Jalal ud-din Akbar was born in 1542 to Humayun, in
India, while the latter
was a fugitive ruler. Akbar succeeded
to a very shaky throne at age 13 but went on to
enjoy a
long and successful reign, becoming the greatest
ruler of
the Mughal (Moghul) Empire founded by his grandfather Babur and his
followers, who were Muslims from
Central Asia. Akbar spent much of his difficult
childhood
on the run. Consequently, he never learned to read
or
write. However, he was a brilliant man with an
inquisitive mind and
phenomenal memory who had others read
to him throughout his life.
Akbar’s leadership highlighted his diverse achievements. He was a good
general who expanded his empire
after personally leading troops to defeat the powerful Hindu Rajput
warriors. Then he married a Rajput
princess, daughter of the ruler of Amber; she would
become the mother of his heir. His lenient treatment
of the defeated Rajputs, whom he kept as his
vassals,
foreshadowed his policy toward other Hindu subjects.
In 1572, he conquered Gujrat, thereby gaining access
to
the sea. When he encountered the Portuguese, he grew
to admire their ships, arms, and European
merchandise.
In 1573, he signed a treaty with the Portuguese
viceroy
ensuring safe passage for Indian Muslims crossing
the
Indian Ocean on pilgrimages to Mecca. Later he added
Bengal, Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and part
of
the Deccan region to his empire.
Like his grandfather Babur, Akbar was a builder. In
Delhi, the tomb he built for his father was
constructed of
red sandstone and adorned with white marble, the precursor of the mature
Indo-Islamic style of the taj mahal.
He also built a fort at Agra from red sandstone.
Above all,
he was noted for building a new palace city at
Fatehpur Sikri near Agra, close to the retreat of a Muslim
holy man
and his mentor. Built of white marble, it became his
headquarters until 1585,
when he moved away and the palaces
were never occupied again.
Akbar’s national policies aimed at uniting his subjects. The centerpiece
was religious tolerance, partly the
result of his disillusionment with Sunni Islam’s
rigidity
and intolerance and partly to conciliate his Hindu
subjects. Thus he
abolished the poll tax on non-Muslims
and the special tax on Hindu pilgrims. He hosted
religious debates of Hindu,
Muslim, Parsi (Zoroastrian),
and Christian (Jesuit) scholars at Fatehpur Sikri
and
concluded that no religion held the exclusive truth.
Attracted by mysticism he also took up Sufi Islam
and
Hindu yogi practices. Akbar eventually established a
new religion called Din-I ilahi, or Divine Faith, in
1582.
With Akbar himself as spiritual guide, Din-I ilahi
was
drawn mainly from Hinduism, Jainism, and Zoroastrianism. Orthodox Muslims
were offended and accused
him of heresy. He ruled as an autocrat served by
ranked
officials who were given salaries. However, 70
percent
of his officials were foreigners, mostly Afghans and
Persians, and Persian was the official language of
his
empire. The rest were Indians, both Muslim and
Hindu.
The employment of some Hindus in government service
was an improvement in the status of Hindus from previous Muslim dynasties.
He abolished tolls, made roads
safe, and kept dues low to encourage commerce. Akbar
was a patron of the arts, and culture flourished
during
his reign, enormously impressing the Europeans who
visited India at the time. His last years were
saddened
by the death of two sons from drinking and drugs,
and
by the revolt of his eldest son and heir, Selim
(Salim).
Similar troubles also plagued his successors, who
faced
revolts by their sons and civil wars among them.
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