1. Introduction
2. Early Conquests of Akbar
2.1. Second Battle of Panipat (Nov 1556)
2.2. Regency of Bairam Khan (1556-1560)
2.3. Imperial Policy Of Akbar
3. The conquests of Northern Indian
3.1. Malwa (1561)
3.2. Jaunpur and Chunar
3.3. Gondwana (1564)
3.4. Uzbeg Rebellion (1564-1567)
3.5. Akbar and The Rajputs
3.6. The siege and capture of Chittor (1567-1568)
4. Conquest of Ranthambhor (1569)
4.1. Submission of Kalinjar, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer (1569-70)
4.2. Battle of Haldighati (June 1576)
4.3. Conquest of Gujarat (1572-1573)
4.4. Conquest of Bihar and Bengal (1574-1576)
4.5. The Conquest of the North-Western Region
4.6. The Conquest of the Deccan
4.7. Ahmednagar
4.8. Khandesh
4.9. Results of Akbar’s Deccan Policy.
5. Role of Harem in Mughal Politics
5.1. History
5.2. Hierarchy
5.3. Reform of Akbar
5.4. Business Activity
5.5. Humayun Nama
6. Akbar’s Religious Policy with Special Reference to Sule Kul
6.1. ‘Sule Kul’
6.2. Ibadat Khana (House of Worship)
6.3. Infallibility Decree (1579)
6.4. ‘Din-i-llahi’ or ‘Tauhld-Ilahi’
7. Mansab and Jagir System
7.1. Introduction
7.2. Mansab System
7.3. Composition of Mansabdars
7.4. Jagir System
8. Land Revenue System of Akbar
8.1. Measurement of Land
8.2. Amount of Produce Per Bigha
8.3. Fixing the Rate of Assessment
8.4. Dahsala System
8.5. Raja Todar Mal
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Topic – Akbar (Notes)
Subject – History
(Early Medieval Indian History)
Table of Contents
Introduction
Jalal-Ud-din Mohammad Akbar, son of Humayun, was born at Amarkot (in Sind) on 15 October, 1542 in the house of a Rajput chief. Akbar spent his childhood under conditions of adversity and uncertainty as Humayun was in exile. Arrangements for his formal education were made by Humayun after his restoration to the throne of Kabul, but Akbar was more interested in sports and martial exercises than in studies.
In 1551 Akbar was made the governor of Ghazni, and he remained its governor till November 1554 when Humayun embarked on an expedition for the conquest of Hindustan. Akbar was given nominal command of the army of Indian invasion and was given the credit of Humayun’s victory at Sirhind in January 1555.
After his occupation of Delhi, Humayun declared Akbar to be the heir apparent and assigned to him the governorship of the Punjab. Humayun died in January 1556 as a result of the fall from the staircase of his library. At that time Akbar was just a boy of 14.
When the news of his father’s death reached Akbar, he was at Kalanaur, 15 miles west of Gurdaspur in the Punjab. His guardian Bairam Khan took immediate steps to enthrone him on a brick platform and performed the ceremony, thereby proclaiming him the emperor on February 14, 1556.
Early Conquests of Akbar
Though Humayun had recovered Delhi in June 1555, he had not been able to consolidate his position in India, therefore everything was in a chaos. Akbar’s position was very shaky, he was only a nominal ruler of a small part of the Punjab. India in 1556 presented a dark as well as a complex picture.
In the North-West, Mirza Muhammad Hakim, Akbar’s half-brother, governed Kabul independently. Kashmir, Sind, and Multan were also free from imperial control after the death of Sher Shah. Orissa, Malwa, and Gujarat were independent of the control of any overlord. In the eastern provinces, the Afghans were strong under their king Adil Shah. The Rajputs also possessed considerable strength.
The important Rajput princes were those of Mewar, Jaisalmer, and Jodhpur. Gondwana was being ruled by Rani Durgavati in the name of her minor son. Beyond the Vindhyas lay the extensive Vijayanagar Empire and the Muslim Sultanates of Khandesh, Berar, Bidar, Ahmednagar, Golconda, and Bijapur, which felt no interest in northern politics.
By this time even the Portuguese had established their influence on the western coast of India and possessed Goa and Diu. Thus, there was hardly any territory which Akbar could call his own at the time of his accession. His heritage was of a precarious nature, and his task of building up an empire was indeed a very difficult one.
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