Akbar

The son and successor to Humayan, Akbar was only thirteen years old when he took the throne of the Mughal Empirein 1560 CE, yet proved to be one of the greatest rulers of his time. A driven and passionate ruler who rarely slept more than three hours a night, Akbar had a vision of unifying all of the Indian subcontinent and set out to do so by overseeing the building of military and administrative systems that would serve as the foundation of the Mughal Empire for centuries to come. His armies extended the empire to cover almost all of the Indian subcontinent by the time of his death. He sought reconciliation and cooperation between Hindus and Muslims, effectively doing so by placing Hindus in positions of power in the Mughal government, encouraging intermarriages between the Mughal aristocracy and Indian rajput families, and abolished the jizya. Akbar sought absolute tolerance and unity by attempting to blend many religions into a new faith which he invented, Din-i-Ilahi, which was quickly rejected by the majority of the people. Akbar sought reform of the position of women by outlawing the traditional practice of sati, discouraging young marriages, and encouraging widows to remarry. Akbar died in 1605, and was immediately succeeded by Jahangir (1605-1627), followed by Shah Jahan (1627-1658). Created by Frances Grimball December 7, 2008
 * Akbar **

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