Akbar (1556-1605):
Political Career: At the time of his father’s deth Akbar was merely 14 years old was under the guardianship of Bairam Khan who, on hearing of Humayun’s death, coronated Akbar at Kakanaur.
Within a few months of Akbur’s accession, Hemu, the energetic wazir of Muhammad Adil Shah of Bihar, occupied the country from Bayana to Delhi, including Agra, and assumed the title of Vikramadity.
In November 1556 the Mughal army under Bairam Khan moved towards Delhi and defeated Hemu in the second battle of Paniput.
During the next four years, Bairam Khan crushed the Afghan power in deifferent parts of Hindustan.
During these four years(1556-60) Bairam Khan enjoyed the supreme position in the state as the emperor’s gurdian and prime minister.
From the expendition against Malwa(1561)to the fall of Asirgarh-during a period of four decades-he played the role of a great conqueror and an empire builder.
Malwa was conqueror in 1561 from the musician Sultan Baz Bahadur.
The emperor later honoured his skill as a musician and enrolled him as a mansabdar in the imperical court.
The same year he conquered the strategic fort of Chunar.
The year 1562 was a turning point in the emperor’s life when on his first pilgrimage to the shrine of Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti at Ajmer, Raja Bharmal of Amber proposed his eldest daughter’s marriage with the emperor.
Thus the foundation was laid by Amber of the Mughal-Rajput alliance; other Rajput principalities, with the sole exception of Mewar, followed suit.
The strong fortress of Merta in Marwar was captured after a brief siege in 1562.
Chandrasen, the ruler of Marwar, submitted to Akbar in 1563.
Rulers of Bikaner and of Jaisalmer also made their submission to Akbur and enterd into matrimonial alliances with the Mughals.
By the end of 1570 all prominent princes of Rajsthan, except the Rana of Mewar, submitted to Akbar.
Rana Udai Singh of Mewar refused to accept the Mughal-Rajput alliance and further offended Akbar by giving shelter to Baz Bahadur of Malwa.
Mewar lay on the route to the rich province of Gujarat which could not be conquered without securing the submission of at least the fort of Chittor.
In 1567 Akbar himself conducted the siege of the fort of Chittor which fell next year(1568)after a desperate resistance.
The conquest of Chittor placed the plains obstacle to the conquest of Gujarat and hastened the fall of
Ranthambhor (1569)as also the submission of Marwar and Bikaner(1570).
But the Mughal-Mewar struggle did not end with the fail of Chittor.
After Rana Udai Singh’s death in 1572, his son Rana Pratap Singh continued it further, culminating in the famous battle of Haldighat(Khamnaur according to Badauni)on June 18, 1576.
The Mughal army which was led by Raja Man Singh of Amber won this battle, but Mewar was not subjugated.
Rana Pratap, till his death in 1597, continued the struggle and except Chittor and Mandalgarh he was virtually the master of the whole of Mewar.
In 1572, when Akbar invaded Gujarat, it was divided into “seven warring principalitics”over which the nominal King Muzaffar Shah III exercised little authority.
Akbar himself led an expendition to Gujarat in 1572 and completed it by the siege of Surat in 1573.
In 1574-75 Bihar and Bengal were conquered from the Afghan Chief Daud.
Raja Man Singh of Amber, who as Governor of Bihar conquered Orissa in 1592, was rewarded for his success by being appointed subahdar of Bengal as well.
The conquest of Bihar, Bengal and Orissa goes largely to the credit of Raja Man Singh.
The year 1581 is regarded as the most critical year in the reign of Akbar, whern his half-brother Muhammad Hakim, the ruler of Kabul , advanced to Lahore.
The plan was to replace the heterodox Akbar by the orthodox Muhammad Hakim on the throne.
Thereupon Akbar proceeded to Kabul and forced his half-brother to submit, but reinstated him.
After he death of Muhammad Hakim in 1586, Kabul was annexed to the Mughal.
While suppressing the Yusufzai and Mandar tribes, Raja Birbal was killed.
In 1586, Kashmir too was annexed to the empire, and in 1593, as a preclude to the conquest of Kandahar, the whole of Sindh was annexed.
In 1594 Knadhahar was conquered from Persian.
Of the five offshoots of the Bahmani empire Akbar was concerned about Ahmadanagar, Bijpur and Golcumda only.
Berar had been annexed by Ahmadnagar in 1574 and Bidar was too insignificant to attract his attention.
