebellion broke out in the eastern part of Akbar's empire, and a number of fatwas, declaring Akbar to be a heretic, were issued by Qazis. Akbar suppressed the rebellion and handed out severe punishments to the Qazis. Akbar's interaction with various religious theologians had convinced him that despite their differences, all religions had several good practices, which he sought to combine into a new religious movement known as Din-i-Ilahi. Virtues in Din-i-Ilahi included generosity, forgiveness, abstinence, prudence, wisdom, kindness, and piety. Celibacy was respected, chastity enforced, the slaughter of animals was discouraged, and there were no sacred scriptures or a priestly hierarchy. A leading noble of Akbar's court, Aziz Koka, wrote a letter to him from Mecca in 1594 arguing that the discipleship promoted by Akbar amounted to nothing more than a desire on Akbar's part to portray his superiority regarding religious matters. To commemorate Din-e-Ilahi, Akbar changed the name of Prayag to Allahabad (pronounced as ilahabad) in 1583. Some modern scholars claim that Akbar did not initiate a new religion, instead introducing what Oscar R. Gómez has called a transtheistic outlook, derived from tantric Tibetan Buddhism, and that Akbar did not use the word Din-i-Ilahi. Scholars have also argued that the theory that Din-i-Ilahi was a new religion is a misconception that arose because of erroneous translations of Abul Fazl's work by British historians. Historian M. Athar Ali wrote that the policy of sulh-e-kul, which formed the essence of Din-i-Ilahi, was adopted by Akbar not merely for religious purposes, but as a part of general imperial administrative policy. This also formed the basis for Akbar's policy of religious tolerance. At the time of Akbar's death in 1605, there were no signs of discontent among his Muslim subjects, and even theologians like Abdu'l Haq accepted that close ties remained. Relation with Hindus Akbar decreed that Hindus who had been forced to convert to Islam could reconvert to Hinduism without facing the death penalty. Akbar was well-liked by Hindus, who sang religious hymns to him and his eulogies. Akbar practised several Hindu customs. He celebrated Diwali and allowed Brahman priests to tie jewelled strings around his wrists by way of blessing. Following his lead, many nobles took to wearing rakhi (protection charms). He renounced beef and forbade the sale of all meats on certain days. When Akbar was in Punjab, 200 miles away from the Ganges, water was sealed in large jars and transported to him. He referred to the Ganges water as the "water of immortality". Akbar was impressed with his scholarly approach. He held several inter-faith dialogues among philosophers of different religions. 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. Jain authors also wrote about their experience at the Mughal court in Sanskrit texts that are still largely unknown to Mughal historians. In 1584, 1592, and 1598, Akbar declared "Amari Ghosana", which prohibited animal slaughter during Paryushan and Mahavira Janma Kalyanak. He removed the jizya tax from Jain pilgrim places like Palitana. Santichandra, disciple of Suri, was sent to the Emperor, who in turn left his disciples Bhanuchandra and Siddhichandra in the court. Akbar invited Hiravijaya Suri's successor Vijayasena Suri to his court who visited him between 1593 and 1595. Akbar's religious tolerance was not followed by his son Jahangir, who later threatened Bhanuchandra. ==Historical accounts==

Personality , Akbar's reign was chronicled extensively by his court historian Abul Fazl in the books Akbarnama and Ain-i-akbari. Other contemporary sources of Akbar's reign include the works of Badayuni, Shaikhzada Rashidi, and Shaikh Ahmed Sirhindi. Akbar was a warrior, emperor, general, animal trainer (reputedly keeping thousands of hunting cheetahs during his reign and training many himself), and theologian. Believed to be dyslexic, he was read to every day and had a remarkable memory. He created a library of over 24,000 volumes According to Jahangir, Akbar was "of the hue of wheat; his eyes and eyebrows were black, and his complexion rather dark than fair". Antoni de Montserrat, the Catalan Jesuit who visited his court, described him as follows: Akbar was not tall, but powerfully built and very agile. He was also noted for various acts of courage. One such incident occurred on his way back from Malwa to Agra when Akbar was 19 years old. Akbar rode alone in advance of