जलालुद्दीन मुहम्मद अकबर

अकबर

जलालुद्दीन मुहम्मद अकबर (جلال الدین محمد اکبر ) (ऑक्टोबर १५, इ.स. १५४२:उमरकोट, पाकिस्तान - ऑक्टोबर १२, इ.स. १६०५:आग्रा) हा इ.स. १५५६ पासून मृत्यूपर्यंत मुघल सम्राट होता.[१][२][३] हा भारताचा चा तिसरा मुघल सम्राट होता. याला अकबर-ए-आझम (महान अकबर/ अकबर द ग्रेट) असेही संबोधले जाते.
अकबर
बादशाह
Akbar.jpg
कैसर अकबर या पुस्तकातील मुखचित्र
अधिकारकाळ इ.स. १५५६-इ.स. १६०५
पूर्ण नाव जलालुद्दीन मुहम्मद अकबर
पदव्या अल-सुलतान अल-आजम वल खक़म अल-मुकर्रम, इमाम-इ-'आदिल, सुलतान उल-इस्लाम काफ्फात्त उल-अनम, आमीर उल-मु'मिनीन, खलीफत उल-मुता'अली साहिब-इ-झमन,पदशहा गाझी जीउअल्ला: 'आर्ष-अश्यानी, शहनश-ए-सुल्तनत उई हिंदिया वल मुघलीया, एम्परर ऑफ इंडिया [१]
जन्म ऑक्टोबर १५, इ.स. १५४२
उमरकोट, सिंध, पाकिस्तान
मृत्यू ऑक्टोबर १२, इ.स. १६०५
आग्रा, उत्तर प्रदेश, भारत
पूर्वाधिकारी हुमायूँ
उत्तराधिकारी जहांगीर
वडील हुमायूँ
आई हमीदा बानू बेगम
पत्नी रुकय्या सुलतान बेगम
इतर पत्नी * सलीमा सुलतान बेगम

    जोधा बाई तथा मरियम-उझ-झमानी
    सकीना बानू बेगम

संतती * शाहझादा नुरुद्दीन मोहम्मद सलीम तथा जहांगीर, पुत्र

    शाहझादा शाह मुराद, पुत्र
    शाहझादा दन्याल, पुत्र
    शाहझादा खुसरो, पुत्र
    शाहझादा शाह मुराद, पुत्र
    शाहझादी खनीम सुलतान, पुत्री
    शाहझादी शक्रुन्निसा बेगम, पुत्री
    शाहझादी आराम बानू बेगम, पुत्री
    शाहझादी जहान बेगम, पुत्री
    शाहझादी झिमिनी बेगम, पुत्री

राजघराणे मुघल

अकबर तीमुरीद घराण्यातील नसिरुद्दीन हुमायूँचा पुत्र आणि भारतात मुघल घराण्याची स्थापना करणाऱ्या झाहीरुद्दिन मुहम्मद बाबर चा नातू व वारसदार होता. अकबरचा राज्यकाळ १६०५ साली संपण्या अगोदर, शेवटच्या वर्षानमध्ये मुघल साम्राज्याने जवळ जवळ संपूर्ण उत्तर आणि मध्य भारत व्यापला होता, व ते तत्कालीन शक्तिशाली राज्यांपैकी एक होते."विस्तीर्ण राज्य"

हुमायूंच्या मृत्यूपश्चात वयाच्या १३व्या वर्षी सम्राटपदी आलेला अकबर मुघल वंशाचा सगळ्यात महान सम्राट गणला जातो.[४] आपल्या राज्यकाळादरम्यान त्याने शेरशाह सूरीचा पाडाव केला व पानिपतच्या दुसऱ्या लढाईत हिंदू राजा सम्राट हेमचंद्र विक्रमादित्य ऊर्फ हेमूचा पराभव केला.[५][६] पुढे संपूर्ण उत्तर आणि मध्ये भारत त्याच्या एकत्रित सत्तेत आणायला जवळ जवळ वीस वर्ष लागली. अर्थातच संपूर्ण भारतीय उपमहाद्विपावर त्याचा ठळक प्रभाव पडला. सम्राट असताना त्याने आपले राज्य आणखीन बळकट करण्यासाठी तत्कालीन बलाढ्य हिंदू राजपूत जातीशी सुत जुलावण्याचेही प्रयत्न केले. त्यासाठी त्याने राजपूत राजकन्येला आपल्या हारेम मध्ये दाखल केले.[५][७] अकबर चा एकूण देशाच्या संस्कृतीवर बराच प्रभाव पडला.[८] अकबराला स्वत:ला रंग्कामांत भरपूर रुची होती, व त्याच्या महालांच्या भिंती आखीव कलाकृतींनी सजवलेल्या असायच्या. मुघल कले बरोबरच त्याने युरोपिअन कलानाही प्रोत्साहन दिले. स्वतः साहित्याचा रसिक असल्याने त्यांनी बरेच संस्कृत साहित्य पर्शियन मध्ये आणि पर्शियन साहित्त्य संस्कृत मध्ये भाषांतर करून घेतले. हिंदू आणि इस्लामेतर धर्मान विषयीचा त्याचा असहिष्णू दृष्टीकोन, राजपूत राजकन्येशी वैवाहिक बोलणी सुरू झाल्यानंतर बराच बदलला, व नंतर तो इस्लामेतर धर्मांविषयी बरीच सहनशीलता बाळगून राहिला.त्याच्या प्रशासनात बरेच हिंदू जमीनदार, वकील आणि सेनापती होते. पुढे त्यांनी धार्मिक चर्चा सुरू केल्या, ज्यात मुसलीम विद्वान सिख, हिंदू, चार्वाक, नास्तिक, ज्यू, पोर्तुगीज आणि ख्रिश्चन विद्वानांबरोबर धार्मिक विषयांवर चर्चा करत असत. ह्या सगळ्या विद्वानांचा तो सन्मान करत असे.[९] त्याच्या सहनशीलतेचे उदाहरण म्हणजे त्याने मुघल झेंड्यावर कॅथोलिक अल्पसंख्यकांच्या सन्मानार्थ ख्रिस्ती क्रॉस कार्यरत केला.[ संदर्भ हवा ] पुढे त्याने दीन-ए-इलाही या धर्माची स्थापना केली. दुर्दैवाने हा धर्म म्हणजे व्यक्तीप्रभावित पंथच ठरला व त्याच्या मृत्यूनंतर नाहीसा झाला.

बालपणसंपादन करा

अकबरचा जन्म पाकिस्तानमधील सिंध प्रांतातल्या अमरकोट येथील किल्ल्यात झाला. या काळात हुमायूँ व त्याची नवीन पत्नी हमीदा बानू बेगम परागंदा झालेले होते. अकबरच्या जन्मानंतर लगेचच हुमायूँ आपल्या कुटुंबाला घेउन मध्य प्रदेशमधील रेवा संस्थानात गेला. तेथे अकबर व रेवाचा राजकुमार राम सिंग एकत्र वाढले. त्यांची ही मैत्री अखेरपर्यंत टिकून होती. हुमायूँ पुन्हा बादशहा झाल्यावर अकबर दिल्लीस गेला परंतु शेरशाह सुरीच्या दिल्लीवरील आक्रमणामुळे त्याने परत पर्शियाला पळ काढला. अकबरला त्याच्या काकाने अफगाणिस्तानमध्ये नेले. असे केल्यामुळे इराणी ऐशारामा ऐवजी अकबरला अनेक कष्टांना सामोरे जाउन त्याच्यात सम्राट होण्याची ताकद येईल हा उद्देश होता. अकबरने आपले लहानपण शिकार, मर्दानी खेळ व भांडण-हाणामार्‍या करीत घालवले परंतु तो कधीच लिहा-वाचायला शिकला नाही. बाबरच्या वंशजांमधील हा एकच निरक्षर बादशहा होता. असे असूनही अकबरला कधी याची उणीव भासली नाही. त्याची कला, साहित्य, स्थापत्य व संगीतातील जाण कोणत्याही विद्वानाला साजेशी होती. याहूनही महत्त्वाचे म्हणजे अकबरला इतरांच्या मताची कदर होती.

शेरशाहचा मुलगा इस्लामशाहच्या मृत्यूनंतर दिल्लीत वारसाहक्कावरुन अनागोंदी माजली. याचा फायदा घेउन हुमायूँने इ.स. १५५५मध्ये इराणच्या शहाच्या सैन्याच्या मदतीने पुन्हा दिल्ली काबीज केली. यानंतर काही महिन्यांतच जिन्यावरुन घसरुन हुमायूँ मरण पावला. फेब्रुवारी १४, इ.स. १५५६ रोजी अकबर सम्राटपदी आरुढ झाला. यावेळी सिकंदर शाह सुरीने दिल्लीवर आक्रमण केले परंतु अकबरच्या सैन्याने त्यांना रोखुन धरले.

तेरा वर्षांचा अकबर कलानौर येथे मुघल सम्राट झाला व त्याने स्वतःला शहंशाह (पर्शियन भाषेत राजांचा राजा) ही पदवी बहाल केली.
अकबराचा नवरत्न दरबारसंपादन करा

अकबराचा नवरत्न दरबार प्रसिद्ध होता. दरबारातील हे एकेक रत्न आपापल्या क्षेत्रात नामवंत होते.

१. अब्दुल रहीम 'खान-इ-खान’

२.अबुल फझल

३.अबुल फैजी

४.तानसेन

५.राजा तोरडमल

६.राजा बिरबल

७.राजा मानसिंग

८.मुल्ला दो प्याजा

९. हकीम हुमाम
अकबराचे सामाजिक विचारसंपादन करा

अकबराने गुलामांची पद्धत बंद केली. गुलामांच्या खरेदी विक्रि बंदीचा हुकुम काढला. कोणत्याही मानसाने एकापेक्षा अधिक बायका करण्यास बंदी. पहिल्या बायकोपासून मूल न झाल्यास् पुन्हा लग्न करण्याची सूट. विधवांना वाटल्यास पुनर्विवाह करण्याची परवानगी कायद्याने दिली. इच्छा नसेल तर विधवेस सती जाण्याची सक्ती करु नये असा कायदा पास केला. मशीद, मंदिरे,चर्च बांधण्यावर कोणतेही बंधन राहणार नाही. दारु तयार करणे व विकणे यावर बंदी घालण्यात आली. भीक मागणे यावर बंदी घातली. भीक मागणाऱ्या लोकांना त्याने कामे दिली. या व अशा अनेक सामाजिक सुधारणांचे कायदे अकबराने आपल्या प्रशासनात पास केले[१०]
सुरुवातीचा राज्यकालसंपादन करा
अकबरचे साम्राज्य.

अकबरने राज्यावर आल्याआल्या ठरवले की शेरशाह सुरीच्या, ज्याने हुमायूँला दिल्लीतून हाकलुन देउन दिल्लीचे तख्त काबीज केले होते, वंशाचा नायनाट करायचा. शेरशाहची तीन मुले वेगवेगळ्या ठिकाणी स्वतंत्र राज्ये चालवित होती. अकबरने त्यातील सगळ्या बलाढ्य अशा सिकंदरशाह सुरी वर चाल केली. दिल्लीची सल्तनत तर्दी बेग खानच्या हातात सोपवून अकबर स्वतः पंजाबकडे चालून गेला.

सिकंदरशाहने अकबरचा सामना न करता त्याला हुलकावण्या देणे पसंत केले. अकबर त्याचा पाठलाग करीत असताना दिल्लीवर सिकंदरशाहचा भाऊ आदिलशाह सुरीच्या हेमचंद्र विक्रमादित्य नावाच्या हिंदू सेनापतीने चाल केली. तर्दी खानने दिल्लीची तटबंदी केलेली नव्हती व हेमूचा हल्ला होताच तो शहर सोडून पळून गेला. हेमूने दिल्ली जिंकल्यावर आदिलशाहची सत्ता झुगारून दिली व स्वतःला राजा विक्रमादित्य या नावाने राज्याभिषेक करून घेतला. अशा प्रकारे हेमू दिल्लीवर राज्य करणारा शेवटचा हिंदू सम्राट झाला.

दिल्लीने अशाप्रकारे नांगी टाकल्याची खबर अकबरला मिळाल्यावर त्याच्या सल्लागारांनी त्याला आल्यावाटेने काबूलला पळ काढण्याचा सल्ला दिला. राजधानी गमावलेली असताना व सम्राट होउन अवघे काही महिने झालेले असताना राज्य परत मिळवण्याऐवजी काबूलमधील आपल्या नातेवाईकांचा आसरा घेणे जास्त हितावह असल्याचा तो सल्ला होता. अकबरच्या सेनानींपैकी एक बयराम खानने याचा विरोध केला व दिल्लीतून घूसखोरांना हाकलून देउन आपले राज्य परत घेण्यास अकबरला उद्युक्त केले. अकबरने आपले असलेले सगळे सैन्य घेउन दिल्लीवर चाल केली. दिल्लीतून पळालेला तर्दी बेग खान आता परत अकबरला येउन मिळाला व त्यानेही दिल्लीकडे न जाता परस्पर काबूलला जाण्याचा सल्ला दिला. काही काळानंतर बयरामखानने तर्दी बेग खानवर पळपुटेपणाचा आरोप ठेवून त्याला मृत्यूदंड दिला. अबुल फझल व जहांगीरच्या मते बयरामखानने हे निमित्त काढून आपल्या प्रतिस्पर्ध्याचा निकाल लावला.
_________________________
अकबर
तीसरा मुगल शासक
 
यह एक निर्वाचित लेख है। अधिक जानकारी के लिए क्लिक करें।



जलाल उद्दीन मोहम्मद अकबर (उर्दू: جلال الدین محمد اکبر) (१५ अक्तूबर, १५४२-२७ अक्तूबर, १६०५)[3] तैमूरी वंशावली के मुगल वंश का तीसरा शासक था।[4] अकबर को अकबर-ऐ-आज़म (अर्थात अकबर महान), शहंशाह अकबर, महाबली शहंशाह के नाम से भी जाना जाता है।[1][2][5] सम्राट अकबर मुगल साम्राज्य के संस्थापक जहीरुद्दीन मुहम्मद बाबर का पौत्र और नासिरुद्दीन हुमायूं एवं हमीदा बानो का पुत्र था। बाबर का वंश तैमूर और मंगोल नेता चंगेज खां से संबंधित था अर्थात उसके वंशज तैमूर लंग के खानदान से थे और मातृपक्ष का संबंध चंगेज खां से था।[3] अकबर के शासन के अंत तक १६०५ में मुगल साम्राज्य में उत्तरी और मध्य भारत के अधिकाश भाग सम्मिलित थे और उस समय के सर्वाधिक शक्तिशाली साम्राज्यों में से एक था।[6] बादशाहों में अकबर ही एक ऐसा बादशाह था, जिसे हिन्दू मुस्लिम दोनों वर्गों का बराबर प्यार और सम्मान मिला। उसने हिन्दू-मुस्लिम संप्रदायों के बीच की दूरियां कम करने के लिए दीन-ए-इलाही नामक धर्म की स्थापना की।[3] उसका दरबार सबके लिए हर समय खुला रहता था। उसके दरबार में मुस्लिम सरदारों की अपेक्षा हिन्दू सरदार अधिक थे। अकबर ने हिन्दुओं पर लगने वाला जज़िया ही नहीं समाप्त किया, बल्कि ऐसे अनेक कार्य किए जिनके कारण हिन्दू और मुस्लिम दोनों उसके प्रशंसक बने।[7] अकबर मात्र तेरह वर्ष की आयु में अपने पिता नसीरुद्दीन मुहम्मद हुमायुं की मृत्यु उपरांत दिल्ली की राजगद्दी पर बैठा था।[8] अपने शासन काल में उसने शक्तिशाली पश्तून वंशज शेरशाह सूरी के आक्रमण बिल्कुल बंद करवा दिये थे, साथ ही पानीपत के द्वितीय युद्ध में नवघोषित हिन्दू राजा हेमू को पराजित किया था।[9][10] अपने साम्राज्य के गठन करने और उत्तरी और मध्य भारत के सभी क्षेत्रों को एकछत्र अधिकार में लाने में अकबर को दो दशक लग गये थे। उसका प्रभाव लगभग पूरे भारतीय उपमहाद्वीप पर था और इस क्षेत्र के एक बड़े भूभाग पर सम्राट के रूप में उसने शासन किया। सम्राट के रूप में अकबर ने शक्तिशाली और बहुल हिन्दू राजपूत राजाओं से राजनयिक संबंध बनाये और उनके यहाँ विवाह भी किये।[9][11]
जलाल-उद्दीन मोहम्मद अकबर
جلال الدین محمد اکبر
अकबर
अकबर
राजकाल २७ जनवरी, १५५६ - २९ अक्तूबर १६०५[1][2] १५५६–१६०५
राज्याभिषेक १४ फरवरी १५५६
जन्म १५ अक्तूबर १५४२
उमरकोट किला, सिंध
मृत्यु २७ अक्टूबर १६०५
फतेहपुर सीकरी, आगरा
दफ़न बिहिस्ताबाद सिकन्दरा, आगरा
पूर्वाधिकारी हेमू
उत्तराधिकारी जहाँगीर
पत्नी/पत्नियाँ रुक़ाइय्याबेगम बेगम सहिबा, सलीमा सुल्तान बेगम सहिबा और मारियाम उज़-ज़मानि बेगम सहिबा
राजघराना तिमुर
वंश मुग़ल
पिता हुमायूँ
माता नवाब हमीदा बानो बेगम साहिबा

