Write a Passage on Akbar
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Akbar
Akbar was the greatest of the Mughal emperors. After his death the sun of the Mughals began to decline. Finally, the Marathas and the British brought about its fall and disintegration. Akbar had died in 1605 and he was succeeded by his son Jahangir. It was under Akbar’s reign that the Mughal Empire reached its greatest heights and glory.
He united the whole of north India into a strong kingdom. His empire extended from Afghanistan in the northwest to Bengal in the east and from Kashmir in the north to Godavari in the south. Akbar was born at Amarkot, Sindh on October 15, 1542. He was a descendant of the great Mongol Conquerors Chenghis Khan and Taimur Lang. His father Humayun died in 1556. His hold on the throne of Delhi was short and weak.
Akbar He was driven away from India for a period of more than ten years, but then he returned to power in 1555. Then Akbar was merely 13 years of age and it was left to him to consolidate the power of monarchy and extend the Mughal rule all over India in the coming years. Bairam Khan was made Akbar’s guardian.
He was enthroned on 14th February, 1556 at Kalanaur in the Gurudaspur district of Punjab. In May 1562 Akbar became free from the tutelage of his guardian Bairam Khan. In 1561 he
married the daughter of Biharimal, the Raja of Amber in Rajasthan.
This Rajput princess later became the mother of Emperor Jahangir. Akbar launched a series of military campaigns from 1561 to 1601 to consolidate the empire and conquer new territories. In it he was ably assisted by Raja Man Singh, the grandson of Raja Biharimal.
He was a very liberal and tolerant king and affected many reforms like abolishing taxes on the Hindu pilgrims and also remitted the jizya, a poll- tax on Hindus and other non-Muslims. These and some other changes made Akbar very popular among the Hindus as well. There were many great Hindu personalities of his times in his court which included Todermal, Tansen, Birbal and Man Singh.
With the blessings of a famous Muslim Sufi saint named Shaikh Salim Chisti of Sikri, he had the son Prince Salim and in honour of this saint he subsequently changed his capital from Agra to Fatehpur Sikri. He built there many magnificent mansions and palaces and also a majestic mosque, but he had to shift again to Agra after 15 years.
He also began a new creed of his own called Din Ilahi or Divine Monotheism. Akbar’s religious ideas were liberal, broad and catholic and he was never guided by Muslim religious heads and teachers. He did not like Islam and its practices to a great extent. He was not literate but was very wise and receptive to new and healthy suggestions. Jesuit and Christian missionaries were also welcome in his court.
His reforms in the fields of army, revenue, civil and administrative services had far-reaching and very healthy results. These helped a great deal in the prevention of corruption, removal of bureaucracy and abuse of power.
He married a Hindu princess, removed taxes on the Hindus and willingly employed Hindus possessing merits and brains. He did not believe in conversions and this stood him in good stead throughout his reign. Faizi and Abul Fazal, the two brothers were his most trusted friends, Raja Man Singh his most trusted general and governor. The imperial service was in the skilled hands of Raja Todar Mal.
Akbar was an ambitious, just, intelligent and powerful ruler. He enlarged his empire in the Deccan and conquered Ahmednagar, Berar and Khandesh. As mentioned above, he was illiterate and could not sign even his name and yet he was a learned man. He loved books of poetry, art, history, religion and culture read to him.
His memory was sharp and excellent and he could remember things, events and narrations for a pretty long time. He always took an active part in the discussions related to poetry, history, philosophy and religion and contributed to them in a no small fashion.
Akbar was a sort of mystic, dreamer and visionary and never an orthodox Muslim. He believed in universal toleration in the matter of religion and so people of all faiths enjoyed full freedom of conscience and worship.
Akbar’s reign was also noted for good governance and administration. He carried out many revenue and land reforms and so there were better and efficient revenue collections and those of other taxes. He reformed the army and administration of the provinces which led to greater centralization of powers and authority in Akbar himself.
He was a great patron of arts and culture. Under his rule art, architecture, music, painting, literature and other art forms flourished well and there was a kind of cultural renaissance. His court became a beehive of poets, musicians, singers, learned men and heroic persons.