Top 10 facts about Akbar the Great

• Akbar was born on 15th October 1542. His full name was Abu'l-Fath Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar.

• Akbar succeeded his father Humayun at the age of thirteen on 14th February 1556 as third Mughal Emperor of India.

• Akbar made major reforms in the war techniques especially in the use of firearms. Firearms have such impact that the term "Gunpower Empire" had often been used by historian and scholars.

• On 5th November 1556, Akbar's army led by Bairam Khan defeated Hemu at the Second Battle of Panipat after which Mughal forces occupied Delhi and then Agra.

• Akbar organized his army as well as the nobility by means of a system called the mansabdari. The mansabdars were divided into 33 classes. The top three commanding ranks, ranging from 7000 to 10000 troops.

• The Fatehpur Sikri town was constructed by Akbar as a new walled capital of his empire in 1569 after the conquest of Gujarat.

• A new religion Din-i Ilahi was propounded by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1582 AD to merge the best elements of the Islam and Hinduism.

• The biography of Akbar is known as Akbarnama which literally means Book of Akbar. It was written by Abul Fazl.

• Akbar despite his illiteracy was a great lover of the artists and intellectuals. Nine of his courtiers were known as Akbar's navaratnas.

• Akbar fell ill on 3rd October 1605 with an attack of dysentery. He died on 27th October 1605, after which his body was buried at a mausoleum in Agra.

 

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