What years did Akbar the Great live?
Akbar
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (15 October 1542– 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar I (), also as Akbar the Great ("Akbar-i-azam" ), 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 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. 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 who had near-divine status.
Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak
The Akbarnama is a document of history of Akbar's reign and his ancestors spread over three volumes. It contains the history of Akbar's ancestors from Timur to Humayun, Akbar's reign up to the 46th regnal year (1602), and an administrative report of Akbar's empire, the Ain-i-Akbari, which itself is in three volumes. The third volume of Ain-i-Akbari gives an account of the ancestry and life of the author. The Ain-i-Akbari was completed in the 42nd regnal year, but a slight addition was made to it in the 43rd regnal year on the account of the conquest of Berar.
History of Allahabad
Akbar's fort was built between 1574 and 1583. The Akbarnama states that, "For a long time [Akbar's] desire was to found a great city in the town of Piyag, where the rivers Ganges and Jamna join, and which is regarded by the people of India with great reverence, and which is a place of pilgrimage for ascetics of that country, and to build a choice fort there." He had been impressed with its strategic position, as it sat on the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna, with the fort allowing for any movement along both. Other writers also attribute it to the facilitate the collection of pilgrimage tax from those visiting Triveni, though this appears unlikely as he had already abolished it in 1563.
Maldev Rathore
Akbar succeeded Humayun in 1556, he soon became the most powerful Ruler in India and formulated an imperial policy. Many Rajput chiefs mustered around him with their grievances against the Rathor Chief of Jodhpur. Akbar used this as a casus belli against Maldev and sent several expeditions against Marwar. Sharfuddin Hussain Mirza conquered Merta in 1557. Qasim Khan, Sayyid Hussain Baraha and Shah Quli Khan conquered Ajmer and Jaitaran in 1559. Akbar had planned on sending an army to conquer Jodhpur but due to the sudden death of Maldev Rathore the situation completely changed.
Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar
Ibrāhīm ibn Mālik al-Ashtar ibn al-Ḥārith al-Nakhaʿī (died October 691) was an Arab commander who fought in the service of Caliph Ali (r. 656–661) and later served the pro-Alid leader al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi. He led al-Mukhtar's forces to a decisive victory at the Battle of Khazir (686) against the Umayyads under Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, who was personally slain by Ibn al-Ashtar. He later defected to the Zubayrids after they killed al-Mukhtar in 687. About four years later, while fighting for the Zubayrids at the Battle of Maskin, Ibn al-Ashtar was killed by the Umayyad army and his corpse was set alight.
Abd al-Samad
Samad and Mir Sayyid Ali followed the emperor on his return to India, only seven months before he died in 1556. They were retained by the fourteen-year-old Akbar who within a few years set about greatly expanding his court workshop. A drawing with muted colour, inscribed with Samad's name, in the Bodleian Library in Oxford depicts the arrest, three days after Akbar's accession, of Humayun's troublesome favourite, Abdu'l Ma'ali, who is seized from behind by a burly courtier. Both artists probably worked on the "Tutinama", the first major commission completed in the new reign, where the disparate styles of the several artists used remain clear. But Mir Sayyid Ali was initially given the supervision of Akbar's huge commission of the 1400 large illustrations for the "Hamzanama", which was to be fourteen years in the making.
Akbar
Akbar was a great innovator as far as coinage is concerned. The coins of Akbar set a new chapter in India's numismatic history. The coins of Akbar's grandfather, Babur, and father, Humayun, are basic and devoid of any innovation as the former was busy establishing the foundations of the Mughal rule in India while the latter was ousted by the Afghan, Farid Khan Sher Shah Suri, and returned to the throne only to die a year later. While the reign of both Babur and Humayun represented turmoil, Akbar's relative long reign of 50 years allowed him to experiment with coinage.
Shahbaz Khan Kamboh
Shahbaz Khan Kamboh (1529 – 11 November 1599) was one of the generals of Mughal Emperor Akbar. He participated in some of the most difficult expeditions of Akbar and annexed numerous territories to the empire. He was too orthodox a Sunni Muslim for Akbar's taste, but not only was he tolerated but also was greatly valued.
Wazir Akbar Khan
Wazir Akbar Khan was militarily active in the First Anglo-Afghan War, which lasted from 1839 to 1842. He is prominent for his leadership of the national party in Kabul from 1841 to 1842, and his massacre of Elphinstone's army at the Gandamak pass before the only survivor, the assistant surgeon William Brydon, reached the besieged garrison at Jalalabad on 13 January 1842. Wazir Akbar Khan became the emir of Afghanistan in May 1842, and ruled until his death in 1845.
Muhammad Akbar (Mughal prince)
Akbar and his general Tahawwur Khan had been instructed to try to bribe the Rajput nobles to the Mughal side, but in these attempts, they themselves were ensnared by the Rajputs. The Rajputs incited Akbar to rebel against his father and offered all support. They pointed out to him that Aurangzeb's attempt to annex the Rajput states was disturbing the stability of India. They also reminded him that the open bigotry displayed by Aurangzeb in reimposing "jaziya" and demolishing temples was contrary to the wise policies of his ancestors. Prince Akbar lent a willing ear to the Rajputs and promised to restore the policies of the illustrious Akbar. On 1 January 1681, Akbar declared himself Emperor, issued a manifesto deposing his father, and marched towards Ajmer to fight him.
Zoroaster
Some later pseudo-historical and Zoroastrian sources (the "Bundahishn", which references a date "258 years before Alexander") place Zoroaster in the 6th century BCE, which coincided with the accounts by Ammianus Marcellinus from 4th century CE. The traditional Zoroastrian date originates in the period immediately following Alexander the Great's conquest of the Achaemenid Empire in 330 BCE. The Seleucid rulers who gained power following Alexander's death instituted an "Age of Alexander" as the new calendrical epoch. This did not appeal to the Zoroastrian priesthood who then attempted to establish an "Age of Zoroaster". To do so, they needed to establish when Zoroaster had lived, which they accomplished by (erroneous, some even identified Cyrus with Vishtaspa) counting back the length of successive generations, until they concluded that Zoroaster must have lived "258 years before Alexander". This estimate then re-appeared in the 9th- to 12th-century Arabic and Pahlavi texts of Zoroastrian tradition, like the 10th century Al-Masudi who cited a prophecy from a lost Avestan book in which Zoroaster foretold the Empire's destruction in three hundred years, but the religion would last for a thousand years.
Akbar Khan (director)
Akbar produced-directed and also played the title role of Emperor Akbar in the classic TV serial "Akbar The Great". In 2005, Akbar produced-directed the magnum opus "". He also launched Pakistani legend actress-singer Noor Jehan's granddaughter Sonya Jehan in the film, which also starred Kabir Bedi, Zulfi Syed, Arbaaz Khan and Pooja Batra. It was the costliest film made in India at that time, with a budget of INR 60 crores. It was also the first Indian film to release in Pakistani cinemas, as Indian films were banned there since the Indo-Pak war of 1965. Akbar, along with his family and other Indian film stars also visited Pakistan in April 2006 and actively promoted the film. The film was badly sabotaged and ill-marketed in India by Mukta Arts, which led to a dispute between Akbar, Subhash Ghai and Yash Chopra. The film was highly appreciated at nearly all international film festivals. Akbar plans to re-release the film in India and abroad very soon, as many people didn't know that it actually released in 2005. Akbar starred in Vashu Bhagnani's "Faltu" (2011) and played the main lead in "Faraar" (2011).
Shaikh Gadai Kamboh
With the restoration of Mughal rule in 1555, the political situation changed and Shaikh Gadai Kamboh re-joined Humayun’s court sometime before his death in March 1556. On Humayun's death, when Khan-i Khana, Bairam Khan became the regent of emperor Akbar, he soon issued a "firman" appointing Shaikh Gadai to the high office of "“Sadr-i-sadur”" ("Administrator General or Lord Chief Justice") of Emperor Akbar.