अकबर के शासन का प्रभाव देश की कला एवं संस्कृति पर भी पड़ा।[12] उसने चित्रकारी आदि ललित कलाओं में काफ़ी रुचि दिखाई और उसके प्रासाद की भित्तियाँ सुंदर चित्रों व नमूनों से भरी पड़ी थीं। मुगल चित्रकारी का विकास करने के साथ साथ ही उसने यूरोपीय शैली का भी स्वागत किया। उसे साहित्य में भी रुचि थी और उसने अनेक संस्कृत पाण्डुलिपियों व ग्रन्थों का फारसी में तथा फारसी ग्रन्थों का संस्कृत व हिन्दी में अनुवाद भी करवाया था। अनेक फारसी संस्कृति से जुड़े चित्रों को अपने दरबार की दीवारों पर भी बनवाया।[12] अपने आरंभिक शासन काल में अकबर की हिन्दुओं के प्रति सहिष्णुता नहीं थी, किन्तु समय के साथ-साथ उसने अपने आप को बदला और हिन्दुओं सहित अन्य धर्मों में बहुत रुचि दिखायी। उसने हिन्दू राजपूत राजकुमारियों से वैवाहिक संबंध भी बनाये।[13][14][15] अकबर के दरबार में अनेक हिन्दू दरबारी, सैन्य अधिकारी व सामंत थे। उसने धार्मिक चर्चाओं व वाद-विवाद कार्यक्रमों की अनोखी शृंखला आरंभ की थी, जिसमें मुस्लिम आलिम लोगों की जैन, सिख, हिन्दु, चार्वाक, नास्तिक, यहूदी, पुर्तगाली एवं कैथोलिक ईसाई धर्मशस्त्रियों से चर्चाएं हुआ करती थीं। उसके मन में इन धार्मिक नेताओं के प्रति आदर भाव था, जिसपर उसकी निजि धार्मिक भावनाओं का किंचित भी प्रभाव नहीं पड़ता था।[16] उसने आगे चलकर एक नये धर्म दीन-ए-इलाही की भी स्थापना की, जिसमें विश्व के सभी प्रधान धर्मों की नीतियों व शिक्षाओं का समावेश था। दुर्भाग्यवश ये धर्म अकबर की मृत्यु के साथ ही समाप्त होता चला गया।[9][17]

इतने बड़े सम्राट की मृत्यु होने पर उसकी अंत्येष्टि बिना किसी संस्कार के जल्दी ही कर दी गयी। परम्परानुसार दुर्ग में दीवार तोड़कर एक मार्ग बनवाया गया तथा उसका शव चुपचाप सिकंदरा के मकबरे में दफना दिया गया।[18][19]

जीवन परिचय
अकबर का चित्र
नाम

अकबर का जन्म पूर्णिमा के दिन हुआ था इसलिए उनका नाम बदरुद्दीन मोहम्मद अकबर रखा गया था। बद्र का अर्थ होता है पूर्ण चंद्रमा और अकबर उनके नाना शेख अली अकबर जामी के नाम से लिया गया था। कहा जाता है कि काबुल पर विजय मिलने के बाद उनके पिता हुमायूँ ने बुरी नज़र से बचने के लिए अकबर की जन्म तिथि एवं नाम बदल दिए थे।[20] किवदंती यह भी है कि भारत की जनता ने उनके सफल एवं कुशल शासन के लिए अकबर नाम से सम्मानित किया था। अरबी भाषा मे अकबर शब्द का अर्थ "महान" या बड़ा होता है।
आरंभिक जीवन

अकबर का जन्म राजपूत शासक राणा अमरसाल के महल उमेरकोट, सिंध (वर्तमान पाकिस्तान) में २३ नवंबर, १५४२ (हिजरी अनुसार रज्जब, ९४९ के चौथे दिन) हुआ था। यहां बादशाह हुमायुं अपनी हाल की विवाहिता बेगम हमीदा बानो बेगम के साथ शरण लिये हुए थे। इस पुत्र का नाम हुमायुं ने एक बार स्वप्न में सुनाई दिये के अनुसार जलालुद्दीन मोहम्मद रखा।[2][21] बाबर का वंश तैमूर और मंगोल नेता चंगेज खां से था यानि उसके वंशज तैमूर लंग के खानदान से थे और मातृपक्ष का संबंध चंगेज खां से था। इस प्रकार अकबर की धमनियों में एशिया की दो प्रसिद्ध जातियों, तुर्क और मंगोल के रक्त का सम्मिश्रण था।[3]
लड़कपन में अकबर

हुमायूँ को पश्तून नेता शेरशाह सूरी के कारण फारस में अज्ञातवास बिताना पड़ रहा था।[22] किन्तु अकबर को वह अपने संग नहीं ले गया वरन रीवां (वर्तमान मध्य प्रदेश) के राज्य के एक ग्राम मुकुंदपुर में छोड़ दिया था। अकबर की वहां के राजकुमार राम सिंह प्रथम से, जो आगे चलकर रीवां का राजा बना, के संग गहरी मित्रता हो गयी थी। ये एक साथ ही पले और बढ़े और आजीवन मित्र रहे। कालांतर में अकबर सफ़ावी साम्राज्य (वर्तमान अफ़गानिस्तान का भाग) में अपने एक चाचा मिर्ज़ा अस्कारी के यहां रहने लगा। पहले वह कुछ दिनों कंधार में और फिर १५४५ से काबुल में रहा। हुमायूँ की अपने छोटे भाइयों से बराबर ठनी ही रही इसलिये चाचा लोगों के यहाँ अकबर की स्थिति बंदी से कुछ ही अच्छी थी। यद्यपि सभी उसके साथ अच्छा व्यवहार करते थे और शायद दुलार प्यार कुछ ज़्यादा ही होता था। किंतु अकबर पढ़ लिख नहीं सका वह केवल सैन्य शिक्षा ले सका। उसका काफी समय आखेट, दौड़ व द्वंद्व, कुश्ती आदि में बीता, तथा शिक्षा में उसकी रुचि नहीं रही। जब तक अकबर आठ वर्ष का हुआ, जन्म से लेकर अब तक उसके सभी वर्ष भारी अस्थिरता में निकले थे जिसके कारण उसकी शिक्षा-दीक्षा का सही प्रबंध नहीं हो पाया था। अब हुमायूं का ध्यान इस ओर भी गया। लगभग नवम्बर, +--9-9 में उसने अकबर की शिक्षा प्रारंभ करने के लिए काबुल में एक आयोजन किया। किंतु ऐन मौके पर अकबर के खो जाने पर वह समारोह दूसरे दिन सम्पन्न हुआ। मुल्ला जादा मुल्ला असमुद्दीन अब्राहीम को अकबर का शिक्षक नियुक्त किया गया। मगर मुल्ला असमुद्दीन अक्षम सिद्ध हुए। तब यह कार्य पहले मौलाना बामजीद को सौंपा गया, मगर जब उन्हें भी सफलता नहीं मिली तो मौलाना अब्दुल कादिर को यह काम सौंपा गया। मगर कोई भी शिक्षक अकबर को शिक्षित करने में सफल न हुआ। असल में, पढ़ने-लिखने में अकबर की रुचि नहीं थी, उसकी रुचि कबूतर बाजी, घुड़सवारी और कुत्ते पालने में अधिक थी।[3] किन्तु ज्ञानोपार्जन में उसकी रुचि सदा से ही थी। कहा जाता है, कि जब वह सोने जाता था, एक व्यक्ति उसे कुछ पढ़ कर सुनाता रह्ता था।[23] समय के साथ अकबर एक परिपक्व और समझदार शासक के रूप में उभरा, जिसे कला, स्थापत्य, संगीत और साहित्य में गहरी रुचि रहीं।
राजतिलक

शेरशाह सूरी के पुत्र इस्लाम शाह के उत्तराधिकार के विवादों से उत्पन्न अराजकता का लाभ उठा कर हुमायूँ ने १५५५ में दिल्ली पर पुनः अधिकार कर लिया। इसमें उसकी सेना में एक अच्छा भाग फारसी सहयोगी ताहमस्प प्रथम का रहा। इसके कुछ माह बाद ही ४८ वर्ष की आयु में ही हुमायूँ का आकस्मिक निधन अपने पुस्तकालय की सीढ़ी से भारी नशे की हालात में गिरने के कारण हो गया।[24][25] तब अकबर के संरक्षक बैरम खां ने साम्राज्य के हित में इस मृत्यु को कुछ समय के लिये छुपाये रखा और अकबर को उत्तराधिकार हेतु तैयार किया। १४ फ़रवरी, १५५६ को अकबर का राजतिलक हुआ। ये सब मुगल साम्राज्य से दिल्ली की गद्दी पर अधिकार की वापसी के लिये सिकंदर शाह सूरी से चल रहे युद्ध के दौरान ही हुआ। १३ वर्षीय अकबर का कलनौर, पंजाब में सुनहरे वस्त्र तथा एक गहरे रंग की पगड़ी में एक नवनिर्मित मंच पर राजतिलक हुआ। ये मंच आज भी बना हुआ है।[26][27] उसे फारसी भाषा में सम्राट के लिये शब्द शहंशाह से पुकारा गया। वयस्क होने तक उसका राज्य बैरम खां के संरक्षण में चला।[28][29]
राज्य का विस्तार

खोये हुए राज्य को पुनः प्राप्त करने के लिये अकबर के पिता हुमायूँ के अनवरत प्रयत्न अंततः सफल हुए और वह सन्‌ १५५५ में हिंदुस्तान पहुँच सका किंतु अगले ही वर्ष सन्‌ १५५६ में राजधानी दिल्ली में उसकी मृत्यु हो गई और गुरदासपुर के कलनौर नामक स्थान पर १४ वर्ष की आयु में अकबर का राजतिलक हुआ। अकबर का संरक्षक बैराम खान को नियुक्त किया गया जिसका प्रभाव उस पर १५६० तक रहा। तत्कालीन मुगल राज्य केवल काबुल से दिल्ली तक ही फैला हुआ था। इसके साथ ही अनेक समस्याएं भी सिर उठाये खड़ी थीं। १५६३ में शम्सुद्दीन अतका खान की हत्या पर उभरा जन आक्रोश, १५६४-६५ के बीच उज़बेक विद्रोह और १५६६-६७ में मिर्ज़ा भाइयों का विद्रोह भी था, किंतु अकबर ने बड़ी कुशलता से इन समस्याओं को हल कर लिया। अपनी कल्पनाशीलता से उसने अपने सामंतों की संख्या बढ़ाई।[30] इसी बीच १५६६ में महाम अंका नामक उसकी धाय के बनवाये मदरसे (वर्तमान पुराने किले परिसर में) से शहर लौटते हुए अकबर पर तीर से एक जानलेवा हमला हुआ, जिसे अकबर ने अपनी फुर्ती से बचा लिया, हालांकि उसकी बांह में गहरा घाव हुआ। इस घटना के बाद अकबर की प्रशसन शैली में कुछ बदलाव आया जिसके तहत उसने शासन की पूर्ण बागडोर अपने हाथ में ले ली। इसके फौरन बाद ही हेमु के नेतृत्व में अफगान सेना पुनः संगठित होकर उसके सम्मुख चुनौती बनकर खड़ी थी। अपने शासन के आरंभिक काल में ही अकबर यह समझ गया कि सूरी वंश को समाप्त किए बिना वह चैन से शासन नहीं कर सकेगा। इसलिए वह सूरी वंश के सबसे शक्तिशाली शासक सिकंदर शाह सूरी पर आक्रमण करने पंजाब चल पड़ा।

दिल्ली की सत्ता-बदल

अकबर के समय मुग़ल साम्राज्य

दिल्ली का शासन उसने मुग़ल सेनापति तारदी बैग खान को सौंप दिया। सिकंदर शाह सूरी अकबर के लिए बहुत बड़ा प्रतिरोध साबित नही हुआ। कुछ प्रदेशो मे तो अकबर के पहुंचने से पहले ही उसकी सेना पीछे हट जाती थी। अकबर की अनुपस्थिति मे हेमू विक्रमादित्य ने दिल्ली और आगरा पर आक्रमण कर विजय प्राप्त की। ६ अक्तूबर १५५६ को हेमु ने स्वयं को भारत का महाराजा घोषित कर दिया। इसी के साथ दिल्ली मे हिंदू राज्य की पुनः स्थापना हुई।

सत्ता की वापसी

दिल्ली की पराजय का समाचार जब अकबर को मिला तो उसने तुरन्त ही बैरम खान से परामर्श कर के दिल्ली की तरफ़ कूच करने का इरादा बना लिया। अकबर के सलाहकारो ने उसे काबुल की शरण में जाने की सलाह दी। अकबर और हेमु की सेना के बीच पानीपत मे युद्ध हुआ। यह युद्ध पानीपत का द्वितीय युद्ध के नाम से प्रसिद्ध है। संख्या में कम होते हुए भी अकबर ने इस युद्ध मे विजय प्राप्त की। इस विजय से अकबर को १५०० हाथी मिले जो मनकोट के हमले में सिकंदर शाह सूरी के विरुद्ध काम आए। सिकंदर शाह सूरी ने आत्मसमर्पण कर दिया और अकबर ने उसे प्राणदान दे दिया।

चहुँओर विस्तार

दिल्ली पर पुनः अधिकार जमाने के बाद अकबर ने अपने राज्य का विस्तार करना शुरू किया और मालवा को १५६२ में, गुजरात को १५७२ में, बंगाल को १५७४ में, काबुल को १५८१ में, कश्मीर को १५८६ में और खानदेश को १६०१ में मुग़ल साम्राज्य के अधीन कर लिया। अकबर ने इन राज्यों में एक एक राज्यपाल नियुक्त किया। अकबर यह नही चाहता था की मुग़ल साम्राज्य का केन्द्र दिल्ली जैसे दूरस्थ शहर में हो; इसलिए उसने यह निर्णय लिया की मुग़ल राजधानी को फतेहपुर सीकरी ले जाया जाए जो साम्राज्य के मध्य में थी। कुछ ही समय के बाद अकबर को राजधानी फतेहपुर सीकरी से हटानी पड़ी। कहा जाता है कि पानी की कमी इसका प्रमुख कारण था। फतेहपुर सीकरी के बाद अकबर ने एक चलित दरबार बनाया जो कि साम्राज्य भर में घूमता रहता था इस प्रकार साम्राज्य के सभी कोनो पर उचित ध्यान देना सम्भव हुआ। सन १५८५ में उत्तर पश्चिमी राज्य के सुचारू राज पालन के लिए अकबर ने लाहौर को राजधानी बनाया। अपनी मृत्यु के पूर्व अकबर ने सन १५९९ में वापस आगरा को राजधानी बनाया और अंत तक यहीं से शासन संभाला।
प्रशासन
मुगल ध्वज

