Akbar the Great was the third Mughal Emperor, ascending the throne at the very young age of thirteen. During the time of Akbar’s reign he abolished military threats from some of the most powerful empires including the Second Battle of Panipat where he defeated the Hindu king Hemu.
Aside from being a great military commander Akbar the Great was also a huge influence on India’s culture and art, even having the walls of his palaces covered in murals. He also took an interest in Sanskrit literature having several different works translated into Persian.Unlike many rulers of the time Akbar showed great respect for other cultures and their religions even granting money and land for mosques, Hindu Temples, and Christian churches. He was also remembered for hosting a series of religious debates where scholars would debate religious matters with members of many different religions including Roman Catholic Jesuits, Hindus, and Zoroastrians.
This religious tolerance was very rare for an emperor of this time, Akbar not only allowed these religions to be practiced but he also studied them himself thus expanding his knowledge about the religions of the world.Muhammad Akbar was born at the Rajput Fortress in Sindh on October 14, 1542 originally being named Badru-d din, meaning ‘the Full Moon of Religion. ’ Akbar belonged to a particular branch of the Turks known as the Chagatai or the Jagatai who originated in the regions beyond the Oxus forming part of the Chagatai heritage. Akbar greatly depended on his heredity class which classified him into the Turk, Mongol, and the Persian blood lines.
Later in his life Akbar changed his name and birthday because his relatives were strong believers of the supernatural and they felt the need to protect him against sorcery by concealing his true identity.Akbar’s birthdate was moved back from November 23 to October 15, and his named was changed from his birth name of Badru-d din to Jalalu-d din Muhammad which ment ‘Splendour of Religion’ (Smith page 19). In the early years of his life Akbar grew up with the future ruler of Amber, India, a prince by the name of ‘Mirza Raja Ram Singh I’ on a plateau lying between the Kaimur range and Binjh known as Rewa, India. He then moved to the Safavid Empire where he was raised by his uncle Mirza Asakri.
At a young age Mirza Asakri taught Akbar how to hunt, run, and fight molding him into a daring, powerful and a brave warrior.Throughout all of his teachings Akbar was never taught to read or write causing him to be illiterate. Although this did not hinder his search of knowledge for whenever he would to go to bed he would have somebody read to him. Later in his life Akbar the Great succeeded the throne after Muhammad Humayun died on January 24, 1556 after falling down a flight of stairs fracturing his skull. “To allow time to prepare for Akbar’s succession the fatal natures of the accident were concealed by having a man dress up and impersonate Humayun even make a public appearances (Ibid page 80).
After receiving authentic news of Humayun’s death, the formal enthronement of Akbar took place on February 14, 1556 during the midst of war against Sikandar Shah. At the age of thirteen Akbar was enthroned in the garden at Kalanaur on a plain brick throne where he was proclaimed Shahanshah meaning the king of kings. At the time of Akbar’s succession India was an ill-governed land that had an economic condition that was even worse than its political condition. Because Akbar was only at the age of thirteen at the time of his succession, Bairam Khan took responsibility of India on his behalf until he was of age.On October 6, 1556 the Hindu king Hemu, commanding the Afghan forces defeated the Mughal Army and captured Delhi. The Hindu General possessed a far superior military greatly relying on his artillery and his 1,500 war elephants.
After being urged by Bariam Khan, Akbar decided to march his forces to Delhi to reclaim it from king Hemu. The Afghan’s artillery which was sent on in advance was captured by Akbar’s army in a preliminary engagement. After the loss of his artillery the Hindu General still had his war elephants giving his the superiority of strength.On November 5 at the Second Battle of Panipat, Hemu threw both the left and right wings of Akbar’s army into confusion allowing him the opportunity to attack the center of Akbar’s army with his war elephants. Hemu would have won battle if it weren’t for an arrow that hit Hemu in the eye rendering him unconscious.