Akbar
Akbar was not tall but powerfully built and very agile. He was also noted for various acts of courage. One such incident occurred on his way back from Malwa to Agra when Akbar was 19 years of age. Akbar rode alone in advance of his escort and was confronted by a tigress who, along with her cubs, came out from the shrubbery across his path. When the tigress charged the emperor, he was alleged to have dispatched the animal with his sword in a solitary blow. His approaching attendants found the emperor standing quietly by the side of the dead animal.
Akbar
Urged by Bairam Khan, who re-marshalled the Mughal army before Hemu could consolidate his position, Akbar marched on Delhi to reclaim it. His army, led by Bairam Khan, defeated Hemu and the Sur army on 5 November 1556 at the Second Battle of Panipat, north of Delhi. Soon after the battle, Mughal forces occupied Delhi and then Agra. Akbar made a triumphant entry into Delhi, where he stayed for a month. Then he and Bairam Khan returned to Punjab to deal with Sikandar Shah, who had become active again. In the next six months, the Mughals won another major battle against Sikander Shah Suri, who fled east to Bengal. Akbar and his forces occupied Lahore and then seized Multan in the Punjab. In 1558, Akbar took possession of Ajmer, the aperture to Rajputana, after the defeat and flight of its Muslim ruler. The Mughals had also besieged and defeated the Sur forces in control of Gwalior Fort, the greatest stronghold north of the Narmada river.
Akbar
Akbar's father Humayun had regained control of the Punjab, Delhi, and Agra with Safavid support, but even in these areas Mughal rule was precarious, and when the Surs reconquered Agra and Delhi following the death of Humayun, the fate of the boy emperor seemed uncertain. Akbar's minority and the lack of any possibility of military assistance from the Mughal stronghold of Kabul, which was in the throes of an invasion by the ruler of Badakhshan Prince Mirza Suleiman, aggravated the situation. When his regent, Bairam Khan, called a council of war to marshall the Mughal forces, none of Akbar's chieftains approved. Bairam Khan was ultimately able to prevail over the nobles, however, and it was decided that the Mughals would march against the strongest of the Sur rulers, Sikandar Shah Suri, in the Punjab. Delhi was left under the regency of Tardi Baig Khan. Sikandar Shah Suri, however, presented no major concern for Akbar, and avoided giving battle as the Mughal army approached. The gravest threat came from Hemu, a minister and general of one of the Sur rulers, who had proclaimed himself Hindu emperor and expelled the Mughals from the Indo-Gangetic plains.
Shadi Khan
Shadi Khan was the governor of Mughal emperor Akbar at Kandahar, Afghanistan, at the start of the 17th century. In 1621, more than a decade after Akbar's death, Shadi Khan, with the help of the Abdali Pashtun tribe and opposed by Saddu Khan, allied with Abbas I of Persia, who had lost Kandahar in 1594 and was intriguing for its recovery.
Akbar
During Akbar's reign, the ongoing process of inter-religious discourse and syncretism resulted in a series of religious attributions to him in terms of positions of assimilation, doubt or uncertainty, which he either assisted himself or left unchallenged. Such hagiographical accounts of Akbar traversed a wide range of denominational and sectarian spaces, including several accounts by Parsis, Jains and Jesuit missionaries, apart from contemporary accounts by Brahminical and Muslim orthodoxy. Existing sects and denominations, as well as various religious figures who represented popular worship felt they had a claim to him. The diversity of these accounts is attributed to the fact that his reign resulted in the formation of a flexible centralised state accompanied by personal authority and cultural heterogeneity.
Hermitage Amsterdam
Alexander the Great (356 BC – 323 BC, king from 336 BC) appeals to the imagination more than any ruler of the ancient age. Beginning in his youth he inspired those around him. During his campaigns in the East, Alexander searched for the origins of Dionysus, whom the ancient Greeks believed came from the exotic East, possibly India. He followed in the footsteps of Dionysus to reach countries such as Bactria, Egypt, India, Mongolia, Persia and Syria. Everywhere he went he established cities, naming many Alexandria, and left behind a legacy of Greek culture in the form of Hellenism.
Akbar II
Prince Mirza Akbar was born on 22 April 1760 to Emperor Shah Alam II at Mukundpur, Satna, while his father was in exile. On 2 May 1781, at the Red Fort, the prince was made Crown Prince with the title of "Wali Ahd Bahadur", after the death of his elder brother. In 1782, he was appointed the viceroy of Delhi until 1799. When the renegade eunuch Ghulam Qadir captured Delhi, the young Prince Mirza Akbar was forced to nautch dance together along with other Mughal princes and princesses. He witnessed how the members of the imperial Mughal family were humiliated, as well as starved. When Mahmud Shah fled, Mirza Akbar was titular Emperor with the title of "Akbar Shah II", and was to remain acting emperor even after the reinstatement of his father Shah Alam II, till January 1788.
Akbar
The same year, Akbar married the former wife of Abdul Wasi, the son of Shaikh Bada, lord of Agra. Akbar had fallen in love with her, and ordered Abdul Wasi to divorced her. Another of his wives was Gauhar-un-Nissa Begum, the daughter of Shaikh Muhammad Bakhtiyar and the sister of Shaikh Jamal Bakhtiyar. Their dynasty was called Din Laqab and had been living for a long time in Chandwar and Jalesar near Agra. She was Akbar's chief wife.
Hamida Banu Begum
She was buried at Humayun's Tomb after her death on 29 August 1604 (19th Shahriyar, 1013 AH) in Agra, just a year before the death of her son Akbar and almost half a century after death of her husband, Humayun. Throughout her years, she was held in high regard by her son Akbar, as English traveler Thomas Coryat recorded, Akbar carrying her palanquin himself across the river, during one of her journeys from Lahore to Agra. Later when Prince Salim, future emperor Jahangir, revolted against his father Akbar, she took upon the case of her grandson, and a reconciliation ensued thereafter, even though Salim had plotted and got Akbar's favorite minister Abu'l-Fazl killed. Akbar shaved his head and chin only on two occasions, one at the death of foster-mother Jiji Anga and another at the death of his mother.
Indian art
During the reign of Akbar (1556—1605), the number of painters grew from around 30 during the creation of the "Hamzanama" in the mid-1560s, to around 130 by the mid 1590s. According to court historian Abu'l-Fazal, Akbar was hands-on in his interest of the arts, inspecting his painters regularly and rewarding the best. It is during this time that Persian artists were attracted to bringing their unique style to the empire. Indian elements were present in their works from the beginning, with the incorporation of local Indian flora and fauna that were otherwise absent from the traditional Persian style. The paintings of this time reflected the vibrancy and inclusion of Akbar's kingdom, with production of Persian miniatures, the Rajput paintings (including the Kangra school) and the Pahari style of Northern India. They also influenced the Company style watercolor paintings created during the British rule many years later.
Akbar's Church
Jesuit priest were invited by Emperor Akbar from Goa to learn more about Christianity. So, Father Rodolfe Aquauiua, the Father Antoine de Monserrat and the Father Francois Henriques reached Agra on 18 February 1580. Akbar learnt about Christianity and gave land to Jesuit fathers to built a Church in Agra. This was the first Roman Catholic Church in Agra. After Akbar it was his son Jahangir who donated for further expansion of the Church. Khwaja Martins and Mirza Sikandar Junior too contributed for the expansion. The church was demolished by Emperor Shah Jahan in 1635, after he captured Jesuit Priests and agreed to release them only if they demolish the Church. The Church was rebuilt in 1636 by the permission of Emperor Shah Jahan.
Akbar
His second wife was the daughter of Abdullah Khan Mughal. The marriage took place in 1557 during the siege of Mankot. Bairam Khan did not approve of this marriage, for Abdullah's sister was married to Akbar's uncle, Prince Kamran Mirza, and so he regarded Abdullah as a partizan of Kamran. He apposed the match until Nasir-al-mulk made him understand that opposition in such matters was unacceptable. Nasir-al-mulk arranged an assembledge of pleasure and banquet of joy, and a royal feast was provided.