Besides,there was the Faruqi kingdom of Khandesh which was the outpost of the Mughal invasion into the south.
In 1591, four Mughal embassies were sent to the Sultans of Khandesh, Bijpur, Golcunda and Ahmadnagar to accept Mughal suzerainty.
Of these only Sultan Raja Ali Khan of Khandesh agreed to submit.
Meanwhile, the course of events in Ahmadnagar offered Akbar the casus belli which he had long waited for.
After the death of Sultan Burhan Nizam Shah(1591-95) of Ahmadnagar there was a dispute about succession in which Chand Sultana, daughter of a former Sultan Husian Nizam Shah I of Bijapur, championed the cause of the lawful heir, Bahadur, who was an infant; but a group of nobles imprisoned him and elevated another candidate to their throne.
There dissensions offered Akbar an excellent opportunity for the conquest led by Akbar’s second son Murad against Ahmadnagar in 1595, Chand Sultana ceded Berar to the Mughals.
But the peace thus concluded proved a mere truce and led to fresh Mughal expenditions against Ahmadhnagar in 1597 and 1599, when Akbar himself supervised the siege of Ahmadnagar.
A large part of the kingdom remained in possession of influential Nizamshahi nobles,particularly Malik Ambar.
In 1601, the fort of Asirgarh was captured and Khandesh was annexed to the Mughal empire.
Ultimately Khandesh, Berar and the annexed portion of Ahmadnagar were combined as the viceroyalty of the Deccan and placed under prince Daniyal.
Asirgarh proved to be the last conquest of Akbar’s life.
He intended to deal with the kingdoms of Bijapur, Golcunda and Bidhar,but he had to leave the Deccan for the North where prince Salim had revolted.
Akbar’s Liberal Measures:
In 1562 he passed a decree that in course of war the Hindu non-combatants and the familes of combatants were not to be made prisoners, reduced to slavery or converted to Islam.
The next year he abolished the pilgrim tax.
In 1564 he abolished jezuyah.
The use of beef was forbidden and later, in 1583, killing of certain animals on particular dayas was forbidde.
From 1562, for eighteen long years, he made annual pilgrimage to the shrine of Shaikh Muinuddin Chisti at Ajmer.
His Hindu official like Todarmal,Birbal and Man Singh, scholars like Faizi and Abul Fazi and the Bhakti movement of the sixteenth century helped in moulding his religious.
Foundation fo the Ibadatkhana(Hall of Worship) at Fatehpur Sikri.
His religious discussions were held every Thursday evening.
In 1578, he converted the Ibadatkhana into a ‘Parliament of Raligious’.
He threw the Ibadatkhana open to Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrias and Christians.
In 1579 Akbar decided that it was necessary for him to take into his own hands all religious matters affecting his Muslim subjects, which led to drafting of a ‘Declaration’ or mahzar by Shaikh Mubarak.
It was signed by five ulema.
The comparative study of different religions of the age led Akbar to foumulate an order known as Din-i-Ilahi or Jauhind-i-ilahi(Divine Monotheism) in 1582.
The basic purpose of the foumualtion of Din-i-Ilahi was Sul-i-kul or universal harmony which governed all public plicies of Akbar, said: “His(Akbar’s)God was not the God of the Muslims alone.
He worshipped the God of all men.
He made continuous experiments in the field of a administration.
Akbar gave the Mughal India one official language (Persian).
Akbar abandoned the Islamic theory of taxation and adopted the one prevalent in India that taxation was essentially a consideration paid to the king for the protection given to the subjects.
In 1582the whole revenue system was overhauled under the supervision of Todarmal, the revenuee minister.
The revenue systerm introduced by him, known as Todarmal bondobust or zabti system, based on classification, measurement of land etc, was a pioneering measure.
The same year (1582)Dastur-al-amals or Code of Rules was issued for revenue officials.
Earlier in 1575-76, the empire was divided into twelve subahs (subas)or provinces, whose number increased to fifteen after the conquest of the Deccan.
Each subha was subdivinces, into sarkars and each sarkar into parganas or mahals.
After the conquest of Gujarat in 1573-74, the officers were classified into different ranks or mansabs,which led to the growth of the mansabdari system.
Last Years:
His eldest son Salim’s rebellion in 1602.
The Mughal court got divided into two groups, one favouring the succession of Salim and the other of Salim’s son Khusrau, who was also Akbar’s choice.
But shortly before his death in 1605, Akbar himself nominated Salim as his successor who ascended the throne with the title of Jahangir.
