Akbar

Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar ((1542-10-15)15 October 1542 – (1605-10-27)27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great, and also as Akbar I (Persian pronunciation: [ak.baɾ]), was the third <a href="/facts/Mughal_emperors/WJnl1jIP">Mughal emperor</a>, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, <a href="/facts/Humayun/TXGGTH7S">Humayun</a>, under a regent, <a href="/facts/Bairam_Khan/qzFQXPN5">Bairam Khan</a>, who helped the young emperor expand and consolidate Mughal domains in the <a href="/facts/Indian_subcontinent/0XUWGXpx">Indian subcontinent</a>. He is generally considered one of the greatest emperors in Indian history and led a successful campaign to unify the various kingdoms of <a href="/facts/Hind%C5%ABst%C4%81n/AtbNQwRV">Hindūstān</a> or <a href="/facts/Names_for_India/xRPGd0Xn">India proper</a>.
Akbar gradually enlarged the <a href="/facts/Mughal_Empire/yRg2kAy5">Mughal Empire</a> to include much of the Indian subcontinent through Mughal military, political, cultural, and economic dominance. To unify the vast Mughal state, Akbar established a centralised system of administration and adopted a policy of conciliating conquered rulers through marriage and diplomacy. To preserve peace and order in a religiously and culturally diverse empire, he adopted policies that won him the support of his non-Muslim subjects, including abolishing the <a href="/facts/Jizya/phJKpSlE">sectarian tax</a> and appointing them to high civil and military posts.
Under Akbar, Mughal India developed a strong and stable economy, which tripled in size and wealth, leading to commercial expansion and greater patronage of an <a href="/facts/Indo-Persian_culture/yMEcK0ET">Indo-Persian culture</a>. Akbar's courts at <a href="/facts/Delhi/Xa6CKgnf">Delhi</a>, <a href="/facts/Agra/4BJxz5eG">Agra</a>, and <a href="/facts/Fatehpur_Sikri/hJ6dpfnS">Fatehpur Sikri</a> attracted holy men of many faiths, poets, architects, and artisans, and became known as centres of the arts, letters, and learning. <a href="/facts/Timurid_Renaissance/CdpnSpmU">Timurid</a> and Perso-Islamic culture began to merge and blend with indigenous Indian elements into a distinct style of Mughal arts, including <a href="/facts/Mughal_painting/6dAnmGCv">painting</a> and <a href="/facts/Mughal_architecture/nC0bQTXE">architecture</a>. Disillusioned with orthodox Islam and perhaps hoping to bring about religious unity within his empire, Akbar promulgated <a href="/facts/Din-i_Ilahi/o4u9pq2b">Din-i Ilahi</a>, a <a href="/facts/Religious_syncretism/UQXQXSts">syncretic creed</a> derived mainly from <a href="/facts/Islam/zDLbL45C">Islam</a> and <a href="/facts/Hinduism/oxV9YvQh">Hinduism</a> as well as elements of <a href="/facts/Zoroastrianism/rM0QUMtg">Zoroastrianism</a> and <a href="/facts/Christianity/nKyJHlqq">Christianity</a>.
Akbar was succeeded as emperor by his son, Prince Salim, later known as <a href="/facts/Jahangir/pPlr6Qce">Jahangir</a>.

Akbar open-in-new

Akbar