Subah
Initially, after the administrative reforms of Akbar the Great, the Mughal empire was divided into 12 subahs : Kabul, Lahore, Multan, Delhi, Agra, Avadh, Illahabad, Bihar, Bangalah, Malwa, Ajmer and Gujarat. After the conquest of Deccan, he created three more subahs there : Berar, Khandesh (initially renamed Dandesh in 1601) and Ahmadnagar (in 1636 renamed as Daulatabad and subsequently as Aurangabad). At the end of Akbar’s reign, the number of subahs was thus 15. It was increased to 17 during the reign of Jahangir. Orissa was created as a separate subah, carved out of Bangalah in 1607. The number of subahs increased to 22 under Shah Jahan. In his 8th regnal year, Shah Jahan separated the "sarkar" of Telangana from Berar and made it into a separate Subah. In 1657, it was merged with Zafarabad Bidar subah. Agra was renamed Akbarabad 1629 and Delhi became Shahjahanbad in 1648. Kashmir was carved out of Kabul, Thatta (Sindh) out of Multan and Bidar out of Ahmadnagar. For some time Qandahar was a separate subah under the Mughal Empire but it was lost to Persia in 1648. Aurangzeb added Bijapur (1686), Sira (1687) and Golkonda (1687) as new subahs. There were 22 subahs during his reign. These were Kabul, Kashmir, Lahore, Multan, Delhi, Agra, Avadh, Illahabad, Bihar, Bangalah, Orissa, Malwa, Ajmer, Gujarat, Berar, Khandesh, Aurangabad, Bidar, Thatta, Bijapur, Sira and Haidarabad (Golkonda). During the reign of Bahadur Shah, Arcot became a Mughal subah in 1710.
Seder Olam Rabbah
Seder Olam Rabbah (, "The Great Order of the World") is a 2nd-century CE Hebrew language chronology detailing the dates of biblical events from the Creation to Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia. It adds no stories beyond what is in the biblical text, and addresses such questions as the age of Isaac at the binding and the number of years that Joshua led the Israelites. Tradition considers it to have been written about 160 CE by Yose ben Halafta, which is not unreasonable, but it was probably also supplemented and edited at a later period . In the Babylonian Talmud this chronicle is several times referred to simply as the "Seder Olam" (Shab. 88a; Yeb. 82b; Nazir 5a; Meg. 11b; Ab. Zarah 8b; Niddah 46b), and it is quoted as such by the more ancient Biblical commentators, including Rashi. But with the 12th century it began to be designated as "Seder Olam Rabbah," to distinguish it from a later, smaller chronicle, "Seder Olam Zuṭa"; it was first so designated by Abraham ben Nathan - also known as Ha-Yarhi ("Ha-Manhig," p. 2a, Berlin, 1855).
Islam and Jainism
Some Jain customs and characters that influenced the Mughal court of Akbar have been documented. Akbar honored Hiravijaya, the leader of the Svetambara Tapa Gaccha. They persuaded the emperor to forbid the slaughter of animals for six months in Gujarat and abolish the confiscation of property of deceased persons, the Sujija Tax (jizya) and a Sulka (possibly a tax on pilgrims) and free caged birds and prisoners. Akbar is said to have given up hunting and quit meat-eating forever as it had become repulsive. Akbar also declared "Amari Ghosana" banning the killing of animals during Jain festival of Paryushana and Mahavir Jayanti. He rolled back the jizya from Jain pilgrimage places like Palitana. These "farman"s were also issued in 1592, 1594 and 1598. Jain monks gained the respect of the Mughal emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Akbar banned animal slaughter near important Jain sites during the Paryushana.
Alexander the Great in the Quran
A South Arabian Alexander legend was written by the Yemenite traditionist Wahb ibn Munabbih (?–732 AD) and this legend was later incorporated in a book by Ibn Hisham (?–833 AD) regarding the history of the Himyarite Kingdom in ancient Yemen. In the Yemenite variation, Dhul-Qarnayn is identified with an ancient king of Yemen named Tubba', rather than Alexander the Great, but the Arabic story still describes the story of Alexander's Wall against Gog and Magog and his quest for the Water of Life. The story also mentions that Dhul-Qarnayn (Tubba') visited a castle with glass walls and visited the Brahmins of India. The South Arabian legend was composed within the context of the division between the South Arabs and North Arabs that began with the Battle of Marj Rahit in 684 AD and consolidated over two centuries.
The Great Moghuls (film)
When the second Emperor Humayun died suddenly, his thirteen-year-old son was crowned Emperor. He was called Akbar, meaning "Great". He would grow up to amply deserve the name, for he was the greatest of the Great Moghuls.
Akbar
Having established Mughal rule over northern India, Akbar turned his attention to the conquest of Rajputana. No imperial power in India based on the Indo-Gangetic plains could be secure if a rival centre of power existed on its flank in Rajputana. The Mughals had already established domination over parts of northern Rajputana in Mewat, Ajmer, and Nagor. Now, Akbar was determined to drive into the heartlands of the Rajput kings that had never previously submitted to the Muslim rulers of the Delhi Sultanate. Beginning in 1561, the Mughals actively engaged the Rajputs in warfare and diplomacy. Most Rajput states accepted Akbar's suzerainty; the rulers of Mewar and Marwar, Udai Singh and Chandrasen Rathore, however, remained outside the imperial fold. Rana Udai Singh was descended from the Sisodia ruler, Rana Sanga, who had died fighting Babur at the Battle of Khanwa in 1527. As the head of the Sisodia clan, he possessed the highest ritual status of all the Rajput kings and chieftains in India. Unless Udai Singh was reduced to submission, the imperial authority of the Mughals would be lessened in Rajput eyes. Furthermore, Akbar, at this early period, was still enthusiastically devoted to the cause of Islam and sought to impress the superiority of his faith over the most prestigious warriors in Brahminical Hinduism.
Bengali calendars
It is unclear whether it was adopted by Hussain Shah or Akbar. The tradition to use the Bengali calendar may have been started by Hussain Shah before Akbar. According to Amartya Sen, Akbar's official calendar "Tarikh-ilahi" with the zero year of 1556 CE was a blend of pre-existing Hindu and Islamic calendars. It was not used much in India outside of Akbar's Mughal court, and after his death the calendar he launched was abandoned. However, adds Sen, there are traces of the "Tarikh-ilahi" that survive in the Bengali calendar. Regardless of who adopted the Bengali calendar and the new year, states Sengupta, it helped collect land taxes after the spring harvest based on traditional Bengali calendar, because the Islamic Hijri calendar created administrative difficulties in setting the collection date.
History of calendars
During the Mughal rule, land taxes were collected from Bengali people according to the Islamic Hijri calendar. This calendar was a lunar calendar, and its new year did not coincide with the solar agricultural cycles. According to some sources, Mughal Emperor Akbar asked his royal astronomer Fathullah Shirazi to create a new calendar by combining the lunar Islamic calendar and solar Hindu calendar already in use, and this was known as "Fasholi shan" (harvest calendar). According to Amartya Sen, Akbar's official calendar "Tarikh-ilahi" with the zero year of 1556 CE was a blend of pre-existing Hindu and Islamic calendars. It was not used much in India outside of Akbar's Mughal court, and after his death the calendar he launched was abandoned. However, adds Sen, there are traces of the "Tarikh-ilahi" that survive in the Bengali calendar. Some historians attribute the Bengali calendar to the 7th century Hindu king Shashanka.
