History · Medieval History
This topic covers the consolidation and expansion of the Mughal Empire under Akbar (1556–1605): from the Second Battle of Panipat and Bairam Khan's regency through Rajput policy, military-administrative reforms (mansabdari, dahsala), and Akbar's evolving religious outlook culminating in the concept of sulh-kul and the Din-i-Ilahi.
When Humayun died in January 1556, the thirteen-year-old Akbar was at Kalanaur in the Punjab, commanding operations against Afghan rebels. He was crowned there at the young age of thirteen years and four months. The Mughal position was precarious: Afghans remained strong beyond Agra, regrouping under Hemu — the wazir of Adil Shah (a nephew of Sher Shah) — who had not lost a single one of his twenty-two battles. Hemu captured Agra and marched on Delhi with 50,000 cavalry, 500 elephants, and a strong park of artillery. Kabul was being besieged by Sikandar Sur. The crisis demanded a decisive response.
Bairam Khan — Humayun's trusted tutor and loyal officer, now the wakil of the kingdom with the title khan-i-khanan — rose to the occasion. He bolstered Mughal morale and marched on Delhi before Hemu could consolidate.
The battle between the Mughals and Hemu's Afghan forces was fought at Panipat — the same ground as the first decisive battle thirty years earlier. Though Hemu's artillery had been captured earlier by a Mughal detachment, the tide was still in his favour when an arrow struck Hemu in the eye and he fainted. The leaderless Afghan army collapsed. Hemu was captured and executed. Thus Akbar had to virtually reconquer his empire before he could consolidate it.
Significance of Panipat II:
Bairam Khan managed the empire's affairs for nearly four years. During this period:
However, Bairam Khan had offended many powerful persons — charging him with being a Shia and appointing his own supporters to high offices while neglecting old nobles. More critically, he failed to realise that Akbar was growing up and wanting to take personal control. Friction grew on small points; Akbar slipped away to Delhi on the pretext of hunting, issued a farman dismissing Bairam Khan, and called all nobles to submit to him personally. Bairam Khan, realising resistance was futile, submitted. Akbar received him cordially and offered him the choice of serving at court, serving anywhere outside, or retiring to Mecca. Bairam Khan chose Mecca. On his way, he was assassinated at Patan near Ahmadabad by an Afghan bearing a personal grudge.
Akbar married Bairam Khan's widow (who was his cousin) and brought up his young child, Abdur Rahim, who later became famous as Khan-i-Khanan — one of the most important officers and commanders of the empire.
After Bairam Khan, groups in the nobility became politically active. Akbar's foster-mother Maham Anaga and her relations — particularly her impetuous son Adham Khan — assumed independent airs. Adham Khan, sent to command the expedition against Malwa, laid claim to the post of wazir and when it was not conceded, stabbed the acting wazir in his office. Akbar had him thrown down from the parapet of the fort, killing him (1561).
The Uzbeks formed a powerful noble group holding important positions in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Malwa. Between 1561 and 1567 they broke out in rebellion several times. When they rebelled again in 1565, Akbar was so exasperated that he vowed to make Jaunpur his capital till he had rooted them out.
Meanwhile, a rebellion by the Mirzas (Timurids related to Akbar by marriage) threw areas west of modern Uttar Pradesh into confusion. Akbar's half-brother Mirza Hakim seized control of Kabul, advanced into the Punjab, and besieged Lahore. The Uzbek rebels formally proclaimed him their ruler — the most serious crisis Akbar had faced since Hemu's capture of Delhi.
Akbar marched from Jaunpur to Lahore, forcing Mirza Hakim to retire. Meanwhile, the Mirzas were crushed and fled to Malwa and then Gujarat. Akbar crossed the Yamuna near Allahabad at the height of the rainy season, surprised the Uzbek rebels led by Uzbek nobles, and completely routed them (1567). The Uzbek leaders were killed, bringing their protracted rebellion to an end. All the rebellious nobles, including those who had been dreaming of independence, were cowed down. Akbar was now free to concentrate on the expansion of the empire.
During Bairam Khan's regency, the most important conquests were of Malwa and Garh-Katanga.
