Akbar the Great

Akbar History:

In 1539-40 Humayun was defeated by Sher Shah Suri. Then Mughal Emperor Humayun was exiled to the west and took shelter under the local leader Ali. The Emperor met Hamida Banu in Sindh, the daughter of Ali, and married her; the following year, Akbar was born on October 15, 1542, in the house of Sindh Umarkot Rajput.

Early Life:

After a long exile, Humayun and Akbar went to Kabul with the entire family, where his uncle Kamran Mirza and Mirza Askari lived. In the early days, the young Akbar spent his days hunting, warfare, learning and fighting. These activities made him lead a mighty, fearless and brave warrior. But his whole life, he had never known to write or not to read. It is required to read something; there had someone with whom to do reading and writing. In 1551 AD, the prince married his uncle’s daughter Mirza.

As the Emperor:

Humayun restored his power in 1555 in Delhi, and there he built a vast army. Later few months, Humayun died. As soon as Humayun died, Akbar, at 13, enthroned and declared the empire of the Mughal dynasty. Then the King inherited little more than a collection of frail fiefs. Bairam Khan supported Akbar the great in achieving relative stability in the region. Bairam Khan controlled North India from the Afghans and successfully led the army against the Hindu King Hemu at the Second Battle of Panipat. He brought back the glory of the Mughal dynasty with his robust efforts and brave activities. Despite this loyal service, when Akbar was 18, they dismissed Bairam Khan and took complete control of the government.

Wars:

Akbar was a brave and powerful ruler in Indian History. Generally, he was a great commendable general and continued military expansion throughout his reign. His endless armed forces, based on immense power and economic strength, gradually merged many states into Mughal Empire. He expanded his empire to Afghanistan in the north, Sindh in the west, Bengal in the east, and the Godavari River in the south. He allied himself with the defeated Rajput rulers rather than demanding a high “tribute tax” and leaving them to rule their territories unsupervised. The Mughal Emperor introduced a system of the central government, integrating them into the administration.

 Religion:

Akbar had a lot of faith in Islam and also other religious concepts. So he never put forced the Hindus to convert to Islam. The Emperor regularly participated in the festivals of different faiths and built a temple called ibadat-khana in Fatehpur Sikri. There supported local priests in conducting religious summits and hosted scholars from all other religions, including Hindus, Zoroastrians, Christians and Yogis. Akbar allowed the Jesuits to construct a church at Agra and strictly restricted cattle slaughter out of respect for Hindu custom. So every religious people loved him with profound respect. In 1582, he established a new cult combining all other spiritual elements called the Din-i-Ilahi (“divine faith”). He tried to bring it as a religion but failed later.

Patron of arts:

Though Akbar was illiterate, he was very interested in Arts and cultures and encouraged poets and other cultural activists throughout the empire. The Emperor brought a new architecture Mughal style which is a combination of Islamic, Persian and Hindu design. He encouraged and sponsored some of the best and brightest minds of the era, including poets, musicians, artists, philosophers and engineers, in his courts at Delhi, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri.

Administration:

He eradicated the discrimination among the people and between different regions and tried to bring assurance to the people on him. Put out the Jizya tax on the Hindus and maintained close relations with the Hindu religious people. Akbar married Rajput women to establish favour relations between the Mughals and Rajputs.

Nine Gems or Navaratnas:

The most famed ‘navaratna’, or nine gems, were served in Akbar court. They were poets, philosophers, musicians, and advisors. These nine gems served as the advisers and entertainers of the King. They were Abul Fazl, who chronicled his reign in the three-volume book “Akbarnama”; Abul Faizi, a poet and scholar; Miyan Tansen, a singer and musician; the court jester Birbal; Raja Todar Mal, minister of finance; Raja Man Singh, a celebrated lieutenant; Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana, a poet; and Fagir Aziao-Din and Mullah Do Piaza, who were both advisors.

Akbar Death and Successor:

The most potent King of India and great Mughal Ruler, Akbar, died in 1605. He was fatally ill before his death. Then many courtiers favoured Khusrau, the eldest son of Emperor the great, as Emperor. However, Jahangir forcefully came to the throne after Akbar’s death.