When did Akbar the Great become emperor?
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.
Ruqaiya Sultan Begum
The Empress also took an active part in court politics and wielded considerable influence over Akbar. She played a crucial role (along with her cousin and co-wife Salima Sultan Begum) in negotiating a settlement between her husband and her step-son, Salim (Jahangir), when the father-son's relationship had turned sour in the early 1600s, eventually helping to pave the way for Salim's accession to the Mughal throne. In 1601, Salim had revolted against Akbar by setting up an independent court in Allahabad and by assuming the imperial title of "Salim Shah" while his father was still alive. He also planned and executed the assassination of Akbar's faithful counselor and close friend, Abu'l Fazl. This situation became very critical and infuriated Akbar so much that no one dared to petition for Salim. In the end, it was Ruqaiya Sultan Begum and Salima Sultan Begum who pleaded for his forgiveness. Akbar granted their wishes and Salim was allowed to present himself before the Emperor. The prince was finally pardoned in 1603 through the efforts of his step-mothers and his grandmother, Hamida Banu Begum.
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)
The crafty Mughal Emperor then wrote a false letter to Akbar and arranged it such that the letter was intercepted by the Rajputs. In this letter, Aurangzeb congratulated his son for finally bringing the Rajput guerillas out in the open where they could be crushed by father and son together. The Rajput commanders suspected this letter to be false but took it to Akbar's camp for an explanation. Here they discovered that Tahawwur Khan had disappeared. Suspecting the worst, the Rajputs departed in the middle of the night. The next morning, Akbar woke to find his chief adviser and his allies gone and his own soldiers deserting by the hour to Aurangzeb. The would-be emperor escaped the prospect of war with his father by hastily departing the camp with a few close followers. He caught up with the Rajputs commanders and mutual explanations followed.
Bhadohi district
During the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar, Bhadohi was made a "dastur" and included in the "sarkar" of Allahabad.
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.
Hamida Banu Begum
Hamida Banu Begum ( 1527 – 29 August 1604, ) was a wife of the second Mughal emperor Humayun and the mother of his successor, the third Mughal emperor Akbar. She is also known by the title Maryam Makani, which was given to her by her son, Akbar.
Dhimmi
In the 16th century, India came under the influence of the Mughals (Mongols). Babur, a ruler of the Mongol Timuri empire, established a foothold in the north which paved the way for further expansion by his successors. Until it was eclipsed by European hegemony in the 18th century, the Timuri Moghul emperors oversaw a period of coexistence and tolerance between Hindus and Muslims. The emperor Akbar has been described as a universalist. He sought to establish tolerance and equality between all communities and religions, and instituted far reaching social and religious reforms. Not all the Mughal emperors endorsed the ideals espoused by Akbar, indeed Aurangzeb was inclined towards a more fundamentalist approach.
Mughal architecture
The Mughal dynasty was established after the victory of Babur at Panipat in 1526. During his five-year reign, Babur took considerable interest in erecting buildings, though few have survived. His grandson Akbar built widely, and the style developed vigorously during his reign. Among his accomplishments were Agra Fort, the fort-city of Fatehpur Sikri, and the Buland Darwaza. Akbar's son Jahangir commissioned the Shalimar Gardens in Kashmir.
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.
Akbar
Other Rajput kingdoms also established matrimonial alliances with Akbar, but matrimony was not insisted on as a precondition for forming alliances. Two major Rajput clans remained aloof – the Sisodiyas of Mewar and Hadas of Ranthambore. In another turning point of Akbar's reign, Raja Man Singh I of Amber went with Akbar to meet the Hada leader, Surjan Hada, to effect an alliance. Surjan accepted an alliance on the condition that Akbar did not marry any of his daughters. Consequently, no matrimonial alliance was entered into, yet Surjan was made a noble and placed in charge of Garh-Katanga. Certain other Rajput nobles did not like the idea of their kings marrying their daughters to Mughals. Rathore Kalyandas threatened to kill both Mota Raja Rao Udaisingh and Jahangir because Udai Singh had decided to marry his daughter to Jahangir. Akbar on hearing this ordered imperial forces to attack Kalyandas at Siwana. Kalyandas died fighting along with his men and the women of Siwana committed Jauhar.
Akbar II
Emperor Akbar II presided over an empire titularly large but in effect limited to the Red Fort in Delhi alone. The cultural life of Delhi as a whole flourished during his reign. However, his attitude towards East India Company officials, especially Lord Hastings, to whom he refused to grant an audience on terms other than those of subject and sovereign, although honourable to him, increasingly frustrated the British, who regarded him as merely their pensioner. The British therefore reduced his titular authority to 'King of Delhi' in 1835 and the East India Company ceased to act as the mere lieutenants of the Mughal Empire as they did from 1803 to 1835. Simultaneously they replaced Persian text with English text on the company's coins, which no longer carried the emperor's name.
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 Shah (diamond)
The Akbar Shāh diamond was once the property of the Mughal emperor Akbar, hence its name. It was engraved on two faces with inscriptions in Arabic, by order of his grandson Shāh Jahān. The English translation of them is 'Shāh Akbar, the Shāh of the World, 1028', and 'To the Lord of two worlds, 1039". The dates are given according to the Hijrī years, and correspond to 1618 and 1629 of the Christian era.
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.