Malwa was being ruled by a young prince, Baz Bahadur, famous for his mastery of music and poetry and his romance with Rupmati (who was also renowned for her beauty and musical talent; Mandu had become a celebrated centre for music). Baz Bahadur's army had been neglected. The expedition against Malwa was led by Adham Khan (Maham Anaga's son). Baz Bahadur was badly defeated (1561); the Mughals took valuable spoils including Rupmati, who preferred to commit suicide rather than be dragged to Adham Khan's harem. However, due to the senseless cruelties of Adham Khan and his successor, a reaction against the Mughals enabled Baz Bahadur to recover Malwa. After Akbar sent a second expedition, Baz Bahadur fled, took shelter with the Rana of Mewar, and finally repaired to Akbar's court — enrolled as a Mughal mansabdar (rank of 2000). Malwa thus came under permanent Mughal control.
Garh-Katanga — the most powerful kingdom set up by the Gonds, comprising the Narmada valley and northern portions of present Madhya Pradesh — was ruled by Durgavati (the famous queen) as regent for her minor son. She had fought many successful battles against her neighbours including Baz Bahadur. However, the cupidity of the Mughal governor of Allahabad, Asaf Khan, who advanced with 10,000 cavalry, led to the campaign against Garh-Katanga. Durgavati was wounded, fought gallantly, and finding that the battle was lost and capture imminent, stabbed herself to death. Asaf Khan plundered the capital, Chauragarh (near modern Jabalpur) of immense wealth in jewels, gold, and silver. However, after Akbar dealt with the Uzbek rebellion, he forced Asaf Khan to disgorge his illegal gains and restored the kingdom to Chandra Shah (younger son of Sangram Shah), after taking ten forts to round off Malwa.
Gujarat had been in a sorry state since the death of Bahadur Shah. Its fertility, highly developed crafts, and importance as the centre of import-export trade with the outside world made it a prize worth fighting for. Akbar also claimed it because Humayun had ruled over it for some time, and the Mirzas who had failed in their rebellion near Delhi had taken shelter there.
In 1572, Akbar advanced on Ahmadabad via Ajmer. Ahmadabad surrendered without a fight. Akbar then turned his attention to the Mirzas holding Broach, Baroda, and Surat. At Cambay, Akbar saw the sea for the first time and rode on a boat; a group of Portuguese merchants came and met him for the first time. The Portuguese dominated the Indian seas by this time.
While Akbar's armies besieged Surat, Akbar crossed the river Mahi and with a small body of 200 men (including Man Singh and Bhagwan Das of Amber) assaulted the Mirzas — his life was in danger at one point, but his impetuosity routed them. Gujarat came under Mughal control. However, as soon as Akbar turned his back, rebellion broke out all over Gujarat. Akbar traversed across Rajasthan in nine days by means of camels, horses, and carts, reaching Ahmadabad on the eleventh day — a journey normally taking six weeks — with only 3,000 soldiers. He defeated the enemy force of 20,000 (1573).
The Afghans had continued to dominate Bengal and Bihar. They overran Orissa and killed its ruler. The Afghan ruler had not formally declared himself king, but read the khuba in Akbar's name. Internal fights among the Afghans and the declaration of independence by the new ruler, Daud Khan, gave Akbar the opportunity. The Afghan king was believed to possess a large army — 40,000 well-mounted cavalry, 150,000 infantry, several thousand guns and elephants, and a strong flotilla of war boats.
Akbar first captured Patna, securing Mughal communications in Bihar, then returned to Agra, leaving Khan-i-Khanan Munaim Khan in charge. The Mughal armies invaded Bengal. In a stiff battle in Bihar in 1576, Daud Khan was defeated and executed on the spot. Thus ended the last Afghan kingdom in northern India — also the first phase of Akbar's expansion of the empire.
The system of administration elaborated by Sher Shah had fallen into confusion after Islam Shah's death. Akbar had to start afresh.
Problem with Sher Shah's system: The ray (central schedule of prices) was fixed using prices prevailing at the Imperial Court — higher than country-side prices. Hence peasants had to part with a larger share of their produce.
Akbar's reform — Annual Assessment (Zabti):
The Dahsala System (1580): After returning from Gujarat (1573), Akbar paid personal attention to the land revenue system. Officials called karoris were appointed all over north India — responsible for collection of a crore of dams (Rs. 250,000) and also checking the facts and figures supplied by the qanungos.
