The Probert Encyclopaedia of People

AKBAR

Akbar was a Mogul emperor of India. He was born in 1542 at Amerkote and died in 1605. He was perhaps the greatest Asiatic prince of modern times. He succeeded his father, Humayun, at the age of thirteen, and governed first under the guardianship of his minister, Beyram, but took the chief power into his own hands in 1560. He fought with distinguished valour against his foreign foes and rebellious subjects, conquering all his enemies, and extending the limits of the empire further than they had ever been before, although on his accession they embraced only a small part of the former Mogul Empire. His government was remarkable for its mildness and tolerance towards all sects; he was indefatigable in his attention to the internal administration of his empire, and instituted inquiries into the population, character, and productions of each province. The result of his statistical labours, as well as a history of his reign, were collected by his minister, Abul Fazi, in a work called Akbar-Nameh (Book of Akbar), the third part of which, entitled Ayini-Akbari (Institutes of Akbar), was published in an English translation at Calcutta between 1783 and 1786 in three volumes, and reprinted in London. His mausoleum at Secundra, near Agra, is a fine example of Islamic architecture.
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