Mughal-e-Azam
To become the character of Emperor Akbar, Prithviraj Kapoor was reported to have "relied completely on the script and director". Prior to make-up, Kapoor would declare, ""Prithviraj Kapoor ab jaa rahaa hai"" ("Prithviraj Kapoor is now going"); after make-up, he would announce, ""Akbar ab aa rahaa hai"" ("Akbar is now coming"). Kapoor faced difficulty with his heavy costumes, and suffered blisters on his feet after walking barefoot in the desert for a sequence. Lance Dane, a photographer who was on set during the filming, recalled that Kapoor struggled to remember his lines in some scenes; he mentioned one scene in particular that Kapoor required 19 takes to get right. At the time of filming, Kapoor who was on a diet, was told by Asif to regain the lost weight for his portrayal of Akbar. Durga Khote was cast as Akbar's wife Jodhabai, and Nigar Sultana as the dancer Bahar. Zakir Hussain, who later became a "tabla" maestro, had initially been considered for the part of the young Prince Salim, but it became the debut role of Jalal Agha, who later performed on the song "Mehbooba Mehbooba" from "Sholay" (1975).
Akbar
The reign of Akbar was characterised by commercial expansion. The Mughal government encouraged traders, provided protection and security for transactions, and levied a very low custom duty to stimulate foreign trade. Furthermore, it strived to foster a climate conductive to commerce by requiring local administrators to provide restitution to traders for goods stolen while in their territory. To minimise such incidents, bands of highway police called "rahdars" were enlisted to parol roads and ensure safety of traders. Other active measures taken included the construction and protection of routes of commerce and communications. Indeed, Akbar would make concerted efforts to improve roads to facilitate the use of wheeled vehicles through the Khyber Pass, the most popular route frequented by traders and travellers in journeying from Kabul into Mughal India. He also strategically occupied the northwestern cities of Multan and Lahore in the Punjab and constructed great forts, such as the one at Attock near the crossing of the Grand Trunk Road and the Indus river, as well as a network of smaller forts called "thanas" throughout the frontier to secure the overland trade with Persia and Central Asia.
Shah Jahan
Just prior to Khurram's birth, a soothsayer had reportedly predicted to the childless Empress Ruqaiya Sultan Begum, Akbar's first wife and chief consort, that the still unborn child was destined for imperial greatness. So, when Khurram was born in 1592 and was only six days old, Akbar ordered that the prince be taken away from his mother and handed him over to Ruqaiya so that he could grow up under her care, and Akbar could fulfill his wife's wish to raise a Mughal emperor. Ruqaiya assumed the primary responsibility for Khurram's upbringing and he grew up under her care. The two shared a close relationship with each other as Jahangir noted in his memoirs that Ruqaiya had loved his son, Khurram, "a thousand times more than if he had been her own [son]."
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.
Trade between Western Europe and the Mughal Empire in the 17th century
Contact between Western Europe and the Mughal empire was put into practice in the very beginning of the 17th century. The Portuguese, English, and later on, the Dutch were the ones to trade with the Mughal empire. As the first Islamic power on the Indian subcontinent, the Mughal empire was more interested in assimilating the land, studying the history, customs and religion of the people occupying this area, and communicating with the other two Islamic empires – the Saffavid and the Ottoman Empires. 
The Mughal empire was blessed with very strong leaders, however, very different in approach and strategy. Akbar was known for his tolerance towards unorthodox Muslims and Hindus. The Akbarnama, a book written by Abu’l Fazl on the life and rule of Akbar, gives a lot of evidence on how Hinduism was viewed and explained by the Muslims. Along with being tolerant towards his Hindu and Muslim subjects, Akbar welcomed Portuguese Jesuits, which allowed Portugal to enter the trade with Indian goods. At the very end of his rule, the British, Dutch, and Portuguese started to trade with the Mughal empire as well. Even though the trade started during the reign of Akbar the Great, his son Jahangir was the one to strengthen this economic activity in the Indian subcontinent.
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:
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.
History of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
The area saw a brief shock during the invasions of Alexander the Great, which had managed to conquer the small Janapadas——or city states——that had ruled the region. Seizing the resulting instability and inexperience of the local Greek governors, a young prince named Chandragupta Maurya managed to take control of the area, eventually going on to conquer much of Northern India. Over time the Mauryan Empire, from Chandragupta's line, had went on to conquer much of the Indian Subcontinent with the Empire reaching its peak under King Ashoka. Ashoka had converted to Buddhism from Hinduism, and with his conversion, declared that the official state religion of the Empire was the former. Ashoka's rule had witnessed a rise in Buddhism throughout India, although Hinduism was not displaced. After Ashoka's death, the Mauryan Empire had crumbled under the weak rule of the later Kings.
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.
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.
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.
Mariam-uz-Zamani
Although she may have enjoyed a certain status in Akbar's imperial household after giving birth to the heir, Mariam-uz-Zamani gained prestige only during Jahangir's reign (as the emperor's mother), after he had succeeded Akbar as Mughal emperor in 1605. During the reign of Jahangir, she was amongst the most prodigious women traders at the Mughal court. No other noblewoman on record seems to have been as adventurous a trader as the Queen mother.
Throne of Jahangir
The throne was built in 1605 in Prayagraj and kept at the Prayagraj Fort. Even after Jahangir became king when his father, emperor Akbar died in 1605, the throne remained there. It was only in 1610, that it was brought from Allahabad to Agra by Jahangir.
Akbarnama
The "Akbarnama" of Shaikh Illahdad Faiz Sirhindi is another contemporary biography of the Mughal emperor Akbar. This work is mostly not original and basically a compilation from the "Tabaqat-i-Akbari" of Khwaja Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad and the more famous "Akbarnama" of Abu´l Fazl. The only original elements in this work are a few verses and some interesting stories. Very little is known about the writer of this "Akbarnama". His father Mulla Ali Sher Sirhindi was a scholar and Khwaja Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad, the writer of the "Tabaqat-i-Akbari" was his student. He lived in Sirhind sarkar of Delhi Subah and held a "madad-i-ma´ash" (a land granted by the state for maintenance) village there. He accompanied his employer and patron Shaikh Farid Bokhari (who held the post of the "Bakhshi-ul-Mulk") on his various services. His most important work is a dictionary, the "Madar-ul-Afazil", completed in 1592. He started writing this "Akbarnama" at the age of 36 years. His work also ends in 1602 like the one of Abu´l Fazl. This work provides us some additional information regarding the services rendered by Shaikh Farid Bokhari. It also provides valuable information regarding the siege and capture of Asirgarh.