On the basis of information about actual produce, local prices, and productivity (in 1580), Akbar instituted the dahsala system:
Further improvement — Assessment Circles:
Advantages of the Dahsala system:
Other systems of assessment:
The dahsala was not a permanent ten-year settlement. The state retained the right to modify it. However, with some changes, Akbar's settlement remained the basis of the land revenue system of the Mughal empire till the end of the seventeenth century.
Attitude towards peasants:
Akbar could not have expanded and maintained his hold without a strong army and organised nobility. He achieved both objectives by means of the mansabdari system.
Structure:
Salaries:
Sawars and the 10-20 Rule:
Contingents and composition:
Jagir System:
Akbar reorganised the central machinery of administration on the basis of division of power between various departments, and of checks and balances.
Four key departments:
Provincial Government:
The Emperor's Daily Routine:
Military:
Akbar's Rajput policy was a key element of his broader strategy of building a pan-Indian empire. When Humayun came back to India, he embarked upon a deliberate policy of winning over rajas and zamindars. Abul Fazl says that in order to soothe the minds of the zamindars, he entered into matrimonial relations with them.
Bhara Mal (ruler of Amber) came to Akbar's court immediately after his accession. In 1562, when Akbar was going to Ajmer, he learnt that Bhara Mal was being harassed by the local Mughal governor. Bhara Mal paid personal homage and cemented the alliance by marrying his younger daughter, Harka Bai, to Akbar. Unlike the dola form of earlier marriages (where the bridegroom's party went to the raja's house), many Hindu practices were followed — this happened when Akbar was residing at Lahore.
Bhara Mal was made a high grandee. His son Bhagwan Das rose to the rank of 5000. His grandson Man Singh rose to the rank of 7000 — accorded by Akbar to only one other noble, Aziz Khan Kuka (his foster-brother). The infant prince Danyal was sent to Amber to be brought up by Bhara Mal's wives. Akbar gave Bhara Mal charge of Agra in 1572 (where all royal ladies were residing) — a signal honour given only to nobles who were either relations or close confidants.
Matrimonial alliances were entered into with the Hadas of Ranthambhor, rulers of Bikaner, and later Jaisalmer — Rao Surjan Hada was placed in charge of Garh-Katanga and rose to rank of 2000. Matrimonial relations were NOT entered with rulers of Sirohi and Banswara who submitted to Akbar later.
Rajputs in imperial service:
The only Rajput state that stubbornly refused to accept Mughal suzerainty was Mewar. Although Chittor and the plain area around it had come under Mughal domination after 1568, Udaipur and the hilly area forming the larger part of Mewar remained under the Rana.
In 1572, Rana Pratap succeeded Rana Udai Singh. A series of embassies were sent by Akbar to persuade him to accept Mughal suzerainty — led successively by Man Singh, Bhagwan Das, and Raja Todar Mal. The Rana received embassies courteously but was not prepared to accept Akbar's demand for tendering personal homage. The Mughals also wanted to keep hold of Chittor.
Battle of Haldighati (1576): Early in 1576, Akbar moved to Ajmer and deputed Raja Man Singh with a force of 5,000 to lead the campaign against Rana Pratap. In anticipation, the Rana devastated the entire territory up to Chittor — Mughal forces might get no food or fodder. He also fortified all passes in the hills. A furious battle was waged at Haldighati — a narrow defile leading to Kumbhalgarh (then the Rana's capital). The Rana's force was 3,000. Apart from selected Rajput forces, the Rana's van was led by Hakim Khan Sur with his Afghan contingent.
Thus the battle of Haldighati was not a struggle between Hindus and Muslims, or between Indians and foreigners — a small force of Bhils whom the Rana had befriended was also present.
The onslaught by the Rajputs and Afghans threw the Mughal force into disarray. But rumours that Akbar had arrived in person rallied them; with fresh Mughal reinforcements, the tide turned against the Rajputs. The Rana escaped. Mughal forces were too tired to pursue him, but they advanced through the pass and occupied Gogunda (a strong point the Rana had evacuated earlier).
Haldighati was the last time the Rana engaged in a pitched battle with the Mughals. Henceforth he resorted to guerrilla warfare, going great hardships. Thanks to support of Bhil chiefs, he continued his defiance. The Mughal pressure relaxed after 1579 due to serious revolts in Bihar and Bengal. Akbar moved to Lahore in 1585 to watch the north-west situation. No Mughal expedition was sent against Rana Pratap after 1585. Taking advantage, Rana Pratap recovered many of his territories including Kumbhalgarh and areas near Chittor — but could not recover Chittor itself. He built a new capital, Chavand (near modern Dungarpur). He died in 1597 at the young age of 51, from an internal injury incurred while trying to draw a stiff bow.
