Those who love history might love one of these following facts about Akbar the Great since he had much contribution to the world’s history. Akbar the Great was Mughal Emperor from 1556 until his death. He was the third and one of the greatest rulers of the Mughal Dynasty in India. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expand and consolidate Mughal domains in India. A strong personality and a successful general, Akbar gradually enlarged the Mughal Empire to include nearly all of the Indian Subcontinent north of the Godavari river. Furthermore, to get to know more about him, here are some facts about Akbar the Great you might like.

Facts about Akbar the Great 1: Power

His power and influence, however, extended over the entire country because of Mughal military, political, cultural, and economic dominance. To unify the vast Mughal state, Akbar established a centralised system of administration throughout his empire and adopted a policy of conciliating conquered rulers through marriage and diplomacy.

Facts about Akbar the Great 2: Peace

In order to preserve peace and order in a religiously and culturally diverse empire, he adopted policies that won him the support of his non-Muslim subjects. Eschewing tribal bonds and Islamic state identity, Akbar strived to unite far-flung lands of his realm through loyalty, expressed through a Persianised culture, to himself as an emperor who had near-divine status.

Facts about Akbar the Great 3: Patron of Art and Culture

Akbar himself was a patron of art and culture. He was fond of literature, and created a library of over 24,000 volumes written in Sanskrit, Hindustani, Persian, Greek, Latin, Arabic and Kashmiri, staffed by many scholars, translators, artists, calligraphers, scribes, bookbinders and readers. Holy men of many faiths, poets, architects and artisans adorned his court from all over the world for study and discussion.

Facts about Akbar the Great 4: Military Innovations

Akbar was accorded the epithet “the Great” due to his many accomplishments,among which was his record of unbeaten military campaigns that both established and consolidated Mughal rule in the Indian subcontinent. The basis of this military prowess and authority was Akbar’s skillful structural and organisational calibration of the Mughal army.

Facts about Akbar the Great 5: Military Organizations

Akbar organized his army as well as the nobility by means of a system called the mansabdari. Under this system, each officer in the army was assigned a rank (a mansabdar), and assigned a number of cavlary that he had to supply to the imperial army.

Facts about Akbar the Great 6: Akbar’s Reign

Akbar’s reign was chronicled extensively by his court historian Abul Fazal in the books Akbarnama and Ain-i-akbari. Other contemporary sources of Akbar’s reign include the works of Badayuni, Shaikhzada Rashidi and Shaikh Ahmed Sirhindi.

Facts about Akbar the Great 7: Death

On 3 October 1605, Akbar fell ill with an attack of dysentry, from which he never recovered. He is believed to have died on or about 27 October 1605, after which his body was buried at a mausoleum in Sikandra, Agra.

Facts about Akbar the Great 8: Robbing

Seventy-six years after Akbar’s death, in 1691, a group of austere Hindu rebels known as the Jats, rebelling against the Mughal Empire robbed the gold, silver and fine carpets within the tomb, desecrated Akbar’s mausoleum.

Facts about Akbar the Great 9: Music

The violin concerto nicknamed “Il Grosso Mogul” written by Antonio Vivaldi in the 1720s, and listed in the standard catalogue as RV 208, is considered to be indirectly inspired by Akbar’s reign.

Facts about Akbar the Great 10: Social Reformer

As an individual, Akbar always promoted and propagated an ethical way of living life. He was very progressive in his thought as it is evident from his views on child marriage. Akbar vehemently opposed the idea of child marriage and also opposed the social norm which prevented widows from getting remarried. He also despised the practice of Sati tradition and in this regard, he took strong legislative steps to put the practice of this tradition to an end.

Hope you would find those Akbar the Great facts really interesting and useful for your additional reading.