Political Career: At the time of his father’s deth Akbar was merely 14 years old was under the guardianship of Bairam Khan who, on hearing of Humayun’s death, coronated Akbar at Kakanaur.
Within a few months of Akbur’s accession, Hemu, the energetic wazir of Muhammad Adil Shah of Bihar, occupied the country from Bayana to Delhi, including Agra, and assumed the title of Vikramadity.
In November 1556 the Mughal army under Bairam Khan moved towards Delhi and defeated Hemu in the second battle of Paniput.
During the next four years, Bairam Khan crushed the Afghan power in deifferent parts of Hindustan.
During these four years(1556-60) Bairam Khan enjoyed the supreme position in the state as the emperor’s gurdian and prime minister.
From the expendition against Malwa(1561)to the fall of Asirgarh-during a period of four decades-he played the role of a great conqueror and an empire builder.
Malwa was conqueror in 1561 from the musician Sultan Baz Bahadur.
The emperor later honoured his skill as a musician and enrolled him as a mansabdar in the imperical court.
The same year he conquered the strategic fort of Chunar.
The year 1562 was a turning point in the emperor’s life when on his first pilgrimage to the shrine of Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti at Ajmer, Raja Bharmal of Amber proposed his eldest daughter’s marriage with the emperor.
Thus the foundation was laid by Amber of the Mughal-Rajput alliance; other Rajput principalities, with the sole exception of Mewar, followed suit.
The strong fortress of Merta in Marwar was captured after a brief siege in 1562.
Chandrasen, the ruler of Marwar, submitted to Akbar in 1563.
Rulers of Bikaner and of Jaisalmer also made their submission to Akbur and enterd into matrimonial alliances with the Mughals.
By the end of 1570 all prominent princes of Rajsthan, except the Rana of Mewar, submitted to Akbar.
Rana Udai Singh of Mewar refused to accept the Mughal-Rajput alliance and further offended Akbar by giving shelter to Baz Bahadur of Malwa.
Mewar lay on the route to the rich province of Gujarat which could not be conquered without securing the submission of at least the fort of Chittor.
In 1567 Akbar himself conducted the siege of the fort of Chittor which fell next year(1568)after a desperate resistance.
The conquest of Chittor placed the plains obstacle to the conquest of Gujarat and hastened the fall of
Ranthambhor (1569)as also the submission of Marwar and Bikaner(1570).
But the Mughal-Mewar struggle did not end with the fail of Chittor.
After Rana Udai Singh’s death in 1572, his son Rana Pratap Singh continued it further, culminating in the famous battle of Haldighat(Khamnaur according to Badauni)on June 18, 1576.
The Mughal army which was led by Raja Man Singh of Amber won this battle, but Mewar was not subjugated.
Rana Pratap, till his death in 1597, continued the struggle and except Chittor and Mandalgarh he was virtually the master of the whole of Mewar.
In 1572, when Akbar invaded Gujarat, it was divided into “seven warring principalitics”over which the nominal King Muzaffar Shah III exercised little authority.
Akbar himself led an expendition to Gujarat in 1572 and completed it by the siege of Surat in 1573.
In 1574-75 Bihar and Bengal were conquered from the Afghan Chief Daud.
Raja Man Singh of Amber, who as Governor of Bihar conquered Orissa in 1592, was rewarded for his success by being appointed subahdar of Bengal as well.
The conquest of Bihar, Bengal and Orissa goes largely to the credit of Raja Man Singh.
The year 1581 is regarded as the most critical year in the reign of Akbar, whern his half-brother Muhammad Hakim, the ruler of Kabul , advanced to Lahore.
The plan was to replace the heterodox Akbar by the orthodox Muhammad Hakim on the throne.
Thereupon Akbar proceeded to Kabul and forced his half-brother to submit, but reinstated him.
After he death of Muhammad Hakim in 1586, Kabul was annexed to the Mughal.
While suppressing the Yusufzai and Mandar tribes, Raja Birbal was killed.
In 1586, Kashmir too was annexed to the empire, and in 1593, as a preclude to the conquest of Kandahar, the whole of Sindh was annexed.
In 1594 Knadhahar was conquered from Persian.
Of the five offshoots of the Bahmani empire Akbar was concerned about Ahmadanagar, Bijpur and Golcumda only.
Berar had been annexed by Ahmadnagar in 1574 and Bidar was too insignificant to attract his attention.