Significance of Akbar's Rajput policy:
Akbar's new administrative system implied tightening of administrative machinery, greater control over the nobles, and more regard to the interests of the common people. It was not to the liking of many nobles. Sentiments of regional independence were still strong in Gujarat, Bengal, and Bihar — all with long traditions of forming separate kingdoms. Rana Pratap's struggle for freedom was continuing apace.
The most serious rebellion was in Bengal and Bihar (extending to Jaunpur). Main cause: strict enforcement of the dagh system (branding of horses of jagirdars) and strict accounting of their income. The discontent was fanned by some religious divines unhappy at Akbar's liberal views and at his policy of resuming the large revenue-free grants obtained by them (sometimes illegally).
Akbar's half-brother, Mirza Hakim (ruler of Kabul), abetted the rebellion and held out the hope of invading the Punjab. A large number of Afghans in the eastern parts were sullen at the loss of Afghan power and were ever ready to join a rebellion. A religious divine issued a fatwa calling on the faithful to take the field against Akbar.
Akbar's response:
From the beginning, Akbar was deeply interested in religion and philosophy. He was initially an orthodox Muslim who paid great deference to the leading qazi, Abdun Nabi Khan (who held the post of sadr-us-sadur and on one occasion even carried his slippers for him). By the time Akbar reached adulthood, however, mysticism — being preached throughout the country — began to influence him. He spent whole nights in thoughts of God, sat many a morning alone in prayer and contemplation on a large flat stone near his palace in Agra.
He gradually turned away from the path of narrow orthodoxy. He abolished the jizyah and the pilgrim-tax; abolished the practice of forcibly converting prisoners of war.
The Ibadat Khana (1575): Akbar built a hall called the Ibadat Khana (Hall of Prayer) at his new capital, Fatehpur Sikri. He called selected theologians, mystics, and courtiers known for their scholarship and intellectual attainments. He discussed religious and spiritual topics. He frequently said: "My sole object, oh wise mullahs, is to ascertain truth, to find out and disclose the principles of genuine religion."
However, the mullahs wrangled, shouted, and abused each other even in the presence of the emperor. Their behaviour disgusted Akbar and further alienated him from the mullahs.
At this stage (after 1578), Akbar opened the Ibadat Khana to people of all religions — Christians, Zoroastrians, Hindus, Jains, even atheists. Issues on which all Muslims were agreed — such as whether the Quran was the last revealed book and Muhammad its prophet, resurrection, the nature of God — began to be debated. This horrified the theologians; all kinds of rumours began to circulate about Akbar's desire to forsake Islam.
The Mahzar (Declaration) of 1579: Akbar issued a Declaration (mahzar) which asserted that if there were conflicting views among those (mujtahids) considered fit to interpret the Quran, Akbar — being "a most just and wise king" and his rank being higher in the eyes of God than of the mujtahids — was entitled to choose any one of the interpretations which would be of "benefit to the nation and in the interests of good order." Further, if Akbar issued a new order in conformity with the Quran and calculated to benefit the nation, all should be bound by it.
The Declaration which was signed by leading ulamas has been wrongly called a "Decree of Infallibility". Akbar claimed the right to choose only when there was a difference of opinion among those qualified to interpret the Quran. At a time of bloody conflicts between Shias, Sunnis, and Mahdawis in different parts of the country, Akbar wanted the widest religious toleration. There is little doubt that the mahzar had a salutary effect in stabilising the religious situation in the Empire.
However, the debates in the Ibadat Khana had not led to a better understanding between different religions, but to greater bitterness — as each religion denounced the other. Hence in 1582, Akbar discontinued the debates in the Ibadat Khana.
The Din-i-Ilahi (Tauhid-i-Ilahi): Akbar invited Purushottam and Devi to expound the doctrines of Hinduism, Maharji Rana to explain the doctrines of Zoroastrianism. He met Portuguese priests; sent an embassy to Goa requesting them to send two learned missionaries. The Portuguese sent Aquaviva and Monserrate who remained at Akbar's court for almost three years but their hope of converting Akbar to Christianity never had any basis. Akbar also came into touch with the Jains — the leading Jain saint of Kathiawar, Hira Vijaya Suri, spent a couple of years at Akbar's court.