Muhammad Akbar (Mughal prince)
Aurangzeb occupied Jodhpur ostensibly to secure the succession for any male infant born to Jaswant's pregnant widows. He declared that such rightful heir would be invested with his patrimony upon coming of age. However, relations between Jaswant and Aurangzeb had not been very happy, and it was feared that Aurangzeb, would annex the state for good on this pretext. Indeed, incumbent officers in Jodhpur state were replaced by mughal officers. After thus effectively annexing the largest Hindu state in northern India, Aurangzeb reimposed the "jaziya" tax on the non-Muslim population (2 April 1679), almost a century after it had been abolished by his tolerant ancestor Akbar I. All this made the emperor extremely unpopular among the Rajputs.
Akbar
Akbar was accorded the epithet "the Great" because of his many accomplishments, including his record of unbeaten military campaigns that consolidated Mughal rule in the Indian subcontinent. The basis of this military prowess and authority was Akbar's skilful structural and organisational calibration of the Mughal army. The Mansabdari system in particular has been acclaimed for its role in upholding Mughal power in the time of Akbar. The system persisted with few changes down to the end of the Mughal Empire, but was progressively weakened under his successors.
Akbar
The (), which literally means "Book of Akbar", is an official biographical account of Akbar, the third Mughal Emperor (r. 1542–1605), written in Persian. It includes vivid and detailed descriptions of his life and times.
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.
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.
Allahabad
"Akbarnama" mentions that the Mughal emperor Akbar founded a great city in Allahabad. `Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni and Nizamuddin Ahmad mention that Akbar laid the foundations of an imperial city there which was called "Ilahabas" or "Ilahabad". He was said to be impressed by its strategic location and built a fort there, later renaming it "Ilahabas" by 1584 which was changed to Allahabad by Shah Jahan.
Akbar
Akbar left a rich legacy both for the Mughal Empire as well as the Indian subcontinent in general. He firmly entrenched the authority of the Mughal Empire in India and beyond, after it had been threatened by the Afghans during his father's reign, establishing its military and diplomatic superiority. During his reign, the nature of the state changed to a secular and liberal one, with emphasis on cultural integration. He also introduced several far-sighted social reforms, including prohibiting "sati", legalising widow remarriage and raising the age of marriage. Folk tales revolving around him and Birbal, one of his "navratnas", are popular in India.
Gujarat under Akbar
Jehangir succeeded Akbar to the Mughal throne in 1605 when he died.
Akbar
The Kabul expedition was the beginning of a long period of activity over the northern frontiers of the empire. For thirteen years, beginning in 1585, Akbar remained in the north, shifting his capital to Lahore in the Punjab while dealing with challenges from beyond the Khyber Pass. The gravest threat came from the Uzbeks, the tribe that had driven his grandfather, Babur, out of Central Asia. They had been organised under Abdullah Khan Shaybanid, a capable military chieftain who had seized Badakhshan and Balkh from Akbar's distant Timurid relatives, and whose Uzbek troops now posed a serious challenge to the northwestern frontiers of the Mughal Empire. The Afghan tribes on the border were also restless, partly on account of the hostility of the Yusufzai of Bajaur and Swat, and partly owing to the activity of a new religious leader, Bayazid, the founder of the Roshaniyya sect. The Uzbeks were also known to be subsidising Afghans.
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.
Kalanaur, Punjab, India
During the 14th-16th centuries, Kalanaur was a major urban centre and several historical events are associated with the town. Firuz Shah Tughluq (1352–88) built a beautiful palace on the banks of the Kiran rivulet. During the reign of Sayyad Mubarak Shah (1421–35), Kalanaur was ruled by the Khokhar tribe. In February 1556, Mughal Emperor Akbar, was enthroned in a garden near the Kalanaur by Bairam Khan. The masonry platform, where he was crowned can be visited even today. There is a mosque that was built during his reign.
During period of anarchy in latter half of the 18th century, the Kanhaiya Misl, a militia under Sardar Haqeeqat Singh Kanhaiya, occupied Kalanaur. His son Jaimal Singh extended his territory up to Fatehgarh Churian and shifted his residence there. Jaimal Singh's daughter Chand Kaur was married to Kharak Singh, eldest son and heir of Ranjit Singh, in 1812. Later, when the area was annexed by Ranjit Singh, he granted it to Kharak Singh. It was later granted in fief to one Diwan Dina Nath, and was finally annexed into British India after the death of Dewan Dina Nath in 1857.
Bahadur Shah Zafar
Mirza Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-din Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar (24 October 1775 – 7 November 1862) was the last Mughal emperor. He was the second son of and became the successor to his father, Akbar II, upon his death on 28 September 1837. He was a nominal Emperor, as the Mughal Empire existed in name only and his authority was limited only to the walled city of Old Delhi (Shahjahanbad). Following his involvement in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the British exiled him to Rangoon in British-controlled Burma (now in Myanmar), after convicting him on conspiracy charges.
Skandor Akbar
Jimmy Saied Wehba (September 29, 1934 – August 19, 2010) was an American professional wrestler and manager better known by his ring name Skandor Akbar, which translates as "Alexander the Great". Akbar led the villainous stable Devastation, Inc. in Bill Watts's Universal Wrestling Federation during the promotion's heyday in the 1980s, as well as other regional territories, including World Class Championship Wrestling and the Global Wrestling Federation.
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.
