Akbar
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Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar (Urdu: جلال الدین محمد اکبر , Hindi: जलालुद्दीन मुहम्मद अकबर, Hunterian Jalāl ud-Dīn Muḥammad Akbar), also known as Shahanshah Akbar-e-Azam or Akbar the Great (14 October 1542 – 27 October 1605),[2][3] was the third Mughal Emperor. He was of Timurid descent; the son of Emperor Humayun, and the grandson of the Mughal Emperor Zaheeruddin Muhammad Babur, the ruler who founded the Mughal dynasty in India. At the end of his reign in 1605 the Mughal empire covered most of the northern and central India. He is most appreciated for having a liberal outlook on all faiths and beliefs and during his era, culture and art reached to zenith as compared to his predecessors.
Akbar was 13 years old when he ascended the Mughal throne in Delhi (February 1556), following the death of his father Humayun.[4] During his reign, he eliminated military threats from the powerful Pashtun descendants of Sher Shah Suri, and at the Second Battle of Panipat he decisively defeated the newly self-declared Hindu king Hemu.[5][6] It took him nearly two more decades to consolidate his power and bring all the parts of northern and central India into his direct realm. He influenced the whole of the Indian Subcontinent as he ruled a greater part of it as an emperor. As an emperor, Akbar solidified his rule by pursuing diplomacy with the powerful Hindu Rajput caste, and by marrying Rajput princesses.[5][7]
Akbar's reign significantly influenced art and culture in the country. He was a great patron of art and architecture [8] He took a great interest in painting, and had the walls of his palaces adorned with murals. Besides encouraging the development of the Mughal school, he also patronised the European style of painting. He was fond of literature, and had several Sanskrit works translated into Persian and Persian scriptures translated in Sanskrit apart from getting many Persian works illustrated by painters from his court.[8] During the early years of his reign, he showed intolerant attitude towards Hindus and other religions, but later exercised tolerance towards non-Islamic faiths by rolling back some of the strict sharia laws.[9][10][11] His administration included numerous Hindu landlords, courtiers and military generals. He began a series of religious debates where Muslim scholars would debate religious matters with Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians and Portuguese Roman Catholic Jesuits. He treated these religious leaders with great consideration, irrespective of their faith, and revered them. He not only granted lands and money for the mosques but the list of the recipients included a huge number Hindu temples in north and central India, Christian churches in Goa.

Shahzada (son of the emperor) Akbar was born on 14 October 1542 (the fourth day of Rajab, 949 AH), at the Rajput Fortress of Umerkot in Sindh (in modern day Pakistan), where Emperor Humayun and his recently wedded wife, Hamida Banu Begum, daughter of Shaikh Ali Akbar Jami, a Persian Shia, were taking refuge. At birth Akbar was named Badruddin, because he was born on the night of a badr (full moon). After the capture of Kabul by Humayun, Badruddin's circumcision ceremony was held and his date of birth and name were changed to throw off evil sorcerers[12] and he was re-named Jalal-ud-din Muhammad by Humayun, a name which he had heard in his dream at Lahore.[3]Part 10:..the birth of Akbar Humayun nama, Columbia University.

Akbar as a boy

Humayun had been driven into exile in Persia by the Pashtun leader Sher Shah Suri.[13] Akbar did not go to Persia with his parents but grew up in the village of Mukundpur in Rewa (in present day Madhya Pradesh).[citation needed] Akbar and prince Ram Singh I, who later became the Maharajah of Rewa, grew up together and stayed close friends through life.[citation needed] Later, Akbar moved to the eastern parts of the Safavid Empire (now a part of Afghanistan) where he was raised by his uncle Mirza Askari. He spent his youth learning to hunt, run, and fight, but he never learned to read or write. This lifestyle of his childhood made him a daring, powerful and a brave warrior but he remained illiterate throughout his life. Although this did not hinder his search of knowledge as it is said whenever he used to go to bed, there would be somebody reading for the king.[14][better source needed]
Following the chaos over the succession of Sher Shah Suri's son Islam Shah, Humayun reconquered Delhi in 1555, leading an army partly provided by his Persian ally Tahmasp I. A few months later, Humayun died. Akbar's guardian, Bairam Khan concealed the death in order to prepare for Akbar's succession. Akbar succeeded Humayun on 14 February 1556, while in the midst of a war against Sikandar Shah to reclaim the Mughal throne. In Kalanaur, Punjab, the 13 year old Akbar was enthroned by Bairam Khan on a newly constructed platform, which still stands.[15][dead link][16] He was proclaimed Shahanshah (Persian for "King of Kings"). Bairam Khan ruled on his behalf until he came of age.