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Akbar The Great

Akbar the Great was the third ruler of the Mughal Dynasty in India from 1556 until his death in 1605. He successfully expanded the Mughal Empire to control nearly all of the Indian subcontinent north of the Godavari River through his military conquests and established a centralized administration. Akbar promoted cultural syncretism in his empire, striving to unite its diverse populations by encouraging the blending of indigenous Indian and Islamic cultural traditions. He was also a great patron of the arts who established centers of learning at his royal courts that helped develop a distinct Indo-Persian culture.

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797 views4 pages

Akbar The Great

Akbar the Great was the third ruler of the Mughal Dynasty in India from 1556 until his death in 1605. He successfully expanded the Mughal Empire to control nearly all of the Indian subcontinent north of the Godavari River through his military conquests and established a centralized administration. Akbar promoted cultural syncretism in his empire, striving to unite its diverse populations by encouraging the blending of indigenous Indian and Islamic cultural traditions. He was also a great patron of the arts who established centers of learning at his royal courts that helped develop a distinct Indo-Persian culture.

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aniteja
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Akbar the Great

Akbar (Hindustani: [kbr]; 14 October 1542 27 October 1605), known


as Akbar the Great, was Mughal Emperor from 1556 until his death. He was the
third and greatest ruler of the Mughal Dynasty in India. 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. In order 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 strived to unite
far-flung lands of his realm through loyalty, expressed through a Persianised
culture, to himself as an emperor who had near-divine status.
Mughal India developed a strong and stable economy, leading to commercial
expansion and greater patronage of culture. Akbar himself was a great patron of
art and culture. He was fond of literature, and created a library of over 24,000
volumes written in Sanskrit, Hindustani, 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 centers 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
centered on Akbar as a prophet, for which he drew the ire of the ulema and
orthodox Muslims.
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, realizing that a
stable empire depended on the co-operation and good-will of his subjects. Thus,
the foundation for a multicultural empire under Mughal rule was laid during his
reign. Akbar was succeeded as emperor by his son, Jahangir.

Early Years and Name


Akbar was born on 14 October 1542 (the fourth day of Rajab, 949 AH), at the
Rajput Fortress of Umerkot in Sindh (in modern day Pakistan), where Emperor
Humayun and his recently wedded wife, Hamida Banu Begum, daughter of
Shaikh Ali Akbar Jami, a Persian, were taking refuge. After the capture
of Kabul by Humayun, Badruddin's circumcision ceremony was held and his date
of birth and name were changed to throw off evil sorcerers and he was renamed
Jalal-ud-din Muhammad by Humayun, a name which he had heard in his dream
at Lahore.

Akbar as a boy:
Humayun had been driven into exile in Persia by the Pashtun leader Sher Shah
Suri Akbar did not go to Persia with his parents, but was brought up in Kabul by
the extended family of uncles (Mirza Askari and Mirza Kamran) and his aunts, in
particular Mirza Kamran's wife. He spent his youth learning to hunt, run, and
fight, made him a daring, powerful and a 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. In
November 1551, Akbar married his first cousin, Ruqaiya Sultan
Begum at Jalandhar. Princess Ruqaiya was the only daughter of his paternal
uncle, Hindal Mirza, and was his first wife and chief consort.
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. He was
proclaimed Shahanshah (Persian for "King of Kings"). Bairam Khan ruled on his behalf
until he came of age.

Military Campaigns
Military Innovations
Akbar was accorded the epithet "the Great" due to his many
accomplishments,among which was 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 skillful structural and
organisational calibration of the Mughal army. The Mansabdarisystem 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.
Organisational reforms were accompanied by innovations
in cannons, fortifications, and the use of elephants.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.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. 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]."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 .

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