Mirza Aziz Koka
Akbar was very lenient to Aziz Koka, his foster-brother and childhood playmate. Nevertheless, Aziz Koka did not obey Akbar, his emperor, readily. He was especially opposed to Akbar's law to brand all horses, and could not accept prostration in Akbar's new court ritual. When Aziz Koka was summoned to court in 1592, he went on pilgrimage to Mecca instead. There he spent much money to pious causes for a year and a half, until Akbar forgave him, and restored him in his positions.
Islamic missionary activity
Muslim missionaries across India received a significant moral boost with the formation of the Mughal Empire in Northern India in the sixteenth century. However, the empire evolved into a mixed blessing for Islamic missionary work, with its two most powerful rulers taking a somewhat diametrically opposite view of religion. Initially, Akbar the Great chose to follow a form of inter-faith dialogue somewhat contrary to the views of the traditional clergy, a stratagem that was to be totally reversed by his great-grandson Aurangzeb half a century later.
Jaipur State
The rulers of Amber fought as generals in the army of Prithviraj Chauhan and later under the banner of Rana Sanga against the Mughals under Babur. However due to the aggresive expansion of Maldev Rathore and Amber's vulnerability due to its close proximity to Delhi, Bharmal Kachwaha, sought alliance with Akbar, the Mughal emperor. He was formally recognised as a Raja by the Mughals and was invested into the Mughal nobility in return for his daughter's marriage to Akbar. Raja Bharmal's daughter, Harkha Bai, who married Akbar, later became the mother of the
fourth Mughal emperor Jahangir, she gained prestige in Mughal court during Jahangir's reign as the emperor's mother. By this relation, the Rajas of Amer gained significant prominence in the Mughal court.
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.
Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi
The Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi () (history of Sher Shah) dating 1580 CE, is a historical work compiled by Abbas Khan Sarwani, a "waqia-navis" under Mughal Emperor Akbar, detailing the rule of Sher Shah Suri. The work was commissioned by Akbar to provide detailed documentation about Sher Shah's administration - Akbar's father Humayun had been defeated by Sher Shah.
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.
Auwa
In 1643, on the 13th day of Shukla paksha of Chaitra month, following the death of the King Maldev of Jodhpur State, his eldest son Chandrasen became king. But Chandrasen's younger brother usurped him with the help of the Mughal emperor Akbar. Charans opposed him. For staging a "dharna" against the king they were going to Mewar, the Auwa Jagirdar Gopal Das Champawat supported them and suggested to datge the "dharna" in his village.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
In the year 1572 the Mughal Empire annexed Gujarat and acquired its first access to the sea after local officials informed Akbar that the Portuguese had begun to exert control in the Indian Ocean. Hence Akbar was conscious of the threat posed by the presence of the Portuguese and remained content with obtaining a "cartaz" (permit) from them for sailing in the Persian Gulf region. At the initial meeting of the Mughals and the Portuguese during the Siege of Surat in 1572, the Portuguese, recognising the superior strength of the Mughal army, chose to adopt diplomacy instead of war. The Portuguese Governor, upon the request of Akbar, sent him an ambassador to establish friendly relations. Akbar's efforts to purchase and secure from the Portuguese some of their compact artillery pieces were unsuccessful and thus Akbar could not establish the Mughal navy along the Gujarat coast.
Mariam-uz-Zamani
Mariam-uz-Zamani (), ( 1542 – 19 May 1623) was a wife of Emperor Akbar. Her actual name is unknown, but in an 18th-century genealogy of her clan (the Kachwahas), she is referred to as Harkhan Champavati. She is also referred to as Harkha Bai or Jodhabai which perhaps indicates that she was a princess of Jodhpur by birth (although mostly she is said to have been a princess of Amer). Mariam-uz-Zamani was the Persian title by which she was known at her husband's court. In the Mughal Empire, non-Muslim noblewoman who entered the imperial harem were given titles as a mark of honour (which she received only after the birth of her son) and this is the reason why her actual name is rather obscure.
Agra
The Mughal Emperor Akbar built Fatehpūr Sikrī about from Agra, and moved his capital there. Later abandoned, the site displays a number of buildings of significant historical importance. A World Heritage Site, it is often visited by tourists. The name of the place came about after the Mughal Emperor Bābar defeated Rāṇā Sāngā in a battle at a place called Sikrī (about from Agra). Then the Mughal Emperor Akbar wanted to make Fatehpūr Sikrī his headquarters, so he built a majestic fort; due to shortage of water, however, he had to ultimately move his headquarters to Agra Fort.
Akbar
At the time of Akbar's ascension in 1556, the Portuguese had established several fortresses and factories on the western coast of the subcontinent, and largely controlled navigation and sea-trade in that region. As a consequence of this colonialism, all other trading entities were subject to the terms and conditions of the Portuguese, and this was resented by the rulers and traders of the time including Bahadur Shah of Gujarat.
Muhammad Akbar (Mughal prince)
Muhammad Akbar was born on 11 September 1657 in Aurangabad to Prince Muhiuddin (later known as 'Aurangzeb' upon his accession) and his first wife and chief consort Dilras Banu Begum. His mother was a princess of the prominent Safavid dynasty of Iran (Persia) and was the daughter of Mirza Badi-uz-Zaman Safavi, the Viceroy of Gujarat. Dilras died when Akbar was only one month old. For this reason, Akbar was brought up with special care and affection by his father and his oldest sister, Princess Zeb-un-Nissa. Akbar was his father's best-loved son as Aurangzeb, himself, said in a letter to him, "God be my witness that I have loved you more than my other sons."
