Akbar

Akbar (born October 15?, 1542, Umarkot [now in Sindh province, Pakistan]—died c. October 25, 1605, Agra, India) was the greatest of the Mughal emperors of India. He reigned from 1556 to 1605 and extended Mughal power over most of the Indian subcontinent. In order to preserve the unity of his empire, Akbar adopted programs that won the loyalty of the non-Muslim populations of his realm. He reformed and strengthened his central administration and also centralized his financial system and reorganized tax-collection processes. Although he never renounced Islam, he took an active interest in other religions, persuading Hindus, Parsis, and Christians, as well as Muslims, to engage in religious discussion before him. Illiterate himself, he encouraged scholars, poets, painters, and musicians, making his court a centre of culture.

Early life

Abū al-Fatḥ Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Akbar was descended from Turks, Mongols, and Iranians—the three peoples who predominated in the political elites of northern India in medieval times. Among his ancestors were Timur (Tamerlane) and Genghis Khan. His father, Humāyūn, driven from his capital of Delhi by the Afghan usurper Shēr Shah of Sūr, was vainly trying to establish his authority in the Sindh region (now Sindh province, Pakistan). Soon Humāyūn had to leave India for Afghanistan and Iran, where the shah lent him some troops. Humāyūn regained his throne in 1555, 10 years after Shēr Shah’s death. Akbar, at the age of 13, was made governor of the Punjab region (now largely occupied by Punjab state, India, and Punjab province, Pakistan).

Humāyūn had barely established his authority when he died in 1556. Within a few months, his governors lost several important places, including Delhi itself, to Hemu, a Hindu minister who claimed the throne for himself. But on November 5, 1556, a Mughal force defeated Hemu at the Second Battle of Panipat (near present-day Panipat, Haryana state, India), which commanded the route to Delhi, thus ensuring Akbar’s succession.

At Akbar’s accession his rule extended over little more than the Punjab and the area around Delhi, but, under the guidance of his chief minister, Bayram Khan, his authority was gradually consolidated and extended. The process continued after Akbar forced Bayram Khan to retire in 1560 and began to govern on his own—at first still under household influences but soon as an absolute monarch.

Imperial expansion

Akbar first attacked Malwa, a state of strategic and economic importance commanding the route through the Vindhya Range to the plateau region of the Deccan (peninsular India) and containing rich agricultural land; it fell to him in 1561.

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Toward the zealously independent Hindu Rajputs (warrior ruling class) inhabiting the rugged hilly Rajputana region, Akbar adopted a policy of conciliation and conquest. Successive Muslim rulers had found the Rajputs dangerous, however weakened by disunity. But in 1562, when Raja Bihari Mal of Amber (now Jaipur), threatened by a succession dispute, offered Akbar his daughter in marriage, Akbar accepted the offer. The Raja acknowledged Akbar’s suzerainty, and his sons prospered in Akbar’s service. Akbar followed the same feudal policy toward the other Rajput chiefs. They were allowed to hold their ancestral territories, provided that they acknowledged Akbar as emperor, paid tribute, supplied troops when required, and concluded a marriage alliance with him. The emperor’s service was also opened to them and their sons, which offered financial rewards as well as honour.

However, Akbar showed no mercy to those who refused to acknowledge his supremacy. When, after protracted fighting in Mewar, Akbar captured the historic fortress of Chitor (now Chittaurgarh) in 1568, he massacred its inhabitants. Even though Mewar did not submit, the fall of Chitor prompted other Rajput rajas to accept Akbar as emperor in 1570 and to conclude marriage alliances with him, although the state of Marwar held out until 1583.

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One of the notable features of Akbar’s government was the extent of Hindu, and particularly Rajput, participation. Rajput princes attained the highest ranks, as generals and as provincial governors, in the Mughal service. Discrimination against non-Muslims was reduced by abolishing the taxation of pilgrims and the tax payable by non-Muslims in lieu of military service. Yet Akbar was far more successful than any previous Muslim ruler in winning the cooperation of Hindus at all levels in his administration. The further expansion of his territories gave them fresh opportunities.

In 1573 Akbar conquered Gujarat, an area with many ports that dominated India’s trade with western Asia, and then turned east toward Bengal. A rich country with a distinctive culture, Bengal was difficult to rule from Delhi because of its network of rivers, always apt to flood during the summer monsoon. Its Afghan ruler, declining to follow his father’s example and acknowledge Mughal suzerainty, was forced to submit in 1575. When he rebelled and was defeated and killed in 1576, Akbar annexed Bengal.

Toward the end of his reign, Akbar embarked on a fresh round of conquests. The Kashmir region was subjugated in 1586, Sindh in 1591, and Kandahār (Afghanistan) in 1595. Mughal troops now moved south of the Vindhya Range into the Deccan. By 1601 Khandesh, Berar, and part of Ahmadnagar had been added to Akbar’s empire. His last years were troubled by the rebellious behaviour of his son Prince Salīm (later the emperor Jahāngīr), who was eager for power.