The leaderless army soon gave up and surrendered to Akbar’s military where Hemu was then captured and executed. This victory left Akbar with the Afgahn’s weapons, artillery, and war elephants.After his victory Akbar only remained in Delhi for about a month so he could return and repare for his attacks against Sikandar Sur. Akbar then began to engage Sikandar Sur at the Siege of Mankot. The pursuit of Sikandar Sur was long and tough until finally in May 1557, Sikandar surrendered at Mankot, a fort in the lower hills of modern day Ramkot.
After this victory Akbar then continued to expand his empire until 1558 after he had defeated and captured the kingdoms of Jammu, Janpur, Gwalior, and Northern Rajputana. Though Akbar was already a great leader and had won many conquests he was still little more than a boy.He would keep himself entertained with field sports and elephant fights taking no interest in the workings of government which he allowed Maham Anaga to rule in his behalf. Akbar enjoyed the good life until the urge to expand returned to Akbar’s mind.
He then decided to march on Malwa quickly defeating and capturing it from the spoiled king Baz Bahadur who put up little resistance. For the next few years Akbar continued to slowly expand his empire by subjugating local chiefs and annexing neighbors’ kingdoms. Then in October of 1567 Akbar marched the Mughal army of 5000 men to attack the Hindu Rajputs at the Siege of Chittorgarh.The Mughal army quickly surrounded the 8000 Hindu Rajputs that barricaded themselves inside the fortress city.
On October 20, 1567 Akbar formed a camp that extended for over ten miles to the north-east of the fortress. On December 17, Akbar had two heavily charged mines set at the base of the fortress, unexpectedly the mines didn’t explode as planned. Only the first mine exploded on schedule triggering Akbar’s first infantry to storm the fortress. The belayed explosion of the second mine caused the death of over 200 of Akbar’s solders.During the course of this attack the besieged garrison only lost 40 men and was quickly able to build a new wall to defend the breach. After this failed attack Akbar then took a new approach by ordering the construction of a hill in front of the fort where he then placed his cannons.
This hill allowed Akbar the advantage of being able to see into the fortress. Later in the battle on February 28, 1568 Akbar noticed a person wearing a chief’s cuirass who appeared to be directing the fortress’s defense. Akbar took aim at this man quickly shooting and killing him.This man was later found out to be Jaimall Rathor of Bednor, the current commander of the fortress. As usual with India’s army, when the commander is lost the army quickly falls apart causing mass chaos within the defending military. After this loss of control, Akbar’s army was easily able to conquer the fortress ending the siege of Chittorgarh.
To demonstrate his authority, Akbar ordered the heads of his enemies to be displayed upon towers he had erected throughout the region. Inside the fortress he found many riches which he ordered his men loot and bring back to him, he then distributed all of the loot throughout the Mughal Empire.Akbar ordered the statures of the two armored elephants that led the Mughal assault to be carved and erected at the chief gates of the Agra Fort and also had picked gates built throughout the fortress to help deter against any future elephant attacks. On 3 October 1605, Akbar fell ill with an attack of dysentery, from which he never recovered. He later died on October 27, 1605, after which his body was buried at a mausoleum in Sikandra, Agra.
Akbar left behind a rich legacy both for the Mughal Empire as well as the overall Indian subcontinent.During his reign, the culture of India changed to a secular and liberal culture, with emphasis on cultural integration. He also introduced several far-sighted social reforms, including prohibiting sati, legalizing widow remarriage and raising the legal age of marriage. The great Mughal known as Akbar the great worked to expand his empire throughout his entire life. Akbar ascended the throne at the age of thirteen where he took very little time before he started the expansion of his already great empire.
He was a strong military leader conquering many huge empires including the Hindu empire ruled by king Hemu.Akbar the great is remembered as a tolerant leader, he even allowed the leaders he had conquered to become members of his courts and gave them land and riches. Unlike almost all leaders of this time he was also very tolerant of different religions allowing the practice of many different religions inside his empire even granting members of these religions land and money to build temples and places of worship. Akbar the Great is currently listed as one of the top leaders of all time being remembered for the vast expansion of his empire and for his tolerant behavior allowing many freedoms and opportunities throughout his empire.