Akbar
In 1593, Akbar began military operations against the Deccan Sultans who had not submitted to his authority. He besieged Ahmednagar Fort in 1595, forcing Chand Bibi to cede Berar. A subsequent revolt forced Akbar to take the fort in August 1600. Akbar occupied Burhanpur and besieged Asirgarh Fort in 1599, and took it on 17 January 1601, when Miran Bahadur Shah refused to submit Khandesh. Akbar then established the Subahs of Ahmadnagar, Berar and Khandesh under Prince Daniyal. "By the time of his death in 1605, Akbar controlled a broad sweep of territory from the Bay of Bengal to Qandahar and Badakshan. He touched the western sea in Sind and at Surat and was well astride central India."
Mariam-uz-Zamani
The marriage, which was a political one, took place on 6 February 1562, while Akbar was on his way back to Agra from Ajmer (after offering prayers to the tomb of Moinuddin Chishti) at the imperial military camp in Sambhar, Rajasthan, instead of the bride's natal home in Amber (which was only 80 miles away). This was a sign that the marriage was not of equals and indicated Bihari Mal's family's inferior social status. The marriage with the Amber princess provided the service of her family throughout the reign, and offered a proof manifest to all the world that Akbar had decided to be the Badshah or Shahenshah of his whole people i.e. Hindus as well as Muslims.
Mirat ul Memalik
Seydi Ali Reis then arrived at the royal court of the Mughal Emperor Humayun in Delhi where he met the future Mughal emperor Akbar who was then 12 years old.
Akora Khattak
In 1581 Mughal emperor Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar came to Peshawar to finish the mutiny of his brother ‘Mirza Hakeem’ and stayed there for a few years. During this stay, he met (jarga) with all the tribal chiefs for the betterment of the area. In the meeting the name of Malik Akor Khan often came up. It was reported to the emperor that Malik Akor Khan was a robber and often robbed the troops on the highway. He lived at Neelab (Nizampur) and continually created problems for the Mughal government. The emperor Jalal-ud-din Mohammad Akbar decided to resolve this problem by making Malik Akor Khan a government servant and charged him with the responsibility of collecting tolls from the caravans on the crossing of the Indus at Attock.
Gujarat Sultanate
Mughal Emperor Akbar annexed Gujarat in his empire in 1573 and Gujarat became a Mughal Subah (province). Muzaffar Shah III was taken prisoner to Agra. In 1583, he escaped from the prison and with the help of the nobles succeeded to regain the throne for a short period before being defeated by Akbar's general Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana in January 1584. He fled and finally took asylum under Jam Sataji of Nawanagar State. The Battle of Bhuchar Mori was fought between the Mughal forces led by Mirza Aziz Koka and the combined Kathiawar forces in 1591 to protect him. He finally committed suicide when he was surrendered to the Mughal.
Jodhaa Akbar
The film centres on the romance between the Mughal Emperor Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, played by Hrithik Roshan, and the Rajput Princess Jodhaa Bai who becomes his wife, played by Aishwarya Rai. Acclaimed composer A. R. Rahman composed the musical score. The soundtrack of the film was released on 19 January 2008.
Akbar
Akbar set about reforming the administration of his empire's land revenue by adopting a system that had been used by Sher Shah Suri. A cultivated area where crops grew well was measured and taxed through fixed rates based on the area's crop and productivity. However, this placed hardship on the peasantry because tax rates were fixed on the basis of prices prevailing in the imperial court, which were often higher than those in the countryside. Akbar changed to a decentralised system of annual assessment, but this resulted in corruption among local officials and was abandoned in 1580, to be replaced by a system called the "dahsala". Under the new system, revenue was calculated as one-third of the average produce of the previous ten years, to be paid to the state in cash. This system was later refined, taking into account local prices, and grouping areas with similar productivity into assessment circles. Remission was given to peasants when the harvest failed during times of flood or drought. Akbar's "dahsala" system is credited to Raja Todar Mal, who also served as a revenue officer under Sher Shah Suri, and the structure of the revenue administration was set out by the latter in a detailed memorandum submitted to the emperor in 1582–83.
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 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.
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.
Akbar
Akbar's first wife and chief consort was his cousin, Princess Ruqaiya Sultan Begum, the only daughter of his paternal uncle, Prince Hindal Mirza, and his wife Sultanam Begum. In 1551, Hindal Mirza died fighting valorously in a battle against Kamran Mirza's forces. Upon hearing the news of his brother's death, Humayun was overwhelmed with grief. Out of affection to the memory of his brother, Humayun betrothed Hindal's nine-year-old daughter Ruqaiya 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 which 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 near Jalandhar, Punjab, when both of them were 14-years-old. Childless herself, she adopted Akbar's favorite grandson, Prince Khurram (the future emperor Shah Jahan). She died on 19 January 1626.
List of modern great powers
The Mughal Dynasty rapidly expanded and ruled most of the Indian subcontinent by 1600; it went into a slow decline after 1707 and was finally defeated during the 1857 War of Independence also called the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The famous emperor Akbar, who was the grandson of Babur, tried to establish an inclusive empire. However, later emperors such as Aurangazeb attempted to expand the empire beyond its previous limitations.
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.
Gorkha Kingdom
Akbar, the Mughal emperor, (1542-1605) wished to marry the daughter of Fatte Sinha Rana-ji Rava. Akbar was refused because he was from different religion (namely Islam) than Hindu religion altogether. This decision led to war. Many Rajput, including Fatte Sinha Rana-ji Rava, were killed. The survivors of the war were led by Udaybam Rana-ji Rava. They founded a settlement, Udaipur.
Manmath Rana-ji Rava went to Ujjain. His son Bhupal Ranaji Rao went to Ridi in the northern hills and in 1417 AD (Saka 1945), to Sargha, and then to Khium in Bhirkot. There, he cultivated the land. The new ruler of Khium had sons, Kancha and Micha. Their "bartabandha" (the taking of the Bharmanical thread) was performed. Plans for the boys to marry the daughters of the Raghuvanshi Rajputs were made. Kancha, the elder son went to Dhor. He conquered Mangart and reigned over Garhon, Sathum and Birkot. Micha, the younger son, went to Nuwakot in the far west and became ruler there.