his escort and was confronted by a tigress who, along with her cubs, came out from the shrubbery across his path. When the tigress charged the emperor, he was alleged to have dispatched the animal with his sword in a solitary blow. His approaching attendants found the emperor standing quietly by the side of the dead animal. Abul Fazl, as well as Akbar's critic Badayuni, described him as having a commanding personality. He was notable for his command in battle, and, "like Alexander of Macedon, was always ready to risk his life, regardless of political consequences". He often plunged on his horse into flooded rivers during the rainy seasons and safely crossed them. He rarely indulged in cruelty and is said to have been affectionate towards his relatives. He pardoned his brother Hakim, who had rebelled. On rare occasions, he dealt cruelly with offenders, such as his maternal uncle Muazzam and his foster-brother Adham Khan, who was twice defenestrated for drawing Akbar's wrath. To defend his stance that speech arose from hearing, he carried out a language deprivation experiment, and had children raised in isolation, not allowed to be spoken to, and pointed out that as they grew older, they remained mute. Hagiography During Akbar's reign, the ongoing process of inter-religious discourse and syncretism resulted in a series of religious attributions to him in terms of positions of assimilation, doubt, or uncertainty, which he either assisted himself or left unchallenged. Such hagiographical accounts of Akbar traversed a wide range of denominational and sectarian spaces, including several accounts by Parsis, Jains, and Jesuit missionaries, apart from contemporary accounts by Brahminical and Muslim orthodoxy. Existing sects and denominations, as well as various religious figures who represented popular worship felt they had a claim to him. The diversity of these accounts is attributed to the fact that his reign resulted in the formation of a flexible centralised state accompanied by personal authority and cultural heterogeneity. The work was commissioned by Akbar, and written by Abul Fazl, one of the Nine Jewels (Hindi: Navaratnas) of Akbar's royal court. The book reportedly took seven years to complete and the original manuscripts contained a number of paintings supporting the texts. The paintings are in the Mughal school of painting, and included works of masters of the imperial workshop, including Basawan, whose use of portraiture in its illustrations was an innovation in Indian art. ==Consorts and concubines==

Akbar's first wife and one of the chief consorts was his cousin, Princess Ruqaiya Sultan Begum, and his wife Sultanam Begum. In 1551, Hindal Mirza died fighting in a battle against Kamran Mirza's forces. Upon hearing the news of his brother's death, Humayun was overwhelmed with grief. His second wife was the daughter of Abdullah Khan Mughal. His third wife and one of his three chief consorts was his cousin, Salima Sultan Begum, the daughter of Nur-ud-din Muhammad Mirza and his wife Gulrukh Begum, also known as Gulrang, the daughter of Emperor Babur. She was at first betrothed to Bairam Khan by Humayun. After Bairam Khan died in 1561, Akbar married her in the same year. She was the foster mother of Akbar's second son, Murad Mirza. She was a poet and actively played a role in the politics of the Mughal court during Akbar's and Jahangir's reigns. She is regarded as the senior-most wife of Akbar. She died childless on 2 January 1613. Akbar's fourth and favourite wife, Mariam-uz-Zamani, commonly known by the misnomer Jodha Bai, was the daughter of the ruler of Amer, Raja Bharmal, and by birth, was of Rajput caste. They got married on 6 February 1562 at the imperial military camp in Sambhar, Rajasthan, near Amer, and became one of Akbar's chief consorts. Shortly after marriage, Akbar named her 'Wali Nimat Begum' (Blessings/Gift of God). Their marriage took place when Akbar was on his way back from Ajmer after offering prayers to the tomb of Moinuddin Chishti. Raja Bharmal had conveyed to Akbar that he was being harassed by his brother-in-law Sharif-ud-din Mirza (the Mughal hakim of Mewat). Akbar insisted that the Raja should submit to him personally; it was also suggested that his daughter should be married to him as a sign of complete submission. Her marriage is considered one of the most important events in the history of the Mughal Empire. She became his first wife to have given birth to Akbar's sons. In 1564, she delivered