सन्‌ १५६० में अकबर ने स्वयं सत्ता संभाल ली और अपने संरक्षक बैरम खां को निकाल बाहर किया। अब अकबर के अपने हाथों में सत्ता थी लेकिन अनेक कठिनाइयाँ भी थीं। जैसे - शम्सुद्दीन अतका खान की हत्या पर उभरा जन आक्रोश (१५६३), उज़बेक विद्रोह (१५६४-६५) और मिर्ज़ा भाइयों का विद्रोह (१५६६-६७) किंतु अकबर ने बड़ी कुशलता से इन समस्याओं को हल कर लिया। अपनी कल्पनाशीलता से उसने अपने सामंतों की संख्या बढ़ाई। सन्‌ १५६२ में आमेर के शासक से उसने समझौता किया - इस प्रकार राजपूत राजा भी उसकी ओर हो गये। इसी प्रकार उसने ईरान से आने वालों को भी बड़ी सहायता दी। भारतीय मुसलमानों को भी उसने अपने कुशल व्यवहार से अपनी ओर कर लिया। धार्मिक सहिष्णुता का उसने अनोखा परिचय दिया - हिन्दू तीर्थ स्थानों पर लगा कर जज़िया हटा लिया गया (सन्‌ १५६३)। इससे पूरे राज्यवासियों को अनुभव हो गया कि वह एक परिवर्तित नीति अपनाने में सक्षम है। इसके अतिरिक्त उसने जबर्दस्ती युद्धबंदियो का धर्म बदलवाना भी बंद करवा दिया।
मुद्रा
तत्कालीन चाँदी की मुद्रा

अकबर ने अपने शासनकाल में ताँबें, चाँदी एवं सोनें की मुद्राएँ प्रचलित की। इन मुद्राओं के पृष्ठ भाग में सुंदर इस्लामिक छपाई हुआ करती थी। अकबर ने अपने काल की मुद्राओ में कई बदलाव किए। उसने एक खुली टकसाल व्यवस्था की शुरुआत की जिसके अन्दर कोई भी व्यक्ति अगर टकसाल शुल्क देने मे सक्षम था तो वह किसी दूसरी मुद्रा अथवा सोने से अकबर की मुद्रा को परिवर्तित कर सकता था। अकबर चाहता था कि उसके पूरे साम्राज्य में समान मुद्रा चले।[31]
राजधानी स्थानांतरण

पानीपत का द्वितीय युद्ध होने के बाद हेमू को मारकर दिल्ली पर अकबर ने पुनः अधिकार किया। इसके बाद उसने अपने राज्य का विस्तार करना शुरू किया और मालवा को १५६२ में, गुजरात को १५७२ में, बंगाल को १५७४ में, काबुल को १५८१ में, कश्मीर को १५८६ में और खानदेश(वर्तमान बुढ़हानपुर, महाराष्ट्र का भाग) को १६०१ में मुग़ल साम्राज्य के अधीन कर लिया। अकबर ने इन राज्यों में प्रशासन संभालने हेतु एक-एक राज्यपाल नियुक्त किया। उसे राज संभालने के लिये दिल्ली कई स्थानों से दूर लगा और ये प्रतीत हुआ कि इससे प्रशासन में समस्या आ सकती है, अतः उसने निर्णय लिया की मुग़ल राजधानी को आगरा के निकट फतेहपुर सीकरी ले जाया जाए[32] जो साम्राज्य के लगभग मध्य में थी। एक पुराने बसे ग्राम सीकरी पर अकबर ने नया शहर बनवाया जिसे अपनी जीत यानि फतह की खुशी में फतेहाबाद या फतेहपुर नाम दिया गया। जल्दी ही इसे पूरे वर्तमान नाम फतेहपुर सीकरी से बुलाया जाने लगा। यहां के अधिकांश निर्माण उन १४ वर्षों के ही हैं, जिनमें अकबर ने यहां निवास किया। शहर में शाही उद्यान, आरामगाहें, सामंतों व दरबारियों के लिये आवास तथा बच्चों के लिये मदरसे बनवाये गए। ब्लेयर और ब्लूम के अनुसार शहर के अंदर इमारतें दो प्रमुख प्रकार की हैं- सेवा इमारतें, जैसे कारवांसेरी, टकसाल, निर्माणियां, बड़ा बाज़ार (चहर सूक) जहां दक्षिण-पश्चिम/उत्तर पूर्व अक्ष के लम्बवत निर्माण हुए हैं और दूसरा शाही भाग, जिसमें भारत की सबसे बड़ी सामूहिक मस्जिद है, साथ ही आवासीय तथा प्रशासकीय इमारते हैं जिसे दौलतखाना कहते हैं। ये पहाड़ी से कुछ कोण पर स्थित हैं तथा किबला के साथ एक कोण बनाती हैं।[33]

किन्तु ये निर्णय सही सिद्ध नहीं हुआ और कुछ ही समय के बाद अकबर को राजधानी फतेहपुर सीकरी से हटानी पड़ी। इसके पीछे पानी की कमी प्रमुख कारण था। फतेहपुर सीकरी के बाद अकबर ने एक चलित दरबार की रचना की जो पूरे साम्राज्य में घूमता रहता था और इस प्रकार साम्राज्य के सभी स्थानों पर उचित ध्यान देना संभव हुआ। बाद में उसने सन १५८५ में उत्तर पश्चिमी भाग के लिए लाहौर को राजधानी बनाया। मृत्यु के पूर्व अकबर ने सन १५९९ में राजधानी वापस आगरा बनायी और अंत तक यहीं से शासन संभाला।[30]
अमर सिंह द्वार, आगरा का किला

आगरा शहर का नया नाम दिया गया अकबराबाद जो साम्राज्य की सबसे बड़ा शहर बना। शहर का मुख्य भाग यमुना नदी के पश्चिमी तट पर बसा था। यहां बरसात के पानी की निकासी की अच्छी नालियां-नालों से परिपूर्ण वयवस्था बनायी गई। लोधी साम्राज्य द्वारा बनवायी गई गारे-मिट्टी से बनी नगर की पुरानी चहारदीवारी को तोड़कर १५६५ में नयी बलुआ पत्थर की दीवार बनवायी गई। अंग्रेज़ इतिहासकार युगल ब्लेयर एवं ब्लूम के अनुसार इस लाल दीवार के कारण ही इसका नाम लाल किला पड़ा। वे आगे लिखते हैं कि यह किला पिछले किले के नक्शे पर ही कुछ अर्धवृत्ताकार बना था। शहर की ओर से इसे एक दोहरी सुरक्षा दीवार घेरे है, जिसके बाहर गहरी खाई बनी है। इस दोहरी दीवार में उत्तर में दिल्ली गेट व दक्षिण में अमर सिंह द्वार बने हैं। ये दोनों द्वार अपने धनुषाकार मेहराब-रूपी आलों व बुर्जों तथा लाल व सफ़ेद संगमर्मर पर नीली ग्लेज़्ड टाइलों द्वारा अलंकरण से ही पहचाने जाते हैं। वर्तमान किला अकबर के पौत्र शाहजहां द्वारा बनवाया हुआ है। इसमें दक्षिणी ओर जहांगीरी महल और अकबर महल हैं।[33]
नीतियां
विवाह संबंध
महाराणा प्रताप

आंबेर के कछवाहा राजपूत राज भारमल ने अकबर के दरबार में अपने राज्य संभालने के कुछ समय बाद ही प्रवेश पाया था। इन्होंने अपनी राजकुमारी हरखा बाई का विवाह अकबर से करवाना स्वीकार किया।[34][35] जोधाबाई विवाहोपरांत मुस्लिम बनी और मरियम-उज़-ज़मानी कहलायी। उसे राजपूत परिवार ने सदा के लिये त्याग दिया और विवाह के बाद वो कभी आमेर वापस नहीं गयी। उसे विवाह के बाद आगरा या दिल्ली में कोई महत्त्वपूर्ण स्थान भी नहीं मिला था, बल्कि भरतपुर जिले का एक छोटा सा गांव मिला था।[36] उसकी मृत्यु १६२३ में हुई थी। उसके पुत्र जहांगीर द्वारा उसके सम्मान में लाहौर में एक मस्जिद बनवायी गई थी।[37] भारमल को अकबर के दरबार में ऊंचा स्थान मिला था और उसके बाद उसके पुत्र भगवंत दास और पौत्र मानसिंह भी दरबार के ऊंचे सामंत बने रहे।[38] हिन्दू राजकुमारियों को मुस्लिम राजाओं से विवाह में संबंध बनाने के प्रकरण अकबर के समय से पूर्व काफी हुए थे, किन्तु अधिकांश विवाहों के बाद दोनों परिवारों के आपसी संबंध अच्छे नहीं रहे और न ही राजकुमारियां कभी वापस लौट कर घर आयीं।[38][39] हालांकि अकबर ने इस मामले को पिछले प्रकरणों से अलग रूप दिया, जहां उन रानियों के भाइयों या पिताओं को पुत्रियों या बहनों के विवाहोपरांत अकबर के मुस्लिम ससुराल वालों जैसा ही सम्मान मिला करता था, सिवाय उनके संग खाना खाने और प्रार्थना करने के। उन राजपूतों को अकबर के दरबार में अच्छे स्थान मिले थे। सभी ने उन्हें वैसे ही अपनाया था सिवाय कुछ रूढ़िवादी परिवारों को छोड़कर, जिन्होंने इसे अपमान के रूप में देखा था।[39] अन्य राजपूर रजवाड़ों ने भी अकबर के संग वैवाहिक संबंध बनाये थे, किन्तु विवाह संबंध बनाने की कोई शर्त नहीं थी। दो प्रमुख राजपूत वंश, मेवाढ़ के शिशोदिया और रणथंभोर के हाढ़ा वंश इन संबंधों से सदा ही हटते रहे। अकबर के एक प्रसिद्ध दरबारी राजा मानसिंह ने अकबर की ओर से एक हाढ़ा राजा सुर्जन हाढ़ा के पास एक संबंध प्रस्ताव भी लेकर गये, जिसे सुर्जन सिंह ने इस शर्त पर स्वीकार्य किया कि वे अपनी किसी पुत्री का विवाह अकबर के संग नहीं करेंगे। अन्ततः कोई वैवाहिक संबंध नहीं हुए किन्तु सुर्जन को गढ़-कटंग का अधिभार सौंप कर सम्मानित किया गया।[38] अन्य कई राजपूत सामंतों को भी अपने राजाओं का पुत्रियों को मुगलों को विवाह के नाम पर देना अच्छा नहीं लगता था। गढ़ सिवान के राठौर कल्याणदास ने मोटा राजा राव उदयसिंह और जहांगीर को मारने की धमकी भी दी थी, क्योंकि उदयसिंह ने अपनी पुत्री जोधाबाई का विवाह अकबर के पुत्र जहांगीर से करने का निश्चय किया था। अकबर ने ये ज्ञान होने पर शाही फौजों को कल्याणदास पर आक्रमण हेतु भेज दिया। कल्याणदास उस सेना के संग युद्ध में काम आया और उसकी स्त्रियों ने जौहर कर लिया।[40] इन संबंधों का राजनीतिक प्रभाव महत्त्वपूर्ण था। हालांकि कुछ राजपूत स्त्रियों ने अकबर के हरम में प्रवेश लेने पर इस्लाम स्वीकार किया, फिर भी उन्हें पूर्ण धार्मिक स्वतंत्रता थी, साथ ही उनके सगे-संबंधियों को जो हिन्दू ही थे; दरबार में उच्च-स्थान भी मिले थे। इनके द्वारा जनसाधारण की ध्वनि अकबर के दरबार तक पहुंचा करती थी।[38] दरबार के हिन्दू और मुस्लिम दरबारियों के बीच संपर्क बढ़ने से आपसी विचारों का आदान-प्रदान हुआ और दोनों धर्मों में संभाव की प्रगति हुई। इससे अगली पीढ़ी में दोनों रक्तों का संगम था जिसने दोनों संप्रदायों के बीच सौहार्द को भी बढ़ावा दिया। परिणामस्वरूप राजपूत मुगलों के सर्वाधिक शक्तिशाली सहायक बने, राजपूत सैन्याधिकारियों ने मुगल सेना में रहकर अनेक युद्ध किये तथा जीते। इनमें गुजरात का १५७२ का अभियान भी था।[41] अकबर की धार्मिक सहिष्णुता की नीति ने शाही प्रशासन में सभी के लिये नौकरियों और रोजगार के अवसर खोल दिये थे। इसके कारण प्रशासन और भी दृढ़ होता चला गया।[42]
कामुकता

तत्कालीन समाज में वेश्यावृति को सम्राट का संरक्षण प्रदान था। उसकी एक बहुत बड़ी हरम थी जिसमे बहुत सी स्त्रियाँ थीं। इनमें अधिकांश स्त्रियों को बलपूर्वक अपहृत करवा कर वहां रखा हुआ था। उस समय में सती प्रथा भी जोरों पर थी। तब कहा जाता है कि अकबर के कुछ लोग जिस सुन्दर स्त्री को सती होते देखते थे, बलपूर्वक जाकर सती होने से रोक देते व उसे सम्राट की आज्ञा बताते तथा उस स्त्री को हरम में डाल दिया जाता था। हालांकि इस प्रकरण को दरबारी इतिहासकारों ने कुछ इस ढंग से कहा है कि इस प्रकार बादशाह सलामत ने सती प्रथा का विरोध किया व उन अबला स्त्रियों को संरक्षण दिया। अपनी जीवनी में अकबर ने स्वयं लिखा है– यदि मुझे पहले ही यह बुधिमत्ता जागृत हो जाती तो मैं अपनी सल्तनत की किसी भी स्त्री का अपहरण कर अपने हरम में नहीं लाता।[43] इस बात से यह तो स्पष्ट ही हो जाता है कि वह सुन्दरियों का अपहरण करवाता था। इसके अलावा अपहरण न करवाने वाली बात की निरर्थकता भी इस तथ्य से ज्ञात होती है कि न तो अकबर के समय में और न ही उसके उतराधिकारियो के समय में हरम बंद हुई थी।

आईने अकबरी के अनुसार अब्दुल कादिर बदायूंनी कहते हैं कि बेगमें, कुलीन, दरबारियो की पत्नियां अथवा अन्य स्त्रियां जब कभी बादशाह की सेवा में पेश होने की इच्छा करती हैं तो उन्हें पहले अपने इच्छा की सूचना देकर उत्तर की प्रतीक्षा करनी पड़ती है; जिन्हें यदि योग्य समझा जाता है तो हरम में प्रवेश की अनुमति दी जाती है।[44][45] अकबर अपनी प्रजा को बाध्य किया करता था की वह अपने घर की स्त्रियों का नग्न प्रदर्शन सामूहिक रूप से आयोजित करे जिसे अकबर ने खुदारोज (प्रमोद दिवस) नाम दिया हुआ था। इस उत्सव के पीछे अकबर का एकमात्र उदेश्य सुन्दरियों को अपने हरम के लिए चुनना था।[46]। गोंडवाना की रानी दुर्गावती पर भी अकबर की कुदृष्टि थी। उसने रानी को प्राप्त करने के लिए उसके राज्य पर आक्रमण कर दिया। युद्ध के दौरान वीरांगना ने अनुभव किया कि उसे मारने की नहीं वरन बंदी बनाने का प्रयास किया जा रहा है, तो उसने वहीं आत्महत्या कर ली।[45] तब अकबर ने उसकी बहन और पुत्रबधू को बलपूर्वक अपने हरम में डाल दिया। अकबर ने यह प्रथा भी चलाई थी कि उसके पराजित शत्रु अपने परिवार एवं परिचारिका वर्ग में से चुनी हुई महिलायें उसके हरम में भेजे।[45]
पुर्तगालियों से संबंध

