Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar, 1556-1605

Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar, 

1556-1605

Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar, was the third emperor of the Mughal Empire, after Babur and Humayun.  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 Empireextended 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.

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. 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.






Early Life & Childhood

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 . 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, Military Expansions

The Second battle of Panipat marked the beginning of the Glory days . Hemu’s relatives were captured and imprisoned . Sher Shah’s successor, Sikander Shah Sur was driven out surrender in 1557.  expanding his empire. Under the regency of Bairam Khan, Ajmer, Malwa and Garhkatanga were annexed , captured Lahore and Multan,  Ajmer, Gwalior fort  He conquered Gondwana in 1564 from the minor ruler Raja Vir Narayan. Akbar’s forces met a formidable opponent in the young King’s mother, Rani Durgavati, a Rajput warrior queen. On being defeated Durgavati committed suicide while Vir Narayan was slain during the capture of Chauragarh fortress.

, Akbar turned his attention towards Rajputana,  over Ajmer and Nagor. Beginning in 1561, Akbar started his quest to conquer Rajputana accepted his sovereignty except the Sisodia ruler of Mewar, Udai Singh. This presented a problem for Akbar on his designs to establish unquestioned supremacy over the region. In 1567, Akbar attacked the Chittorgarh fort in Mewar that represented a key strategic importance towards establishing rule in Rajputana. Udai Singh’s chiefs Jaimal and Patta held off the Mughal forces for four months in 1568. Udai Singh was banished to the Hills of Mewar. Other Rajput states like Ranthambore fell in the face of Mughal forces, but Rana Prapat, Udai Singh’s son, put up a formidable resistance to Akbar’s expansion of power. He was the last of the Rajput defenders and fought till his heroic end in the Battle of Haldighati in 1576.

Following his victory over the Rajputana, Akbar brought in Gujarat (1584), Kabul (1585), Kashmir (1586-87), Sindh (1591), Bengal (1592) and Kandahar (1595) within the Mughal territory. The Mughal army led by General Mir Mausam also conquered parts of Baluchistan around Quetta and Makran by 1595.

In 1593, Akbar set out to conquer Deccan territories. He faced opposition to his authority in Ahmadnagar and attacked the Deccan state in 1595. Chand Bibi, the regent queen offered formidable opposition, but was forced to concede defeat ultimately having to give up Berar. By 1600, Akbar had captured Burhanpur, Asirgarh Fort and Khandesh.

Administration

The entire empire was divided into 15 Subas, each province being governed by a Subadar along with other regional post mirroring that in the center. The Subas were divided into Sarkars which were further divided into Parganas. He introduced the Mansabdari system to effectively organize the Military. The Mansabdars were responsible for maintaining discipline and impart training to the soldiers. There were 33 ranks of Mansabdars with 10,000 to 10 soldiers under their command according to rank. Akbar also introduced the custom of taking roll of the soldiers and branding of horses. Akbar’s military consisted of several division viz. cavalry, infantry, elephants, artillery and navy. The emperor maintained ultimate control over the military and excelled in the ability to enforce discipline among his troops.

Land revenue was the chief source of income for the Mughal Government and Akbar introduced several reforms in the revenue department. The land was divided into four classes according to their productivity - Polaj, Parauti, Chachar and Banjar. .

Akbar introduced reforms in judicial system 
 the abolition of the Pilgrimage Tax for Hindus in 1563  the Jazia tax
. He discouraged child marriage and 
encouraged widow remarriage. 

Diplomacy

Akbar was probably the first Islamic ruler in India who sought stable political alliances through matrimony. He married several Hindu Princess including Jodha Bai, from the house of Jaipur, Heer Kunwari from the house of Amber, and princess from the houses of Jaisalmer and Bikaner. He strengthened the alliances by welcoming male relatives of his wives as part of his court and bestowing them with important roles in his administration.

His attempt to make alliance with the newly arrived Portuguese tradesman  Emperor Akbar’s relations with the Ottoman Empire. He was in regular correspondence with Ottoman Sultan Suleiman . His contingent of pilgrims to Mecca and Medina were warmly welcomed by the Ottoman Sultan and the Mughal Ottoman trade flourished during his rule. rulers of Persia, which dated back to his father’s days with Shah Tahmasp I lending his military support to Humayun for recapturing Delhi.

Akbar’s Religious Policy

 He gave great importance to choice and abolished discriminatory taxes based on religion. He encouraged building of temples and even churches his empire. Out of reverence for the Hindu members of the Royal Family he banned the cooking of beef in the kitchens. Akbar became a follower of the great Sufi mystic Sheikh Moinuddin Chishti and made several pilgrimages to his shrine at Ajmer. He craved religious unity of his people and with that vision founded the sect Din-i-Ilahi (Faith of the Divine). 

Architecture and Culture

 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. 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.