Akbar the Great

Emperor Akbar, also known as Akbar the Great or Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar, was the third emperor of the Mughal Empire, after Babur and Humayun. He was the son of Nasiruddin Humayun and succeeded him as the emperor in the year 1556, when he was only 13 years old.

  

Full Name: Abu'l-Fath Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar

Dynasty: Timurid; Mughal

Predecessor: Humayun

Successor: Jahangir

Coronation: February 14, 1556

Reign: February 14, 1556 – October 27, 1605

Date of Birth: October 15, 1542

Parents: Humayun (Father) and Hamida Banu Begum (Mother)

Religion: Islam (Sunni); Din-i-Ilahi

Spouse: 36 chief wives and 3 chief consorts - Ruqaiya Sultan Begum, Heera Kunwari and Salima Sultan Begum

Children: Hassan, Hussain, Jahangir, Murad, Daniyal, Aram Banu Begum, Shakr-un-Nissa Begum, Khanum Sultan Begum.

Biography: Akbarnama; Ain-i-Akbari

Mausoleum: Sikandra, Agra

Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar, more famously known as Akbar the Great, was the third emperor of the Mughal Empire, after Babur and Humayun. He was the son of Nasiruddin Humayun and succeeded him as the emperor in the year 1556, at the tender age of just 13. Succeeding his father Humayun at a critical stage, he slowly enlarged the extent of the Mughal Empire to include almost all of the Indian sub-continent. He extended his power and influence over the entire country due to his military, political, cultural, and economic dominance. He established a centralised system of administration and adopted a policy of marriage alliance and diplomacy. With his religious policies, he won the support of his non-Muslim subjects as well. He was one of the greatest emperors of the Mughal dynasty and extended his patronage to art and culture. Being fond of literature, he extended support to literature in several languages.  Akbar, thus, laid the foundations for a multicultural empire during his reign.

Early Life & Childhood : Akbar was born as Abu'l-Fath Jalal ud-din Muhammad at the Umerkot fort in Sind on October 15, 1542. His father Humayun, the second emperor of the Mughal dynasty was in flight after his defeat in the battle of Kanauj (in May 1540) at the hands of Sher Shah Suri. He and his wife Hamida Banu Begum, who was pregnant at that time, was granted refuge by the Hindu ruler Rana Prasad. As Humayun was in exile and had to move constantly, Akbar was brought up at the household of his paternal uncles, Kamran Mirza and Aksari Mirza. Growing up he learnt how to hunt and fight using various weapons, shaping up to be the great warrior who would be the greatest emperor of India. He never learned to read and write during his childhood, but that did not diminish his thirst for knowledge. He would often ask to be read about art and religion. 

In 1555, Humayun recaptured Delhi with the military support of the Persian ruler Shah Tahmasp I. Humayun met his untimely demise soon after he reclaimed his throne after an accident. Akbar was 13 years old at that time and Humayun’s trusted general Bairam Khan took up the post of Regent for the young Emperor. Akbar succeeded Humayun on February 14, 1556 in Kalanaur (Punjab) and was proclaimed ‘Shahanshah’. Bairam Khan ruled on behalf of the young Emperor till he came of age.

Akbar married his cousin Ruqaiya Sultan Begum, daughter of his paternal uncle Hindal Mirza, in November 1551. Ruqaiya became his chief consort after he ascended the throne.

Quest for Power : Second Battle of Panipat : At the time of his ascent to the Mughal throne, Akbar’s empire encompassed Kabul, Kandahar, Delhi and parts of Punjab. But the Afghan Sultan Mohammad Adil Shah of Chunar had designs on the throne of India and planned to wage war against the Mughals. His Hindu general Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya or Hemu in short, led the Afghan army to capture Agra and Delhi soon after Humayun’s death in 1556. The Mughal Army faced a humiliating defeat and they soon receded with their leader, Commander Tardi Baig absconding. Hemu ascended the throne on October 7, 1556 and established Hindu rule in North India after 350 years of Muslim Imperialism.

On the direction of his regent Bairam Khan, Akbar declared his intentions to reclaim his rights to the throne at Delhi. The Mughal forces moved to Panipat through Thaneshwar and faced Hemu’s army on November 5, 1556. Hemu’s army was much larger in size than of that of Akbar’s with 30,000 horsemen and 1500 war elephants and he had the support of native Hindu and Afghan rulers who considered the Mughals as outsiders. Bairam Khan led the Mughal army from the back and placed skilled generals on the front, left and right flanks. Young Akbar was kept at a safe distance by his regent. Initially Hemu’s army was in a better position, but a sudden change in tactics by Bairam Khan and another general Ali Quli Khan, managed to overpower the enemy army. Hemu was on an elephant when he was struck by an arrow to his eye and his elephant driver took his injured master away from the battlefield. Mughal soldiers pursued Hemu, captured him and brought him before Akbar. When asked to behead the enemy leader, Akbar could not do this and Bairam Khan executed Hemu on his behalf, thus establishing victory of the Mughals conclusively.

Crushing the Opposition : The Second battle of Panipat marked the beginning of the Glory days for the Mughal reign in India. Akbar sought out to end Afghan sovereignties that might be claimant for the throne in Delhi. Hemu’s relatives were captured and imprisoned by Bairam Khan. Sher Shah’s successor, Sikander Shah Sur was driven out from North India to Bihar and was subsequently compelled to surrender in 1557. Another Afghan contender to the throne, Muhammed Adil was killed in a battle the same year. Others were compelled to flee Delhi and neighbouring regions to seek refuge in other states.

Architecture and Culture : Akbar commissioned the building of several forts and mausoleums during his reign and established a distinct architectural style that has been dubbed as Mughal architecture by connoisseurs. Among the architectural marvels commissioned during his rule are the Agra Fort (1565–1574), the town of Fatehpur Sikri (1569–1574) with its beautiful Jami Masjid and Buland Darwaza, Humayun’s Tomb (1565-1572), Ajmer Fort (1563-1573), Lahore Fort (1586-1618) and Allahabad Fort (1583-1584). 

Akbar was a great patron of art and culture. Although he himself could not read and write, he would appoint people who read to him various topics of art, history, philosophy and religion. He appreciated intellectual discourse and offered his patronage to several extraordinarily talented people whom he invited to his court. Together these individuals were referred to as the Nava Ratnas or the Nine Gems. They were Abul Fazel, Faizi, Mian Tansen, Birbal, Raja Todar Mal, Raja Man Singh, Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana , Fakir Aziao-Din and Mullah Do Piaza. They came from various backgrounds and were revered by the emperor for their special talents. 

Death of Akbar : In 1605, at the age of 63, Akbar fell ill with a serious case of dysentery. He never recovered from it and after three weeks of suffering, he passed away on October 27, 1605 at Fatehpur Sikri. He was buried at Sikandra, Agra.