१५५६ में अकबर के गद्दी लेने के समय, पुर्तगालियों ने महाद्वीप के पश्चिमी तट पर बहुत से दुर्ग व निर्माणियाँ (फैक्ट्रियाँ) लगा ली थीं और बड़े स्तर पर उस क्षेत्र में नौवहन और सागरीय व्यापार नियंत्रित करने लगे थे। इस उपनिवेशवाद के चलते अन्य सभी व्यापारी संस्थाओं को पुर्तगालियों की शर्तों के अधीण ही रहना पढ़ता था, जिस पर उस समय के शासकों व व्यापारियों को आपत्ति होने लगीं थीं।[47] मुगल साम्राज्य ने अकबर के राजतिलक के बाद पहला निशाना गुजरात को बनाया और सागर तट पर प्रथम विजय पायी १५७२ में, किन्तु पुर्तगालियों की शक्ति को ध्यान में रखते हुए पहले कुछ वर्षों तक उनसे मात्र फारस की खाड़ी क्षेत्र में यात्रा करने हेतु कर्ताज़ नामक पास लिये जाते रहे।[48] १५७२ में सूरत के अधिग्रहण के समय मुगलों और पुर्तगालियों की प्रथम भेंट हुई और पुर्तगालियों को मुगलों की असली शक्ति का अनुमान हुआ और फलतः उन्होंने युद्ध के बजाय नीति से काम लेना उचित समझा व पुर्तगाली राज्यपाल ने अकबर के निर्देश पर उसे एक राजदूत के द्वारा संधि प्रस्ताव भेजा। अकबर ने उस क्षेत्र से अपने हरम के व अन्य मुस्लिम लोगों द्वारा मक्का को हज की यात्रा को सुरक्षित करने की दृष्टि से प्रस्ताव स्वीकार कर लिया।[49] १५७३ में अकबर ने अपने गुजरात के प्रशासनिक अधिकारियों को एक फरमान जारी किया, जिसमें निकटवर्त्ती दमण में पुर्तगालियों को शांति से रहने दिये जाने का आदेश दिया था। इसके बदले में पुर्तगालियों ने अकबर के परिवार के लिये हज को जाने हेतु पास जारी किये थे।[50]
तुर्कों से संबंध
हेजाज़

१५७६ में में अकबर ने याह्या सलेह के नेतृत्व में अपने हरम के अनेक सदस्यों सहित हाजियों का एक बड़ा जत्था हज को भेजा। ये जत्था दो पोतों में सूरत से जेद्दाह बंदरगाह पर १५७७ में पहुंचा और मक्का और मदीना को अग्रसर हुआ।[51] १५७७ से १५८० के बीच चार और कारवां हज को रवाना हुआ, जिनके साथ मक्का व मदीना के लोगों के लिये भेंटें व गरीबों के लिये सदके थे। ये यात्री समाज के आर्थिक रूप से निचले वर्ग के थे और इनके जाने से उन शहरों पर आर्थिक भार बढ़ा।[52][53] तब तुर्क प्रशासन ने इनसे घर लौट जाने का निवेदन किया, जिस पर हरम की स्त्रियां तैयार न हुईं। काफी विवाद के बाद उन्हें विवश होकर लौटना पढ़ा। अदन के राज्यपाल को १५८० में आये यात्रियों की बड़ी संख्या देखकर बढ़ा रोष हुआ और उसने लौटते हुए मुगलों का यथासंभव अपमान भी किया।[कृपया उद्धरण जोड़ें] इन प्रकरणों के कारण अकबर को हाजियों की यात्राओं पर रोक लगानी पड़ी। १५८४ के बाद अकबर ने यमन के साम्राज्य के अधीनस्थ अदन के बंदरगाह पर पुर्तगालियों की मदद से चढ़ाई करने की योजना बनायी।[कृपया उद्धरण जोड़ें] पुर्तगालियों से इस बारे में योजना बनाने हेतु एक मुगल दूत गोआ में अक्तूबर १५८४ से स्थायी रूप से तैनात किया गया। १५८७ में एक पुर्तगाली टुकड़ी ने यमन पर आक्रमण भी किया किन्तु तुर्क नौसेना द्वारा हार का सामना करना पड़ा। इसके बाद मुगल-पुर्तगाली गठबंधन को भी धक्का पहुंचा क्योंकि मुगल जागीरदारों द्वारा जंज़ीरा में पुर्तगालियों पर लगातार दबाव डाला जा रहा था।[54]
धर्म

अकबर एक मुसलमान था, पर दूसरे धर्म एवं संप्रदायों के लिए भी उसके मन में आदर था। जैसे-जैसे अकबर की आयु बदती गई वैसे-वैसे उसकी धर्म के प्रति रुचि बढ़ने लगी। उसे विशेषकर हिंदू धर्म के प्रति अपने लगाव के लिए जाना जाता हैं। उसने अपने पूर्वजो से विपरीत कई हिंदू राजकुमारियों से शादी की। इसके अलावा अकबर ने अपने राज्य में हिन्दुओ को विभिन्न राजसी पदों पर भी आसीन किया जो कि किसी भी भूतपूर्व मुस्लिम शासक ने नही किया था। वह यह जान गया था कि भारत में लम्बे समय तक राज करने के लिए उसे यहाँ के मूल निवासियों को उचित एवं बराबरी का स्थान देना चाहिये।
हिन्दू धर्म पर प्रभाव
अकबर इबादत-खाने में ईसाई धर्माप्रचारकों के साथ, १६०५ ईस्वी

हिन्दुओं पर लगे जज़िया १५६२ में अकबर ने हटा दिया, किंतु १५७५ में मुस्लिम नेताओं के विरोध के कारण वापस लगाना पड़ा,[55] हालांकि उसने बाद में नीतिपूर्वक वापस हटा लिया। जज़िया कर गरीब हिन्दुओं को गरीबी से विवश होकर इस्लाम की शरण लेने के लिए लगाया जाता था। यह मुस्लिम लोगों पर नहीं लगाया जाता था।[56] इस कर के कारण बहुत सी गरीब हिन्दू जनसंख्या पर बोझ पड़ता था, जिससे विवश हो कर वे इस्लाम कबूल कर लिया करते थे। फिरोज़ शाह तुगलक ने बताया है, कि कैसे जज़िया द्वारा इस्लाम का प्रसार हुआ था।[57]

अकबर द्वारा जज़िया और हिन्दू तीर्थों पर लगे कर हटाने के सामयिक निर्णयों का हिन्दुओं पर कुछ खास प्रभाव नहीं पड़ा, क्योंकि इससे उन्हें कुछ खास लाभ नहीं हुआ, क्योंकि ये कुछ अंतराल बाद वापस लगा दिए गए।[58] अकबर ने बहुत से हिन्दुओं को उनकी इच्छा के विरुद्ध भी इस्लाम ग्रहण करवाया था[59] इसके अलावा उसने बहुत से हिन्दू तीर्थ स्थानों के नाम भी इस्लामी किए, जैसे १५८३ में प्रयाग को इलाहाबाद[60] किया गया।[61] अकबर के शासनकाल में ही उसके एक सिपहसालार हुसैन खान तुक्रिया ने हिन्दुओं को बलपूर्वक भेदभाव दर्शक बिल्ले[62] उनके कंधों और बांहों पर लगाने को विवश किया था।[63]

ज्वालामुखी मंदिर के संबंध में एक कथा काफी प्रचलित है। यह १५४२ से १६०५ के मध्य का ही होगा तभी अकबर दिल्ली का राजा था। ध्यानुभक्त माता जोतावाली का परम भक्त था। एक बार देवी के दर्शन के लिए वह अपने गांववासियो के साथ ज्वालाजी के लिए निकला। जब उसका काफिला दिल्ली से गुजरा तो मुगल बादशाह अकबर के सिपाहियों ने उसे रोक लिया और राजा अकबर के दरबार में पेश किया। अकबर ने जब ध्यानु से पूछा कि वह अपने गांववासियों के साथ कहां जा रहा है तो उत्तर में ध्यानु ने कहा वह जोतावाली के दर्शनो के लिए जा रहे है। अकबर ने कहा तेरी मां में क्या शक्ति है ? और वह क्या-क्या कर सकती है ? तब ध्यानु ने कहा वह तो पूरे संसार की रक्षा करने वाली हैं। ऐसा कोई भी कार्य नही है जो वह नहीं कर सकती है। अकबर ने ध्यानु के घोड़े का सर कटवा दिया और कहा कि अगर तेरी मां में शक्ति है तो घोड़े के सर को जोड़कर उसे जीवित कर दें। यह वचन सुनकर ध्यानु देवी की स्तुति करने लगा और अपना सिर काट कर माता को भेट के रूप में प्रदान किया। माता की शक्ति से घोड़े का सर जुड गया। इस प्रकार अकबर को देवी की शक्ति का एहसास हुआ। बादशाह अकबर ने देवी के मंदिर में सोने का छत्र भी चढाया। किन्तु उसके मन मे अभिमान हो गया कि वो सोने का छत्र चढाने लाया है, तो माता ने उसके हाथ से छत्र को गिरवा दिया और उसे एक अजीब (नई) धातु का बना दिया जो आज तक एक रहस्य है। यह छत्र आज भी मंदिर में मौजूद है।

इतिहासकार दशरथ शर्मा बताते हैं, कि हम अकबर को उसके दरबार के इतिहास और वर्णनों जैसे अकबरनामा, आदि के अनुसार महान कहते हैं।[64] यदि कोई अन्य उल्लेखनीय कार्यों की ओर देखे, जैसे दलपत विलास, तब स्पष्ट हो जाएगा कि अकबर अपने हिन्दू सामंतों से कितना अभद्र व्यवहार किया करता था।[65] अकबर के नवरत्न राजा मानसिंह द्वारा विश्वनाथ मंदिर के निर्माण को अकबर की अनुमति के बाद किए जाने के कारण हिन्दुओं ने उस मंदिर में जाने का बहिष्कार कर दिया। कारण साफ था, कि राजा मानसिंह के परिवार के अकबर से वैवाहिक संबंध थे।[66] अकबर के हिन्दू सामंत उसकी अनुमति के बगैर मंदिर निर्माण तक नहीं करा सकते थे। बंगाल में राजा मानसिंह ने एक मंदिर का निर्माण बिना अनुमति के आरंभ किया, तो अकबर ने पता चलने पर उसे रुकवा दिया और १५९५ में उसे मस्जिद में बदलने के आदेश दिए।[67]
अकबर का मकबरा, सिकंदरा

अकबर के लिए आक्रोश की हद एक घटना से पता चलती है। हिन्दू किसानों के एक नेता राजा राम ने अकबर के मकबरे, सिकंदरा, आगरा को लूटने का प्रयास किया, जिसे स्थानीय फ़ौजदार, मीर अबुल फजल ने असफल कर दिया। इसके कुछ ही समय बाद १६८८ में राजा राम सिकंदरा में दोबारा प्रकट हुआ[68] और शाइस्ता खां के आने में विलंब का फायदा उठाते हुए, उसने मकबरे पर दोबारा सेंध लगाई और बहुत से बहुमूल्य सामान, जैसे सोने, चाँदी, बहुमूल्य कालीन, चिराग, इत्यादि लूट लिए, तथा जो ले जा नहीं सका, उन्हें बर्बाद कर गया। राजा राम और उसके आदमियों ने अकबर की अस्थियों को खोद कर निकाल लिया एवं जला कर भस्म कर दिया, जो कि मुस्लिमों के लिए घोर अपमान का विषय था।[69]
हिंदु धर्म से लगाव

बाद के वर्षों में अकबर को अन्य धर्मों के प्रति भी आकर्षण हुआ। अकबर का हिंदू धर्म के प्रति लगाव केवल मुग़ल साम्राज्य को ठोस बनाने के ही लिए नही था वरन उसकी हिंदू धर्म में व्यक्तिगत रुचि थी। हिंदू धर्म के अलावा अकबर को शिया इस्लाम एवं ईसाई धर्म में भी रुचि थी। ईसाई धर्म के मूलभूत सिद्धांत जानने के लिए उसने एक बार एक पुर्तगाली ईसाई धर्म प्रचारक को गोआ से बुला भेजा था। अकबर ने दरबार में एक विशेष जगह बनवाई थी जिसे इबादत-खाना (प्रार्थना-स्थल) कहा जाता था, जहाँ वह विभिन्न धर्मगुरुओं एवं प्रचारकों से धार्मिक चर्चाएं किया करता था। उसका यह दूसरे धर्मों का अन्वेषण कुछ मुस्लिम कट्टरपंथी लोगों के लिए असहनीय था। उन्हे लगने लगा था कि अकबर अपने धर्म से भटक रहा है। इन बातों में कुछ सच्चाई भी थी, अकबर ने कई बार रुढ़िवादी इस्लाम से हट कर भी कुछ फैसले लिए, यहाँ तक कि १५८२ में उसने एक नये संप्रदाय की ही शुरुआत कर दी जिसे दीन-ए-इलाही यानी ईश्वर का धर्म कहा गया।
दीन-ए-इलाही
अकबर के मकबरे का प्रवेशद्वार
फतेहपुर सीकरी का बुलन्द दरवाज़ा
मुख्य लेख : दीन ए इलाही

दीन-ए-इलाही नाम से अकबर ने १५८२ में[70] एक नया धर्म बनाया जिसमें सभी धर्मो के मूल तत्वों को डाला, इसमे प्रमुखतः हिंदू एवं इस्लाम धर्म थे।[71] इनके अलावा पारसी, जैन एवं ईसाई धर्म के मूल विचारों को भी सम्मिलित किया। हालांकि इस धर्म के प्रचार के लिए उसने कुछ अधिक उद्योग नहीं किये केवल अपने विश्वस्त लोगो को ही इसमे सम्मिलित किया। कहा जाता हैं कि अकबर के अलावा केवल राजा बीरबल ही मृत्यु तक इस के अनुयायी थे। दबेस्तान-ए-मजहब के अनुसार अकबर के पश्चात केवल १९ लोगो ने इस धर्म को अपनाया।[72][73] कालांतर में अकबर ने एक नए पंचांग की रचना की जिसमे कि उसने एक ईश्वरीय संवत को आरम्भ किया जो उसके ही राज्याभिषेक के दिन से प्रारम्भ होता था। उसने तत्कालीन सिक्कों के पीछे ‘‘अल्लाह-ओ-अकबर’’ लिखवाया जो अनेकार्थी शब्द था।[74] अकबर का शाब्दिक अर्थ है "महान" और ‘‘अल्लाह-ओ-अकबर’’ शब्द के दो अर्थ हो सकते थे "अल्लाह महान हैं " या "अकबर ही अल्लाह हैं"।[75] दीन-ए-इलाही सही मायनो में धर्म न होकर एक आचार संहिता के समान था। इसमे भोग, घमंड, निंदा करना या दोष लगाना वर्जित थे एवं इन्हे पाप कहा गया। दया, विचारशीलता और संयम इसके आधार स्तम्भ थे।[76]
अकबर के नवरत्न
राजा बीरबल
मुख्य लेख : अकबर के नवरत्न

निरक्षर होते हुई भी अकबर को कलाकारों एवं बुद्धिजीवियो से विशेष प्रेम था। उसके इसी प्रेम के कारण अकबर के दरबार में नौ (९) अति गुणवान दरबारी थे जिन्हें अकबर के नवरत्न के नाम से भी जाना जाता है।[77][78]

