Akbar, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetAkbar
3rd Mughal Emperor
Date of Birth: 15-Oct-1542
Place of Birth: Umarkot Fort, Sindh, Pakistan
Date of Death: 13-Oct-1605
Profession: politician
Zodiac Sign: Libra 
About Akbar
- Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (Persian: ??? ????? ???? ????? ???? ????; October 1542– 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great, (Akbar-i-azam ???? ????), and also as Akbar I (IPA: [?kb?r]), 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 most of the Indian subcontinent.
- His power and influence, however, extended over the entire subcontinent 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. 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.
- He did much of the cataloging himself through three main groupings.
- Akbar also established the library of Fatehpur Sikri exclusively for women, and he decreed that schools for the education of both Muslims and Hindus should be established throughout the realm.
- He also encouraged bookbinding to become a high art.
- 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 characterized 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 mainly from Islam and Hinduism as well as some parts of Zoroastrianism and Christianity. 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, Prince Salim, later known as Jahangir.
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