Akbar
In 1564, Mughal forces conquered the Gondwana kingdom, a thinly populated, hilly area in central India that was of interest to the Mughals because of its herd of wild elephants. The territory was ruled over by Raja Vir Narayan, a minor, and his mother, Durgavati, a Rajput warrior queen of the Gonds. Akbar did not personally lead the campaign because he was preoccupied with the Uzbek rebellion, leaving the expedition in the hands of Asaf Khan, the Mughal governor of Kara. Durgavati committed suicide after her defeat at the Battle of Damoh, while Raja Vir Narayan was slain at the Fall of Chauragarh, the mountain fortress of the Gonds. The Mughals seized immense wealth, an uncalculated amount of gold and silver, jewels and 1000 elephants. Kamala Devi, a younger sister of Durgavati, was sent to the Mughal harem. The brother of Durgavati's deceased husband was installed as the Mughal administrator of the region. Like in Malwa, however, Akbar entered into a dispute with his vassals over the conquest of Gondwana. Asaf Khan was accused of keeping most of the treasures and sending back only 200 elephants to Akbar. When summoned to give accounts, he fled Gondwana. He went first to the Uzbeks, then returned to Gondwana where he was pursued by Mughal forces. Finally, he submitted and Akbar restored him to his previous position.
Akbar
Kandahar was the name given by Arab historians to the ancient Indian kingdom of Gandhara. It was intimately connected with the Mughals since the time of their ancestor, Timur, the warlord who had conquered much of Western, Central, and parts of South Asia in the 14th century. However, the Safavids considered it as an appanage of the Persian ruled territory of Khorasan and declared its association with the Mughal emperors to be a usurpation. In 1558, while Akbar was consolidating his rule over northern India, the Safavid emperor, Tahmasp I, had seized Kandahar and expelled its Mughal governor. For the next thirty years, it remained under Persian rule. The recovery of Kandahar had not been a priority for Akbar, but after his prolonged military activity in the northern frontiers, a move to restore Mughal rule over the region became desirable. The conquests of Sindh, Kashmir and parts of Baluchistan, and the ongoing consolidation of Mughal power over today's Afghanistan had added to Akbar's confidence. Furthermore, Kandahar was at this time under threat from the Uzbeks, but the Emperor of Persia, himself beleaguered by the Ottoman Turks, was unable to send any reinforcements. Circumstances favoured the Mughals.
Akbar
He is said to have been extremely moderate in his diet. "Ain-e-Akbari" mentions that during his travels and also while at home, Akbar drank water from the Ganges river, which he called 'the water of immortality'. Special people were stationed at Sorun and later Haridwar to dispatch water, in sealed jars, to wherever he was stationed. According to Jahangir's memoirs, he was fond of fruits and had little liking for meat, which he stopped eating in his later years.
Sati (practice)
According to Annemarie Schimmel, the Mughal Emperor Akbar was averse to the practice of Sati; however, he expressed his admiration for "widows who wished to be cremated with their deceased husbands". He was averse to abuse, and in 1582, Akbar issued an order to prevent any use of compulsion in "sati". According to M. Reza Pirbhai, a professor of South Asian and World history, it is unclear if a prohibition on "sati" was issued by Akbar, and other than a claim of ban by Monserrate upon his insistence, no other primary sources mention an actual ban. Instances of "sati" continued during and after the era of Akbar. For example, according to a poem, "Sūz u gudāz" ("Burning and melting") by Muhammad Riza Nau'i of Khasbushan (d. 1610), Akbar attempted to prevent a "sati" by calling a widow before him and offering her wealth and protection. The poet reports hearing the story from Prince Dāniyāl, Akbar's third son. According to Arvind Sharma, a professor of Comparative Religion specializing on Hinduism, the widow "rejected all this persuasion as well as the counsel of the Brahmans, and would neither speak nor hear of anything but the Fire".
Akbar
The imperial Mughal entourage stayed in Mecca and Medina for nearly four years and attended the Hajj four times. During this period Akbar financed the pilgrimages of many poor Muslims from the Mughal Empire and also funded the foundations of the Qadiriyya Sufi Order's dervish lodge in the Hijaz. The Mughals eventually set out for Surat, and their return was assisted by the Ottoman Pasha in Jeddah. Because of Akbar's attempts to build Mughal presence in Mecca and Medina, the local Sharif's began to have more confidence in the financial support provided by Mughal Empire, lessening their dependency upon Ottoman bounty. Mughal-Ottoman trade also flourished during this period – in fact merchants loyal to Akbar are known to have reached and sold spices, dyestuff, cotton and shawls in the bazaars of Aleppo after arriving and journeying upriver through the port of Basra.
Akbar Shah (diamond)
The Akbar Shāh, also known as the "Lustre of the Peacock Throne", is a diamond dating back to the Mughal dynasty of India. It is an irregular, pear-shaped diamond with a light green hue, weighing 73.60 carat.
Akbar
In 1560, Akbar resumed military operations. A Mughal army under the command of his foster brother, Adham Khan, and a Mughal commander, Pir Muhammad Khan, invaded Malwa. The Afghan ruler, Baz Bahadur, was defeated at the Battle of Sarangpur and fled to Khandesh for refuge leaving behind his harem, treasure, and war elephants. Despite initial success, the campaign proved a disaster from Akbar's point of view. His foster brother retained all the spoils and followed through with the Central Asian practice of slaughtering the surrendered garrison, their wives and children, and many Muslim theologians and Sayyids, who were the descendants of Muhammad. Akbar personally rode to Malwa to confront Adham Khan and relieve him of command. Pir Muhammad Khan was then sent in pursuit of Baz Bahadur but was beaten back by the alliance of the rulers of Khandesh and Berar. Baz Bahadur temporarily regained control of Malwa until, in the next year, Akbar sent another Mughal army to invade and annex the kingdom. Malwa became a province of the nascent imperial administration of Akbar's regime. Baz Bahadur survived as a refugee at various courts until, eight years later in 1570, he took service under Akbar.
India–Mongolia relations
The Mughals were perhaps the richest single dynasty to have ever existed. During the Mughal era, the dominant political forces consisted of the Mughal Empire and its tributaries and, later on, the rising successor states - including the Maratha Empire - which fought an increasingly weak Mughal dynasty. The Mughals, while often employing brutal tactics to subjugate their empire, had a policy of integration with Indian culture, which is what made them successful where the short-lived Sultanates of Delhi had failed. Akbar the Great was particularly famed for this. Akbar declared "Amari" or non-killing of animals in the holy days of Jainism. He rolled back the "jizya" tax for non-Muslims. The Mughal emperors married local royalty, allied themselves with local "maharajas", and attempted to fuse their Turko-Persian culture with ancient Indian styles, creating a unique Indo-Saracenic architecture. It was the erosion of this tradition coupled with increased brutality and centralization that played a large part in the dynasty's downfall after Aurangzeb, who unlike previous emperors, imposed relatively non-pluralistic policies on the general population, which often inflamed the majority Hindu population.
Adham Khan
Adham Khan (1531 – 16 May 1562) was a general of Akbar. He was the younger son of Maham Anga, he thus became the foster brother of Akbar. In his fourth regnal year, Akbar married him to Javeda Begum, the daughter of Baqi Khan Baqlani.
Akbar II
His grave lies, next to the dargah of the 13th century, Sufi saint, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki at Mehrauli, Delhi in a marble enclosure, along with that of Bahadur Shah I (Shah Alam I) and Shah Alam II.
Maham Anga
Maham Anga was Akbar's chief nurse prior to his enthronement at age thirteen as Mughal emperor in 1556. Her own son, Adham Khan, as Akbar's foster brother, was regarded as almost one of the imperial family. Maham Anga, shrewd and ambitious and very much in charge of the household and harem, sought to advance her own authority and that of her son. In 1560, the two tricked Akbar into coming to India without his regent and guardian Bairam Khan and they were able to convince Akbar that now that he was seventeen, he did not need Bairam. Akbar dismissed his regent and sent him on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Months later, Bairam was murdered by an Afghan and much of his former power passed on to Maham Anga. Her power began to wane in 1561, however, when Akbar appointed Ataga Khan, a man outside her sphere of influence, as his new chief minister.