    अबुल फजल (१५५१ - १६०२) ने अकबर के काल को कलमबद्ध किया था। उसने अकबरनामा की भी रचना की थी। इसने ही आइन-ए-अकबरी भी रचा था।
    फैजी (१५४७ - १५९५) अबुल फजल का भाई था। वह फारसी में कविता करता था। राजा अकबर ने उसे अपने बेटे के गणित शिक्षक के पद पर नियुक्त किया था।
    मिंया तानसेन अकबर के दरबार में गायक थे। वह कविता भी लिखा करते थे।
    राजा बीरबल (१५२८ - १५८३) दरबार के विदूषक और अकबर के सलाहकार थे। ये परम बुद्धिमान कहे जाते हैं। इनके अकबर के संग किस्से आज भी कहे जाते हैं।
    राजा टोडरमल अकबर के वित्त मंत्री थे। इन्होंने विश्व की प्रथम भूमि लेखा जोखा एवं मापन प्रणाली तैयार की थी।
    राजा मान सिंह आम्बेर (जयपुर) के कच्छवाहा राजपूत राजा थे। वह अकबर की सेना के प्रधान सेनापति थे। इनकी बुआ जोधाबाई अकबर की पटरानी थी।
    अब्दुल रहीम खान-ऐ-खाना एक कवि थे और अकबर के संरक्षक बैरम खान के बेटे थे।
    फकीर अजिओं-दिन अकबर के सलाहकार थे।
    मुल्लाह दो पिअज़ा अकबर के सलाहकार थे।

फिल्म एवं साहित्य में

अकबर का व्यक्तित्व बहुचर्चित रहा है। इसलिए भारतीय साहित्य एवं सिनेमा ने अकबर से प्रेरित कई पात्र रचे गए हैं।

    २००८ में आशुतोष गोवरिकर निर्देशित फिल्म जोधा अकबर में अकबर एवं उनकी पत्नी की कहानी को दर्शाया गया है। अकबर एवं जोधा बाई का पात्र क्रमशः ऋतिक रोशन एवं ऐश्वर्या राय ने निभाया है।
    १९६० में बनी फिल्म मुग़ल-ए-आज़म भारतीय सिनेमा की एक लोकप्रिय फिल्म है। इसमें अकबर का पात्र पृथ्वीराज कपूर ने निभाया था। इस फिल्म में अकबर के पुत्र सलीम की प्रेम कथा और उस कारण से पिता पुत्र में पैदा हुए द्वंद को दर्शाया गया है। सलीम की भूमिका दिलीप कुमार एवं अनारकली की भूमिका मधुबाला ने निभायी थी।
    १९९० में जी टीवी ने अकबर-बीरबल नाम से एक धारावाहिक प्रसारित किया था जिसमे अकबर का पात्र हिंदी अभिनेता विक्रम गोखले ने निभाया था।
    नब्बे के दशक में संजय खान कृत धारावाहिक अकबर दी ग्रेट दूरदर्शन पर प्रदर्शित किया गया था।
    प्रसिद्ध अंग्रेजी साहित्यकार सलमान रुशदी के उपन्यास दी एन्चैन्ट्रेस ऑफ़ फ्लोरेंस (अंग्रेज़ी:The Enchantress of Florence) में अकबर एक मुख्य पात्र है।[79]
___________________________
Akbar
This article is about the Mughal emperor. For other uses, see Akbar (disambiguation).

Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar[8] (15 October 1542[a]– 27 October 1605[11][12]), popularly known as Akbar I (IPA: [əkbər], literally "the great") and later Akbar the Great,[13] was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expand and consolidate Mughal domains in India. A strong personality and a successful general, Akbar gradually enlarged the Mughal Empire to include nearly all of the Indian Subcontinent north of the Godavari river. His power and influence, however, extended over the entire country because of Mughal military, political, cultural, and economic dominance. To unify the vast Mughal state, Akbar established a centralised system of administration throughout his empire and adopted a policy of conciliating conquered rulers through marriage and diplomacy. To preserve peace and order in a religiously and culturally diverse empire, he adopted policies that won him the support of his non-Muslim subjects. Eschewing tribal bonds and Islamic state identity, Akbar strove to unite far-flung lands of his realm through loyalty, expressed through an Indo-Persian culture, to himself as an emperor who had near-divine status.
Akbar
Portrait of Akbar by Manohar.jpg
Late 16th century portrait of Akbar by Manohar
3rd Mughal Emperor
Reign 11 February 1556 – 27 October 1605[1][2]
Coronation 14 February 1556[1] at Kalanaur, Punjab[3]
Predecessor Humayun
Successor Jahangir
Regent Bairam Khan (1556–1560)[4]
Born Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar
15 October 1542[a]
Umerkot, Rajputana (present-day Sindh, Pakistan)
Died 27 October 1605 (aged 63)
Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, Mughal Empire (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India)
Burial Sikandra, Agra
Consort Ruqaiya Sultan Begum[5][6][7]
Wives Salima Sultan Begum
Mariam-uz-Zamani
Raziya Begum
Qasima Banu Begum
Bibi Daulat Shad
Issue Fatima Banu Begum
Hassan Mirza
Hussain Mirza
Jahangir
Khanum Sultan Begum
Sultan Murad Mirza
Daniyal Mirza
Shakr-un-Nissa Begum
Aram Banu Begum
Mahi Begum
Full name
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar[8]
House Timurid
Father Humayun
Mother Hamida Banu Begum
Religion Sunni Islam[9][10], Din-e-Illahi

Mughal India developed a strong and stable economy, leading to commercial expansion and greater patronage of culture. Akbar himself was a patron of art and culture. He was fond of literature, and created a library of over 24,000 volumes written in Sanskrit, Urdu, Persian, Greek, Latin, Arabic and Kashmiri, staffed by many scholars, translators, artists, calligraphers, scribes, bookbinders and readers. Holy men of many faiths, poets, architects and artisans adorned his court from all over the world for study and discussion. Akbar's courts at Delhi, Agra, and Fatehpur Sikri became centres of the arts, letters, and learning. Perso-Islamic culture began to merge and blend with indigenous Indian elements, and a distinct Indo-Persian culture emerged characterised by Mughal style arts, painting, and architecture. Disillusioned with orthodox Islam and perhaps hoping to bring about religious unity within his empire, Akbar promulgated Din-i-Ilahi, a syncretic creed derived from Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, and Christianity. A simple, monotheistic cult, tolerant in outlook, it centred on Akbar as a prophet, for which he drew the ire of the ulema and orthodox Muslims. Many of his courtiers followed Din-i-Ilahi as their religion as well, as many believed that Akbar was a prophet. One famous courtier who followed this blended religion was Birbal.[citation needed]

Akbar's reign significantly influenced the course of Indian history. During his rule, the Mughal empire tripled in size and wealth. He created a powerful military system and instituted effective political and social reforms. By abolishing the sectarian tax on non-Muslims and appointing them to high civil and military posts, he was the first Mughal ruler to win the trust and loyalty of the native subjects. He had Sanskrit literature translated, participated in native festivals, realising that a stable empire depended on the co-operation and good-will of his subjects. Thus, the foundations for a multicultural empire under Mughal rule were laid during his reign. Akbar was succeeded as emperor by his son, Jahangir.

Early yearsEdit
Rejoicing at the birth of the emperor the great 1542

Defeated in battles at Chausa and Kannauj in 1539–40 by the forces of Sher Shah Suri, Mughal emperor Humayun fled westward to Sindh.[14] There he met and married the then 14-year-old Hamida Banu Begum, daughter of Shaikh Ali Akbar Jami, a teacher of Humauyun's younger brother Hindal Mirza. Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar was born the next year on 15 October 1542[a] (the fourth day of Rajab, 949 AH) at the Rajput Fortress of Umerkot in Sindh (in modern-day Pakistan), where his parents had been given refuge by the local Hindu ruler Rana Prasad.[16]
Akbar as a boy

During the extended period of Humayun's exile, Akbar was brought up in Kabul by the extended family of his paternal uncles, Kamran Mirza and Askari Mirza, and his aunts, in particular Kamran Mirza's wife. He spent his youth learning to hunt, run, and fight, making him a daring, powerful and brave warrior, but he never learned to read or write. This, however, did not hinder his search for knowledge as it is said always when he retired in the evening he would have someone read.[17][18] On 20 November 1551, Humayun's youngest brother, Hindal Mirza, died fighting valorously in a battle against Kamran Mirza's forces. Upon hearing the news of his brother's death, Humayun was overwhelmed with grief.[19]

Out of affection for the memory of his brother, Humayun betrothed Hindal's nine-year-old daughter, Ruqaiya Sultan Begum, to his son Akbar. Their betrothal took place in Kabul, shortly after Akbar's first appointment as a viceroy in the province of Ghazni.[20] Humayun conferred on the imperial couple all the wealth, army, and adherents of Hindal and Ghazni. One of Hindal's jagir was given to his nephew, Akbar, who was appointed as its viceroy and was also given the command of his uncle's army.[21] Akbar's marriage with Ruqaiya was solemnized in Jalandhar, Punjab, when both of them were 14-years-old.[22] She was his first wife and chief consort.[23][5]

Following the 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 the death in order 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 13-year-old Akbar was enthroned by Bairam Khan on a newly constructed platform, which still stands.[24][25] He was proclaimed Shahanshah (Persian for "King of Kings"). Bairam Khan ruled on his behalf until he came of age.[26]
Military campaignsEdit
Military innovationsEdit
Mughal Empire under Akbar's period show in orange borders

Akbar was accorded the epithet "the Great" because of his many accomplishments,[27] including his record of unbeaten military campaigns that both established and consolidated Mughal rule in the Indian subcontinent. The basis of this military prowess and authority was Akbar's skilful structural and organisational calibration of the Mughal army.[28] The Mansabdari system in particular has been acclaimed for its role in upholding Mughal power in the time of Akbar. The system persisted with few changes down to the end of the Mughal Empire, but was progressively weakened under his successors.[28]

Organisational reforms were accompanied by innovations in cannons, fortifications, and the use of elephants.[27] Akbar also took an interest in matchlocks and effectively employed them during various conflicts. He sought the help of Ottomans, and also increasingly of Europeans, especially Portuguese and Italians, in procuring firearms and artillery.[29] Mughal firearms in the time of Akbar came to be far superior to anything that could be deployed by regional rulers, tributaries, or by zamindars.[30] Such was the impact of these weapons that 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]."[31] The term "Gunpower Empire" has thus often been used by scholars and historians in analysing the success of the Mughals in India. Mughal power has been seen as owing to their mastery of the techniques of warfare, especially the use of firearms encouraged by Akbar.[32]
Struggle for North IndiaEdit
The Mughal Emperor Akbar is depicted training an elephant

Akbar's father Humayun had regained control of the Punjab, Delhi, and Agra with Safavid support, but even in these areas Mughal rule was precarious, and when the Surs reconquered Agra and Delhi following the death of Humayun, the fate of the boy emperor seemed uncertain. Akbar's minority and the lack of any possibility of military assistance from the Mughal stronghold of Kabul, which was in the throes of an invasion by the ruler of Badakhshan Prince Mirza Suleiman, aggravated the situation.[33] 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, however, and it was decided that the Mughals would march against the strongest of the Sur rulers, Sikandar Shah Suri, in the Punjab. Delhi was left under the regency of Tardi Baig Khan.[33] Sikandar Shah Suri, however, presented no major concern for Akbar, and avoided giving battle as the Mughal army approached.[34][full citation needed] The gravest threat came from 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.[33]

Urged by Bairam Khan, who re-marshalled the Mughal army before Hemu could consolidate his position, Akbar marched on Delhi to reclaim it.[35] His army, led by Bairam Khan, defeated Hemu and the Sur army on 5 November 1556 at the Second Battle of Panipat, 50 miles (80 km) north of Delhi.[36] 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, who had become active again.[37] In the next six months, the Mughals won another major battle against Sikander Shah Suri, 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.[37] The Mughals had also besieged and defeated the Sur forces in control of Gwalior Fort, the greatest stronghold north of the Narmada river.[37]

Royal begums, along with the families of Mughal amirs, were finally brought over from Kabul to India at the time – according to Akbar's vizier, Abul Fazl, "so that men might become settled and be restrained in some measure from departing to a country to which they were accustomed".[33] Akbar had firmly declared his intentions that the Mughals were in India to stay. This was a far cry from the political settlements of his grandfather, Babur, and father, Humayun, both of whom had done little to indicate that they were anything but transient rulers.[33][37]
Expansion into Central IndiaEdit
Akbar hawking 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.[38] However, Akbar's disputes with his regent, Bairam Khan, temporarily put an end to the expansion.[38] The young emperor, at the age of eighteen, wanted to take a more active part in managing affairs. Urged on by his foster mother, Maham Anga, and his relatives, Akbar decided to dispense with the services of Bairam Khan. After yet another dispute at court, Akbar finally dismissed Bairam Khan in the spring of 1560 and ordered him to leave on Hajj to Mecca.[39] Bairam Khan left for Mecca but on his way was goaded by his opponents to rebel.[36] He was defeated by the Mughal army in the Punjab and forced to submit. Akbar forgave him, however, and gave him the option of either continuing in his court or resuming his pilgrimage; Bairam chose the latter.[40] Bairam Khan was later assassinated on his way to Mecca, allegedly by an Afghan with a personal vendetta.[38]

In 1560, Akbar resumed military operations.[38] A Mughal army under the command of his foster brother, Adham Khan, and a Mughal commander, Pir Muhammad Khan, invaded Malwa. The Afghan ruler, Baz Bahadur, was defeated at the Battle of Sarangpur and fled to Khandesh for refuge leaving behind his harem, treasure, and war elephants.[38] Despite initial success, the campaign proved a disaster from Akbar's point of view. His foster brother retained all the spoils and followed through with the Central Asian practice of slaughtering the surrendered garrison, their wives and children, and many Muslim theologians and Sayyids, who were the descendants of Muhammad.[38] Akbar personally rode to Malwa to confront Adham Khan and relieve him of command. Pir Muhammad Khan was then sent in pursuit of Baz Bahadur but was beaten back by the alliance of the rulers of Khandesh and Berar.[38] Baz Bahadur temporarily regained control of Malwa until, in the next year, Akbar sent another Mughal army to invade and annex the kingdom.[38] Malwa became a province of the nascent imperial administration of Akbar's regime. Baz Bahadur survived as a refugee at various courts until, eight years later in 1570, he took service under Akbar.[38]
Young Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana son of Bairam Khan being received by Akbar

Despite the ultimate success in Malwa, the conflict exposed cracks in Akbar's personal relationships with his relatives and Mughal nobles. When Adham Khan confronted Akbar following another dispute in 1562, he was struck down by the emperor and thrown from a terrace into the palace courtyard at Agra. Still alive, Adham Khan was dragged up and thrown to the courtyard once again by Akbar to ensure his death. Akbar now sought to eliminate the threat of over-mighty subjects.[38] He created specialised ministerial posts relating to imperial governance; no member of the Mughal nobility was to have unquestioned pre-eminence.[38] When a powerful clan of Uzbek chiefs broke out in rebellion in 1564, Akbar decisively defeated and routed them in Malwa and then Bihar.[41] He pardoned the rebellious leaders, hoping to conciliate them, but they rebelled again, so Akbar had to quell their uprising a second time. Following a third revolt with the proclamation of Mirza Muhammad Hakim, Akbar's brother and the Mughal ruler of Kabul, as emperor, his patience was finally exhausted. Several Uzbek chieftains were subsequently slain and the rebel leaders trampled to death under elephants.[41] Simultaneously the Mirzas, a group of Akbar's distant cousins who held important fiefs near Agra, had also risen up in rebellion. They too were slain and driven out of the empire.[41] In 1566, Akbar moved to meet the forces of his brother, Muhammad Hakim, who had marched into the Punjab with dreams of seizing the imperial throne. Following a brief confrontation, however, Muhammad Hakim accepted Akbar's supremacy and retreated back to Kabul.[41]