Besides,there was the Faruqi kingdom of Khandesh which was the outpost of the Mughal invasion into the south.
In 1591, four Mughal embassies were sent to the Sultans of Khandesh, Bijpur, Golcunda and Ahmadnagar to accept Mughal suzerainty.
Of these only Sultan Raja Ali Khan of Khandesh agreed to submit.
Meanwhile, the course of events in Ahmadnagar offered Akbar the casus belli which he had long waited for.
After the death of Sultan Burhan Nizam Shah(1591-95) of Ahmadnagar there was a dispute about succession in which Chand Sultana, daughter of a former Sultan Husian Nizam Shah I of Bijapur, championed the cause of the lawful heir, Bahadur, who was an infant; but a group of nobles imprisoned him and elevated another candidate to their throne.
There dissensions offered Akbar an excellent opportunity for the conquest led by Akbar’s second son Murad against Ahmadnagar in 1595, Chand Sultana ceded Berar to the Mughals.
But the peace thus concluded proved a mere truce and led to fresh Mughal expenditions against Ahmadhnagar in 1597 and 1599, when Akbar himself supervised the siege of Ahmadnagar.
A large part of the kingdom remained in possession of influential Nizamshahi nobles,particularly Malik Ambar.
In 1601, the fort of Asirgarh was captured and Khandesh was annexed to the Mughal empire.
Ultimately Khandesh, Berar and the annexed portion of Ahmadnagar were combined as the viceroyalty of the Deccan and placed under prince Daniyal.
Asirgarh proved to be the last conquest of Akbar’s life.
He intended to deal with the kingdoms of Bijapur, Golcunda and Bidhar,but he had to leave the Deccan for the North where prince Salim had revolted.
Akbar’s Liberal Measures:
In 1562 he passed a decree that in course of war the Hindu non-combatants and the familes of combatants were not to be made prisoners, reduced to slavery or converted to Islam.
The next year he abolished the pilgrim tax.
In 1564 he abolished jezuyah.
The use of beef was forbidden and later, in 1583, killing of certain animals on particular dayas was forbidde.
From 1562, for eighteen long years, he made annual pilgrimage to the shrine of Shaikh Muinuddin Chisti at Ajmer.
His Hindu official like Todarmal,Birbal and Man Singh, scholars like Faizi and Abul Fazi and the Bhakti movement of the sixteenth century helped in moulding his religious.
Foundation fo the Ibadatkhana(Hall of Worship) at Fatehpur Sikri.
His religious discussions were held every Thursday evening.
In 1578, he converted the Ibadatkhana into a ‘Parliament of Raligious’.
He threw the Ibadatkhana open to Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrias and Christians.
In 1579 Akbar decided that it was necessary for him to take into his own hands all religious matters affecting his Muslim subjects, which led to drafting of a ‘Declaration’ or mahzar by Shaikh Mubarak.
It was signed by five ulema.
The comparative study of different religions of the age led Akbar to foumulate an order known as Din-i-Ilahi or Jauhind-i-ilahi(Divine Monotheism) in 1582.
The basic purpose of the foumualtion of Din-i-Ilahi was Sul-i-kul or universal harmony which governed all public plicies of Akbar, said: “His(Akbar’s)God was not the God of the Muslims alone.
He worshipped the God of all men.
He made continuous experiments in the field of a administration.
Akbar gave the Mughal India one official language (Persian).
Akbar abandoned the Islamic theory of taxation and adopted the one prevalent in India that taxation was essentially a consideration paid to the king for the protection given to the subjects.
In 1582the whole revenue system was overhauled under the supervision of Todarmal, the revenuee minister.
The revenue systerm introduced by him, known as Todarmal bondobust or zabti system, based on classification, measurement of land etc, was a pioneering measure.
The same year (1582)Dastur-al-amals or Code of Rules was issued for revenue officials.
Earlier in 1575-76, the empire was divided into twelve subahs (subas)or provinces, whose number increased to fifteen after the conquest of the Deccan.
Each subha was subdivinces, into sarkars and each sarkar into parganas or mahals.
After the conquest of Gujarat in 1573-74, the officers were classified into different ranks or mansabs,which led to the growth of the mansabdari system.
Last Years:
His eldest son Salim’s rebellion in 1602.
The Mughal court got divided into two groups, one favouring the succession of Salim and the other of Salim’s son Khusrau, who was also Akbar’s choice.
But shortly before his death in 1605, Akbar himself nominated Salim as his successor who ascended the throne with the title of Jahangir.
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