Contacts with leaders of various religions, and meetings with Sufi saints and yogis, convinced Akbar that all religions had a number of good points which were obscured in the heat of controversy. He felt that if the good points of various religions were emphasised, an atmosphere of harmony and amity would prevail. Behind all the multiplicity of names and forms, there was but one God.
As Badayuni observed: "There grew gradually as the outline of a stone, the conviction in his heart that there were some sensible men in all religions. If some true knowledge was thus everywhere to be found, why should truth be confined to one religion?"
Badayuni asserts that as a result, Akbar gradually turned away from Islam and set up a new religion compounded of many existing religions — Hinduism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, etc. However, modern historians are not inclined to accept this view and think Badayuni has exaggerated. There is little evidence to prove that Akbar intended or actually promulgated a new religion.
The word used by Abul Fazl and Badayuni for the so-called new path was tauhid-i-Ilahi — literally meaning "Divine Monotheism". The word Din or faith was not applied to it till 80 years later. The tauhid-i-Ilahi was really an order of the Sufistic type. Those willing to join and those whom the emperor approved were allowed to become members. Sunday was fixed as the day for initiation. The novice placed his head at the feet of the emperor who raised him up and gave him the formula called shast in the Sufi language — he was to repeat and concentrate upon it. This contained Akbar's favourite motto: "Allah-o-Akbar" (God is Great). The initiates were to abstain from meat as far as possible, at least in the month of their birth, give a sumptuous feast and give alms on their birthday. There were no sacred books or scriptures, no priestly class, no place of worship or rituals and ceremonies, except the initiation.
Badayuni says the members had four grades of devotion: sacrifice of property, life, honour, and religion — similar to the grades a Sufi passed.
Akbar did not use force nor was money used for making disciples. In fact, many leading Hindu nobles except Birbal declined to join. The number of persons who actually joined the order was small — many of them consisting of personal favourites of Akbar.
The tauhid-i-Ilahi virtually died with Akbar. The practice of giving a shast to the initiates was continued for some time by Jahangir and then discontinued.
Akbar tried to emphasise the concept of sulh-kul (peace to all) — peace and harmony among religions — in other ways as well. He set up a big translation department for translating works in Sanskrit, Arabic, Greek, etc., into Persian. Thus the Singhan Battisi, the Atharva-Veda, and the Bible were taken up first for translation; followed by the Mahabharata, the Gita, and the Ramayana; many others including the Pancha tantra and works of geography were also translated. The Quran was also translated, perhaps for the first time.
According to Abul Fazl, Akbar's biographer, the office of a true ruler was a very responsible one which depended on divine illumination (Farr-i-izadi). Hence, no one could stand between God and a true ruler. A true ruler was distinguished by a paternal love towards his subjects without distinction of sect or creed, a large heart so that the wishes of great and small are attended to, prayer and devotion, and a daily increasing trust in God as the real ruler. It was also the duty of the ruler to maintain equilibrium in society by not allowing people of one rank or profession to interfere in the duties and obligations of another. All these together constituted what has been called the policy of sulh-kul or peace to all.
Akbar's liberal principles of the empire were strengthened by bringing able Hindus into the nobility. While most of these were Rajput rajas, many of whom entered matrimonial relations with Akbar, mansabs were given to others also on the basis of their competence. Among the ablest and most well-known were Todar Mal (expert in revenue affairs who rose to the post of diwan) and Birbal (who was a favourite of the emperor and the subject of many popular stories).
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This chapter covers Background / Context, The Second Battle of Panipat (5 November 1556), Early Phase: Contest with the Nobility (1556–67), Early Expansion of the Empire (1556–76), Administration. It is organized as revision-ready notes followed by a linked practice quiz.
For Akbar's Vision: Unifying a Continent-Sized Empire, focus on definitions, dates, places, institutions, distinguishing features, and factual comparisons in the chapter. Then use the quiz to check recall and identify gaps.
Use the Akbar's Vision: Unifying a Continent-Sized Empire chapter headings to organize an answer framework. Connect causes, consequences, comparisons, examples, and evidence wherever the notes provide them instead of memorizing isolated facts.