Akbarnama
The first volume of "Akbarnama" deals with the birth of Akbar, the history of Timur's family and the reigns of Babur and Humayun and the Suri sultans of Delhi. Volume one of Akbarnama encompasses Akbar's birth and his upbringings. According to the Abul Fazl Humayuan, the second Mughal emperor and Akbar's father, is praying to the Ka'ba, an islamic holy place, for a successor to the Mughal empire. After this prayer, Maryam Makani showcases different signs that she is pregnant with Akbar such as having a shining forehead that others believe to be a mirror on her face or the warmth and joy that enters her bosom when a light shines on her. Miryam believes the light to be God's Light blessing her and her unborn child. Nine months later while Humayuan is away, Maryam gives birth to Akbar under what is considered an auspicious star and there is great celebration.
Muhammad Akbar (Mughal prince)
Maharaja Jaswant Singh, who was Maharaja of Jodhpur, was also a high-ranking Mughal officer. He died at his post on the Khyber Pass on 10 December 1678. He died without leaving male issue, but two of his wives were pregnant at the time of his death. The succession was thus unclear. When the news of the death reached Aurangzeb, he immediately dispatched a large army (9 January 1679) to occupy the state of Jodhpur. One of the division of this army was commanded by Akbar.
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.
Zakhi
Mostly Afghan Pashtun came to this area around 1557 with Bairam Khan who ruled on behalf of the Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great. The village Akbarpura, the village closest to Zakhi, was named after the great Mughal King Akbar the Great who camped here while traveling between Kabul and Delhi. In around 1834 this was ruled by Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Akbar
Defeated in battles at Chausa and Kannauj in 1539 to 1540 by the forces of Sher Shah Suri, Mughal emperor Humayun fled westward to Sindh. There he met and married the then 14-year-old Hamida Banu Begum, daughter of Shaikh Ali Akbar Jami, a teacher of Humayun's younger brother Hindal Mirza. Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar was born the next year on 15 October 1542 (the fourth day of Rajab, 949 AH) at the Rajput Fortress of Umerkot in Sindh (in modern-day Pakistan), where his parents had been given refuge by the local Hindu ruler Rana Prasad.
History of Bikaner
The return of Humayun to power meant that Bikaner due to its involvement with Sher Shah Suri came into conflict with the Mughals again. However Kalyan Mal by using all the advantages of the harsh desert environment around Bikaner was able to defeat any invading Mughal army. The coming of Akbar to power saw the Mughal empire turn to diplomacy instead of force to bring the individual Rajput states into the empire. 
As a result, Raja Rai Singh, the sixth ruler of Bikaner was among the first Rajput Chiefs to make an alliance with the Mughal Empire. As a result, during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar the rulers of Bikaner were esteemed among the most loyal adherents of the empire and held high ranks as Mansabdars of special order in the imperial court. They served as military commanders in various Mughal campaigns all over the Indian sub-continent. 
In 1570, Akbar married a daughter of Rao Kalyan Singh. Kalyan's son, Rai Singh, who succeeded him in 1571, was one of Akbar's most distinguished generals and the first Raja of Bikaner. Two other distinguished chiefs of the house were Raja Karan Singh (1631–1669), who in the struggle of the sons of Shah Jahan for the throne threw in his lot with Aurangzeb, and his eldest son, Anup Singh (1669–1698), who fought with distinction in the Deccan, was conspicuous in the capture of Golconda, and earned the title of maharaja.
With the decline of Mughal power in India with the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707 AD, the bonds of Mughals-Rajput relationship slowly dissolved. Sujan Singh (1700–35) formally broke the connection with the Mughal throne and from 1719 based himself within his kingdom.
Afghans in India
The Great Pashtun King Sher Shah Suri (Farid Khan) took control of the Mughal Empire in 1540. After his accidental death in 1545, his son Islam Shah became his successor.[3][4][5][6][7] He first served as a private before rising to become a commander in the Mughal army under Babur and then as the governor of Bihar. In 1537, when Babur's son Humayun was elsewhere on an expedition, Sher Shah overran the state of Bengal and established the Sur Dynasty.[8] A brilliant strategist, Sher Shah proved himself a gifted administrator as well as a capable general. His reorganization of the empire laid the foundations for the later Mughal emperors, notably Akbar the Great, son of Humayun.[8]
He extended the Grand Trunk Road from Chittagong in the frontiers of the province of Bengal in near eastern India Kolkata to Kabul in Afghanistan in the far northwest of the country.
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.
International relations, 1648–1814
The Mughal Empire (1526–1720) was founded by Babur, (1483–1530) a Sunni Muslim based in Afghanistan. He used advanced weapons, artillery – and especially mobile cavalry, he captured Delhi in 1526 with only 12,000 soldiers against an enemy force of over 100,000. He continued his conquests across much of North Central India. His vigor and charismatic personality earned him strong loyalties. Akbar (ruled 1556–1605) followed. He was a charismatic and brilliant leader who organized a highly successful military, and set up a financial system to pay for his extravagances. The Mughal Empire maintained diplomatic relations with numerous local and international powers, including Uzbeks, the Safavid dynasty in Persia, the Ottoman Empire, the French East India Company and especially the English East India Company. It tolerated the establishment of trading forts along the coast by Europeans because they brought trade, and because the Europeans had far superior naval power.