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr's reign lasted for 27 months, during which he crushed the rebellion of the Arab tribes throughout the Arabian Peninsula in the successful Ridda Wars. In the last months of his rule, he sent Khalid ibn al-Walid on conquests against the Sassanid Empire in Mesopotamia and against the Byzantine Empire in Syria. This would set in motion a historical trajectory (continued later on by Umar and Uthman ibn Affan) that in just a few short decades would lead to one of the largest empires in history. He had little time to pay attention to the administration of state, though state affairs remained stable during his Caliphate. On the advice of Umar and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah he agreed to have a salary from state treasury and abolish his cloth trade.
Akbar
His next marriage took place in 1564 to the daughter of Miran Mubrak Shah, the ruler of Khandesh. In 1564, he sent presents to the court with a request that his daughter be married by Akbar. Miran's request was acceded and an order was issued. Itimad Khan was sent with Miran's ambassadors, and when he came near the fort of Asir, which was Miran's residence. Miran welcomed Itimad with honor, and despatched his daughter with Itimad. A large number of nobles accompanied her. The marriage took place in September 1564 when she reached Akbar's court. As dowry, Mubarak Shah ceded Bijagarh and Handia to his imperial son-in-law.
Akbar Kakkattil
Cinima
Akbarnama
After Akbar's death in 1605, the manuscript remained in the library of his son, Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) and later Shah Jahan (r. 1628-1658). Today, the illustrated manuscript of "Akbarnma", with 116 miniature paintings, is at the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was bought by the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) in 1896 from Mrs Frances Clarke, acquired by her husband upon his retirement from serving as Commissioner of Oudh (1858-1862). Soon after, the paintings and illuminated frontispiece were removed from the volume to be mounted and framed for display.
Jahangiri Mahal
The palace was built by Akbar. It is one of the earliest surviving buildings of Akbar's reign. Jahangir in his memories has clearly mentioned that the buildings were erected by his father Akbar but did not take any credit for the construction of Jahangiri palace or Mahal. Mughal empress Nur Jahan used this magnificent palace as her residence until her death on 17 December 1645 .
Agra
Since Akbarabād was one of the most important cities in India under the Mughals, it witnessed a lot of building activity. Babar, the founder of the Mughal dynasty, laid out the first formal Persian garden on the banks of river Yamuna. The garden is called the Arām Bāgh or the Garden of Relaxation. His grandson Akbar the Great raised the towering ramparts of the Great Red Fort, besides making Agra a centre for learning, arts, commerce and religion. Akbar also built a new city on the outskirts of Akbarabād called Fatehpūr Sikrī. This city was built in the form of a Mughal military camp in stone.
His son Jahāngīr had a love of flora and fauna and laid many gardens inside the Red Fort or Lāl Qil'a. Shāh Jahān, known for his keen interest in architecture, gave Akbarabād its most prized monument, the Tāj Mahal. Built in loving memory of his wife Mumtāz Mahal, the mausoleum was completed in 1653.
Death of Alexander the Great
The death of Alexander the Great and subsequent related events have been the subjects of debates. According to a Babylonian astronomical diary, Alexander died between the evening of June 10 and the evening of June 11, 323 BC, at the age of thirty-two. This happened in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon.
History of Pakistan
Akbar, was both a capable ruler and an early proponent of religious and ethnic tolerance and favored an early form of multiculturalism. He declared "Amari" or non-killing of animals in the holy days of Jainism and rolled back the "jizya" tax imposed upon non-Islamic mainly Hindu people. The Mughal dynasty ruled most of the South Asia by 1600. The Mughal emperors married local royalty and allied themselves with local "maharajas". Akbar was succeeded by Jahangir who was succeeded by Shah Jahan.
Tomb of Mariam-uz-Zamani
Mariam-uz-Zamani was born a Rajput princess named Jodha Bai, the eldest daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amer. She was married to Emperor Akbar in 1562 CE. She was honoured with the title "Mariam-uz-Zamani" ("Mary of the Age") after she gave birth to Jahangir. She died in Agra in 1623 and her son Jahangir built a tomb for her in between 1623 and 1627 CE.The tomb is just next to the Tomb of Akbar the Great, the only nearest of all the tombs of his other wives.
Akbar
Out of affection for the memory of his brother, Humayun betrothed Hindal's nine-year-old daughter, Ruqaiya Sultan Begum, to his son Akbar. Their betrothal took place in Kabul, shortly after Akbar's first appointment as a viceroy in the province of Ghazni. Humayun conferred on the imperial couple all the wealth, army, and adherents of Hindal and Ghazni. One of Hindal's "jagir" was given to his nephew, Akbar, who was appointed as its viceroy and was also given the command of his uncle's army. Akbar's marriage with Ruqaiya was solemnized in Jalandhar, Punjab, when both of them were 14-years-old. She was his first wife and chief consort.
Gujarat under Akbar
Jehangir succeeded Akbar to the Mughal throne in 1605 when he died.
Umerkot
Umerkot (, Dhatki عُمَركوٹ), formerly known as Amarkot, is a city in Umerkot District in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The city was the birthplace of the Mughal Emperor Akbar.
Akbari Architecture
Akbari Architecture refers to the style of Indo-Islamic architecture conceived during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar. His successors further added to this style, leading to the unique and individualistic style of Mughal architecture. Some examples of this style are Humayun's Tomb, which was the first of a long succession of garden-tombs (and a predecessor of the Taj Mahal), the Agra Fort, the Allahabad Fort, the Lahore Fort, the abandoned city of Fatehpur Sikri and Akbar's own tomb.
Mughal-e-Azam
The film is based on a legend, but it is given credence by at least two texts that assert Anarkali's existence during the historical period of the greatest monarch of the Mughal Empire, Emperor Akbar (1556–1605). One of the books states that in 1615 a marble tomb was built on Anarkali's grave in Lahore by Salim, when he had become Emperor Jehangir. On the tomb is a Persian inscription that reads: "Ta Kiyamat shukr geom kardgate khwesh ra, Aah garman bez benaam roo-e yare khwesh ra" ("Ah! could I behold the face of my love once more, I would give thanks to my God until the day of resurrection"). The author of the stage play on which the film is based, Imtiaz Ali Taj, believed that the legend had no historical base, but historians have suggested that Anarkali may have been a painter, a dancer, or a courtesan, or one of Akbar's wives and the mother of Salim's half-brother Prince Daniyal. While an earlier film version of the story, "Anarkali" (1952), contained a disclaimer stating that the story had no foundation in history, "Mughal-e-Azam" made no such claim.
Sindh
During the reign of Akbar the Great, Sindh produced scholars and others such as Mir Ahmed Nasrallah Thattvi, Tahir Muhammad Thattvi and Mir Ali Sir Thattvi and the Mughal chronicler Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak and his brother the poet Faizi was a descendant of a Sindhi Shaikh family from Rel, Siwistan in Sindh. Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak was the author of "Akbarnama" (an official biographical account of Akbar) and the "Ain-i-Akbari" (a detailed document recording the administration of the Mughal Empire).
The Great Moghuls (film)
"The Great Moghuls" is six-part series of half-hour films devoted to the most important of the Mughal emperors, starting with the founder of the dynasty, Babur (reigned 1526–1530) and ending with Aurangzeb (r. 1658-1707). The second Mughal ruler, Humayun (r. 1530-1556), does not have his own film, but his successor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) gets two. The carefully researched series has excellent photography and a script by the urbane narrator and television personality Bamber Gascoigne. Gascoigne also wrote an accompanying book for the series: "The Great Moghuls" (NY: Harper & Row, 1971), which he had actually completed almost 20 years before.
Akbar
His eleventh wife was Bibi Daulat Shad. She was the mother of Princess Shakr-un-Nissa Begum, and Princess Aram Banu Begum born on 2 January 1585. His next wife was the daughter of Shams Chak, a Kashmiri. The marriage took place on 3 November 1592. Shams belonged to the great men of the country, and had long cherished this wish. In 1593, he married the daughter of Qazi Isa, and the cousin of Najib Khan. Najib told Akbar that his uncle had made his daughter a present for him. Akbar accepted his representation and on 3 July 1593 he visited Najib Khan's house and married Qazi Isa's daughter.