twins named Mirza Hassan and Mirza Hussain and in 1569, she was honoured with the title of 'Mariam-uz-Zamani' after giving birth to their third and first surviving son, Prince Salim (the future emperor Jahangir), the heir to the throne. She was also the foster mother of Akbar's favourite son, Daniyal Mirza. , commonly known as Jodha Bai She commanded a high rank in the imperial harem and was a recipient of many privileges. She was an intellectual woman who held a considerable influence in Akbar's court and is known as the prime driving force for Akbar's promotion of secularism and religious neutrality. She was also a great female patron of the architecture of her time. She died on 19 May 1623 in Agra and was buried in a grave close to her husband, Akbar, in Sikandra, Agra. In 1562, Akbar married the former wife of Abdul Wasi, the son of Shaikh Bada, lord of Agra. Akbar was enamored with her beauty and ordered Abdul Wasi to divorce her. Another of his wives was Gauhar-un-Nissa Begum, the daughter of Shaikh Muhammad Bakhtiyar and the sister of Shaikh Jamal Bakhtiyar. Their dynasty was called Din Laqab they lived in Chandwar and Jalesar near Agra. He married the daughter of Jagmal Rathore, son of Rao Viramde of Merta in 1562. His next marriage took place in 1564 to the daughter of Miran Mubarak Shah, the ruler of Khandesh. In 1564, he sent presents to the court with a request that his daughter be married to Akbar. Miran's request acceded and an order was issued. Itimad Khan was sent with Miran's ambassadors. Miran welcomed Itimad with honour and despatched his daughter with him. A large number of nobles accompanied her. The marriage took place in September 1564 when she reached Akbar's court. As a dowry, Mubarak Shah ceded Bijagarh and Handia to his imperial son-in-law. He married another Rajput princess in 1570, Raj Kunwari, daughter of Kanha, the brother of Rai Kalyan Mal, the ruler of Bikanir. The marriage took place in 1570 when Akbar came to this part of the country. Kalyan made a homage to Akbar and requested that his brother's daughter be married to him. Akbar accepted his proposal, and the marriage was arranged. He also married Bhanmati, daughter of Bhim Raj, another brother of Rai Kalyan Mal. Rawal had sent a request that his daughter be married to Akbar. The proposal was accepted by Akbar. Raja Bhagwan Das was despatched on this service. The marriage ceremony took place after Akbar's return from Nagor. She was the mother of Princess Mahi Begum, who died on 8 April 1577. In 1570, Narhardas, a grandson of Rao Viramde of Merta, married his sister, Puram Bai, to Akbar in return for Akbar's support of Keshodas's claims on Merta. Another of his wives was Bhakkari Begum, the daughter of Sultan Mahmud of Bhakkar. On 2 July 1572, Akbar's envoy Itimad Khan reached Mahmud's court to escort his daughter to Akbar. Itimad Khan brought a dress, a bejewelled scimitar belt, a horse with a saddle and reins, and four elephants. Mahmud celebrated the occasion by holding extravagant feasts for fifteen days. On the day of the wedding, the ulema, saints, and nobles were honoured with rewards. Mahmud offered 30,000 rupees in cash and kind to Itimad Khan and sent his daughter with a grand dowry and an entourage. She came to Ajmer and waited upon Akbar. The gifts of Sultan Mahmud, carried by the delegation, were presented to the ladies of the imperial harem. His eleventh wife was Qasima Banu Begum, the daughter of Arab Shah. The marriage took place in 1575. A fest was held, at which the high officers and other pillars of the state were present. In 1577, the Rawal Askaran of Dungarpur State requested that his daughter be married to Akbar. Akbar granted his request. Rai Loukaran and Rajah Birbar, servants of the Rajah, were sent from Dihalpur to do the honour of conveying his daughter. The two delivered her to Akbar's court where the marriage took place on 12 July 1577. His twelfth wife was Bibi Daulat Shad. born on 22 December 1584. His next wife was the daughter of Shams Chak, a Kashmiri. The marriage took place on 3 November 1592. In 1593, he married the daughter of Qazi Isa and the cousin of Najib Khan. Najib told Akbar that his uncle had made his daughter a present for him. Akbar accepted his representation and on 3 July 1593, he visited Najib Khan's house and married Qazi Isa's daughter. At some point, Akbar took into his harem Rukmavati, a daughter Maldeo Rathore, Rao of Marwar, by his mistress, Tipu Gudi. This was a dolo union as opposed to a formal marriage, representing the bride's lower status in her father's household, and serving as an expression of vassalage to an overlord. The dating of this event is not recorded. ==Death==