Todar Mal
After the Sur dynasty was overthrown by the Mughals, Todar Mal continued in the service of the ruling power, which was now the Mughal Emperor Akbar. Under Akbar, he was placed in charge of Agra. Later, he was made governor of Gujarat. At various times, he also managed Akbar's Mint at Bengal and served in Punjab. Todar Mal's most significant contribution, which is appreciated even today, is that he overhauled the revenue system of Akbar's Mughal empire. Raja Todarmal built a fortress-palace at Laharpur in the Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh.
Maham Anga
Maham Anga (died 1562) was the chief nurse of the Mughal emperor Akbar. A highly shrewd and ambitious woman, she was the political adviser of the teenage emperor and the de facto regent of the Mughal Empire from 1560 to 1562.
Mughal painting
During the reign of Humayun's son Akbar (r. 1556-1605), the imperial court, apart from being the centre of administrative authority to manage and rule the vast Mughal empire, also emerged as a centre of cultural excellence. Akbar inherited and expanded his father's library and atelier of court painters, and paid close personal attention to its output. He had studied painting in his youth under Abd as-Samad, though it is not clear how far these studies went.
Thaker
From 1297 to 1758 various Muslim rulers ruled Gujarat; during this time members of the Thaker family were appointed to lifelong hereditary positions as premier political and financial advisors to the rulers of Saurashtra from the Solanki Dynasty to the Mughal Empire; notably Emperor Akbar the Great. Following the change of power to the Maratha Empire who eventually accepted the paramountcy of the British Empire in 1819, members of the Thaker family, being well-versed in scripture, history, philosophy, ritual, politics, law, social precepts and morality, continued on in their positions as principal advisors or in executive offices as Diwans to the various Maharajas/Maharanas of the Princely States of British India in modern-day Gujarat, Western India. After the 11th century many Thaker family members became landowners of large portions of Saurashtra. Today, while many branches of the family remain in India, some bloodlines have spread internationally to, among others, East Africa, the United Kingdom and the United states.
Akbar II
Akbar had little de facto power due to the increasing British influence of India through the East India Company. He sent Ram Mohan Roy as an ambassador to Britain and gave him the title of Raja. During his regime, in 1835, the East India Company (EIC) discontinued calling itself subject of the Mughal Emperor and issuing coins in his name. The Persian lines in the Company's coins to this effect were deleted.
Tutinama
The two artists Mir Sayyid Ali and Abd al-Samad were invited by Humayun around 1530–40 to teach this art to himself and to his son Akbar. Initially, the artists came to Kabul with Humayun (where he was in exile) and in later years shifted to Delhi when he won back his empire from the Suri Dynasty. The artists then moved to Fatehpur Sikri with the Mughal Emperor Akbar, where a huge workshop of artists were engaged in producing miniatures. This type of painting came to be known as Mughal painting, during Akbar's reign from 1556 to 1605 (when under Emperor Akbar’s leadership the Mughal empire became most powerful). Akbar provided personal patronage to promote this form of miniature paintings, not only through Iranian artists but also involved a large number of Indian artists who were also well versed in local styles of such miniature paintings that were produced in the imperial workshops. It thus developed as a unique blend of Indian, Persian and Islamic styles. Most of the paintings are now in the Cleveland Museum of Art; some are also in the British Library. This became the precursor for many more refined forms of Mughal miniature painting portfolios such as the Hamzanama (Adventures of Amir Hamza), Akbarnama (Book of Akbar), Jahangirnama (Tuzk-e-Jahangiri an autobiography of Mughal emperor Jahangir) and so forth, which were created during the reign of subsequent Moghul rulers (16th century to 19th century) as Mughal paintings, but also with distinct Indian, Hindu, Jain and Buddhist influences. The Mughal style covered mainly portraits of Mughal emperors, Queens, court scenes, hunting scenes, special ceremonies, battle scenes, love scenes and various activities of royal rulers. This format of miniatures was also widely adopted by Rajput and Malwa rulers.
Ruqaiya Sultan Begum
Ruqaiya became Empress of the Mughal Empire at the age of fourteen years following her husband's accession to the throne in 1556. She remained childless throughout her marriage but assumed the primary responsibility for the upbringing of Akbar's favourite grandson, Prince Khurram (the future emperor Shah Jahan). Ruqaiya's adoption of Prince Khurram signified her rank and power in the imperial harem as one of the special privileges of women of rank (in the Mughal Empire) was to care for ranking children not their own. Just prior to Khurram's birth, a soothsayer had reportedly predicted to Ruqaiya Sultan Begum that the still unborn child was destined for imperial greatness. So, when Khurram was born in 1592 and was only six days old; Akbar ordered that the prince be taken away from his mother, Jagat Gosaini, and handed him over to Ruqaiya so that he could grow up under her care and Akbar could fulfill his wife's wish, to raise a Mughal emperor.
Gujarat under Akbar
In 1573, Mughal Emperor Akbar conquered Gujarat Sultanate (now Gujarat, India) taking advantage of young Gujarat Sultan Muzaffar Shah III and his quarrelling nobles. Muzaffar was held captive at Agra. He appointed his foster brother Mírza Âzíz Kokaltásh as the first viceroy who faced an insurrection by the rebel nobles of the former Sultanate. Akbar quickly came to aid and ended the insurrection. He soon appointed Mírza Khán who managed to set revenue system and quelled attack by the Mirzas with help of Mughal minister Todar Mal. The next viceroy Shaháb-ud-dín strengthened the military. Soon Sultan Muzaffar escaped, returned to Gujarat and led an attack on Ahmedabad and recaptured it before his former noble and now viceroy Itimad Khan reach the city. Soon Mirza Khan was reappointed as the viceroy who defeated Muzaffar in the battle of Fatehwadi in 1584. Soon Kokaltásh returned as the viceroy and defeated Muzaffar and combined Kathiawad forces in battle of Bhuchar Mori. Later Muzaffar was captured but he committed suicide, putting an end to the Gujarat Sultanate. As Kokaltásh went to the Mecca on pilgrimage, Sultan Murad Bakhsh was appointed as the viceroy on whose death, Kokaltásh returned third time as the viceroy. Akbar was succeeded by Jehangir.