Akbar
Akbar was said to have been a wise emperor and a sound judge of character. His son and heir, Jahangir, wrote effusive praise of Akbar's character in his memoirs, and dozens of anecdotes to illustrate his virtues. According to Jahangir, Akbar was "of the hue of wheat; his eyes and eyebrows were black and his complexion rather dark than fair". Antoni de Montserrat, the Catalan Jesuit who visited his court described him as follows:
Akbari Architecture
Akbar the Great was the third Mughal Emperor and also the architect of the Mughal Empire in India. Although he was illiterate, Akbar showed a profound interest in Literature and the Arts. That, coupled with his pride and curiosity of his Timurid ancestry and the desire to embrace India as a native country, were the beginnings of his religious and design philosophies.
Battle of River
The Islamic prophet Muhammad died on 8 June 632, and Abu Bakr succeeded him as first Caliph. Abu Bakr's Caliphate lasted for 27 months, during which he crushed the rebellion of the Arab tribes throughout Arabia in the successful campaign against apostasy and restore the authority of Madinah over Arabia. Once the rebellions had been put down, Abu Bakr began a war of conquest. He launched campaigns against the Sassanid Empire and the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire) and thus set in motion a historical trajectory that in just a few short decades would lead to one of the largest empires in history.
Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent
Babur was followed by his great-grandson, Shah Jahan (r. 1628–58), builder of the Taj Mahal and other magnificent buildings. Two other towering figures of the Mughal era were Akbar (r. 1556–1605) and Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707). Both rulers expanded the empire greatly and were able administrators. However, Akbar was known for his religious tolerance and administrative genius while Aurangzeb was a pious Muslim and fierce advocate of more orthodox Islam.
Nepanagar
When the dying king accused Akbar of treachery, the emperor replied with that age-old lesson, "Everything is fair in Politics and government." 
Later Akbar showered gold and silver on Bahadur Shah's generals and won his way through to the fort. Finally on 17 January 1609 Akbar became the lord of the Asirgarh fort. Since then the fort remained in the hands of the Mughals.
Fatehpur Sikri
Akbar remained heirless until 1569 when his son, who became known as Jahangir, was born in the village of Sikri in 1569. Akbar began the construction of a religious compound in honor of the Chisti saint Sheikh Salim, who had predicted the birth of Jahangir. After Jahangir's second birthday, he began the construction of a walled city and imperial palace probably to test his son's stamina. By constructing his capital at the "khanqah" of Sheikh Salim, Akbar associated himself with this popular Sufi order and brought legitimacy to his reign through this affiliation.
`Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni
The most notable work of Bada'uni is "Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh" (Selection of Chronicles) or "Tarikh-i-Bada'uni" (Bada'uni's History) composed in 1004 AH (1595). This work in three volumes is a general History of the Muslims of India. The first volume contains an account of Babur and Humayun. The second volume exclusively deals with Akbar's reign up to 1595. This volume is an unusually frank and critical account of Akbar's administrative measures, particularly religious and his conduct. This volume was kept concealed till Akbar's death and was published after Jahangir's accession. This book gives a contemporary perspective regarding the development of Akbar's views on religion and his religious policy. The third volume describes the lives and works of Muslim religious figures, scholars, physicians and poets The first printed edition of the text of this work was published by the College Press, Calcutta in 1865 and later this work was translated into English by G.S.A. Ranking (Vol.I), W.H. Lowe (Vol.II) and T.W. Haig (Vol.III) (published by the Asiatic Society, Calcutta between 1884-1925 as a part of their Bibliotheca Indiaca series).
Akbar
Despite the ultimate success in Malwa, the conflict exposed cracks in Akbar's personal relationships with his relatives and Mughal nobles. When Adham Khan confronted Akbar following another dispute in 1562, he was struck down by the emperor and thrown from a terrace into the palace courtyard at Agra. Still alive, Adham Khan was dragged up and thrown to the courtyard once again by Akbar to ensure his death. Akbar now sought to eliminate the threat of over-mighty subjects. He created specialised ministerial posts relating to imperial governance; no member of the Mughal nobility was to have unquestioned pre-eminence. When a powerful clan of Uzbek chiefs broke out in rebellion in 1564, Akbar decisively defeated and routed them in Malwa and then Bihar. He pardoned the rebellious leaders, hoping to conciliate them, but they rebelled again, so Akbar had to quell their uprising a second time. Following a third revolt with the proclamation of Mirza Muhammad Hakim, Akbar's brother and the Mughal ruler of Kabul, as emperor, his patience was finally exhausted. Several Uzbek chieftains were subsequently slain and the rebel leaders trampled to death under elephants. Simultaneously the Mirzas, a group of Akbar's distant cousins who held important fiefs near Agra, had also risen up in rebellion. They too were slain and driven out of the empire. In 1566, Akbar moved to meet the forces of his brother, Muhammad Hakim, who had marched into the Punjab with dreams of seizing the imperial throne. Following a brief confrontation, however, Muhammad Hakim accepted Akbar's supremacy and retreated back to Kabul.
Mughal Empire
The historian Nizamuddin Ahmad (1551–1621) reported that, under Akbar's reign, there were 120 large cities and 3200 townships. A number of cities in India had a population between a quarter-million and half-million people, with larger cities including Agra (in Agra Subah) with up to 800,000 people, Lahore (in Lahore Subah) with up to 700,000 people, Dhaka (in Bengal Subah) with over 1 million people, and Delhi (in Delhi Subah) with over 600,000 people.
Akbar
Akbar's reign was chronicled extensively by his court historian Abul Fazl in the books "Akbarnama" and "Ain-i-akbari". Other contemporary sources of Akbar's reign include the works of Badayuni, Shaikhzada Rashidi and Shaikh Ahmed Sirhindi.
Mir Akbar Ali Khan Sikander Jah, Asaf Jah III
Nawab Mir Akbar Ali Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi Bahadur, Sikander Jah, Asaf Jah III (11 November 1768 – 21 May 1829), was the 3rd Nizam/Ruler of Hyderabad, India from 1803 to 1829.
Abdul Jalilul Akbar
His Highness died in 1659. He ruled the sultanate for sixty-one years. After his demise, he was known as Marhum Tua. He was succeeded by his son, Abdul Jalilul Jabbar.
History of Rajasthan
Akbar arranged matrimonial alliances to gain the trust of Rajput rulers. He himself married the Rajput princess Jodha Bai, the daughter of the Maharaja of Amer. He also granted high offices to a large number of Rajput princes and this maintained very cordial relations with them. Before long, these actions caused many previously hostile Rajputs to be his friends, and many of them surrendered their kingdoms to him. Rulers like Raja Maan Singh of Amer were trusted allies. However, some Rajput rulers were not ready to accept Akbar’s dominance and preferred to remain independent. Two such rulers were Rana Uday Singh of Mewar and Rao Chandrasen Rathore of Marwar. They never accepted Akbar's supremacy and were at constant war with him. This struggle was continued by – Rana Pratap. He fought a terrible battle with Akbar at the Haldighat pass where he was defeated and wounded. Since then Rana Pratap remained in recluse for 12 years and attacked the Mughal ruler from time to time. He fought valiantly throughout his life never ceded his independence to the Mughal ruler.
When Rajput rulers lost to invaders during the medieval period, their womenfolk would commit suicide by self-immolation on a pyre. This was a gesture to protect their chastity and self-respect, and it was known as Jauhar.
Akbar's tomb
As Viceroy of India, George Curzon directed extensive repairs and restoration of Akbar's mausoleum, which were completed in 1905. Curzon discussed restoration of the mausoleum and other historical buildings in Agra in connection with the passage of the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act in 1904, when he described the project as "an offering of reverence to the past and a gift of
recovered beauty to the future". This preservation project may have discouraged veneration of the mausoleum by pilgrims and people living nearby.
