Akbar the great. Assignment?
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Explanation:
Akbar, in full Abū al-Fatḥ Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Akbar, (born October 15?, 1542, Umarkot [now in Sindh province, Pakistan]—died c. October 25, 1605, Agra, India), 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.
Akbar
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Akbar
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BORN
October 15, 1542
Umarkot, India
DIED
October 25, 1605 (aged 63)
Agra, India
ROLE IN
Battles Of Panipat
Second Battle Of Panipat
HOUSE / DYNASTY
Mughal dynasty
NOTABLE FAMILY MEMBERS
Father Humāyūn
Son Jahāngīr
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).
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How did Akbar come to power?
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.
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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.
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.
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