The last two Gujarat Sultans, Ahmad Shah III and Mahmud Shah III, were raised to throne when they were young. So the nobles were had decided to carry on the government under one noble as a regent of the Sultan and they further divided the country among themselves. But the nobles had their own aspirations so started looking for opportunity to expand their territories with intention of the supremacy. On one such occasion, the noble named Ítimád Khán requested help from the Mughal Emperor Akbar who promptly agreed to help. Early in July 1572, he invaded Gujarat. He first captured Disa and then Patan and appointed a governor. The most Gujarat nobles soon surrendered to him and the rebel nobles fled to other parts of Gujarat. Akbar reached Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarat Sultanate. He advanced to Cambay and later the Mirzas controlling southern Gujarat were defeated and Bharuch and Surat was captured.
Indian painting
Akbar's reign (1556–1605) ushered a new era in Indian miniature painting. After he had consolidated his political power, he built a new capital at Fatehpur Sikri where he collected artists from India and Persia. He was the first monarch who established in India an atelier under the supervision of two Persian master artists, Mir Sayyed Ali and Abdus Samad. Earlier, both of them had served under the patronage of Humayun in Kabul and accompanied him to India when he regained his throne in 1555. More than a hundred painters were employed, most of whom were Hindus from Gujarat, Gwalior and Kashmir, who gave a birth to a new school of painting, popularly known as the Mughal School of miniature Paintings.
One of the first productions of that school of miniature painting was the Hamzanama series, which according to the court historian, Badayuni, was started in 1567 and completed in 1582. The Hamzanama, stories of Amir Hamza, an uncle of the Prophet, were illustrated by Mir Sayyid Ali. The paintings of the Hamzanama are of large size, 20 x 27" and were painted on cloth. They are in the Persian safavi style. Brilliant red, blue and green colours predominate; the pink, eroded rocks and the vegetation, planes and blossoming plum and peach trees are reminiscent of Persia. However, Indian tones appear in later work, when Indian artists were employed.
Guru Granth Sahib
While the holy hymns and verses were being put together Akbar, the Mughal Emperor, received a report that the Adi Granth contained passages vilifying Islam. Therefore, while travelling north, he stopped en route and asked to inspect it. Baba Buddha and Bhai Gurdas brought him a copy of the Adi Granth as it existed then. After choosing three random passages to be read, Akbar decided that this report had been false.
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.
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.
Empire of the Moghul
Akbar, a bold ruler, faced many problems to control a vast kingdom. With many enemies, he had no one to trust, with his own milk-mother and brother planning to plot against him. He mercilessly crushed rebellions, entered into matrimonial alliances with the martial Rajputs, and controlled his son's ambitions to build the greatest kingdom of the subcontinent. He ranks among the greatest Moghuls.
Hamida Banu Begum
Two years later, after a perilous journey through the desert, on 22 August 1542, she and Emperor Humayun reached at the Umerkot ruled by Rana Prasad, a Hindu Sodha Rajput, at a small desert town, and the Rana gave them asylum. Two months later she gave birth future Emperor, Akbar on the early morning of 15 October 1542 (fourth day of Rajab, 949 AH), he was given the name Humayun had heard in his dream at Lahore – the Emperor Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar.
Akbar
Following the chaos over the succession of Sher Shah Suri's son Islam Shah, Humayun reconquered Delhi in 1555, leading an army partly provided by his Persian ally Tahmasp I. A few months later, Humayun died. Akbar's guardian, Bairam Khan concealed the death in order to prepare for Akbar's succession. Akbar succeeded Humayun on 14 February 1556, while in the midst of a war against Sikandar Shah to reclaim the Mughal throne. In Kalanaur, Punjab, the 14-year-old Akbar was enthroned by Bairam Khan on a newly constructed platform, which still stands. He was proclaimed "Shahanshah" (Persian for "King of Kings"). Bairam Khan ruled on his behalf until he came of age.
Akbar's conquest of Gujarat
The last two Gujarat Sultans, Ahmad Shah III and Mahmud Shah III, were raised to throne when they were young so the nobles were ruling the Sultanate. The nobles divided territories between themselves but soon started fighting between themselves for supremacy. One noble invited the Mughal emperor Akbar to intervene in 1572 which resulted in the conquest of Gujarat by 1573 and Gujarat becoming the province of the Mughal Empire.
Umarkot Fort
Umarkot Fort (), 
is a fort located in Umerkot, Sindh, also called Amarkot (), Emperor Akbar was born in Umarkot Fort when his father Humayun fled from the military defeats at the hands of Sher Shah Suri on 15 October 1542. Rana Parasad of Umarkot, who had risen to power had given refuge to Mughal Emperor Humayun and it was there Hamida Bano Begum gave birth to young Akbar. Later the Mughal Emperor Akbar became the Shahenshah of Hindustan and was a popular figure with both Hindus and Muslims. Umerkot has many sites of historical significance such as Mughal emperor Akbar's birthplace near to Umarkot Fort, currently King Akbar birth place is an open land. In 1746, the Mughal Subahdar, Noor Mohammad Kalhoro, built a fort at the location. Later the British would take over that area.
Akbar
In 1555, while Akbar was still a child, the Ottoman Admiral Seydi Ali Reis visited the Mughal Emperor Humayun. In 1569, during the early years of Akbar's rule, another Ottoman Admiral Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis arrived on the shores of the Mughal Empire. These Ottoman admirals sought to end the growing threats of the Portuguese Empire during their Indian Ocean campaigns. During his reign Akbar himself is known to have sent six documents addressing the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.