In 1564, Mughal forces conquered the Gondwana kingdom, a thinly populated, hilly area in central India that was of interest to the Mughals because of its herd of wild elephants.[42] The territory was ruled over by Raja Vir Narayan, a minor, and his mother, Durgavati, a Rajput warrior queen of the Gonds.[41] Akbar did not personally lead the campaign because he was preoccupied with the Uzbek rebellion, leaving the expedition in the hands of Asaf Khan, the Mughal governor of Kara.[41][43] 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.[43] The Mughals seized immense wealth, an uncalculated amount of gold and silver, jewels and 1000 elephants. Kamala Devi, a younger sister of Durgavati, was sent to the Mughal harem.[43] The brother of Durgavati's deceased husband was installed as the Mughal administrator of the region.[43] Like in Malwa, however, Akbar entered into a dispute with his vassals over the conquest of Gondwana.[43] Asaf Khan was accused of keeping most of the treasures and sending back only 200 elephants to Akbar. When summoned to give accounts, he fled Gondwana. He went first to the Uzbeks, then returned to Gondwana where he was pursued by Mughal forces. Finally, he submitted and Akbar restored him to his previous position.[43]
Conquest of RajputanaEdit
The Mughal Emperor Akbar shoots the Rajput warrior Jaimal during the Siege of Chittorgarh in 1567
Bullocks dragging siege-guns up hill during Akbar's attack on Ranthambhor Fort in 1568

Having established Mughal rule over northern India, Akbar turned his attention to the conquest of Rajputana. No imperial power in India based on the Indo-Gangetic plains could be secure if a rival centre of power existed on its flank in Rajputana.[43] The Mughals had already established domination over parts of northern Rajputana in Mewar, Ajmer, and Nagor.[37][41] Now, Akbar was determined to drive into the heartlands of the Rajput kings that had never previously submitted to the Muslim rulers of the Delhi Sultanate. Beginning in 1561, the Mughals actively engaged the Rajputs in warfare and diplomacy.[42] Most Rajput states accepted Akbar's suzerainty; the rulers of Mewar and Marwar, Udai Singh and Chandrasen Rathore, however, remained outside the imperial fold.[41] Rana Udai Singh was descended from the Sisodia ruler, Rana Sanga, who had died fighting Babur at the Battle of Khanwa in 1527.[41] As the head of the Sisodia clan, he possessed the highest ritual status of all the Rajput kings and chieftains in India. Unless Udai Singh was reduced to submission, the imperial authority of the Mughals would be lessened in Rajput eyes.[41] Furthermore, Akbar, at this early period, was still enthusiastically devoted to the cause of Islam and sought to impress the superiority of his faith over the most prestigious warriors in Brahminical Hinduism.[41]

In 1567, Akbar moved to reduce the Chittorgarh Fort in Mewar. The fortress-capital of Mewar was of great strategic importance as it lay on the shortest route from Agra to Gujarat and was also considered a key to holding the interior parts of Rajputana. Udai Singh retired to the hills of Mewar, leaving two Rajput warriors, Jaimal and Patta, in charge of the defence of his capital.[44] Chittorgarh fell on February 1568 after a siege of four months. Akbar had the surviving defenders and 30,000 non-combatants massacred and their heads displayed upon towers erected throughout the region, in order to demonstrate his authority.[45][46] The booty that fell into the hands of the Mughals was distributed throughout the empire.[47] He remained in Chittorgarh for three days, then returned to Agra, where to commemorate the victory, he set up, at the gates of his fort, statues of Jaimal and Patta mounted on elephants.[48] Udai Singh's power and influence was broken. He never again ventured out his mountain refuge in Mewar and Akbar was content to let him be.[49]

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.[49] However, it fell only after a couple of months.[49] Akbar was now the master of almost the whole of Rajputana. Most of the Rajput kings had submitted to the Mughals.[49] Only the clans of Mewar continued to resist.[49] Udai Singh's son and successor, Pratap Singh, was later defeated by the Mughals at the Battle of Haldighati in 1576.[49] Akbar would celebrate his conquest of Rajputana by laying the foundation of a new capital, 23 miles (37 km) W.S.W of Agra in 1569. It was called Fatehpur Sikri ("the city of victory").[50] Pratap Singh, however, continuously attacked Mughals and was able to retain most of the kingdom of his ancestors in the life of Akbar.[51]
Annexation of Western and Eastern IndiaEdit
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. Illustration from a manuscript of the Akbarnama

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 respectively.[49] Furthermore, Gujarat had been a haven for rebellious Mughal nobles, while in Bengal, the Afghans still held considerable influence under their ruler, Sulaiman Khan Karrani. Akbar first moved against Gujarat, which lay in the crook of the Mughal provinces of Rajputana and Malwa.[49] Gujarat, with its coastal regions, possessed areas of rich agricultural production in its central plain, an impressive output of textiles and other industrial goods, and the busiest seaports of India.[49][52] Akbar intended to link the maritime state with the massive resources of the Indo-Gangetic plains.[53] However, the ostensible casus belli 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 served as justification for his military expedition.[49] In 1572, he moved to occupy Ahmedabad, the capital, and other northern cities, and was proclaimed the lawful sovereign of Gujarat. By 1573, he had driven out the Mirzas who, after offering token resistance, fled for refuge in the Deccan. Surat, the commercial capital of the region and other coastal cities soon capitulated to the Mughals.[49] The king, Muzaffar Shah III, was caught hiding in a corn field; he was pensioned off by Akbar with a small allowance.[49]

Having established his authority over Gujarat, Akbar returned to Fatephur Sikiri, where he built the Buland Darwaza to commemorate his victories, but a rebellion by Afghan nobles supported by the Rajput ruler of Idar, and the renewed intrigues of the Mirzas forced his return to Gujarat.[53] Akbar crossed the Rajputana and reached Ahmedabad in eleven days – a journey that normally took six weeks. The outnumbered Mughal army then won a decisive victory on 2 September 1573. Akbar slew the rebel leaders and erected a tower out of their severed heads.[49] The conquest and subjugation of Gujarat proved highly profitable for the Mughals; the territory yielded a revenue of more than five million rupees annually to Akbar's treasury, after expenses.[49]

Akbar had now defeated most of the Afghan remnants in India. The only centre of Afghan power was now in Bengal, where Sulaiman Khan Karrani, an Afghan chieftain whose family had served under Sher Shah Suri, was reigning in power. While Sulaiman Khan scrupulously avoided giving offence to Akbar, his son, Daud Khan, who had succeeded him in 1572, decided otherwise.[54] Whereas Sulaiman Khan had the khutba read in Akbar's name and acknowledged Mughal supremacy, Daud Khan assumed the insignia of royalty and ordered the khutba to be proclaimed in his own name in defiance of Akbar. Munim Khan, the Mughal governor of Bihar, was ordered to chastise Daud Khan, but later, Akbar himself set out to Bengal.[54] This was an opportunity to bring the trade in the east under Mughal control.[55] In 1574, the Mughals seized Patna from Daud Khan, who fled to Bengal.[54] Akbar 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 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 had to flee into exile. Daud Khan was later captured and executed by Mughal forces. His severed head was sent to Akbar, while his limbs were gibetted at Tandah, the Mughal capital in Bengal.[54]
Campaigns in Afghanistan and Central AsiaEdit
See also: Akbar's conquest of Gujarat

Following his conquests of Gujarat and Bengal, Akbar was preoccupied with domestic concerns. He did not leave Fatehpur Sikri on a military campaign until 1581, when the Punjab was again invaded by his brother, Mirza Muhammad Hakim.[54] Akbar expelled his brother to Kabul and this time pressed on, determined to end the threat from Muhammad Hakim once and for all.[54] In contrast to the problem that his predecessors once had in getting Mughal nobles to stay on in India, the problem now was to get them to leave India.[54] They were, according to Abul Fazl "afraid of the cold of Afghanistan."[54] The Hindu officers, in turn, were additionally inhibited by the traditional taboo against crossing the Indus. Akbar, however, spurred them on. The soldiers were provided with pay eight months in advance.[54] In August 1581, Akbar seized Kabul and took up residence at Babur's old citadel. He stayed there for three weeks, in the absence of his brother, who had fled into the mountains.[54] Akbar left Kabul in the hands of his sister, Bakht-un-Nisa Begum, and returned to India. He pardoned his brother, who took up de facto charge of the Mughal administration in Kabul; Bakht-un-Nis continued to be the official governor. A few years later, in 1585, Muhammad Hakim died and Kabul passed into the hands of Akbar once again. It was officially incorporated as a province of the Mughal Empire.[54]

The Kabul expedition was the beginning of a long period of activity over the northern frontiers of the empire.[56] For thirteen years, beginning in 1585, Akbar remained in the north, shifting his capital to Lahore in the Punjab while dealing with challenges from beyond the Khyber Pass.[56] The gravest threat came from the Uzbeks, the tribe that had driven his grandfather, Babur, out of Central Asia.[54] They had been organised under Abdullah Khan Shaybanid, a capable military chieftain who had seized Badakhshan and Balkh from Akbar's distant Timurid relatives, and whose Uzbek troops now posed a serious challenge to the northwestern frontiers of the Mughal Empire.[54][57] The Afghan tribes on the border were also restless, partly on account of the hostility of the Yusufzai of Bajaur and Swat, and partly owing to the activity of a new religious leader, Bayazid, the founder of the Roshaniyya sect.[56] The Uzbeks were also known to be subsidising Afghans.[58]

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.[58] In return, Abdullah Khan agreed to refrain from supporting, subsidising, or offering refuge to the Afghan tribes hostile to the Mughals. Thus freed, Akbar began a series of campaigns to pacify the Yusufzais and other rebels.[58] 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 turned out to be a disaster, and on its retreat from the mountains, Birbal and his entourage were ambushed and killed by the Afghans at the Malandarai Pass in February 1586.[58] 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, and forced the submission of many chiefs in Swat and Bajaur.[58] Dozens of forts were built and occupied to secure the region. Akbar's response demonstrated his ability to clamp firm military control over the Afghan tribes.[58]

Despite his pact with the Uzbeks, Akbar nurtured a secret hope of reconquering Central Asia from today's Afghanistan.[59] However, Badakshan and Balkh remained firmly part of the Uzbek dominions. There was only a transient occupation of the two provinces by the Mughals under his grandson, Shah Jahan, in the mid-17th century.[57] Nevertheless, Akbar's stay in the northern frontiers was highly fruitful. The last of the rebellious Afghan tribes were subdued by 1600.[57] The Roshaniyya movement was firmly suppressed. The Afridi and Orakzai tribes, which had risen up under the Roshaniyyas, had been subjugated.[57] The leaders of the movement were captured and driven into exile.[57] Jalaluddin, the son of the Roshaniyya movement's founder, Bayazid, was killed in 1601 in a fight with Mughal troops near Ghazni.[57] Mughal rule over today's Afghanistan was finally secure, particularly after the passing of the Uzbek threat with the death of Abdullah Khan in 1598.[58]
Conquests in the Indus ValleyEdit

While in Lahore dealing with the Uzbeks, Akbar had sought to subjugate the Indus valley to secure the frontier provinces.[58] He sent an army to conquer Kashmir in the upper Indus basin when, in 1585, Ali Shah, the reigning king of the Shia Chak dynasty, refused to send his son as a hostage to the Mughal court. Ali Shah surrendered immediately to the Mughals, but another of his sons, Yaqub, crowned himself as king, and led a stubborn resistance to Mughal armies. Finally, in June, 1589, Akbar himself travelled from Lahore to Srinagar to receive the surrender of Yaqub and his rebel forces.[58] Baltistan and Ladakh, which were Tibetan provinces adjacent to Kashmir, pledged their allegiance to Akbar.[60] The Mughals also moved to conquer Sindh in the lower Indus valley. Since 1574, the northern fortress of Bhakkar had remained under imperial control. Now, 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.[58] Akbar responded by sending a Mughal army to besiege Sehwan, the river capital of the region. Jani Beg mustered a large army to meet the Mughals.[58] The outnumbered Mughal forces defeated the Sindhi forces at the Battle of Sehwan. After suffering further defeats, Jani Beg surrendered to the Mughals in 1591, and in 1593, paid homage to Akbar in Lahore.[60]
Subjugation of parts of BaluchistanEdit

As early as 1586, about half a dozen Baluchi chiefs, that were still under nominal Pani Afghan rule, had been persuaded to attend the imperial court and acknowledge the vassalage of Akbar. In preparations to take Kandahar from the Safavids, Akbar ordered the Mughal forces to conquer the rest of the Afghan held parts of Baluchistan in 1595.[60][61] The Mughal general, Mir Masum, led an attack on the stronghold of Sibi, situated to the northwest of Quetta and defeated a coalition of local chieftains in a pitched battle.[61] They were made to acknowledge Mughal supremacy and attend Akbar's court. As a result, the modern-day Pakistani and Afghan parts of Baluchistan, including the area's of the strategic region of Makran that lay within it, became a part of the Mughal Empire.[61] The Mughals now frontiered Persian ruled Kandahar from three sides.[61]
Safavids and KandaharEdit

Kandahar was the name given by Arab historians to the ancient Indian kingdom of Gandhara.[62] It was intimately connected with the Mughals since the time of their 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 as 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, the Safavid emperor, Tahmasp I, had seized Kandahar and expelled its Mughal governor. For the next thirty years, it remained under Persian rule.[60] The recovery of Kandahar had not been a priority for Akbar, but after his prolonged military activity in the northern frontiers, a move to restore Mughal rule over the region became desirable.[60] The conquests of Sindh, Kashmir and parts of Baluchistan, and the ongoing consolidation of Mughal power over today's Afghanistan had added to Akbar's confidence.[60] Furthermore, Kandahar was at this time under threat from the Uzbeks, but the Emperor of Persia, himself beleaguered by the Ottoman Turks, was unable to send any reinforcements. Circumstances favoured the Mughals.[60]

In 1593, Akbar received the exiled Safavid prince, Rostam Mirza, after he had quarrelled with his family.[63] Rostam Mirza pledged allegiance to the Mughals; he was granted a rank (mansab) of commander of 5000 men and received Multan as a jagir.[63] Beleaguered by constant Uzbek raids, and seeing the reception of Rostom Mirza at the Mughal court, the Safavid prince and governor of Kandahar, Mozaffar Hosayn, also agreed to defect to the Mughals. Mozaffar Hosayn, who was in any case in an adversary relationship with his overlord, Shah Abbas, was granted a rank of 5000 men, and his daughter Kandahari Begum was married to Akbar's grandson, the Mughal prince, Khurram.[60][63] Kandahar was finally secured in 1595 with the arrival of a garrison headed by the Mughal general, Shah Bayg Khan.[63] The reconquest of Kandahar did not overtly disturb the Mughal-Persian relationship.[60] Akbar and the Persian Shah continued to exchange ambassadors and presents. However, the power equation between the two had now changed in favour of the Mughals.[60]
Deccan SultansEdit

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 refused to submit 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 Qandahar and Badakshan. He touched the western seain Sind and at Surat and was well astride central India."[64]
AdministrationEdit
Political governmentEdit

Akbar's system of central government was based on the system that had evolved since the Delhi Sultanate, but the functions of various departments were carefully reorganised by laying down detailed regulations for their functioning[citation needed]

    The revenue department was headed by a wazir, responsible for all finances and management of jagir and inam lands.
    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 also made recommendations to the emperor for military appointments and promotions.
    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

TaxationEdit

Akbar set about reforming the administration of his empire's land revenue by adopting a system that had been used by Sher Shah Suri. A cultivated area where crops grew well was measured and taxed through fixed rates based on the area's crop and productivity. However, this placed hardship on the peasantry because tax rates were fixed on the basis of prices prevailing in the imperial court, which were often higher than those in the countryside.[65] Akbar changed to a decentralised system of annual assessment, but this resulted in corruption among local officials and was abandoned in 1580, to be replaced by a system called the dahsala.[66] Under the new system, 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.[66] Akbar's dahsala system is credited to Raja Todar Mal, who also served as a revenue officer under Sher Shah Suri,[67] and the structure of the revenue administration was set out by the latter in a detailed memorandum submitted to the emperor in 1582–83.[68]

Other local methods of assessment continued in some areas. Land which was fallow or uncultivated was charged at concessional rates.[69] Akbar also actively encouraged the improvement and extension of agriculture. The village continued to remain the primary unit of revenue assessment.[70] Zamindars of every area were required to provide loans and agricultural implements in times of need, to encourage farmers to plough as much land as possible and to sow seeds of superior quality. 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.[69] While the revenue assessment system showed concern for the small peasantry, it also maintained a level of distrust towards the revenue officials. Revenue officials were guaranteed only three-quarters of their salary, with the remaining quarter dependent on their full realisation of the revenue assessed.[71]
Military organisationEdit
Main article: Mansabdari
Mughal Army artillerymen during the reign of Akbar.