Karam Chand Bachhawat
In 1605, the Emperor Akbar died. Karam Chand Vanshho-KirtankamKavyam (1594) by Jaysom observes,
Akbarnama
The Akbarnama which translates to "Book of Akbar", is the official chronicle of the reign of Akbar, the third Mughal Emperor (r. 1556–1605), commissioned by Akbar himself by his court historian and biographer, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak who was one of the "nine jewels in Akbar's court". It was written in Persian, the literary language of the Mughals, and includes vivid and detailed descriptions of his life and times.
Mir Adal
Syed Muhammad Mir Ali Naqvi (known as Mir Adal) was the Chief justice of the court of Akbar the Great. He served on the court from 1579–1581. He was known as "Mir Adal"; "Adal" means in equitableness Urdu. Syed Muhammad Mir was also governor of Sindh.
Akbar
As early as 1586, about half a dozen Baluchi chiefs, that were still under nominal Pani Afghan rule, had been persuaded to attend the imperial court and acknowledge the vassalage of Akbar. In preparations to take Kandahar from the Safavids, Akbar ordered the Mughal forces to conquer the rest of the Afghan held parts of Baluchistan in 1595. The Mughal general, Mir Masum, led an attack on the stronghold of Sibi, situated to the northwest of Quetta and defeated a coalition of local chieftains in a pitched battle. They were made to acknowledge Mughal supremacy and attend Akbar's court. As a result, the modern-day Pakistani and Afghan parts of Baluchistan, including the areas of the strategic region of Makran that lay within it, became a part of the Mughal Empire. The Mughals now bordered Persian ruled Kandahar on three sides.
Akbar
During the early part of his reign, Akbar adopted an attitude of suppression towards Muslim sects that were condemned by the orthodoxy as heretical. In 1567, on the advice of Shaikh Abdu'n Nabi, he ordered the exhumation of Mir Murtaza Sharifi Shirazi – a Shia buried in Delhi – because of the grave's proximity to that of Amir Khusrau, arguing that a "heretic" could not be buried so close to the grave of a Sunni saint, reflecting a restrictive attitude towards the Shia, which continued to persist until the early 1570s. He suppressed Mahdavism in 1573 during his campaign in Gujarat, in the course of which the Mahdavi leader Bandagi Miyan Sheik Mustafa was arrested and brought in chains to the court for debate and released after eighteen months. However, as Akbar increasingly came under the influence of pantheistic Sufi mysticism from the early 1570s, it caused a great shift in his outlook and culminated in his shift from orthodox Islam as traditionally professed, in favour of a new concept of Islam transcending the limits of religion. Consequently, during the latter half of his reign, he adopted a policy of tolerance towards the Shias and declared a prohibition on Shia-Sunni conflict, and the empire remained neutral in matters of internal sectarian conflict. In the year 1578, the Mughal Emperor Akbar famously referred to himself as:
In 1580, a rebellion broke out in the eastern part of Akbar's empire, and a number of "fatwas", declaring Akbar to be a heretic, were issued by Qazis. Akbar suppressed the rebellion and handed out severe punishments to the Qazis. To further strengthen his position in dealing with the Qazis, Akbar issued a "mazhar", or declaration, that was signed by all major "ulemas" in 1579. The "mahzar" asserted that Akbar was the "Khalifa" of the age, a higher rank than that of a "Mujtahid": in case of a difference of opinion among the Mujtahids, Akbar could select any one opinion and could also issue decrees that did not go against the "nass". Given the prevailing Islamic sectarian conflicts in various parts of the country at that time, it is believed that the "Mazhar" helped stabilize the religious situation in the empire. It made Akbar very powerful because of the complete supremacy accorded to the "Khalifa" by Islam, and also helped him eliminate the religious and political influence of the Ottoman "Khalifa" over his subjects, thus ensuring their complete loyalty to him.
Jodhaa Akbar
Later Akbar controls the dissents among the Hindus and Muslims by announcing that every religion has its rights in his kingdom. This impresses Jodhaa who returns. Sujamal, Sharifuddin Hussain and his allies attack the kingdom. After Sujamal realises the past misunderstanding concerning the letter and dies just after apologising to Jodhaa. Akbar defeats Sharifuddin, and spares his life for his half-sister, Bakshi Banu Begum's sake, but not before stripping him of his title of Viceroy of Ajmer and Nagaur.Eventually Akbar proclaims that Hindustan will be a peaceful and prosperous land if people respect and honour each other's religions. The film ends as the narrator accounts that Jodhaa and Akbar created history through their unconditional and eternal love for each other.
Akbar's tomb
The tomb's construction was completed by his son prince Salim also called Jahangir. Akbar planned the tomb and selected a suitable site for it. After his death, Akbar's son Jahangir completed the construction in 1605–1613.
During the Islamic ruler Aurangzeb's time, the rebellious Jats rose against him under the leadership of Raja Ram Jat, they took the control of Agra fort after defeating Mughal forces. Mughal prestige suffered a further blow when Jats ransacked Akbar's intricate tomb, plundered and looted all the beautiful gold, jewels, silver and carpets, whilst destroying other things. He even, in order to avenge his father Gokula's death, plundered Akbar's tomb, looted it, opened the grave, and dragged out the bones. Aurangzeb was so furious that he captured Raja ram and got him killed mercilessly.
Al-Wathiq
Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad (; 18 April 812 – 10 August 847), better known by his regnal name al-Wāthiq Bi’llāh (, "He who trusts in God"), was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 842 until 847 AD (227–232 AH in the Islamic calendar). Al-Wathiq is relatively obscure both as a ruler and as a person, and his reign is largely considered a continuation of his father's. The chief events of his reign were the suppression of a Bedouin rebellion in the Hejaz in 845 and an abortive uprising in Baghdad in 846. The conflict with the Byzantine Empire continued, and the Abbasids even scored a significant victory at Mauropotamos, but after a truce in 845, warfare ceased for several years.
Akbar Ali
Akbar Ali (; March 3, 1925 – February 21, 2016) was an Indian Kannada academic and poet from Karnataka, India.
Jodha Akbar
"Jodha Akbar" is an epic drama about a sixteenth-century story of a political marriage of convenience between a Mughal emperor Akbar and a Rajput princess Jodha Bai. The show focuses on how their political marriage brings love between them to an extent that it changes the fate of India. This period drama also portrays the wars of that time along with the relations between the Mughals and the Rajputs. The drama also focuses on the functioning of the queens, the courts, courtesans, the ministers and their influence on the love story of Akbar and Jodha. The show also highlights how Mughal emperor Jalaluddin acquired the title of Akbar from the people and covers most of his reign from 1557-58 up to 1598, also showing the life of Akbar's children, a secondary love story of Prince Salim and Anarkali.
Agra Fort
Realising the importance of its central situation, Akbar made it his capital and arrived in Agra in 1558. His historian, Abul Fazl, recorded that this was a brick fort known as 'Badalgarh'. It was in a ruined condition and Akbar had it rebuilt with red sandstone from Barauli area Dhaulpur district, in Rajasthan. Architects laid the foundation and it was built with bricks in the inner core with sandstone on external surfaces. Some 4,000 builders worked on it daily for eight years, completing it in 1573.
Khidr
Alexander the great has no connection with king dhulqarnain and Khizer. Alexander was in approx 250 to 323 BC whereas Khizer was an old man when he met Moses some 3000 plus years ago and he was young man when he went with King Dhulqarnain where only Khizer drank Elixir the water of life many centuries ago before he met Moses. So people must be clarified that King Dhulqarnain was thousands of years before Alexander the Great was born.
Humayun
Rana Prasad Rao of Amarkot duly welcomed Humayun into his home and sheltered the refugees for several months. Here, in the household of a Hindu Rajput nobleman, Humayun's wife Hamida Bano, daughter of a Sindhi family, gave birth to the future Emperor Akbar on 15 October 1542. The date of birth is well established because Humayun consulted his astronomer to utilise the astrolabe and check the location of the planets. The infant was the long-awaited heir-apparent to the 34-year-old Humayun and the answer of many prayers. Shortly after the birth, Humayun and his party left Amarkot for Sindh, leaving Akbar behind, who was not ready for the grueling journey ahead in his infancy. He was later adopted by Askari Mirza.