at Sikandra, Agra, 1795 On 3 October 1605, Akbar fell ill from an attack of dysentery, which lies a kilometer next to the tomb of Mariam-uz-Zamani, his favourite consort. ==Legacy==

Akbar firmly entrenched the authority of the Mughal Empire in India and beyond, after it had been threatened by the Afghans during his father's reign, establishing its military and diplomatic superiority. Folk tales revolving around him and Birbal, one of his navaratnas, are popular in India. He and his Hindu wife, Mariam-uz-Zamani are widely popular, as the latter is believed to have been the prime inspiration and driving force for Akbar's promotion of secularism and universal benevolence. Akbar's legacy is largely negative in Pakistan. Historian Mubarak Ali, in a study of the image of Akbar in Pakistani textbooks, has observed that Akbar "is conveniently ignored and not mentioned in any school textbook from class one to matriculation", ==Issue==

Films and television • Shahenshah Akbar is a 1943 Indian Hindi-language film about the emperor. • Akbar was portrayed in the award-winning 1960 Hindi movie Mughal-e-Azam (The Great Mughal), in which his character was played by Prithviraj Kapoor. • In the 1958 Urdu film Anarkali, he was portrayed by Himalyawala. • The Government of India's Films Division produced Akbar, a documentary film about the emperor, in 1967, directed by Shanti S. Varma. It won the National Film Award for Best Educational/Motivational/Instructional Film. • Om Shivpuri played Akbar in the 1978 movie Bhakti Mein Shakti. • Akbar Saleem Anarkali is a 1979 Indian Telugu-language film about the Anarkali legend directed by N. T. Rama Rao, with Rao also portraying the role of Akbar. • Akbar was portrayed by Amjad Khan in the 1979 movie Meera. • Akbar was portrayed by Hrithik Roshan in the 2008 Bollywood film Jodhaa Akbar. • Akbar and Birbal were portrayed in the Hindi series Akbar-Birbal aired on Zee TV in the late 1990s where Akbar's role was played by Vikram Gokhale. • A television series, called Akbar the Great, directed by Akbar Khan was aired on DD National in the 1990s. • In 2013–2015, a television series, called Jodha Akbar aired on Zee TV, in which the role of Akbar was played by actor Rajat Tokas. • In the Motu Patlu episode "Motu Akbar The Great", John fools Motu into believing that he is playing Akbar in a Hit Film. • Akbar was portrayed by Uday Tikekar in EPIC channel's critically acclaimed historical drama Siyaasat (based on the novel The Twentieth Wife). • In Sony TV's historical drama Bharat Ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap, Akbar was at first portrayed by Krip Suri and later by Avinesh Rekhi. • Akbar is portrayed by Kiku Sharda in BIG Magic's sitcom Akbar Birbal. • Mohammed Iqbal Khan played the role of Akbar in ABP News' documentary series, Bharatvarsh. • Akbar Rakht Se Takht Ka Safar is a 2017 Indian drama television series tracing Akbar's journey to the Mughal throne. • Shahbaz Khan played the role of Akbar in the Colors television show Dastaan-E-Mohabbat Salim Anarkali. • Ali Asgar portrayed the emperor in the 2020 Indian comedy television series, Akbar Ka Bal Birbal. • Naseeruddin Shah portrayed him in ZEE5's web series Taj: Divided by Blood. Fiction • Akbar is a principal character in Indu Sundaresan's award-winning novel The Twentieth Wife (2002) as well as in its sequel The Feast of Roses (2003). • A fictionalised Akbar plays an important supporting role in Kim Stanley Robinson's 2002 novel, The Years of Rice and Salt. • Akbar is also a major character in Salman Rushdie's 2008 novel The Enchantress of Florence. • In Kunal Basu's The Miniaturist, the story revolves around a young painter during Akbar's time who paints his own version of the Akbarnamu. • Akbar is mentioned as 'Raja Baadshah' in the Chhattisgarhi folktale of "Mohna de gori kayina". • Akbar is the main character in Empire of the Moghul: Ruler of the World by Alex Rutherford, the third book in a sextet based on the six great Mughal Emperors of the Mughal Dynasty. Video games • Akbar is featured in the video game Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword as a "great general" available in the game. • Akbar is the AI Personality of India in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties. ==See also==