Akbar organised 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 (a mansabdar), and assigned a number of cavalry that he had to supply to the imperial army.[67] The mansabdars were divided into 33 classes. The top three commanding ranks, ranging from 7000 to 10000 troops, were normally reserved for princes. Other ranks between 10 and 5000 were assigned to other members of the nobility. The empire's permanent standing army was quite small and the imperial forces mostly consisted of contingents maintained by the mansabdars.[72] Persons were normally appointed to a low mansab and then promoted, based on their merit as well as the favour of the emperor.[73] 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 only Arabian horses were normally employed.[74] The mansabdars were remunerated well for their services and constituted the highest paid military service in the world at the time.[73]
CapitalEdit
Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience) in Fatehpur Sikri

Akbar was a follower of Salim Chishti, a holy man who lived in the region of Sikri near Agra. Believing the area to be a lucky one for himself, he had a mosque constructed there for the use of the priest. Subsequently, he celebrated the victories over Chittor and Ranthambore by laying the foundation of a new walled capital, 23 miles (37 km) west of Agra in 1569, which was named Fatehpur ("town of victory") after the conquest of Gujarat in 1573 and subsequently came to be known as Fatehpur Sikri in order to distinguish it from other similarly named towns.[44] Palaces for each of Akbar's senior queens, a huge artificial lake, and sumptuous water-filled courtyards were built there. However, the city was soon abandoned and the capital was moved to Lahore in 1585. The reason may have been that the water supply in Fatehpur Sikri was insufficient or of poor quality. Or, as some historians believe, Akbar had to attend to the northwest areas of his empire and therefore moved his capital northwest. Other sources indicate Akbar simply lost interest in the city[75] or realised it was not militarily defensible. In 1599, Akbar shifted his capital back to Agra from where he reigned until his death.
EconomyEdit
TradeEdit

The reign of Akbar was characterised by commercial expansion.[76] The Mughal government encouraged traders, provided protection and security for transactions, and levied a very low custom duty to stimulate foreign trade. Furthermore, it strived to foster a climate conductive to commerce by requiring local administrators to provide restitution to traders for goods stolen while in their territory. To minimise such incidents, bands of highway police called rahdars were enlisted to parol roads and ensure safety of traders. Other active measures taken included the construction and protection of routes of commerce and communications.[77] Indeed, Akbar would make 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 in journeying from Kabul into Mughal India.[77] He also strategically occupied the northwestern cities of Multan and Lahore in the Punjab and constructed great forts, such as the one at Attock near the crossing of the Grand Trunk Road and the Indus river, as well as a network of smaller forts called thanas throughout the frontier to secure the overland trade with Persia and Central Asia.[77]
CoinsEdit
Silver coin of Akbar with inscriptions of the Islamic declaration of faith, the declaration reads: "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."

Akbar was a great innovator as far as coinage in concerned. The coins of Akbar set a new chapter in India's numismatic history. The coins of Akbar's grandfather, Babur, and father, Humayun, are basic and devoid of any innovation as the former was busy establishing the foundations of the Mughal rule in India while the latter was ousted by the Afghan, Farid Khan Sher Shah Suri, and returned to the throne only to die a year later. While the reign of both Babur and Humayun represented turmoil, Akbar's relative long reign of 50 years allowed him to experiment with coinage.

Akbar introduced coins with decorative floral motifs, dotted borders, quatrefoil and other types. His coins were both round and square in shape with a unique 'mehrab' (lozenge) shape coin highlighting numismatic calligraphy at its best. 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 thereafter by minting and presenting his father with gold Mohur's bearing Akbar's portrait. The tolerant view of Akbar is represented by the 'Ram-Siya' silver coin type while during the latter part of Akbar's reign, we see coins portraying the concept of Akbar's newly promoted religion 'Din-e-ilahi' with the Ilahi type and Jalla Jalal-Hu type coins.

The coins, left, represent examples of these innovative concepts introduced by Akbar that set the precedent for Mughal coins which was refined and perfected by his son, Jahangir, and later by his grandson, Shah Jahan.
DiplomacyEdit
Matrimonial alliancesEdit

The practice of giving Hindu princesses to Muslim kings in marriage was known much before Akbar's time, but in most cases these marriages did not lead to any stable relations between the families involved, and the women were lost to their families and did not return after marriage.[78][79][80]

However, Akbar's policy of matrimonial alliances marked a departure in India from previous practice in that the marriage itself marked the beginning of a new order of relations, wherein the Hindu Rajputs who married their daughters or sisters to him would be treated on par with his Muslim fathers-in-law and brothers in-law in all respects except being able to dine and pray with him or take Muslim wives. These Rajputs were made members of his court and their daughters' or sisters' marriage to a Muslim ceased to be a sign of degradation, except for certain proud elements who still considered it a sign of humiliation.[80]
Birth of Salim, the future emperor Jahangir

The Kacchwaha Rajput, Raja Bihari Mal, of the small kingdom of Amber, who had come to Akbar's court shortly after the latter's accession, entered into an alliance by giving his daughter in marriage to the emperor. Bihari Mal was made a noble of high rank in the imperial court, and subsequently his son Bhagwant Das and grandson Man Singh also rose to high ranks in the nobility.[79]

Other Rajput kingdoms also established matrimonial alliances with Akbar, but matrimony was not insisted on as a precondition for forming alliances. Two major Rajput clans remained aloof – the Sisodiyas of Mewar and Hadas of Ranthambore. In another turning point of Akbar's reign, Raja Man Singh I of Amber went with Akbar to meet the Hada leader, Surjan Hada, to effect an alliance. Surjan accepted an alliance on the condition that Akbar did not marry any of his daughters. Consequently, no matrimonial alliance was entered into, yet Surjan was made a noble and placed in charge of Garh-Katanga.[79] Certain other Rajput nobles did not like the idea of their kings marrying their daughters to Mughals. Rathore Kalyandas threatened to kill both Mota Raja Rao Udaisingh and Jahangir because Udai Singh had decided to marry his daughter to Jahangir. Akbar on hearing this ordered imperial forces to attack Kalyandas at Siwana. Kalyandas died fighting along with his men and the women of Siwana committed Jauhar.[81]

The political effect of these alliances was significant. While some Rajput women who entered Akbar's harem converted to Islam, they were generally provided full religious freedom, and their relatives, who continued to remain Hindu, formed a significant part of the nobility and served to articulate the opinions of the majority of the common populace in the imperial court.[79] The interaction between Hindu and Muslim nobles in the imperial court resulted in exchange of thoughts and blending of the two cultures. Further, newer generations of the Mughal line represented a merger of Mughal and Rajput blood, thereby strengthening ties between the two. As a result, the Rajputs became the strongest allies of the Mughals, and Rajput soldiers and generals fought for the Mughal army under Akbar, leading it in several campaigns including the conquest of Gujarat in 1572.[82] Akbar's policy of religious tolerance ensured that employment in the imperial administration was open to all on merit irrespective of creed, and this led to an increase in the strength of the administrative services of the empire.[83]

Another legend is that Akbar's daughter Meherunnissa was enamoured by Tansen and had a role in his coming to Akbar's court.[84] Tansen converted to Islam from Hinduism, apparently on the eve of his marriage with Akbar's daughter.[85][86]
Foreign relationsEdit
Relations with the PortugueseEdit
An Emperor shall be ever Intent on Conquest, Otherwise His enemies shall rise in arms against him.
Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar,

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 of this colonialism, all other trading entities were subject to the terms and conditions of the Portuguese, and this was resented by the rulers and traders of the time including Bahadur Shah of Gujarat.[87]
Death of Bahadur Shah of Gujarat at Diu, in front of the Portuguese in 1537[88]

In the year 1572 the Mughal Empire annexed Gujarat and acquired its first access to the sea after local officials informed Akbar that the Portuguese had begun to exert control in the Indian Ocean. Hence Akbar was conscious of the threat posed by the presence of the Portuguese and remained content with obtaining a cartaz (permit) from them for sailing in the Persian Gulf region.[89] 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.[90] Akbar's efforts to purchase and secure from the Portuguese some of their compact artillery pieces were unsuccessful and thus Akbar could not establish the Mughal navy along the Gujarat coast.[91]

Akbar accepted the offer of diplomacy, but the Portuguese continually asserted their authority and power in the Indian Ocean; in fact Akbar was highly concerned when he had to request a permit from the Portuguese before any ships from the Mughal Empire were to depart for the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina.[92] In 1573, he 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 the 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.[93]

In September 1579 Jesuits from Goa were invited to visit the court of Akbar.[94] The emperor had his scribes translate the New Testament and granted the Jesuits freedom to preach the Gospel.[95] One of his sons, Sultan Murad Mirza, was entrusted to Antoni de Montserrat for his education.[96][97] While debating at court, the Jesuits did not confine themselves to the exposition of their own beliefs but also reviled Islam and Muhammad. Their comments enraged the Imams and Ulama, who objected to the remarks, but Akbar ordered their comments to be recorded and observed the Jesuits and their behaviour carefully. 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 wanted to overthrow Akbar and insert his brother Mirza Muhammad Hakim ruler of Kabul on the Mughal throne. Akbar successfully defeated the rebels, but he had grown more cautious about his guests and his proclamations, which he later checked with his advisers carefully.[98]
Relations with the Ottoman EmpireEdit
Portuguese 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, another Ottoman Admiral Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis arrived on the shores of the Mughal Empire. These Ottoman admirals sought to end the growing threats of the Portuguese Empire during their Indian Ocean campaigns. During his reign Akbar himself is known to have sent six documents addressing the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.[99][100]

In 1576 Akbar sent a very large contingent of pilgrims led by Khwaja Sultan Naqshbandi, Yahya Saleh, with 600,000 gold and silver coins and 12,000 Kaftans of honour and large consignments of rice.[101][page needed] In October 1576 Akbar sent a delegation including members of his family, including his aunt Gulbadan Begum and his consort Salima, on Hajj by two ships from Surat including an Ottoman vessel, which reached the port of Jeddah in 1577 and then proceeded towards Mecca and Medina.[102] Four more caravans were sent from 1577 to 1580, with exquisite gifts for the authorities of Mecca and Medina.[103][104]

The imperial Mughal entourage stayed in Mecca and Medina for nearly four years and attended the Hajj four times. 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.[105] The Mughals eventually set out for Surat, and their return was assisted by the Ottoman Pasha in Jeddah.[106] Because of Akbar's attempts to build Mughal presence in Mecca and Medina, the local Sharif's began to have more confidence in the financial support provided by Mughal Empire, lessening their dependency upon Ottoman bounty.[105] Mughal-Ottoman trade also flourished during this period – in fact merchants loyal to Akbar are known to have reached and sold spices, dyestuff, cotton and shawls in the bazaars of Aleppo after arriving and journeying upriver through the port of Basra.[105]

According to some accounts Akbar expressed a desire to form an alliance with the Portuguese, mainly in order to advance his interests, but whenever the Portuguese attempted to invade the Ottomans, Akbar proved abortive.[107][108] In 1587 a Portuguese fleet sent to attack Yemen was ferociously routed and defeated by the Ottoman Navy; thereafter the Mughal-Portuguese alliance immediately collapsed, mainly because of the continuing pressure by the Mughal Empire's prestigious vassals at Janjira.[109]
Relations with the Safavid DynastyEdit
The Akbari Mosque, overlooking the Ganges

The Safavids and the Mughals had a long history of diplomatic relationship, with the Safavid ruler Tahmasp I having provided refuge to Humayun when he had to flee the Indian subcontinent following his defeat by Sher Shah Suri. However, the Safavids differed from the Sunni Mughals and Ottomans in following the Shiite sect of Islam.[110] One of the longest standing disputes between the Safavids and the Mughals pertained to the control of the city of Qandahar in the Hindukush region, forming the border between the two empires.[111] The Hindukush region was militarily very significant owing to its geography, and this was well-recognised by strategists of the times.[112] Consequently, the city, which was being administered by Bairam Khan at the time of Akbar's accession, was invaded and captured by the Persian ruler Husain Mirza, a cousin of Tahmasp I, in 1558.[111] 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 continued to prevail between the two empires during the first two decades of Akbar's reign.[113] However, 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.[114] Shortly afterwards, Akbar's army completed its annexation of Kabul, and in order to further secure the north-western boundaries of his empire, it proceeded to Qandahar. The city capitulated without resistance on 18 April 1595, and the ruler Muzaffar Hussain moved into Akbar's court.[115] Qandahar continued to remain in Mughal possession, and the Hindukush the empire's western frontier, for several decades until Shah Jahan's expedition into Badakhshan in 1646.[116] Diplomatic relations continued to be maintained between the Safavid and Mughal courts until the end of Akbar's reign.[117]
Relations with other contemporary kingdomsEdit
Akbar receives an embassy sent by Queen Elizabeth

Vincent Arthur Smith observes that the merchant Mildenhall was employed in 1600 while the establishment of the Company was under adjustment 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.[118]

Akbar was also visited by the French explorer Pierre Malherbe.[119]
Religious policyEdit
Portrait of the Mughal Emperor Akbar invocation of a Dua prayer.

Akbar, as well as his mother and other members of his family, are believed to have been Sunni Hanafi Muslims.[120] His early days were spent in the backdrop of an atmosphere in which liberal sentiments were encouraged and religious narrow-mindedness was frowned upon.[121] 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.[122] These sentiments were earlier encouraged by the teachings of popular saints like Guru Nanak, Kabir and Chaitanya,[121] the verses of the Persian poet Hafez which advocated human sympathy and a liberal outlook,[123] as well as the Timurid ethos of religious tolerance in the empire, persisted in the polity right from the times of Timur to Humayun, (the second emperor of the mughal empire), and influenced Akbar's policy of tolerance in matters of religion.[124] Further, his childhood tutors, who included two Irani Shias, were largely above sectarian prejudices, and made a significant contribution to Akbar's later inclination towards religious tolerance.[124]

When he was at Fatehpur Sikri, he held discussions as he loved to know about others' religious beliefs. On one such day he got to know that the religious people of other religions were often bigots (intolerant of others religious beliefs). This led him to form the idea of the new religion, Sulh-e-kul meaning universal peace. His idea of this religion did not discriminate other religions and focused on the ideas of peace, unity and tolerance.[citation needed]
Association with the Muslim aristocracyEdit
The Mughal Emperor 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.[125] 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, reflecting a restrictive attitude towards the Shia, which continued to persist till the early 1570s.[126] 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.[126] However, as Akbar increasingly came under the influence of pantheistic Sufi mysticism from the early 1570s, 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.[126] Consequently, 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.[127] In the year 1578, the Mughal Emperor Akbar famously referred to himself as:

    Emperor of Islam, Emir of the Faithful, Shadow of God on earth, Abul Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar Badshah Ghazi (whose empire Allah perpetuate), is a most just, most wise, and a most God-fearing ruler.

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. To further strengthen his position in dealing with the Qazis, Akbar issued a mazhar, or declaration, that was signed by all major ulemas in 1579.[128][129] 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.[130] Given the prevailing Islamic sectarian conflicts in various parts of the country at that time, it is believed that the Mazhar helped stabilize the religious situation in the empire.[128] It made Akbar very powerful because of the complete supremacy accorded to the Khalifa by Islam, and also helped him eliminate the religious and political influence of the Ottoman Khalifa over his subjects, thus ensuring their complete loyalty to him.[131]

Throughout his reign Akbar was a patron of influential Muslim scholars such as Mir Ahmed Nasrallah Thattvi and Tahir Muhammad Thattvi.[citation needed]

Whenever Akbar would attend congregations at a mosque the following proclamation was made:[132]

    The Lord to me the Kingdom gave, He made me wise, strong and brave, He guides me through right and truth, Filling my mind with the love of truth, No praise of man could sum his state, Allah Hu Akbar, God is Great.