Akbar
Having established his authority over Gujarat, Akbar returned to Fatehpur Sikiri, where he built the Buland Darwaza to commemorate his victories, but a rebellion by Afghan nobles supported by the Rajput ruler of Idar, and the renewed intrigues of the Mirzas forced his return to Gujarat. Akbar crossed the Rajputana and reached Ahmedabad in eleven days – a journey that normally took six weeks. The outnumbered Mughal army then won a decisive victory on 2 September 1573. Akbar slew the rebel leaders and erected a tower out of their severed heads. The conquest and subjugation of Gujarat proved highly profitable for the Mughals; the territory yielded a revenue of more than five million rupees annually to Akbar's treasury, after expenses.
Longevity myths
Like Methuselah in Judaism, Bhishma among the Hindus is believed to have lived to a very advanced age and is a metaphor for immortality. His life spans four generations and considering that he fought for his great-nephews in the Mahabharata War who were themselves in their 70s and 80s, it is estimated that Bhishma must have been between 130 and 370 years old at the time of his death.According to 19th-century scholars, Abdul Azziz al-Hafeed al-Habashi (عبد العزيزالحبشي) lived 673/674 Gregorian years or 694/695 Islamic years, from 581–1276 of the Hijra.
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great (), was a king ("basileus") of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty. He was born in Pella in 356 BC and succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of 20. He spent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented military campaign through Asia and northeast Africa, and he created one of the largest empires of the ancient world by the age of thirty, stretching from Greece to northwestern India. He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered one of history's most successful military commanders.
Akbar
It has been argued that the theory of Din-i-Ilahi being a new religion was a misconception that arose because of erroneous translations of Abul Fazl's work by later British historians. However, it is also accepted that the policy of "sulh-e-kul", which formed the essence of Din-i-Ilahi, was adopted by Akbar not merely for religious purposes but as a part of general imperial administrative policy. This also formed the basis for Akbar's policy of religious toleration. At the time of Akbar's death in 1605 there were no signs of discontent amongst his Muslim subjects, and the impression of even a theologian like Abdu'l Haq was that close ties remained.
Khusrau Mirza
In 1605, the emperor Akbar died. Akbar had been deeply disappointed with Khusrau's father Jahangir. Perhaps due to this background, Khusrau rebelled against his father in 1606 to secure the throne for himself.
Khusrau left Agra on April 6, 1606 with 350 horsemen on the pretext of visiting the tomb of Akbar at nearby Sikandra. In Mathura, he was joined by Hussain Beg with about 3000 horsemen. In Panipat, he was joined by Abdur Rahim, the provincial "dewan" (administrator) of Lahore. When Khusrau reached Taran Taran near Amritsar, he received the blessings of Guru Arjan Dev.
Bairam Khan
Bairam Khan died on 31 January 1561. However, his son and wife were allowed to go free and were sent to Agra. Bairam Khan's wife, who was also the cousin of Akbar, married Akbar after Bairam Khan's death. Bairam's son, Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana, became an important part of Akbar's administration and was one of the "nav-ratans" (nine gems) of Akbar's court.
Ali al-Akbar ibn Husayn
According to Bal'ami, Ali Akbar stroke the enemies ten times and killed two or three of them each time. He killed many well-known warriors. No one dared to come close to him in a single combat. Umar ibn Sa'ad ordered his soldiers to kill him, saying, "When he dies, Husayn will not want to live! Ali Akbar is the life of Husayn." While a few soldiers attacked Ali Akbar, Murrah ibn Munqad threw a spear through Ali Akbar's chest. Murrah ibn Munqad then broke the wooden part of the spear and left the blade inside Ali Akbar's chest, to cause him more pain. As Ali Akbar fell from his horse, he said, "O Father, my last Salaams to you! Here is my grandfather, the Messenger of Allah, giving me my water. He says yours is here waiting for you". He was then surrounded and was cut to pieces. The reason he said this was because after Ali Akbar killed significant members of the enemy forces, he went to Husayn and said he is too thirsty to fight. Husayn was very sad and told his son: "Do not worry, Akbar. After you are killed your grandfather, the messenger of Allah, will give you water that is so sweet, that you will never forget the taste."
Muhammad Akbar (Mughal prince)
Akbar's siblings included his older sisters: Zeb-un-Nissa, Zinat-un-Nissa and Zubdat-un-Nissa and his older brother, Azam Shah. On 18 June 1672, Akbar was wedded to a granddaughter of his paternal uncle, Dara Shikoh, who had been killed at Aurangzeb's behest. Princess Salima Banu Begum was the eldest daughter of Prince Sulaiman Shikoh, the eldest son of Dara Shikoh. Later, Akbar also married a daughter of an Assamese nobleman. He was the father of two sons and two daughters, including Nikusiyar, who briefly became Mughal emperor in 1719.
Akbar
Seventy-six years later, in 1681, Akbar's great-grandson, Aurangzeb, pursued oppressive policies and gave orders to demolish Hindu temples. The Jats rose against his policies under the leadership of Raja Ram Jat. They took control of Agra shortly, and ransacked Akbar's tomb. They plundered and looted all the gold, jewels, silver and carpets. In order to avenge his father Gokula's death Raja Ram Jat opened Akbar's grave and burned Akbar's bones. The Jats also shot off the top of the minarets on the gateway to Akbar's Tomb.
Muhammad Akbar (Mughal prince)
In Persia, Akbar was said to pray daily for the speedy death of his father, which alone would give him another chance to wrest the Mughal throne for himself. On hearing of this, Aurangzeb is said to have remarked, "Let us see who dies first. He or I!" As it turned out, Akbar died in 1706, one year before his father's demise. He died at the town of Mashhad in Persia.
Muhammed Akbar Khan
Muhammed Akbar Khan (), MBE (19 April 1897 - 1993) served as a British Indian recruit in the First World War and an officer in Second World War. At the time of the independence of Pakistan, he was the most senior Muslim General. He also served as the first Senior Military Secretary of the Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammed Ali Jinnah.
Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak
Shaikh Abu al-Fazal ibn Mubarak () also known as Abu'l-Fazl, Abu'l Fadl and Abu'l-Fadl 'Allami (14 January 1551 – 12 August 1602) was the Grand vizier of the Mughal emperor Akbar, and author of the "Akbarnama", the official history of Akbar's reign in three volumes, (the third volume is known as the "Ain-i-Akbari") and a Persian translation of the Bible. He was also one of the Nine Jewels (Hindi: Navaratnas) of Akbar's royal court and the brother of Faizi, the poet laureate of emperor Akbar.
Junagadh
Khengar was succeeded by his son Noghan in ad 1525 and he lived until ad 1551. Tatarkhan Ghori had now become almost independent. In his time Jam Raval conquered Halar and built Navanagar. Noghan was succeeded by his son Shrisingh in ad 1551. He lived till 1586. During his time Tatarkhan Ghori died and was succeeded by his son Aminkhan Ghori. In his time too Akbar conquered Gujarat though Sorath yet remained independent under the Ghori rule. The exact date of Tatarkhan Ghori's death is not known but from the mention of Aminkhan as his successor it must have been from about ad 1570 to 1575. On the return of the Emperor Akbar to Agra in ad 1573 after the defeat and death of Muhammad Husain Mirzah and Ikhtiyar ul Mulk, he gave orders that Sorath should be conquered from Aminkhan Ghori. Vazir Khan attempted it but was unequal to the task. Great confusion existed now in Sorath. The Moghal conquest of Gujarat, the collapse of the power of the Gujarat Sultans, the encroachments of the Jam and the assumption of independence by the Ghori all augmented the confusion afterwards increased by the escape and partisan warfare of Sultan Muzaffar in ad 1583.