Din-i-IlahiEdit
Main article: Din-i-Ilahi
Akbar holds a religious assembly of different faiths in the Ibadat Khana in Fatehpur Sikri.

Akbar was deeply interested in religious and philosophical matters. An orthodox Muslim at the outset, he later came to be influenced by Sufi mysticism that was being preached in the country at that time, and moved away from orthodoxy, appointing to his court several talented people with liberal ideas, including Abul Fazl, Faizi and Birbal. In 1575, he built a hall called the Ibadat Khana ("House of Worship") at Fatehpur Sikri, to which he invited theologians, mystics and selected courtiers renowned for their intellectual achievements and discussed matters of spirituality with them.[121] These discussions, initially restricted to Muslims, were acrimonious and resulted in the participants shouting at and abusing each other. Upset by this, Akbar opened the Ibadat Khana to people of all religions as well as atheists, resulting in the scope of the discussions broadening and extending even into areas such as the validity of the Quran and the nature of God. This shocked the orthodox theologians, who sought to discredit Akbar by circulating rumours of his desire to forsake Islam.[128]

Akbar's effort to evolve a meeting point among the representatives of various religions was not very successful, as each of them attempted to assert the superiority of their respective religions by denouncing other religions. Meanwhile, the debates at the Ibadat Khana grew more acrimonious and, contrary to their purpose of leading to a better understanding among religions, instead led to greater bitterness among them, resulting in the discontinuance of the debates by Akbar in 1582.[133] However, his 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.[134][135]
Silver square rupee of Akbar, Lahore mint, struck in Aban month of Ilahi

Some modern scholars claim that Akbar did not initiate a new religion but instead introduced what Dr. Oscar R. Gómez calls the transtheistic outlook from tantric Tibetan Buddhism,[136] and that he did not use the word Din-i-Ilahi.[137] According to the contemporary events in the Mughal court Akbar was indeed angered by the acts of embezzlement of wealth by many high level Muslim clerics.[138]

The purported Din-i-Ilahi was more of an ethical system and is said to have prohibited lust, sensuality, slander and pride, considering them sins. Piety, prudence, abstinence and kindness are the core virtues. The soul is encouraged to purify itself through yearning of God.[139] Celibacy was respected, chastity enforced, the slaughter of animals was forbidden and there were no sacred scriptures or a priestly hierarchy.[140] However, 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.[141] To commemorate Din-e-Ilahi, he changed the name of Prayag to Allahabad (pronounced as ilahabad) in 1583.[142][143]

It has been argued that the theory of Din-i-Ilahi being a new religion was a misconception that arose because of erroneous translations of Abul Fazl's work by later British historians.[144] However, it is also accepted 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 toleration.[145] At the time of Akbar's death in 1605 there were no signs of discontent amongst his Muslim subjects, and the impression of even a theologian like Abdu'l Haq was that close ties remained.[146]
Relation with HindusEdit

Akbar decreed that Hindus who had been forced to convert to Islam could reconvert to Hinduism without facing the death penalty.[147] In his days of tolerance he was so well liked by Hindus that there are numerous references to him, and his eulogies are sung in songs and religious hymns as well.[148]

Akbar practised several Hindu customs. He celebrated Diwali, allowed Brahman priests to tie jewelled strings round his wrists by way of blessing, and, following his lead, many of the nobles took to wearing rakhi (protection charms).[149] He renounced beef and forbade the sale of all meats on certain days.[149]

Even his son Jahangir and grandson Shahjahan maintained many of Akbar's concessions, such as the ban on cow slaughter, having only vegetarian dishes on certain days of the week, and drinking only Ganges water.[150] Even as he was in the Punjab, 200 miles away from the Ganges, the water was sealed in large jars and transported to him. He referred to the Ganges water as the "water of immortality."[150]

It was rumoured that each night a Brahman priest, suspended on a string cot pulled up to the window of Akbar's bedchamber, would captivate the emperor with tales of Hindu gods.[149]
Relation with JainsEdit
Akbar triumphantly enters Surat.

Akbar regularly held discussions with Jain scholars and was also greatly impacted by some of their teachings. His first encounter with Jain rituals was when he saw a procession of a Jain Shravaka named Champa after a six-month-long fast. Impressed by her power and devotion, he invited her guru, or spiritual teacher, Acharya Hiravijaya Suri to Fatehpur Sikri. Acharya accepted the invitation and began his march towards the Mughal capital from Gujarat.[151]

Akbar was impressed by the scholastic qualities and character of the Acharya. He held several inter-faith dialogues among philosophers of different religions. The arguments of Jains against eating meat persuaded him to become a vegetarian.[152] Akbar also issued many imperial orders that were favourable for Jain interests, such as banning animal slaughter.[153] Jain authors also wrote about their experience at the Mughal court in Sanskrit texts that are still largely unknown to Mughal historians.[154]

The Indian Supreme Court has cited examples of co-existence of Jain and Mughal architecture, calling Akbar "the architect of modern India" and that "he had great respect" for Jainism. In 1584, 1592 and 1598, Akbar had declared "Amari Ghosana", which prohibited animal slaughter during Paryushan and Mahavir Jayanti. He removed the Jazia tax from Jain pilgrim places like Palitana.[155] Santichandra, disciple of Suri, was sent to the Emperor, who in turn left his disciples Bhanuchandra and Siddhichandra in the court. Akbar again invited Hiravijaya Suri's successor Vijayasena Suri in his court who visited him between 1593 and 1595.[citation needed]

Akbar's religious tolerance was not followed by his son Jahangir, who even threatened Akbar's former friend Bhanuchandra.[156]
Historical accountsEdit
PersonalityEdit
Akbar hunting with cheetahs, c. 1602

Akbar's reign was chronicled extensively by his court historian Abul Fazal 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.[157] Believed to be dyslexic, he was read to everyday and had a remarkable memory.[158]

Akbar was said to have been a wise emperor and a sound judge of character. His son and heir, Jahangir, wrote effusive praise of Akbar's character in his memoirs, and dozens of anecdotes to illustrate his virtues.[159] 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:

"One could easily recognize even at first glance that he is King. 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 eyelashes are very long. His eyebrows are not strongly marked. His nose is straight and small though not insignificant. His nostrils are widely open as though in derision. Between the left nostril and the upper lip there is a mole. He shaves his beard but wears a moustache. He limps in his left leg though he has never received an injury there."[160]
Akbar plays draughts with living pieces at Fateh pur Sikri, 1575

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 of age. 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.[161]

Abul Fazal, and even the hostile 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 the flooded river during the rainy seasons and safely crossed it. He rarely indulged in cruelty and is said to have been affectionate towards his relatives. He pardoned his brother Hakim, who was a repented rebel. But 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.[162]

He is said to have been extremely moderate in his diet. Ain-e-Akbari mentions that during his travels and also while at home, Akbar drank water from the Ganges river, which he called 'the water of immortality'. Special people were stationed at Sorun and later Haridwar to dispatch water, in sealed jars, to wherever he was stationed.[163][better source needed] According to Jahangir's memoirs, he was fond of fruits and had little liking for meat, which he stopped eating in his later years.

Akbar also once visited Vrindavan, the birthplace of Krishna in the year 1570, and gave permission for four temples to be built by the Gaudiya Vaisnavas, which were Madana-mohana, Govindaji, Gopinatha and Jugal Kisore.

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.[164]
HagiographyEdit

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.[165] 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.[166] 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.[165]
Akbarnāma, the Book of AkbarEdit
Main article: Akbarnama
Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak presenting Akbarnama to Akbar, Mughal miniature

The Akbarnāma (Persian: اکبر نامہ‎‎), which literally means Book of Akbar, is an official biographical account of Akbar, the third Mughal Emperor (r. 1542–1605), written in Persian. It includes vivid and detailed descriptions of his life and times.[167]

The work was commissioned by Akbar, and written by Abul Fazl, one of the Nine Jewels (Hindi: Navaratnas) of Akbar's royal court. It is stated that the book took seven years to be completed and the original manuscripts contained a number of paintings supporting the texts, and all the paintings represented the Mughal school of painting, and work of masters of the imperial workshop, including Basawan, whose use of portraiture in its illustrations was an innovation in Indian art.[167]
MarriagesEdit

Akbar's first wife and chief consort was his cousin, Princess Ruqaiya Sultan Begum,[23][5] the only daughter of his paternal uncle, Prince Hindal Mirza,[168] and his wife Sultanam Begum. In 1551, Hindal Mirza died fighting valorously in a battle against Kamran Mirza's forces. Upon hearing the news of his brother's death, Humayun was overwhelmed with grief.[19] Out of affection to the memory of his brother, Humayun betrothed Hindal's nine-year-old daughter Ruqaiya to his son Akbar. Their betrothal took place in Kabul, shortly after Akbar's first appointment as a viceroy in the province of Ghazni.[20] Humayun conferred on the imperial couple, all the wealth, army, and adherents of Hindal and Ghazni which one of Hindal's jagir was given to his nephew, Akbar, who was appointed as its viceroy and was also given the command of his uncle's army.[169] Akbar's marriage with Ruqaiya was solemnized near Jalandhar, Punjab, when both of them were 14-years-old.[22] Childless herself, she adopted Akbar's favorite grandson, Prince Khurram (the future emperor Shah Jahan). She died on 19 January 1626.[170]

His second marriage, which was a political one, took place in Delhi in 1556.[171] His third wife was the daughter of Abdullah Khan Mughal.[171] The marriage took place in 1557 during the siege of Mankot. Bairam Khan did not approve of this marriage, for Abdullah's sister was married to Akbar's uncle, Prince Kamran Mirza, and so he regarded Abdullah as a partizan of Kamran. He apposed the match until Nasir-al-mulk made him understand that opposition in such matters was unacceptable. Nasir-al-mulk arranged an assembledge of pleasure and banquet of joy, and a royal feast was provided.[172]

His fourth wife was his cousin, Salima Sultan Begum,[171] 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's death in 1561, Akbar married her himself the same year. She died childless on 2 January 1613.[173] In 1562, he married the daughter of Raja Bihari Mal, ruler of Amber. The marriage took place when Akbar was on his way back from Ajmer after offering prayers to the tomb of Moinuddin Chishti. Bihari Mal 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 Bihari Mal should submit to him personally, it was also suggested that his daughter should be married to him as a sign of complete submission.[174] She was entitled Mariam-uz-Zamani after giving birth to Akbar's eldest surviving son, Prince Salim (the future emperor Jahangir). She died on 19 May 1623.[175]

Within the same year, he married the wife of Abdul Wasi. She was the daughter-in-law of Shaikh Badah. One day Akbar saw her, and sent a proposal to her father-in-law. Abdul Wasi divorced her, and she was married by Akbar.[176] His next marriage took place in 1564 to Raziya Begum, the daughter of Miran Mubrak Shah, the ruler of Khandesh. In 1564, he sent presents to the court with a request that his daughter be married by Akbar. Miran's request was acceded and an order was issued. Itimad Khan was sent with Miran's ambassadors, and when he came near the fort of Asir, which was Miran's residence. Miran welcomed Itimad with honor, and despatched his daughter with Itimad. A large number of nobles accompanied her. The marriage took place in September 1564 when she reached Akbar's court.[177][178]

He married another Rajput princess in 1570, who was the daughter of Kahan, the brother of Rai Kalyan Mal Rai, 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 by him. Akbar accepted his proposal, and the marriage was arranged. He also married the daughter of Rawal Har Rai, the ruler of Jaisalmer in 1570.[179] Rawal had sent a request that his daughter be married by Akbar. The proposal was accepted by Akbar. Raja Bahgwan Das was despatched on this service. The marriage ceremony took place after Akbar's return from Nagor.[180] She was the mother of Princess Mahi Begum, who died on 8 April 1577.[181]

His eleventh wife was Qasima Banu Begum,[171] the daughter of Arab Shah. The marriage took place in 1575. A great feast was given, and the high officers, and other pillars of the state were present.[182] His twelfth wife was Bibi Daulat Shad.[171] She was the mother of Princess Shakr-un-Nissa Begum, and Princess Aram Banu Begum[183] born on 2 January 1585.[184] His next wife was the daughter of Shams Chak, a Kashmiri. The marriage took place on 3 November 1592. Shams belonged to the great men of the country, and had long cherished this wish.[185] 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.[186]
DeathEdit
Gate of Akbar's mausoleum at Sikandra, Agra, 1795

On 3 October 1605, Akbar fell ill with an attack of dysentery, from which he never recovered. He is believed to have died on or about 27 October 1605, after which his body was buried at a mausoleum in Sikandra, Agra.[187]

Seventy-six years later, in 1681, a group of austere Hindu rebels known as the Jats, rebelling against the Mughal Empire, robbed the gold, silver and fine carpets within the tomb, desecrating Akbar's mausoleum.[188]

Raja Ram Jat, in order to avenge his father Gokula 's death, plundered and looted Akbar's tomb and dragged out Akbar's bones and burned them. He was later sentenced to death by Aurangzeb.
LegacyEdit
Akbar remains a popular historical figure in many parts of South Asia.

Akbar left a rich legacy both for the Mughal Empire as well as the Indian subcontinent in general. He 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,[189] establishing its military and diplomatic superiority.[190] During his reign, the nature of the state changed to a secular and liberal one, with emphasis on cultural integration. He also introduced several far-sighted social reforms, including prohibiting sati, legalising widow remarriage and raising the age of marriage. Folk tales revolving around him and Birbal, one of his navratnas, are popular in India.

Bhavishya Purana is a minor Purana that depicts the various Hindu holy days and includes a section devoted to the various dynasties that ruled India, dating its oldest portion to 500 CE and newest to the 18th century. It contains a story about Akbar in which he is compared to the other Mughal rulers. The section called "Akbar Bahshaha Varnan", written in Sanskrit, describes his birth as a "reincarnation" of a sage who immolated himself on seeing the first Mughal ruler Babur, who is described as the "cruel king of Mlecchas (Muslims)". In this text it is stated that Akbar "was a miraculous child" and that he would not follow the previous "violent ways" of the Mughals.[191][192]

Citing Akbar's melding of the disparate 'fiefdoms' of India into the Mughal Empire as well as the lasting legacy of "pluralism and tolerance" that "underlies the values of the modern republic of India", Time magazine included his name in its list of top 25 world leaders.[13]
In popular cultureEdit

Music

    The violin concerto nicknamed "Il Grosso Mogul" written by Antonio Vivaldi in the 1720s, and listed in the standard catalogue as RV 208, is considered to be indirectly inspired by Akbar's reign. See also "Il gran mogul concerto".

Films and television

    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.
    Akbar was portrayed by Hrithik Roshan in the 2008 Bollywood film Jodha Akbar.
    Akbar and Birbal were portrayed in the Hindi series Akbar-Birbal aired on Zee TV in 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.
    Since 2013-2015, a television series, called Jodha Akbar aired on Zee TV, in which the role of Akbar was played by actor Rajat Tokas.
    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.
    Abhishek Nigam portrayed Akbar in BIG MAGIC's historical drama Akbar — Rakht Se Takht Tak Ka Safar.[193]

Fiction

    Akbar is a principal character in Indu Sundaresan's award-winning historical 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.
    Bertrice Small is known for incorporating historical figures as primary characters in her romance novels, and Akbar is no exception. He is a prominent figure in two of her novels, and mentioned several times in a third, which takes place after his death. In This Heart of Mine the heroine becomes Akbar's fortieth "wife" for a time, while Wild Jasmine and Darling Jasmine centre around the life of his half-British daughter, Yasaman Kama Begum (alias Jasmine).
    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 quintet based on the five 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 also the AI Personality of India in the renowned game Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties.