Cu 31924024056503

DS
.3
SCO
PRESIDENT WHITE LIBRARY

CORNELL . UNiVBRSiTY
"""*' """"'
DS 461.3:S66" ""'
3 1924 024 056 503

The original of tiiis book is in
tine Cornell University Library.
There are no known copyright restrictions in

the United States on the use of the text.
http://www.archive.org/cletails/cu31924024056503
AKBAR
THE GREAT MOGUL
1542-1605
OXFORD UNIVEKSITY PRESS
LONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOW NEW YOEK
TOBONTO MBLBOUBNE CAPE TOWN BOMBAY
HUMPHREY MILFORD
PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY
AKBAR
THE GREAT MOGUL
1542-1605
BY
VINCENT A. SMITH
M.A. (UCBL, ET OXON.); M.B.A.S. ; lATE OF THE INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE
AUTHOR OF
'the EARLY HISTORY OP INDIA '

' A HISTORY OF FINE ART IN INDIA AND CEYLON ', ETC.
TrXeoi' ^/AtoT) TravTos. — Heiiod
OXFORD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
1917
The Frontispiece
AKBAR as a boy, about a.d. 1557 (Tashbih Khurdsdl Akbar Padshah ;
Johnson Collection, India Office ; album xviii, fol. 4 ; artist not known.
The earliest Indo-Persian painting).
1)3
PREFACE
Twenty-four years ago, when I was editing the
Rambles and Recollections of Sir Wilham Sleeman and
was under the influence of that author's enthusiastic
comment that ' Akbar has always appeared to me
among sovereigns what Shakespeare was among poets ',
I recorded the opinion that ' the competent scholar who
will undertake the exhaustive treatment of the life
and reign of Akbar will be in possession of perhaps the
finest great historical subject as yet unappropriated '.
Since those words were printed in 1893 nobody has
essayed to appropriate the subject. The hope that
some day I might be able to take it up was always
present to my mind, but other more urgent tasks pre-
vented me from seriously attempting to realize my old
half-formed project until January 1915, when I resolved
to undertake a life of Akbar on a scale rather smaller
than that at first contemplated. The result of my
researches during two years is now submitted to the
judgement of the public.
The long delay in coming to close quarters with the
subject has proved to be of the greatest advantage, both
to myself and to my readers. The publication of sound,
critical versions of Abu-1 Fazl's Akbarndma, Jahangir's
authentic Memoirs, Gulbadan Begam's Memoirs, and
certain minor works has rendered accessible in a con-
venient form all the principal Persian authorities for
the reign. The discovery in a Calcutta library of the
long-lost manuscript of the Mongolicae Legationis Com-
mentarius, by Father A. Monserrate, S. J., and the pubhca-
tion of a good edition of the text of that manuscript
vi AKBAR THE GREAT MOGUL
by the Rev. H. Hosten, S. J., have placed at the disposal
of the historian a practically new contemporary docu-
ment of the highest value. The claims of the Jesuit
writings to credit and attention having been amply set
forth in the Introduction and Bibliography need not be
further emphasized here. The free use made of those
writings is a special feature of this work.
The few authors who have touched the subject of
Akbar at all have not only neglected the Jesuit authori-
ties, but have also failed to subject the chronicles written
in Persian, and now available in good versions, to rigorous
critical study. The minor fountains of knowledge, too,
have not been tapped. The immense mass of accurate
archaeological and numismatic facts accumulated by
modern experts has not been utilized. The literature
of the reign has been treated so lightly that no historian,
except Mr, R. W. Frazer, even mentions the fact that
Tulsi Das, the greatest, perhaps, of Indian poets, lived
and wrote in the reign of Akbar. Many matters of
moment, such as the Jain influence on the policy of the
emperor, his malicious persecution of Islam, and the
great famine of 1595-8, have been altogether omitted
from the current books. The course of my investigation
has disclosed numberless cases of the omission or mis-
representation ofmaterial facts. The necessity for a
thorough scrutiny of the authorities for Akbar's life is
thus apparent, and the importance of his reign needs no
exposition.
This book being designed as a biography rather than
as a formal history, it has been possible to dispense with
the discussion of many details which would require
notice in an exhaustive chronicle.^ The Greek motto on
• In order to avoid overcrowding list appended : (1) ' De Laet On
this volume
special with appendices many ShahjAan, &c.' (ind. Ant.,' vol.
studies have been pub- xliii, Nov. 1914, pp. 289-44) • (2)
lished separately, as given in the ' The date of Akbar's Birth '
PREFACE vii
the title-page, to the effect that ' the half is more than
the whole ', neatly expresses my view that a compara-
tively brief biography enjoys many advantages over
a voluminous history crowded with names and details.
Long Indian names, whether Muhammadan or Hindu,
offer such difficulty to most European readers by reason
of their unfamiliar forms, that I have done my best to
confine the number of such names to the lowest possible
limit, and to reduce the indispensable ones to their
simplest dimensions.
The spelling of names follows the principle observed in
The Early History of India, except that popular literary
forms such as ' Mogul ' and ' Parsee ' have been used
more freely. In the text long vowels are marked so as
to indicate the pronunciation, but no other diacritical
marks are used. In the notes, index, and appendices the
transliteration is more formal and substantially that of
the Indian Antiquary. Consonants are to be pronounced
as in English. Ch, in particular, is sounded as in the word
' church ' ; I decline to use the spelling unfortunately
adopted by the Asiatic Societies which would transmute
' church ' into ' cure ' and actually produces unlimited
confusion in the minds of ordinary readers. Vowels are
pronounced as in Italian, so that pul, Mir, Mill-, nau
are respectively pronounced as the English ' pull ',
' Meer ', ' Mool- ', and ' now '. Short a with stress on
it is pronounced like u in ' but ', and when without
(ibid., vol. xliv, Nov. 1915, pp. Great Mogul, &c.' (The Asiatic
233-44). This paper was dis- Review, July 1915, pp. 136-69) ;
figured by many misprints owing (6) ' Reply ' to discussion on
to the non-receipt of a proof, but above (ibid., August 1915) ; (7)
a list of Errata is bound with the ' The Death of Hemu ' (J. R. A. S.,
volume ; (8) ' The Treasure of 1916, pp. 527-35) ; (8) ' The Con-
Akbar ' (J. R. A. S., Nov. 1915, fusion between two consorts of
pp. 235^3) ; (4) ' The Credit due Humayiin, &c.' (ibid., 1917) ; and
to the book entitled TJie Voyages (9) ' The Site and Design of the
and Travels of J. Albert de Man- Ibadat-Khdna or House of Wor-
delslo into the East Indies ' (ibid., ship ' (ibid.),
pp. 245-54); (5) ' Akbar the
Vlll AKBAR THE GREAT MOGUL
stress is an indistinct vowel. The name Akbar conse-
quently is pronounced ' Ukbur ' or ' Ukber ', Any
system for securing approximate uniformity in the
spelling of strange Asiatic names must cause some
worry. The plan adopted in this book gives as little as
possible. We cannot revert to seventeenth- or eight-
eenth-century practice and perpetrate the unrecog-
nizable barbarisms which disfigure old books.
The most interesting of the illustrations is the coloured
frontispiece — a perfect facsimile of the original in the
India Office Library — prepared by Messrs. Stone & Co.,
of Banbury. No other portrait of Akbar as a boy of
fifteen or thereabouts is known to exist. The picture
seems to be contemporary, not a copy, and must have
been executed about 1557 or 1558. It is not signed, but
may be the work of Abdu-s samad, who was Akbar's
drawing-master at about that date, and long afterwards
was appointed his Master of the Mint. The portrait
possesses additional interest as being the earliest known
example of Indo-Persian art, about a dozen years
anterior to the Fathpur-Sikri frescoes. Several other
illustrations are now published for the first time. The
plans of Fathpur-Sikri, in Chapter XV, are from E. W.
Smith's excellent book, but have been redrawn with
some slight correction.
Mr. Henry Beveridge, I.C.S. Retired, rendered an in-
valuable service by lending and permitting the use of
most of the proof-sheets of the unpublished third volume
of his translation of the Akbarndma. He has also
favoured me with correspondence on various points.
I am indebted for kind communications to William
Crooke, Esq., I.C.S. Retired ; Sir George Grierson,
K.C.I.E., I.C.S. Retired; and the Rev. H. Hosten, S.J.,
of Calcutta.
My special thanks are due to the Library Committee
PREFACE ix
and Dr. F. W. Thomas, Librarian of the India Office, for
the faciUties which rendered possible the production of
the coloured frontispiece. For help in providing or
suggesting other illustrations acknowledgements are
tendered to the Secretary of State for India in Council ;
the Government of the United Provinces of Agra and
Oudh ; the Council of the Asiatic Society of Bengal ;
the Curators of the Bodleian Library, Oxford ; C. A.
Oldham, Esq., I.C.S., Commissioner of Patna ; Rai
Bahadur B. A. Gupte, Curator of the Victoria Memorial
Exhibition, Calcutta ; and Maulavl A. Hussan, Secretary
and Librarian of the Oriental Public (Khuda Baksh)
Library, Bankipore. The last-named gentleman furnished
me with a detailed account of the magnificent manu-
script of the Tdnkh-i Khandan-i Tlmuriya, or History
of the Timurid Family.
V. A S.
CONTENTS
CHAP.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION. Geneeal View of the
1
Authorities ...■•••
I. Akbar's Ancestry and Life before his Acces-

sion ;India in 1556 ; Akbar's Task . . 9
II. The Regency and the Fall of Bairam Khan,
1556-60 33
III. Petticoat Government ; the Emancipation of
Akbar, 1560^ 49
IV. Conquest of Gondwana ; Rebellions of Abdul-
lah Khan, Khan Zaman, Asaf Khan (I), and
THE MiBZAS ; Reduction of the Great Fort-
resses ;Building of Fathpur-Sikri ; Con-
quest OF Gujarat, etc. ..... 69
V. Conquest of Bihar and Bengal ; Establish-
ment OF THE ' House of Worship ' ; Akbar's
First Contact with Christianity ; Admini-
strative Measures ; War in Rajputana . . 123
VI. Consolidation of Conquests ; Discussions on
Religion ; Relations with Jains and Parsees ;
Arrival of the First Jesuit Mission ; the
'^ Infallibility Decree ' OF 1579 . . . 155
VII. Rebellion in Bengal and Bihar ; the Kabul
Campaign and its Results ; End of the
First Jesuit Mission ; Rebellion of Muzaf-
FAR Shah in Gujarat, etc. .... 184
VIII. The Din IlIhi, ' Divine Faith ', or ' Divine Mono-
theism ;' Fantastic Regulations ; Founda-
tion OF Allahabad ; Beginning of Inter-
course with England, etc. .... 209
CONTENTS xi
CHAP. PAGE
IX. Wars on North-western Frontier ; Annexa-

tion OF Kashmir and Sind ; Second Jesuit
Mission ; Regulations ; Annexation of
BaxSchistan and Kandahar, etc. . . . 233
X. The Third Jesuit Mission (1595) ; Famine
(1595-8) ; Wars in the Deccan ; Fall of
Ahmadnagar and AsiRGARH ; Last Embassy
TO GoA (1601) ; The Jesuit Fathers ; Founda-
tion of the English and Dutch East India
Companies ....... 259
APPENDIX A. Official Account of the
Capitulation of Asirgarh .... 297
XI. Rebellion of Prince Salim ; Death of Prince
Daniyal and of Akbar's Mother ; Sub-
mission AND Arrest of Prince SalIm ; Last
Illness and Death of Akbar (October 1605) ;
Desecration of his Tomb (1691) . . . 301
APPENDIX B. The Arrest of Prince Salim
AND Connected Events .... 328
XII. Akbar 333
XIII. Institutions, Military and Civil . . . 354
XIV. Social and Economic Condition of the People . 385
XV. Literature and Art 415
APPENDIX C. Chronology of the Life and Reign
OF Akbar ........ 448
APPENDIX D. Bibliography 459
INDEX 487
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Akbar as a boy, about A. D. 1557 (Tashlnh Khurdsal Akbar
Padshah ; Johnson Collection, India Office ; album xviii,
fol. 4 ; artist not known. The earliest Indo-Persian paint-
ing) ........ Frontispiece
Akbar's Throne at Kalanaur (Ann. Rep. A. S., India, for 1907-8,
p. 32) To face page 30
Akbar's Lamp, NE. of Chitor (J. A. S. B., part i, vol. Ivi (1887),
pi. v) . . . . . . . To face page 86
Shaikh Salim in his Hermitage at Fathpur-Sikri (Johnson Collec-
tion, India Office, album Ivii, fol. 9 ; unfinished sketch)
To face page 102
Record-room, Fathpur-Slkri (E. W. Smith, Fathpur-Sikri,
partiii, pl.lxviii) ..... To face page 138
Akbar and Prince Salim (Victoria Memorial Exhibition, Calcutta,
No. 1066 ; byBandaAlam) . . . To face page 225
Raja Man Singh (Johnson Collection, India Office ; vol. Ivii,
fol. 5) To face page 240
Abu-lFazl(DelhiMuseumCataIogue, p.ll, No.H. 17) „ „ 306
Tansen the Singer (Johnson Collection, India Office ; album Ivii,
Raja Birbal (Johnson Collection, India Office ; album Ivii,
Akbar (Johnson Collection, India Office; album Ivii, fol. 1)
To face page 422
The King's Gate, Fathpur-Sikri (E. W. Smith, Fathpur-Slkrt,
part iv, pi. iii) ..... To face page 440
South Mihrab of Great Mosque, Fathpur-Sikri (E. W. Smith,
Fa/ftpMr-Siftri, parti V, pi. xlviii) . . To face page 441
Birbal's House, Fathpur-Sikri (E. W. Smith, Fathpur-Slkri, part
ii, pl-ia) To face page 443
The Throne Pillar, Fathpur-Sikri (E. W. Smith, Fathpur-Sikri,
part i, pi. Ixxvi) To face page 444
MAPS
India in 1561 . .... To face page 56
Sketch map to illustrate the Campaigns in Rajputana and
Gujarat To face page 118
Route of the First Jesuit Mission (1580) from Daman to Fathpur-
Sikri 173
Sketch map to illustrate the Campaign against the Yiisufzi in
1585-6 ... 234
Plan of Asirgarh ..... ... 274
India in 1605 To face page 332
Fathpur-Slkri : general plan of the City ..... 433
Fathpur-Sikri : general plan of the Buildings .... 439
ABBREVIATIONS
A. H. — Ânno Hijrae.
Ahmad Yadgar. — TafOeh-i Saldtm Afdghana (E. & D., v, 1-66).
Ain. — Aln-i Akbari, by Abu-1 Fazl, transl. Blochmann and Jarrett.
Alfi. — TdrlM-i Alfi (E. & D., v, 167-76).
'All Rais. — Travels and Adventures, tiansl. Vamb6ry, 1899.
A. N. — Akbarnama of Abu-1 Fazl, transl. Beveridge, Chalmers, and
E. &D.
Anfffu. — Anfffu-l Ahhbdr, by Muhammad Amin (E. & D., vi, 244-50).
A. S. — Archaeological Survey.
Asad Beg. — Wikayd or Hdlai, of Asad Beg of Kazwin, in E. & D., vi.
A. S., Annual. — Annual Reports, A. S., India, from 1902-3.
A. S. B. — Âsiatic Society of Bengal.
A. S. R. — Reports of A. S., India, by Cunningham, &c., 1871-87.
Badaoni. — Tarikh-i Baddonl, or Muntalchabu-t Tawarikh, by 'Abdu-1

Kadir, transl. Blochmann, E. & D., Lowe (ed. Cowell), Haig, and
Ranking.
Bartoli. — Missione al gran Mogor del Padre Ridolfo Aquaviva, Roma,
Salvioni, 1714.
Bayazld. — MukMasar, or Tarthh-i Humdyun, by Bayazid Sultan Biyat ;
abstracts by Beveridge {J. A. S. B., part i, vol. Ixvii (1898), pp.
296-316), and Raverty, Notes on Afghanistan.
Beale. — An Oriental Biographical Dictionary, ed. Keene, 1894.
Bernier. — Travels in the Mogul Empire, transl. and ed. Constable and
V. A. Smith (Oxford University Press, 1914).
B. M. — ^British Museum.
B. M. Catal. — The Coins of the Mogul Emperors of Hindustan in the
B. M., by Stanley Lane-Poole, 1892.
Commentarius. — Mongolicae Legationis Commsntarius, by Father A.
Monserrate, ed. Hosten, Memoirs, A. S. B., 1914.
Dabistan. — Dabistdnu-l MazShib, transl. Shea and Troyer, 1843.

de Laet. — De Imperio Magni Mogolis, site India Vera, by John de Laet,
Elzevir, 1631.
de Sousa. — Oriente Conquistado, by Father Francisco de Sousa, 1710,
as quoted by Goldie and Hosten.
Du Jarric. — Histoire, &c. ; Latin version, Thesaurus Rerum Indicarum,
Cologne, 1614, 1616.
E. & D. — Tlie History of India as told by its own Historians, by Sir H. M.

Elliot and Professor John Dowson, 8 vols., 1867-77.
E. H. I. — The Early History of India, by Vincent A. Smith, 3rd ed.
(Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1914).
Elphinstone. — History of India, by Mountstuart Elphinstone, Sth ed.,
by Cowell, 1866.
Ep. Ind. — Epigraphia Indica, Calcutta, in progress.
xiv AKBAR THE GREAT MOGUL
Fergusson. — History of Indian and Eastern Architecture, by James
Fergusson, ed. Burgess, 1910.
Firishta. — Tartkh-i Firishta, by Muhammad Kasim Hindu Shah,
Firishta, transl. Briggs, reprint by Cambray, Calcutta, 4vols., 1908.
Fitch. — Ralph Fitch, England's Pioneer to India,ed. Riley (Unwin, 1899).
Gladwin. — The History of Hindostan, Calcutta, 1788.
Goldie. — The First Christian Mission^ to the Great Mogul, by Father
Francis Goldie, S.J. (Gill, Dublin, 1897).
Gulbadan. — The History of HumayUn (HumayUn-Ndma), by Gulbadan
Begam, transl. A. S. Beveridge, R. A. S., 1902.
H.— Hijri.
Herbert. — Some Years Travels, &c., by Sir Thomas Herbert, 4th ed.,
1677.
H. F. A. — A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon., by Vincent A.
Smith (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1911).
Horowitz.— Epigraphia Indo-Moslemica, Calcutta, 1910.
I. G. — Imperial Gazetteer of India (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1907, 1908).

I. M. — Indian Museum, Calcutta.
I. M. Catal. — Catalogue of the Coins in the I. M., Calcutta, by H. N.
Wright, vol. iii, Oxford, 1908.
Ind. Ant. — Indian Antiquary, Bombay, 1872 to date.
I. O. — India Office, London.
Irvine, Army ; or Irvine. — The Army of the Indian Moghuls, by William
Irvine, 1903.
J. A. S. B. — Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta.

J. <fc Proc. A. S. B. — Journal and Proceedings of the same.
Jahangir, R. B. — The TUzuk-i Jahangiri, or Memoirs of Jahangir, transl.
and ed. by A. Rogers and H. Beveridge, R. A. S., 1909, 1914.
Jauhar. — Tazkiratu-l Waîdt, or Tdrtkh-i HumdyUn, by Jauhar, transl.
under title of Private Memoirs of the Moghul Emperor HumayUn,
by Stewart, London, 1832. (Or. Transl. Fund.)
J. I. A. — Journal of Indian Art and Industry.
J. R. A. S. — Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, London.
Latif. — Agra, Historical and Descriptive, by Syad Muhammad Latif,

Calcutta, 1896.
Maclagan. — ' The Jesuit Missions to the Emperor Akbar ' (J. A. S. B.,
part i, vol. Ixv, 1896), by E. D. Maclagan.
Mandelslo. — Voyages and Travels, by J. A. de Mandelslo, transl. Davies,
London, 1669.
Manrique. — Itinerario, by Fray Sebastian Manrique, Roma, 1649, 1653.
Manucci. — Storia do Mogor, or Mogul India, transl. and ed. by W.
Irvine, 4 vols., London, 1907, 1908.
Modi. — The Parsees at the Court of Akbar, &c., by Jivanji Jamshedji
Modi, Bombay, 1903.
ABBREVIATIONS xv
N. S. — Hew style.
Nuru-1 Uakk.—Zubdatu-t Tawaflkh, by Shaikh Nuru-l Hakk, in
E. & D., vi, pp. 189-94.
O. S.— Old style.
Peruschi.— 7n/orma/tone del Regno e stato del gran R& di Mogor, Romaj
1597, by Giovanni Battista Peruschi.
P. M. Catal. — Catalogue of Coins in the Panjdb Museum, Lahore, vol. ii,
Oxford, 1914, by R. B. Whitehead.
Purchas. — Purchas his Pilgrimes (1625), ed. Wheeler, Early Travels
in India, Calcutta, 1864 ; or ed. MacLehose, Glasgow, 1905-7.
R. A. S. — Royal Asiatic Society, London.

Raverty. — Notes on Afghanistan, London, 1888, by H. G. Raverty.
Relagam. — Bslagam do Equebar, by Father A. Monserrate, transl.
Hosten, in J. & Proc. A. S. B., 1912.
Roe — The Embassy of Sir Thomas Roe, &c., ed. Foster, Hakluyt Society,
1899.
Shaikh Faizi. — Wakiat, by Shaikh Faizi, in E. & D., vi.

Sirhindi. — Akbamdma, by Shaikh Illahdad Faizi Sirhindi, in E. & D., vi.
Smith, Akbar's Tomb. — Akbar's Tomb, Sikandarah, by E. W. Smith,
Allahabad, 1909.
Smith, Colour Decoration. — Moghul Colour Decoration of Agra, by the
same, Allahabad, 1901.
Smith, Fathpur-Slkrl. — The Moghul Architecture of Fathpur-Slkri, by
the same, quarto, in 4 parts, Allahabad, 1894-8.
Stewart. — History of Bengal, by Charles Stewart, quarto, 1813.
Tabakat. — Tabakdt-i Akbari, by Khwaja Nizamu-d din Ahmad, transl.

in E. & D., v.
Takmil. — Takmil-i Akbarndma, by 'Inayatu-Uah, transl. by E. & D.,
vol. vi ; by von Noer ; and by Chalmers, MS. in R. A. S. Library,
Terry. — A Voyage to East India, by Rev. Edward Terry, ed. 1677.
Thomas. — The Chronicles of the Pathan Kings of Delhi, and The Revenue
Resources of the Mughal Empire, by E. Thomas, London, 1871.
Tod. — The Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, popular ed., Routledge,
1914.
U. P. — Ûnited Provinces of Agra and Oudh.
von Noer. — The Emperor Akbar, by Count von Noer, transl. A. S.

Beveridge, Calcutta, 1890.
Yule and Burnell. — Glossary of Anglo-Indian Words (Hobson-Jobson),

1st ed., 1886, by H. Yule and A. C. Burnell.
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS
Page 5, line 28. For ' Muhammadans ' read ' Muhammadans '.
Page 40, line 10. Mankot is now called Ramkot. The Raj was one
of the Dugar or Dogra States (Journ. Panjab Hist. Soc, vol. iii, pp. 119,
120, 123).
Page 45, note. The identity of Tabarhind with Bhatinda (Bathinda)
is now accepted by good authorities not available when the note on
page 45 was written, and seems to be established (Horowitz, ibid.,
vol. ii, p. 109 ; and Stow, ibid., vol. iii, p. 35). The place was one of
the important fortresses on the military road connecting Delhi with
Multan.
Page 52, line 20. A friend reminds me that ' Hawai ' also means a
' sky-rocket ', which probably was the special signiiication intended.
Page 110, line 11. For ' Itlmad ' read ' Itimad '.
Page 207, note. For ' exer ' read ' exer- '.
Page 392. Tom Coryate's speech has been edited in Persian by
Sir C. J. Lyall and translated into English, with some misprints, by
Babu Bhan Pratap Tewari in North Indian Notes and Queries, vol. ii
(1892), para. 464.
Page 395. Two large quarto volumes (vii and viii) of the Arckaeo-
logieal Survey of Western India, by Burgess, are devoted to the Muham-
madan buildings of Ahmadabad.
Page 401. Lions were to be found in Northern Rohilkhand (Mora-
dabad and Rampur) and ' in considerable numbers ' in the Saharanpur
and Ludiana Districts In 1824 (Heber, Journal, ed. 1844, vol. i, p. 248).
Three were killed between Allahabad and Sutna in 1866. Colonel J. B.
Hall, of the Central Indian Horse, shot a full-grown male lion on June 11,
1 872, near Goona (Giina), in the Gwalior State, the last recorded specimen
outside Kathiawar {Pioneer Mail, Allahabad, Oct. 19 and Nov. 2, 1900).
INTRODUCTION
GENERAL VIEW OP THE AUTHORITIES
The historian who undertakes to deal with the Hfe, Paucity

character, and reign of Queen EUzabeth of England, King pa^***^
Henry IV of France, or any other notable European sovereign
of the sixteenth century, is confronted by a gigantic mass of
State Papers and other contemporary documents of various
kinds, manuscript and printed, so voluminous that the Ufe-
time of a diligent student hardly suffices to master the
whole. The biographer of Akbar or any other Asiatic
prince of the same period, with possible Chinese exceptions,
is in a position very different. The contents of even one
record room have not survived. Copies of a few letters
and other official papers, with occasional specimens of land-
grants or other semi-private documents, often embedded
in the text of books, have been preserved, and private indi-
viduals here and there hold original documents of interest
to their families. But no great collection of public docu-
ments exists to which reference can be made, nor is there
material for the preparation of a calendar of State Papers.
The surviving documents of Akbar's reign, whether originals
or copies, although not negligible as a source for the biography
and history of the emperor, are not sufficient in number
or importance to justify the compilation of a separate
catalogue.
Perhaps the most interesting of the contemporary docu-
ments isthe ' infallibility decree ' of 1579 preserved in textual
copies by two historians. Some, if not all, of the letters
sent by Akbar to various civil and ecclesiastical authorities
at Goa are included in the printed collection of Abu-1
Fazl's correspondence. The translations in various languages
by sundry authors agree substantially and undoubtedly
M45 T,
AKBAR THE GREAT MOGUL
reproduce correctly the substance of those communications,
which throw much welcome light on the character and
opinions of Akbar.
The collection of letters in Persian by Abu-1 Fazl, Akbar's
Secretary of State, above referred to, has been often printed
but not translated. It is believed that the documents do
not contain much matter of historical importance inaccessible
elsewhere. The opinion of a competent scholar on their
merits is given in the note.^
A volume of letters by Abu-1 Fazl's elder brother also
exists. One specimen has been translated. The collection,
as a whole, is said to be of slight value for the purposes of
the historian.^
Examples of land-grants will be found in Modi's book
on the relations of the Parsees with Akbar .^
Records The lack of State Papers dealing with the reign of Akbar
kept by
Akbar. is not due to any failure of his to keep a record of his sayings
and doings. Each day while he was giving public audience
watchful scribes standing below him committed to paper
every word uttered by his august lips, and recorded with
painstaking minuteness the most ordinary and trivial
actions of his life. The public service was divided into many
departments, each well organized and provided with an
' ' As a finished diplomatist, I have not felt bound to under-

his letters to recalcitrant generals take the labour of examining the
and rebellious viceroys are Eastern text of those difficult compositions.
models of astute persuasion, See also Blochmann, Aln, vol. i,
veiling threats with compliments,
and insinuating rewards and p. =>XXX.
E. & D., vi, 147. Dowson
promises without committing his says :
master to their fulfilment. ' The letters are of a gossiping,
'But these epistles which form familiar character, and are em-
one of his monuments to fame, belUshed with plenty of verses ;
consist of interminable sentences but they contain nothing of im-
involved in frequent parentheses portance, and throw little light
difficult to imravel, and paralleled upon the political relations of the
in the West only by the decadence time. All these letters were
of taste, soaring in prose, as translated for Sir H. M. ElHot by
Gibbon justly remarks, to the Lieutenant Prichard, and it is to
vicious affectation of poetry, and be regretted that they were not
in poetry sinking below the flat- more worthy of the labour be-
ness and insipidity of prose, stowed upon them.' I do not know
which characterizes Byzantine where the manuscript translation
is now. Faizi died in 1595.
eloquence in the tenth century ' ' Modi ; see BibKography.
(Jarrett, Aln, vol. ii, p. v).
INTRODUCTION 8
elaborate system for the transaction and record of business.

When the emperor was travelUng a camp record office
always accompanied him. Record rooms, built for the
purpose, existed at the capital and at each head-quarters
town in the provinces. Father Manrique, while staying at
Rajmahal in or about 1640, when that town was the capital
of Bengal, was allowed partial access to the governor's
record room, and was permitted to copy from an official
document the complete inventory of the treasure left by
Akbar in 1605.
Several European writers affirm, and no doubt with perfect
truth, that there were no secrets in the Mogul administration.
A copy of any document, however confidential, could be
obtained without difficulty by means of a moderate payment
to the custodians. The works of the early European authors
contain many particulars which certainly were derived from
official records.
The scarcity of State Papers is due simply to their destruc- Records
tion, which has been almost absolutely complete. A large P^™hed
part of the destruction of writings in India, which is always neglect
going on, must be ascribed to the peculiarities of the climate, destruc-
and the ravages of various pests, especially white ants, tion-
The action of those causes can be checked only by unre-
mitting care, sedulous vigilance, and considerable expense,
conditions never easy of attainment under Asiatic adminis-
tration, and wholly unattainable in times when documents
have been deprived of immediate value by political changes.
The rapid decay of the Mogul empire after the death of
Aurangzeb in 1707 and the consequent growth of indepen-
dent mushroom powers quickly deprived the documents
in the imperial and viceregal secretariats of their value for
practical, material purposes. In the whole country there
was not a man who cared to preserve them for the sake of
their historical interest. Mere neglect by itself is sufficient
to account for the disappearance of nearly all the State
Papers of Akbar's time. Active destruction completed the
work of passive neglect. The imperial capitals of Agra,
Delhi and Lahore, as well B2
as every important provincial
4 AKBAR THE GREAT MOGUL
city, suffered from repeated violence of every kind. If by
good fortune anything had escaped during the innumerable
wars of the eighteenth century and the first half of the
nineteenth, it perished utterly during the disturbances of
the mutiny period from 1857 to 1859.
Official The destruction of Akbar's well-kept official records has
in^th" 1*^611 partially neutralized by Abu-1 Fazl's unique compilation
Ain-i _ entitled Ain-i Akbarl, or ' Institutes of Akbar ', the result of
seven years' hard labour by the author, with the assistance
of a numerous staff.^ That book gives summaries of many
official regulations, besides much descriptive matter and
copious statistics extracted or compiled from the records
of the government. It is, in short, a descriptive and statisti-
cal survey of the empire, combined with a detailed account
of the court and of the administrative system. Nothing
at all resembling such a work was ever compiled in Asia,
unless, perhaps, in China. Even in Europe it would be
difficult to find an authoritative compilation of a like kind
until quite recent times, when the preparation of statistical
tables and gazetteers began to be fashionable.
Abu-1 Fazl's book, happily, has been made fully accessible
to European students by the scholarly versions of Bloch-
mann and Jarrett, which are as serviceable as the original
Persian for most purposes.^ The annotations of the trans-
lators, especially those of Blochmann in volume i, add
immensely to the value of the text.
The third volume (Books IV and V), which is mostly
devoted to a careful account of Hindu religion, philosophy,
science, and customs, is not as good as its model, the great
treatise -written by Alberuiu more than five centuries
earlier. The same volume includes a collection of Akbar's
' Happy Sayings ', which give authoritative expression to
his opinions on many subjects and have much importance
as biographical material.
The historian, however, is concerned chiefly with the first
' Am, vol. iii, p. 402. ties impairs the value of his
'' Colonel Jarrett's lack of translation of volume ii.
knowledge of revenue technicali-
INTRODUCTION 5
and second volumes (Books I-III), which describe the court

and administration, and present a statistical survey of the
empire from official sources.
The other authorities for the reign of Akbar are surprisingly Six other
numerous and copious, a large number being contemporary, authori"'
The subject is of so much interest from many points of view ties,
that it is astonishing that nobody in any country has yet
thought it worthy of serious critical treatment. The one
German attempt at such treatment is so defective that its
existence does not invalidate the statement that no tolerably
adequate critical biography or history of Akbar is to be found
in any language.
The authorities comprise (1) a considerable number of
histories and memoirs in Persian, mostly contemporary;
(2) a long series of writings by observant Jesuit missionaries
who resided at the court of Akbar ; (3) the notes of early
European travellers and authors, other than Jesuits, and
contemporary to some extent ; (4) later European books,
which contain various traditions and certain facts based
on earlier documents ; (5) the archaeological evidence, com-
prising the testimony of monuments, inscriptions, and coins ;
and (6) contemporary portraits, drawings, and paintings.
Details of aU these six classes of authorities will be found
in the Bibliography, Appendix D.
In this place my observations will be confined to pointing
out in general terms the evidential value of each class of
authorities.
Muhammadans, as is well known, differ from Hindus in Muham-
being fond of historical composition as a branch of literature, histories
Every•' Muslim dynasty ■' in India •'
has had its chronicler or ™
general,
chroniclers, who ordinarily wrote in Persian. India never
has produced an historian justly deserving the name of great,
or at all worthy to be ranked with the famous historians
of Europe, ancient or modern. Most of the writers are mere
annahsts, content to give a jejune summary of external
facts concerning kings, courts, countries, and wars, some-
times relieved by anecdotes and stories, usually of a trivial
kind. A sense of artistic proportion is rarely indicated, and
6 A KB All THE GREAT MOGUL
we must not look for the philosophy of history, for explana-

tions of the inner causes of events, or for notices of the
common people and economic development. Nevertheless,
the Muhammadan histories in Persian are invaluable, and
must always be the foundation of the history of India from
the time of the Muhammadan conquest to the beginning
of the British period. All other sources of information are
merely subsidiary. Chronicles written by contemporaries,
which are numerous, are, of course, the most important.
Persian Akbar's reign has received its full share of attention from
of Akbar. *^^ Muslim chroniclers. By good fortune the three principal
works have been translated in full by competent scholars,
and the more important parts of the minor works also are
accessible in English. Translations into other European
languages are few and unimportant. The leading authority
for the narrative of events in Akbar's reign is the Akbarndma,
written by Abu-1 Fazl in obedience to an imperial order
and partly revised by Akbar himself.^ The chronology is
more accurate than that of other books.
The next two long histories of high value are the works
by Nizamu-d din and BadaonI, both of whom were in Akbar's
service. The former is a straightforward chronicle of the
usual type, good so far as it goes, except that the chronology
is erroneous. The latter is a peculiar composition written
from the point of view of a Musalman bigot bitterly opposed
to Akbar's heresies and innovations. The book, in spite of
defects of form, is of surpassing interest.
The numerous minor historians add considerably to our
knowledge. Full details concerning all the books will be
found in the Bibhography.
The The next source of authentic information concerning
Jesuits, ^jjbar is to be found in the writings of the Jesuit Fathers
who visited and resided at his court from 1580. The chief
merit of von Noer's book is that he made considerable use
of the works of the Jesuit authors, which had become rare
and were almost forgotten. In the seventeenth century
they were highly popular and were printed repeatedly in
' Aln, vol. iii, p. 414.
INTRODUCTION 7
most of the languages of Europe. During the eighteenth

century and the greater part of the nineteenth they were
overlooked by nearly all authors writing in Enghsh, and
appear to have been wholly unknown to Elphinstone and
Malleson. Failure to read the Jesuits has resulted in the
currency of much false history. The Fathers were highly
educated men, trained for accurate observation and scholarly
writing. They made excellent use of their opportunities
at the imperial court, and any book which professes to treat
of Akbar while ignoring the indispensable Jesuit testimony
must necessarily be misleading. The long-lost and recently
recovered work by Father Monserrate, entitled Mongolicae
Legationis Commentarius (1582), is an authority of the
highest credit and importance, practically new. The his-
torian Du Jarric, who condensed the original letters of the
missionaries into narrative form, is an extremely accurate
and conscientious writer, entitled to high rank among the
historians of the world. Unfortunately, his great book is
extremely rare and little known.
The fundamental authorities for- the story of Akbar's life Other
early
and reign must always be the Aln-i Akbarl, the works of European
' ties.
ûthori-
the historians written in Persian, and the accounts recorded
by the Jesuit missionaries. But the sidelights to be derived
from minor limiinaries are not to be despised. Two English
pioneer merchants who visited Akbar's court, Ralph Fitch
in 1585, and John Mildenhall, twenty years later, have left
a few brief notes. The Fragmentum Historiae Indicae by
van den Broecke, pubhshed by de Laet in 1631, written
about two years earlier, and based on an Indian chronicle,
contains much matter deserving of consideration.
When we come to later times the most important European Later Kuropean
book is Tod's Annals ofBajasthan, 1829-32, which preserves works.
many traditions not available elsewhere, and gives an esti-
mate of Akbar's character and deeds as seen from the Rajput
point of view. It is a book to be used with critical caution.
Modi's book on the Parsees at the court of Akbar is excellent.
Other works will be found mentioned in the BibUography.
Little need be said about the value of expert study of the
Archaeo- archaeological evidence, comprising monuments, inscriptions,

evltoce ^^^ coins, which is essential for a right understanding of
the history of art during the reign, while incidentally helping
to clear up and illustrate sundry matters of chronology and
historical detail. The pubhshed material for the study,
although not absolutely complete, is fairly adequate. The
art and literature of the reign are discussed in the concluding
chapter of this work.
Portraits, The cognate evidence obtained from portraits, drawings,
and ' and paintings is of special interest as helping the student
paint- iq visualize the leading personages of the story exactly as
they lived. Only a moderate exercise of imagination is
required to call up the vision of Akbar surrounded by his
courtiers and friends at Fathpur-Sikri, where the buildings
which he used are still standing for the most part.
The It is thus apparent that the sources for the biography
numerous °^ Akbar, the estimation of his genius, and the history of
and his reign are extraordinarily abundant and various. All
the kinds of evidence enumerated above have been utilized
freely in the composition of this work, but the attempt to
exhaust the recorded particulars has not been made. The
treatment of the material has been selective, not exhaustive.
The author has aimed at the object of drawing a just picture
of Akbar, supporting his presentation of the emperor by
so much historical detail as is indispensable for the correct
framing of the portrait, and by no more. The details of
campaigns and court intrigues which do not directly concern
the personality of Akbar will not be found in this volume,
but events in which he took an active part are narrated
with considerable minuteness. The attentive reader will
not fail to observe that authors, even when contemporary,
often contradict one another. It would be too much to
expect that my efforts to ascertain the exact truth can have
been successful in every case. The evidence on each doubtful
point has been weighed with care and impartiality. If any
reader feels inclined to dissent from any of the conclusions
embodied in the text, the references given should be sufficient
to enable him to form an independent opinion.
CHAPTER I
AKBAR'S ANCESTRY AND LIFE BEFORE HIS ACCESSION;

INDIA IN 1556 ; AKBAR'S TASK
Akbae was a foreigner in India. He had not a drop of Akbar a

foreigner
Indian blood in his veins.^ On the father's side he was in India.
a direct descendant in the seventh generation from Marlowe's
Tamerlane, the great Amir Timiir, a Central Asian Turk.^ In
some manner, the exact nature of which is not known, he
was descended through a female from the same stock as
Chingiz Khan, the Mongol ' scourge of Asia ' in the thirteenth
century .3 The particular branch of the Turks to which
Akbar' s ancestors belonged was known by the name of
Chagatai or Jagatai, because they dwelt in the regions
beyond the Oxus which had formed part of the heritage of
' Nevertheless, Mr. Havell Khan] uxor. Quare in Cingiscani
boldly asserts that Akbar was genus vel ab avia vel ab alia
' an Indian of the Indians ' Cingiscani stirpis heroide quasi
(Indian Architecture, 1913, p. 1(62). insitione adjimctus est, quam pri-
' The names in the pedigree dem autem ab eo non accepimus.
are Timiir : (1) Miran Shah ; Vera tamen narrare cum sibi ab
(2) Muhanmiad Sultan ; (3) Abu illo muliebre genus esse affirmaret
S'aid; (4) 'Umar Shaikh; (^) credidimus ' (Commentarius, pp.
Babur ; (6) Humayun ; (7) Akbar. 652, 656). I understand the
For full genealogy see end of author's
Am, vol. i, or Elphinstone, ed. 5. unnamed suggestion
female whoto transmitted
be that the
Babur or Babur, not Babar as the blood of Chingiz Kh&n was in
usually written, is a Turki name, the
having no connexion with the not inancestry of Persian
that of his Akbar's mother,
father,
Arabic babar, ' a lion ' (E. D. who was called Chiili ' because
Ross, J. dk Proc. A. S. B., 1910, of her wanderings in the desert
extra no., p. iv). Monserrate (chul). The statement that she
correctly writes ' Baburus '. had been previously married or
' ' Porro autem Zelaldinus betrothed to another man before
[Jalalu-d din] maternum genus her union with Humayiin is not
a Cinguiscano ducit, quod Rex found elsewhere. She was dis-
ipse Sacerdotibus signiflcavit . . .
Ac Zelaldini mater nee regium although tantly notrelated
of to'
royalHumayun,
descent.
genus nee dignitatem Cinguiscani The name of Chingiz is variously
in Zelaldinum transfudit : fuit
spelt. The£!nc2/cZ.Bri/.,ed.ll, re-
enim privati cujusdam tribuni tains the old-fashioned 'Jenghlz'.
filia. Vocabatur TxoeUj [Chuli] In quotations from Monserrate
Beygum et antequam Emaumo I distinguish u and v, i and j,
[Humayrin] nuberet data fuerat as usual in modern books.
a parentibus Cayacano [? Kaim
Chagatai or Jagatai, the second son of Chingiz.^ The blood

of the Turki tribes in Central Asia was much blended with
that of the Mongols. Jahangir, Akbar's son, recognized the
relationship by priding himself on observing the customs
of Chingiz as well as the regulations of Timur.^ ' Mogul ',
the designation by which European writers usually indicate
the Timurid dynasty of India, is merely another form of
' Mongol '. Akbar was much more a Turk than a Mongol
or Mogul, and his mother was a Persian.
The character of Akbar, so far as it depended upon
heredity, was thus based on three distinct non-Indian
strains of blood existing in his proximate ancestors, namely,
the Turk or Turki, the Mongol or Mogul, and the Persian
or Iranian strains. The manners and customs of his court
exhibited features which were derived from all the three
sources, Turki, Mongol, and Iranian. During the early
years of his reign Indian influences counted for little, the
officers and courtiers surrounding him being divided into
two parties, the Turks — Mongol or Chagatai and Uzbeg —
on the one side,* and the Persians on the other. But after
Akbar had attained maturity the pressure exercised by his
Indian environment rapidly increased, so that in sentiment
he became less and less of a foreigner, until in the later
years of his life he had become more than half an Hindu.
His personal conduct was then guided mainly by Hindu
dharma,* or rules of duty, modified considerably by the
precepts of Iranian Zoroastrianism. The Turki and Mongol
' Sir Ch. Elliot in Encycl. Brit., Mahommed Shaibani or Shahi

ed. 11, s.v. 'Turks'. Beg, made himself master of
' Jahangir, R. B., i, 68, 76. Transoxiana and founded the
" ' The Timurids [of Samar- Uzbeg power. The chief opponent
kand] were overthrown and sue- of the Uzbegs in their early days
ceeded by the Shaibani dynasty, was Baber ' (Encycl. Brit., ed. 11,
a branch of the house of Juji, s. v. ' Turks ', vol. 27, p. 472).
Jenghiz Khan's eldest son, to The hostility between the Chaga-
whom his father had assigned tais and the Uzbegs continued in
dominions in the region north Akbar's time until the death of
of the kingdom of Jagatai. About Abdullah Khan Uzbeg in 1597.
1465 a number of this clan mi- In India Chagatai and Uzbeg
grated into the Jagatai Khanate, chiefs concurred in opposition to
They were given territory on the Persians.
Chu River and were known as • The term ' Hindu ' includes
Uzbegs. About 1500 their chief, Jain.
ANCESTRY AND EARLY IJFE 11
elements in his nature were kept so much in the background

that he was reputed by Hindus to be a reincarnation of
a Brahman sage. Both Turki and Persian were spoken at
his court, but the former tongue in the course of time
dropped out of use, while the latter became the recognized
official and literary language. The highly Persianized form
of Hindi known by the name of Urdu, or the camp language,
which developed gradually as a convenient instrument of
communication between natives and foreigners, was often
almost identical in vocabulary with Persian as spoken in
India, while retaining the grammatical structure of an
Indian tongue.
Akbar's grandfather, ' Babur ', as Stanley Lane-Poole Babur,
Padshah.
justly remarks, ' is the link between Central Asia and India,
between predatory hordes and imperial government, between
Tamerlane and Akbar '. The wonderful story of his early
life and romantic adventures, told by himself in the inimi-
table autobiography, originally written in Turki and in
Akbar's time translated into Persian, may be read with
pleasure and profit in the Enghsh version by Leyden and
Erskine, or more compactly in Stanley Lane-Poole's artistic
little volume.^ That fascinating tale cannot find a place
in these pages, although the study of it in detail helps to
explain the adventurous spirit so conspicuous in Akbar.
Babur's contact with India began in 1504, when, at the age
of twenty-two, he established himself as the lord of Kabul,
which was then generally regarded as a part of India, and
was at all times closely connected with that country. Babur
himself tells us that he ' had always been bent on subduing
Hindustan '. He had made several tentative efforts to
gratify his desire before he effected his successful invasion
early in 1526. On April 21 of that year he defeated and
slew Ibrahim Lodi, the Afghan Sultan of Hindostan, at
Panipat, to the north of Delhi, and quickly made himself
master of Agra and other districts. Nearly a year later, on
' Babar, In Rulers of India, ridge is bringing out a new vetsion
Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1899 ; from the Turki original. Part
in my judgement the best of has been published,
that valuable series. Mrs. Beve-
March 16, 1527, at Khanua,i a few miles from Sikri, where

his grandson subsequently built his palace-city of Fathpur,
Babur scattered the huge Rajput host commanded by the
gallant Rana Sanga or Sangram Singh of Chitor, and so
crushed the springs of Hindu resistance.
One more big battle, fought near the confluence of the
Ganges with the Ghaghra (Gogra) in Bihar, confirmed the
bold adventurer's sway over north-western India as far
eastward as the frontier of Bengal. At the close of 1530,
when he was only in the forty-eighth year of his age, his
stormy life, which he had enjoyed with so much zest, came
peaceably to an end in his garden-palace at Agra. His
remains were carried thence to his beloved Kabul, where
they repose under a plain slab in a little garden below
a hill set in ' the sweetest spot in the neighbourhood ',
which he had chosen for his last resting-place. The body
of his favourite consort lies beside him, and the place is
hallowed by a graceful little mosque of white marble, erected
in 1646 by his descendant, the Emperor Shahjahan.^
Huma- Babur left four sons. Humayun, the eldest, then twenty-
Padshah. ^^^ years of age, was allowed to ascend the throne of Delhi
without opposition, but was obhged to concede the govern-
ment of the Pan jab and the Afghan country of Kabul,
Kandahar, and Ghazni to his next brother, Kamran, in
practical independence. Humayun, although not without
considerable merits, was a shiftless person, a slave to the
opium habit. A bold Afghan governor of Bihar, named
Sher Khan, resolved to fight him for the prize of India. In
1539 Humayun was badly defeated at Chausa on the Ganges
by his far abler rival, and in the following year was again
routed at Kanauj. He was driven from his kingdom, and
the victor assumed royalty as Sher Shah. He lived until
1545, and instituted many administrative reforms, especially
in the revenue department, which were subsequently copied
' Variously spelt as Kanwaha, and 77° 3' E.
Kanwa, or Khanwah. The text ' Havelock, Narrative of the
follows the I.G. spelling. The War in AffghanisUm{\iMi),\o\.\i,
village is in the Bharatpur p. 147, App. 24.
(Bhurtpore) State, in 27° 2' N.
ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE 13
and extended by Akbar. Neither Babur nor Humayun did

anything to improve civil government. They were merely
the leaders of a small body of foreign adventurers. Babur
fought at Panlpat, it is said, with only 12,000 men all told,
including camp-followers.
Humayun, the discrowned king, fled westwards and
became a homeless wanderer. Failing to obtain succour
either from his brother Kamran, who had abandoned the
Panjab to Sher Shah, or from the chiefs of Jodhpur or
Marwar and Sind, he was forced to roam about aimlessly
in the waterless western deserts with an ever-dwindling body
of distressed followers. While thus roaming in Sind he had
been captivated by the charms of Hamida Bano Begam,
a young lady, daughter of Shaikh Ali Akbar Jami, who had
been preceptor to Humayun's youngest brother, Hindal.^
Although she could not be considered as of royal lineage,
there seems to have been a distant relationship between
her family and that of Humayun. She had been already
betrothed to another suitor, and was unwilling to link her
fortunes with those of a king, even a king without a crown.
After some weeks' discussion the proposal of Humayun
was accepted, and he married Hamida at Pat in western
Sind, towards the close of 1541 or the beginning of 1542.
The bride was only fourteen years of age.
In August 1542 Humayvin, accompanied by his young Huma-
consort, her followers, and only seven armed horsemen, refuge in
entered the small fortress town of Umarkot, situated on the Umarkot.
main route between Hindostan and Sind, at the edge of the
sandhills forming the eastern section of the Sind desert.^
1 The Shaikh was also known Parkar District, Sind. Many Per-
as IkBr Baba Dost. See Mr. sian and English authors write
Beveridge's discussion in Gul- the name erroneously as Amar-
badan's Memoirs. There is no kot, with various corruptions,
substantial reason for doubting as if derived from the Hindi
the parentage of Hamida and her word amar, meaning ' immortal ', a
brother Khwaja Muazzam. frequent element in Hindu names.
' 'Umarkot, the fort of 'Umar The often-repeated assertion that
or Omar, a chief of the Sumra Akbar revisited Umarkot in 1591,
tribe. Theplace,situatedin25°21' which has been admitted into
N. and 69* 46' E., is now a town the /. G., is false. He never was
with about 5,000 inhabitants, the in Sind after his infancy (see
head-quarters of the Thar and Raverty, Notes on Afghanistan,
The local Hindu chief, Rana Parshad, received the starving

and thirsty fugitives with generous hospitality, providing
them with all necessaries. He arranged to supply Humayun
with 2,000 horsemen of his own tribe and 5,000 under the
command of friendly chiefs, advising that the force should
be employed on an expedition against the districts of
Thathah (Tatta) and Bhakkar (Bukkur). Humayun took
the advice and started with 2,000 or 3,000 horsemen about
November 20.i Hamida Bano Begam was then expecting
her confinement.
Birth
Akbar,of In due course the days were accomplished, and Hamida
Bano Begam, who was then only fifteen years of age, and
herself httle more than a child, gave birth to a boy, destined
to become the most famous of Indian monarchs. Humayun
was encamped on the margin of a large pond, more than
twenty miles distant from the Rana's town, when Tardi
Beg Khan, with some other horsemen, rode up, bringing
from Umarkot the joyful news that Providence had blessed
his Majesty with a son and heir. Humayun, who was
a pious man, prostrated himself and returned thanks to the
Almighty Disposer of all events. When the news spread, all
the chiefs came and offered their congratulations. The child
having been born on the night of the full moon (Shaban 14,
A. H. 949), equivalent to Thursday, November 23, 1542, the
happy father conferred on his son the name or title Badru-d
din, meaning ' the Full Moon of Religion ', coupled with
Muhammad, the name of the Prophet, and Akbar, signify-
ing 'very great '. The last name is used commonly as
an epithet of the Deity, and its application probably was
suggested by the fact that Hamida Bano's father bore the
name Ali Akbar.
Celebra-
tion of The discrowned king, being in extreme poverty, was
the event.
p. 607 n.). Akbar apparently ' A. N. (i, 376) gives the date
was born in the fort, which is as October 11 (Rajab 1), to suit
said to be half a mile from the the official birthday. Humayun
town (Thornton's Gazetteer, s. v. moved three days before the birth.
Omercote).* A modern inscription
purporting to mark Akbar's * A. N., i, 375, speaks of the
birthplace is wrongly located and ' bounty-encompassed fort ' (hisar-
wrongly dated. i fai?-inhUdr).
puzzled how to celebrate an occasion which in happier

circumstances would have been proclaimed with costly
ceremonial and lavish largess. The dignified composure
with which Humayun faced the embarrassing difficulty is
best related in the simple words of Jauhar, his faithful
ewer-bearer, who was present, and luckily preserved notes
of the incident. Jauhar says :
' The King then ordered the author of this memoir to
bring him the articles he had given in trust to him ; on
which I went and brought two hundred shahrukhis (silver
coin), a silver bracelet, and a pod of musk ; the two former
he ordered me to give back to the owners from whom they
had been taken, as formerly mentioned ; he then called foi
a china plate, and having broken the pod of musk, distributed
it among all the principal persons, saying : " This is all
the present I can afford to miake you on the birth of my
son, whose fame will, I trust, be one day expanded all
over the world, as the perfume of the musk now fills this
apartment." '
The beating of drums and the blare of trumpets announced
the event to the camp.
After that interesting little ceremony Humayun proceeded Akbar
on his march, and arrived at Jun, a small town in Sind, t^'wf
now ruined, and distant about seventy-five miles from father.
Umarkot. He t«pk possession of the town, established his
personal tents in a large garden, and fortified Ms camp
to guard against surprise. Meantime, the fast of Ramazan
had begun. When it was deemed that Hamida Bano
Begam would be fit to travel, a messenger was dispatched
to fetch her and the child from Umarkot. She, travelling,
it may be presumed, by easy stages, arrived safely on the
20th of Ramazan, the 35th day of Akbar's age, equivalent
to December 28. Humayun then had the happiness of
embracing his boy for the first time. He stayed in his quarters
in the Jun garden until July 11, 1543, when he resumed his
quest for his lost crown.'- I do not propose to relate his
' This date is given in A. N. i, course, inconsistent with the
389, and may be accepted. The official birthday and Abu-I Fazl's
Ramazan date is from Jauhar, account,
and must be correct, but is, of
adventures in detail, except in so far as they concern the

personal story of Akbar, which includes many exciting
incidents and hairbreadth escapes.
Flight of Humaytin, having been deserted by many of his followers,
Huma- perceived that nothing was to be gained by remaining in
Akbar Sind. He resolved, therefore, to march for Kandahar, so
behind *^^* ^® might be in a position to implore help from the Shah
of Persia, or, if the worst came to the worst, to retire from
Conflict by making the pilgrimage to Mecca. He secured
with difficulty the means of crossing the Indus near Sehwan,
and proceeded on his long journey northwards through
Balochistan, until he arrived at Shal-Mastan or Mastang,
south of Quetta, and on the frontier of the Kandahar
province, then held by his younger brother, Askari Mirza,
on behalf of Kamran, the ruler of Kabul. News having been
brought in that Askari was prepared to attack the camp,
Humayun, who was incapable of resistance with the small
escort at his command, was forced to run away. He was
short of horses, and when he tried to borrow one from
Tardi Beg that officer churlishly refused. Humayun was
obliged to take up Hamida Bano Begam on his own horse,
and to make his way with all possible speed to the moun-
tains. He was barely in time to escape capture by his
brother who rode up with two thousand horsemen. Little
Akbar, then about a year old, necessarily was left behind
as it was impossible for him to bear the journey in his
mother's arms on horseback, passing through extremes of
heat and cold. Although snow lay deep on the heights,
the weather was very hot in the plain. The child was kindly
treated by his uncle, who sent him to Kandahar in charge
of the trusty Jauhar and other attendants. At Kandahar
he was well looked after by Sultan or Sultanam Begam,
wife of Askari.'^
Huma- Humayan's party, consisting of forty men and two
Persia • ladies, one of whom was Akbar's mother, crossed the moun-
' The text follows the Tabdkat behind because there was not
and Jauhar. According to Gul- time to take him.
badan (p. 165) the child was left
tains after much privation, and marched towards the Akbar in

Hilmand, with the intention of entering Persian territory. Jj^*"*^*'
All thought of going to Kandahar had to be abandoned.
When they reached Sistan notice of their arrival was sent
in due form to the Shah, who responded with many hospit-
able civilities. Jauhar, it may be mentioned, deserted from
Kandahar after leaving Akbar in safety there, and rejoined
Humayun at Herat. His narrative, therefore, of the sub-
sequent proceedings in Persia is that of a person who took
part in the adventures. Humayun was received at Kazvin,
north-west of Teheran, by the Shah, who entertained him
royally. But the Persian monarch insisted that his guest
must profess the faith of the Shia sect. One day he even
went so far as to send a message that unless Humayun
complied he and all his adherents would be burned alive
with a supply of firewood which had been sent to the camp.
Humayun held out as long as he dared, but at last was
forced to sign a paper submitted to him by the Shah's orders.
The Shah then sent him to view the ruins of Persepolis,
and, being extremely anxious to get rid of his troublesome
and only half-converted guest, gave him his dismissal at
some time late in 1544, on the understanding that Humayiin
should take Kandahar with the aid of Persian troops.
Huma5Tin then made his way back to Sistan, and on Occupa-
arrival in that province was agreeably surprised to find that ^""^ °*
the horsemen assembled for review numbered 14,000 instead dahar.
of the 12,000 promised. Kandahar was held by Askari
Mirza, who, after a siege, surrendered and was pardoned by
his brother, early in September 1545. The fortress was
occupied by the Persians, who sent the treasure to their
master. A little later, Humayun, who had been encamped
not far off, returned suddenly, surprised the Persians, and
occupied Kandahar himself. He decided to advance against
Kamran and recover Kabul.
Kamran, having been deserted by many of his adherents Occupa-
and defeated in the field,'abandoned his capital
ând moved ^1°^°^Kabul.
in the direction of India. On November 15, 1545, Humayun,
without opposition, entered Kabul, where he settled himself
1845 n
comfortably. Little Akbar, accompanied by his half-

sister, Bakhshi Bano, a slightly older child, had been sent
across country from Kandahar to Kabul, during the winter
of 1544-5, while the ground was heavily covered with snow.
The children had had the good fortune to arrive in safety,
and were well cared for by their good grand-aunt, Khanzada
Begam, a sister of Babur. She was very fond of the boy,
and was pleased to think that his wee hands and feet were
the very hands and feet of her brother, whom he resembled
altogether. When Humayun marched against Kamran he
had left Hamida Bano Begam in Kandahar. Towards the
close of 1545, when he had become estabUshed in Kabul, he
sent for his wife, and her arrival completed the reunion of
the much-tried family. Everybody was wilUng to beUeve
that the boy recognized his mother at once, without assis-
tance.
Circum- The opportunity naturally was taken to perform the
Akb°°* ceremony of circumcision obligatory for all Muhammadan
change of male children. The authorities differ about the exact date,
b^day?*^ they do so often, but it may be fixed with tolerable
certainty as March 1546. All the chiefs and nobles brought
gifts, and festivities of every kind were brilhantly celebrated.
We have seen that the name or title originally conferred on
Akbar by his father at Umarkot was Badru-d din, the
' Full Moon of ReUgion ', because the child had been born
at the time of the full moon (badr) of the month Shaban.
Since that memorable night many things had happened,
and the precious boy had been exposed to dangers of various
kinds. His relatives, who believed firmly in all the super-
stitions oftheir time, sought to protect him against the perils
of malignant sorcery by concealing the true date of his
nativity and so frustrating the calculations of hostile astro-
logers. The circumstances of his birth in the desert ensured
the advantage that very few people in Kabul knew exactly
on what day he had first seen the light. Consequently,
there was no difficulty in adopting a new official birthday.
The date chosen was Sunday, Rajab 5, in substitution for
Thursday, Shaban 14. Sunday was preferable on astro-
logical grounds to Thursday, and Rajab 5 had the merit of

being the reputed day of the conception of the Prophet.
So Akbar's birthday was moved back from November 23
to October 15, and the official chroniclers accommodated
other dates to suit so far as necessary. The change of date
involved the abandonment of the name or title Badru-d din,
the ' Full Moon of Religion ', which had been chosen by
Humayiin to commemorate the fact that the moon had been
full on Shaban 14 when the prince was born. Jalalu-d din,
the ' Splendour of ReUgion ', a title similar in form and
not too remote in meaning, was selected as the substitute.
History knows Akbar only as Jalalu-d din Muhammad Akbar.
The true story of the real date of birth and of the original
naming is preserved in the artless and transparently truthful
narrative of Humayun's personal attendant Jauhar, who
was present when the name Badru-d din was conferred for
the reason stated. He put his recollections together some
forty-five years later, probably by the direction and for the
use of Abu-1 Fazl, who deliberately rejected the truth and
gave currency to the fictitious official version, which has been
universally accepted, save by one Hindu scholar and the
author of this book. Akbar's first pubUc appearance as
Prince was made on the occasion of his circumcision, and it
is reasonable to assume that then his name was announced
as being Jalalu-d din, and the official birthday was fixed by
the reunited family.^
' AH the evidence on the subject a reminiscence of his original
has been discussed fully in the name. It would be meaningless
author's article entitled ' The otherwise. Abu-1 Fazl must have
Date of Akbar's Birth ', published read Jauhar's tract, which is
in Ind. Ant., November 1915, supposed to have been written
vol. xliv, pp. 233-44. ' Barbers to his order. There is no reason
[in Persia] circumcise their chil- to believe that Jauhar was suffering
dren when they think meet, when from senile decay when he faired
the Parents give them the Name, out his memoir, or ' old and silly ',
joining to that of his Father's as Mr. Beveridge puts it. Prob-
his own, as Mahomed Hosseen, ably he was not more than
i. e. Mahomet the Son of Hosseen ' sixty-three or sixty-five years of
(Fryer, A New Account, &c., age. It is quite impossible that
vol. iii, p. 80). An anecdote in his statements should be the result
the Akbarnamah of Abu-I Fazl of forgetfulness or mistake, and
(vol. i, p. 43), which describes nobody ever suspected him of
Akbar as the ' Full Moon {badr) deliberate lying. Consequently his
of the Heaven ', seems to preserveC2 statements must be true.
Nurses At this point in the story it will be well to notice the subj ect
foster- of Akbar's numerous nurses and their progeny who ranked
relatives, as foster-brothers or sisters of the sovereign and in several
cases rose to influential positions. In India and other
Asiatic countries it is customary to continue the suckling
of children to an age much more advanced than in Europe.
Sometimes, especially in Bengal and Gujarat, children are
kept at the breast till the age of five, and even that limit has
been exceeded. We do not know exactly when Akbar was
weaned, but it is probable that he was more or less dependent
on his wet-nurses up to the time of his circumcision in March
1546, when he was more than three years old. Abu-1 Fazl
names ten of his nurses, and states that there were many
others. His mother herself nursed him for a time. The most
influential of the women who actually suckled Akbar was
Jiji Anaga, who took charge of the infant at an early stage
in his hfe. Her husband was Shamsu-d din Muhammad,
the lucky soldier who had rescued Humayun from drowning
at the battle of Kanauj in 1540. After Humayun's restora-
tion in 1555, he received the title of Atgah or Atka {scil.
' foster-father ') Khan, and subsequently held high office.
He was murdered in 1562 by Adham Khan, who also ranked
as a foster-brother of Akbar, and was the son of Maham
Anaga, the head nurse. Maham, apparently, did not actually
suckle Akbar. The foster-brothers {Kokah or Kukaltdsh) of
Akbar enjoyed more influence than was good for the State
during the early jêars of the reign, after the dismissal of
Bairam Khan. The family of Shamsu-d din and Jiji Anaga
is often referred to in histories as the Atgah Khail, or ' foster-
father battalion '.^ Akbar took drastic steps to break the
' On prolonged lactation see Adham Khan (No. 19) to be
Crooke, Things Indian (Murray, ' a royal bastard '. His father,
1906), p. 99, S.V.' Children'. The the husband of Maham Anaga,
list of nurses is in A. N., i. 130. was Nadim IChan Kiikaltash, a
The Turki word atwga means faithful servant of Humayun,
' nurse ', and specially ' wet- who shared with Shamsu-d din
nurse ' (Beveridge's note, ibid., and Khwaja Muazzam the honour
p. 134). For the biographies of of escorting Hamida Bano Begam
the various foster-relatives see and her infant son from Umarkot
Am, vol. i, tr. Blochmann, to Jun {A. N., i. 135 : Introd".
especially Nos. 15 and 19. Bloch- to Gulbadan's Memoirs, p. 59).
mann was mistaken in supposing
ANCESTRY ANDÊARLY LIFE 21
influence of his foster-relatives, as soon as he felt strong

enough to venture on the undertaking.
Inventive courtiers loved to surround Akbar's birth and Anec-
infancy with a halo of miracle, concerning which many infancy,
stories were current. Jiji Anaga, one of the principal
nurses, had the audacity to assure Abu-1 Fazl that Akbar
at the age; of seven months comforted his nurse when she was
in trouble, with this speech :
' Be of good cheer, for the celestial light of the khildfat

(sovereignty) shall abide in thy bosom and shall bestow on
the night of thy sorrow the effulgence of joy. But see that
thou reveal this our secret to no one, and that thou dost
not proclaim untimely this mystery of God's power, for
hidden designs and great previsions are infolded therein.'
Abu-1 Fazl refrains from saying expressly that he believed
that monstrous lie, but is careful to state that he had heard
the story from a person of veracity and also from Jiji Anaga
herseH.^
Another anecdote, not incredible, although surprising, rests
on the personal authority of Akbar, and must be accepted
as true.
' I have heard ', Abu-1 Fazl writes, ' from the sacred lips
of his Majesty, the King of Kings, as follows :— " I perfectly
remember what happened when I was one year old, and
especially the time when his Majesty Jahanbani (Humayun)
proceeded towards, 'Iraq and I was brought to Qandahar.
I was then one year and three months old.^ One day Maham
Anaga, the mother of Adham Khan (who was always in
charge of that nursling of fortune), represented to M. 'Askari,
' It is a Turki [v. I. " ancestral "] custom that when a child
begins to walk, the father or grandfather or whoever repre-
sents them, takes off his turban and strikes the child with
it, as he is going along, so that the nursUng of hope may
come to the ground. At present his Majesty Jahanbani is
not here ; you are in his room, and it is fitting you should
perform this spell which is like sipand [a herb] against the
evil eye.' The Mirza immediately took off his turban
' A. N., i, 885. of the incident is stated as being
" In reality something less, about December 16, 1543.
a year and one month. The date
and flung it at me, and I fell down. This striking and falling,"
his Majesty deigned to observe, " are visibly before me.
Also at the same time they took me for good luck to have
my head shaved at the shrine of Baba Hasan Abdal [prob-
ably the one near Kandahar]. That journey and the taking
off my hair are present before me as in a mirror ".' ^
The exceptionally powerful memory which Akbar is known
to have possessed in mature life evidently began to develop
at an extraordinarily early age.
Tutors In this connexion it is proper to note, slightly out of
and
truancy. chronological order, the fact that in November 1547, when
Akbar was about five years of age, arrangements were
made for his education and a tutor was selected. The
person appointed proved to be inefficient, being more inclined
to teach his pupil the art of pigeon-flying than the rudiments
of letters.^ His successor, a more conscientious man,
remained in office for several years and did his best. He
was followed by a third, and a fourth. But their efforts
bore little fruit. Akbar was a thoroughly idle boy from the
schoolmaster's point of view, and resisted all attempts
to give him book-learning so successfully that he never
mastered the alphabet, and to the end of his days was unable
even to read or sign his own name. In his boyhood he
showed great fondness for animals, and devoted much time
to camels, horses, dogs, and pigeons. Of course he became
by degrees an expert in all martial exercises, riding, sword-
play, and so forth. Although he would not learn to read
books for himself, he enjoyed hearing them read by others,
and willingly learned by heart the mystic verses of the
Sufi poets, Hafiz and Jalalu-d din Rumi. Those boyish
' A. N., i, 396. Abu-I Fazl, when the material reason came
when explaining in his Introduc- into action — ^till the present day,
tion the pains taken to secure when he is, by his wisdom, the
accuracy in his narrative, makes cynosure of penetrating truth-
the interesting statement that seekers ' (ibid., i, 32).
' I begged the correction of what ' Akbar was fond of the sport
I had heard from His Majesty, while very yoimg, gave it up for
who, by virtue of his perfect a time, and resumed it later. More
memory, recollects every occur- than 20,000 pigeons, divided into
rence in gross and in detail from ten classes, were kept at court. Full
the time he was one year old — details in Am, vol. i, pp. 298-301.
studies laid an intellectual foundation for the unorthodox

eclecticism in reUgious matters of Akbar's later years.
When the young prince was about ten years of age some
of the royal servants ventured to complain about the boy's
idleness to the Padshah.
HumayQn, a lover of books, and a man of no small learning,
wrote to his unruly son a dignified letter of remonstrance,
quoting a couplet to the effect :
' Sit not idle, 'tis not the time for play,
'Tis the time for arts and for work.'
The letter is said to have contained much judicious and
affectionate advice. But the young truant paid no more
heed to the paternal admonitions than he had paid to the
schooling of his tutors, and went on his own way, amusing
himself with his dogs, horses, and the rest, and enjoying
keenly the pleasures of sport in various forms. Abu-1 Fazl's
grandiloquent excuses are amusing. For instance, he
explains the boy's horsey tastes by saying :
' He also applied his thoughts to the delight in an Arab
horse which is a grand subject of dominion and exaltation,
and carried off the ball of excellencies and love of science
with the polo-stick of the Divine help and of sempiternal in-
struction.'
And again :
' His holy heart and his sacred soul never turned towards
external teaching. And his possession of the most excellent
sciences together with his disincUnation for the learning of
letters were a method of showing to mankind, at the time
of the manifestation of the lights of hidden abundancies,
that the lofty comprehension of this Lord of the Age was
not learnt or acquired, but was the gift of God in which
human effort had no part.' ^
After the conclusion of the circumcision ceremonies. Loss and
Humayun resolved to undertake the estabUshment of his of*'^buj.
authority in Badakhshan, the mountainous province, Akbar
exposed
lying beyond the Hindu Kush range, to the north of Kafiri-
» A. N., i, 589.
Stan. He accordingly marched into the province and made

the administrative arrangements which seemed proper.
When moving to the place where he intended to winter
he fell ill near Kishm. The severity of his disorder was so
great that he remained unconscious for four days. His
condition naturally gave rise to anxiety concerni ng the
succession, and his brother Hindal began to take measures
to secure it for himself. Askari, the youngest brother, was
at that time confined in the citadel of Kabul, and Uttle
Akbar had been left in that city under the care of the ladies.
Meantime, Kamran, whose wanderings had extended as far
as Sind, managed to surprise Kabul, owing to the gross
negligence of Humayun's officers, and to establish himself
there again as ruler. He disgraced himself by inflicting on
his opponents the most fiendish tortures, not sparing even
women and children. Humayun besieged Kabul, and
reduced Kamran to impotence. That prince, not content
with his other cruelties, was base enough to expose the
child Akbar on the ramparts to the fire of his father's guns,
which were, of course, put out of action as soon as the prince
was recognized.! Even that disgraceful act did not help
the garrison. On April 27, 1547, Kamran sHpped away
secretly and retired to Badakhshan.
Humayun Akbar was restored to his father. In the following year,
wounded; 1543^ in June, Humayun again marched into Badakhshan,
again supported by his brother Hindal. Akbar and his mother
Kamraif- were left in Kabul. Ultimately, in August, Kamran made his
and re- submission, and the two brothers were reconciled with tears
Huma- and other effusive demonstrations of affection. The chains
yun. were taken off Mirza Askari's legs. At the beginning of
winter Humayun returned to Kabul, and began preparations
' A. N., i, 511 ; Gulbadan, the troops to preserve a strict
p. 183, The fact of the exposure blockade ' (tr. Stewart, p. 87).
of the child, which is also deposed The Tabakat is the sole authority
to by the author of the Tabakat, for the statement that Haham
is well established. Jauhar, how- Anaga, the head nurse, took the
ever, says : ' Kamran having child in her arms, and held him
threatened to expose the young up in view of the garrison (E. &
Prince Akber to the fire of the D., v, 226). I see no reason to
cannon, his Majesty forbade doubt that statement,
their being used, but directed
for an expedition to Balkh. That expedition, which took

place in 1549, was a disastrous failure. Kamran seized the
opportunity to renew his unceasing intrigues, and to prove
the insincerity of his professions of brotherly love. His
people engaged in conflicts with the forces of Humajnin,
who was badly wounded at a place called Kibchak. In fact,
for some three months he was beheved to have been killed.
Kamran then once more (1550) regained Kabul, and with
it possession of Prince Akbar, Later in the year Humaytin
defeated Kamran, seized Mirza Askari, and again recovered
Kabul with his son, about whose safety he had felt great
and reasonable anxiety.
The young prince was now granted a village for his
expenses. Askari was sent to Mecca, and died while on his
way, aged about thirty-eight.^
Kamran continued to wander about among the mountains, Akbar
plundering and ravaging. During an obscure skirmish at *^^|n/
night in November 1551 Prince Hindal was killed, at the dal's fief,
age of thirty-two. His body was brought to Kabul and
interred there. He seems to have been the best of Humaytin's
brothers.2 The fief of Ghazni, with its dependencies, which
had been held by Hindal, was conferred on Prince Akbar,
to whom Hindal's daughter Rukaiya Begam was given
in marriage.* At the close of 1551 the prince was sent to
Ghazni in order to serve his apprenticeship as a provincial
governor, under the supervision of competent persons. He
remained there for six months, until he was recalled as a
precaution, Humayun having hurt himself by a fall from
his horse. The accident, however, did not result in any
serious consequences.
» Askari was the younger full Hindal was Muhammad Nasir or

brother of Kamian, to whom Abu-n Nasir Muhammad (Gul-
he
His real name does not attached,
always remained seem to badan, pp. 3, 92 n.). Hindal
perhaps to be read as meaning _'is
be recorded. He was born in " of the dynasty of Hind " '
1516 and died in 1558, according (ibid., p. 10).
to Mr. Beveridge (Gulbadan, » She was childless and sur-
p. 49). Beale gives the date of vived Akbar. She died in 1626
his death as 1554, which seems at the age of eighty-four (Gul-
to be nearer the truth. badan, p. 274).
* The real name of Prince
Capture In the autumn (September) of 1553 (a. h. 960) Sultan

Kamran. ^âm Khan, chief of the Gakhar clan in the Salt Range,
succeeded in securing the fugitive Kamran, who had been
pressed so hard that he had been obUged to disguise himself
as a woman. The Gakhar chieftain surrendered Kamran
to Humayun and was duly rewarded for the service. The
prisoner was treated at first with civility. Humayun's
councillors were unanimously in favour of inflicting the
capital penalty, but JIumayun was unwilling to take his
brother's life, and decided that it would suffice to blind him
and so render him incapable of succession to the throne.
The authorities, as usual, differ concerning the minute
particulars of the manner in which the punishment was
inflicted. The best and most detailed account is that
recorded by Jauhar, who was concerned in the business.
His narrative leaves the impression that Humayun felt little
concern for his brother's sufferings, which indeed were
deserved, inasmuch as he had inflicted worse pains even
upon women. It is worth while to quote the story in full
as an illustration of the manners of the time and the character
of Akbar's father.
Kamran ' Early in the morning the King marched towards Hindu-
blinded. Stan, but before his departure determined that the Prince
should be blinded, and gave orders accordingly ; but the
attendants on the Prince disputed among themselves who
was to perform the cruel act. Sultan Aly, the paymaster,
ordered Aly Dust to do it ; the other replied, " You will
not pay a shdhrukhy (3s. 6d.) to any person without the
King's directions ; ^ therefore, why should I commit this
deed without a personal order from his Majesty ? Perhaps
to-morrow the King may say, 'Why did you put out the
eyes of my brother ? ' What answer could I give ? Depend
upon it I will not do it by your order." Thus they continued
to quarrel for some time : at length I said, " I will go and
inform the King ". On which I, with two others, galloped
after his Majesty ; when we came up with him, Aly Dust
said in the Jagtay [Chagatai] Turky language, " No one will
' Mr. Beveridge states that Shahrukh was the fourth son of
■ one shahrukhi was about ten "nmur, whom he succeeded in
pence. Four shdhrukhls made 1408, after a short interval,
one misqal ' (Gulbadan, p. 178 n.).
perforin the business". The King repUed in the same

language, abused him, and said, "Why don't you do it
yourself ? "
' After receiving this command, we returned to the Prince,
and Ghulam Aly represented to him in a respectful and
a condoling manner that he had received positive orders
to blind him ; the Prince replied, " I would rather you
would at once kill me" ; Ghulam Aly said, " We dare not
exceed our orders " ; he then twisted a handkerchief up
as a ball for thrusting into the mouth, and he with the
Ferash, seizing the Prince by the hands, pulled him out
of the tent, laid him down and thrust a lancet {Neshter)
into his eyes (such was the will of God). This they repeated
at least fifty times ; but he bore the torture in a manly
manner, and did not utter a single groan, except when one
of the men who was sitting on his knees pressed him ; he
then said, "Why do you sit on my knees ? What is the use
of adding to my pain ? " This was aU he said, and acted
with great courage, till they squeezed some (lemon) juice
and salt into the sockets of his eyes; he then could not
forbear, and called out, " O Lord, O Lord, my God, what-
ever sins I may have committed have been amply punished
in this world, have compassion on me in the next ".
'After some time he was placed on horseback, and we
proceeded to a grove planted by the Emperor Firoz Shah,
where, it being very hot, we alighted ; and after a short
period again mounted, and arrived in the camp, when the
Prince was lodged in the tent of Myr Cassim.
' The Author of these pages, seeing the Prince in such
pain and distress, could no longer remain with him ; I there-
fore went to my own tent, and sat down in a very melancholy
mood : the Bang, having seen me, sent Jan Muhammed,
the librarian, to ask me " if the business I had been employed
on was finished, and why I had returned without orders ? "
the humble servant represented " that the business I had
been sent on was quite completed " : his Majesty then said,
" He need not go back, let him get the water ready for me
to bathe ".
' The next day we marched.' ^
Kamran was allowed to proceed to Mecca, where he died
about three years later. His family was not molested by
» Jauhar, tr. Stewart, pp. 105-7. incomplete manuscript of her
Gulbadan Begam also briefly book ends with it.
describes the incident. The single
Humayun, but his only son, a possible pretender to the
throne, was privately executed at Gwalior in 1565, at the
time of the Uzbeg rebellion, by order of Akbar, who thus set
an evil example, imitated on a large scale by his descendants
Shahjahan and Aurangzeb.
Invasion Humayun returned to Kabul, and made arrangements for
of India.
his long projected invasion of India. At some time in a. d.
1554 (a. h. 961), Sher Shah's son, Islam or Sallm Shah Sur,
died at Gwalior, and it cannot have been long before Humayun
heard of the decease of his able rival. Muhammad Adil
or Adali Shah, who seized the throne, was a person much
less formidable. In the middle of November 1554 Humayun
started to recover his lost crown. From Jalalabad he
floated down the Klabul river on a raft to the neighbourhood
of Peshawar, where he built a fort. After crossing the river
Indus, he sought a blessing on his enterprise by giving his
son, then twelve years of age, a solemn audience. Jauhar
teUs us that the prince, after having bathed, put on a new
dress, and accompanied by the narrator, appeared before
the king.
' When we arrived, his Majesty was sitting, facing the

setting moon ; he ordered the Prince to sit down opposite
him ; he then read some verses of the Koran, and at the
end of each verse breathed on the Prince, and was so deUghted
and happy, it might be said that he had then acquired all
the good fortune of this world and the blessings of the
next. His Majesty then continued his journey.' ^
About this time Munim Khan was appointed to be guardian
(aidlik) of Prince Akbar. The army was placed under the
command of Bairam Khan. In February 1555 Humayun
occupied Lahore, and on June 22 the invaders gained a
decisive victory at Sihrind over a much more numerous
force commanded by Sikandar Sur, a nephew of Sher Shah,
and one of the pretenders to the throne of Hindostan. The
official record was drawn up so as to credit young Akbar
with the victory, and thus to dispose of the rival claims of
Bairam Khan and a turbulent noble named Shah Abu-1
'■ Jauhar, tr. Stewart, p. 110.
ANCESTRY AND PEARLY LIFE 29
Maali, each of whom wished to be acknowledged as the

victor.^ On this occasion Akbar was formally declared to
be heir apparent.^ Humayun was obliged to arrest Khwaja
Muazzam, Akbar's maternal uncle, who had engaged in
treasonable correspondence with the enemy. The occupation
of Delhi in July restored Humayun to the throne so gallantly
won by his father, and so weakly lost by himself. In
November Akbar was formally appointed as governor of
the Panjab, being then thirteen years of age, and the office
of guardian was conferred upon Bairam Khan in place of
Munim Khan.
The young prince did not trouble himself about state
affairs, but occupied his time in shooting, an art in which
he became rapidly proficient. He also practised the hunting
of antelope with the cheetah leopard, a pastime to which he
continued addicted in later life.
Akbar having been sent with Bairam Khan to the Panjab, Death of
his father remained at Delhi engaged in the work of organizing
Huma-
a government for his newly regained territories, on which
his hold was still precarious. He intended to occupy each
of the principal cities in northern India with an adequate yun.
garrison, retaining only 12,000 cavalry in attendance on
his person. He amused his leisure with sundry fantastic
devices and trivial inventions of a rather puerile nature, on
which Abu-1 Fazl lavishes misdirected praise. He is said
to have felt premonitions of the approach of death. Whether
he did or not, the angel of death quickly seized him. On
Friday, January 24, 1556, at sunset, he was engaged in
conversation with astrologers and other people on the roof
of the Sher Mandal, a building erected by Sher Shah, and
recently fitted up as a library, when suddenly, as Humayun
was about to descend the steep staircase opening on the roof,
the call to prayers was heard. The Padshah, in order to
show respect to the summons, tried to sit down on the top
step, but his staff shpped, and he tripped over the skirt of
' A. N., i, 633. The spellings to be correct.
Sahrind
or Sirhindor allSihrind
occur and
in theSarhind
MSS. 58.^ Ahmad Yadgar, E. & D., v.
Raverty considered the first form
30 AKBAE, THE GREAT MOGUL
his robe. He fell down the stairs, fracturing the base
of the skull, and became insensible. Probably he never
recovered consciousness, although Abu-1 Fazl affirms that
he was able to send off a dispatch. Three days later he died.
The fatal nature of the accident was concealed as long as
possible, a man being dressed up to personate Humayun
and make a public appearance. A Turkish admiral, Sidi
All Rais, who happened to be then with the court, took an
active part in the deception, and was sent oft to Lahore
bearing the false news of the patient's recovery. Time was
thus gained to secure the unopposed proclamation of Akbar
as successor to the throne.^
Enthrone- Bairam Khan and Akbar, who were engaged in operations
Akbar* against Sikandar Sur, Sher Shah's nephew, and the principal
rival claimant to the crown, were at Kalanaur in the Gurdas-
pur District, when they received authentic news of Huma-
yun'sdeath. The formal enthronement of Akbar took place
in a garden at Kalanaur. The throne, a plain brick structure,
eighteen feet long and three feet high, resting on a masonry
platform, still exists. The ornamental gardens and sub-
sidiary buildings subsequently constructed and visited more
than once by Akbar have disappeared. The throne platform
has been recently enclosed in a plain post and chain fence,
and a suitable inscription in English and Urdu has been
affixed. The correct date of Akbar's enthronement seems
to be Friday, Rabi ii, 2, a. h. 963, equivalent to February 14,
1556.* The proclamation of his succession was made at
' The authorities, as usual, Delhi, 1876, pp. 193, 194), and
differ about the exact dates. Mr. by Beveridge {A. N., i, 656 ra.).
Beveridge (A. N., i, 654 n.) shows For the admiral see Bibliography,
good reason for accepting Friday, post.
January 24, as the date of Huma- ^ Kalanaur, now a small town
yun's accident. The statement with about 5,000 Inhabitants, is
of Abu-1 Fazl that ' some drops fifteen miles west from Gurdaspur
of blood issued from his right town. It was the chief place in
ear ' (ibid., p. 657) indicates that the neighbourhood . from the
the fatal injury presumably was fourteenth to the sixteenth cen-
fracture of the base of the skull, tury (I. G., 1908, s. v.). The
The Sher Mandal tower, near the ancient kings of Lahore used to
Kila Kuhna, to the south of be enthroned there, and the town
modern Delhi, is fully described was then of large size. Its glory
by Carr Stephen {The Archaeology had departed when Monserrate
and Monumental Remains of was there with Akbar in 1581, but
Delhi on February 11, three days before the enthronement

at Kalanaur.^
The Protector was obUged to take the strong step of
again arresting Shah Abu-1 Maali for contumacious refusal
to obey promptly a summons to the ' coronation darbar '
held on the third day after the enthronement ceremony .^
The India of 1556, when young Akbar preferred his formal India in
claim to the sovereignty of Hindostan, was a distracted and ^^^^"
ill-governed land. Its economic condition was even worse
than the political, many of its fairest provinces, including
Delhi and Agra, being then desolated by an appalling
famine caused by widespread failure of the rains combined
with the devastation wrought by two years of warfare.
The enthronement of the boy Padshah simply registered
a claim to sovereignty. When he went through the ceremony
at Kalanaur he could not be said to possess any definite
kingdom. The small army under the command of Bairam
Khan merely had a precarious hold by force on certain
districts of the Panjab ; and that army itself was not to
be trusted impUcitly. Before Akbar could become Padshah
in reaUty as well as in name he had to prove himself better
than the rival claimants to the throne, and at least to win
back his father's lost dominions.
The lordship of Hindostan or north-western India was Akbar's
then disputed by two or three members of the Siir family *^^'^'
ruins and debris marking its accession (E. & D., v, 247 n.). The
former extent were still visible student should note that the Ilahi
(Commeniarius, p. 593). Akbar's era of Akbar dates from Rabi ii, 27,
throne, the ' Takht-i-Akbari ', equivalent to March 11, twenty-
has been described in the Annual five days later than the actual
Progress Report (Muhammadan) accession. The era was reckoned
o/ A, S., N. Circle, for 1910-11, from the next nauroz or Persian
p. 19 ; and in Ann. Rep. A. S., New Year's Day, and the interval
India, for 1907-8, pp. 31, 32, of twenty-five days was counted
with photograph. Another town as part of the first regnal year,
named Kalanaur exists in the The account of the era in Cunning-
Rohtak District. The name, ham's Book of Îndian Eras is
being a Hindu one (probably incorrect.
from Kalyanapura), should be ' A. N., i, 658.
spelled with the termination -aur ^ Mr. Beveridge notes that the
(from -pura), not with the Persian incident is depicted in one of
-ur. Dowson observes that the the pictures by Abdu-s Samad in
MSS. of the Tabakal erroneously MS. Ouseley Add. 172, in the
give Rabi i as the' month of the Bodleian Library.
as well as by Hemu, the Hindu general and minister who
set up as a sovereign on his own account. The Kabul
territory, administered in the name of Akbar's younger
brother, was practically independent. Bengal, usually
under the rule of Afghan chiefs, had been independent for
more than two centuries ; the Rajput clans of Rajasthan
had recovered from the defeat inflicted by Babur and enjoyed
unchallenged possession of their castles ; Malwa and Gujarat
had thrown off allegiance to Delhi long ago ; the wild regions
of Gondwana, the modern Central Provinces, obeyed only
their local chieftains who recognized no sovereign lord ;
and Orissa acknowledged no master. Farther south, the
Deccan States of Khandesh, Berar, Bidar, Ahmadnagar,
Golkonda, and Bijapur were governed by their own Sultans,
to whom the name of the Padshah of Delhi was a matter
of absolute indifference. The Far South, that is to say, the
peninsula from the Krishna (Kistna) and Tungabhadra rivers
to Cape Comorin, was held firmly in the grasp of the sovereigns
of Vijayanagar, then at the zenith of their power, who
ruled a realm so wide as to deserve fairly the name of an
empire. Goa and several other ports on the western coast
were strongly occupied by the Portuguese whose ships held
command of the Arabian Sea.
In the north, the border states of Kashmir, Sind, and
Balochistan, with many others, enjoyed perfect freedom
from all superior control.
The first necessity for Akbar and his guardian was to
establish the authority of the Padshah of Delhi over the
capital and the surrounding districts of Hindostan. Once
that vantage-ground had been gained the road to further
conquests lay open.
In the succeeding chapters the story will be told of the
skill with which Akbar not only recovered the dominions
of his father but extended his sovereignty over the whole
of northern, western, and central India, as well as over
the immense territories now known as Afghanistan and
Balochistan, the border states of Kashmir, Sind, and Orissa,
besides the minor kingdoms of the Deccan.
CHAPTER II
THE REGENCY AND THE FALL OF BAIRAM KHAN, 1556-60
Akbar and the Protector appear to have stayed at Kala- Attempt

naur for some time after the accession ceremony, their forces sujaiman
being engaged in hunting down Sikandar Sur, the principal Mirza to
rival claimant to the throne. Early in June, in consequence Kabul,
of heavy rain, Akbar and Bairam Khan moved southwards
to Jalandhar (Jullunder), where they remained for some
five months.
Meantime, a cousin of Akbar's, Sulaiman Mrza of Badakh-
shan, had attempted to seize Kabul, but was induced to
retire on receiving the empty compliment of the recitation
of his name in the khutba, or prayer for the king. Kabul
continued thenceforward to be, as arranged by Humaytin,
under the nominal government of Prince Muhammad Hakim,
Akbar's younger brother, and the actual administration
of Munim Khan, the minister. The province was not regarded
officially as being independent, but was always considered
to be subordinate to the Indian Padshah.
Three members of the Sur house contested the claim of Sur
the descendants of Babur to the throne of Hindostan. In l^^^^ ^
1554 the young son of Islam Shah had been murdered throne,
by his uncle, who occupied Delhi and assumed the title of
Muhammad Shah Adil. About a year later the usurper
was driven out by a relative named Ibrahim Khan, and
compelled to retire eastwards. He fixed his head-quarters
at Chunar, near Mirzapur, and had no further direct concern
with affairs in the north-west. At some time in 1557 he
was killed in a fight with the king of Bengal.^- Ibrahim
• The Tarlkh-i-DauM (E. & D., the statement of the TCabakal
iv, 508 ; V, 66 «.) gives the date (E. & D., v. 245) that ' 'Adali
as A. H. 068 = A. D. 1560-1, and reigned for nearly three years '.
alleges that 'Adali reigned for 'Adali was the nickname or title
eight years. Beale (Or. Biogr. of Muhammad Shah Adil. Ahmad
Diet.) states the year as a. h. 963, Yadgar (E. & D., v, 66) gives
or 1845
A. D. 1536, which agrees with n the date as 964, adding that ' his
Khan, the supplanter of Muhammad Shah Adil, was himself
expelled from Delhi by a nephew of Sher Shah, who took
the title of Sikandar Sur. That prince suffered defeat by
Humayiin at Sihrind in 1555, withdrew to the east, and
ultimately was killed in Orissa twelve years later. Thus it
happened that when Akbar took his seat on the throne at
Kalanaur, in January 1556, the only substantial rival
belonging to the Siir family with whom he had to deal was
Sikandar, who continued to wander in the lower hills of the
Pan jab with an armed force, hoping that fortune might turn
in his favour, and enable him to regain the throne which
his uncle Sher Shah had occupied with so much distinction.
In the matter of legitimate right there was nothing to choose
between Akbar, the representative of Babur, and Sikandar,
the representative of Sher Shah. The claims of the rivals
could be decided only by the sword.
HemQ. King Adali, to give him his short name, had bestowed
his special favour on a Hindu named Hemu, a native of
Rewari in Mewat, and a member of the Dhusar section of
the baniya or mercantile castes, whom he appointed his
prime minister. Hemu, in spite of the disadvantages of
his Hindu faith, humble origin, and puny physique, justified
his sovereign's confidence by proving himself an able general
and ruler of men. He won twenty-two victories for his
master, and finally defeated the pretender Ibrahim Khan,
who had already been worsted by Sikandar Sur. When
Humayiin returned to India to recover his lost throne,
King Adali sent Hemu northwards to oppose him, while
he himself retired to Chunar. Humayiin, as we know, suc-
ceeded inre-establishing himself for a few months. When
he met with his fatal accident, in January 1556, Hemu
remained in the field on behalf of Adali to prevent Akbar
from taking effective possession of his father's kingdom.
miseiable reign lasted about Mubariz Khan was the personal
three years'. Abu-1 FazI places name of Muhammad Shah Adil.
the death in the second year of We may take 1557 as the correct
the reign of Akbar (March 1567- year a. d. The case is a good
March 1558), and states that illustration of the innumerable
' Mubariz Khan 'Adili had reigned discrepancies in the Persian
four years and odd ' (A. N., ii, 90). histories.
THE REGENCY 35
When Bairam Khan formally proclaimed Akbar at

Kalanaur as Padshah, Tardl Beg, an influential Turkoman
officer, who had been long in the service of Humayun, recog-
nized the young prince's accession, and was rewarded by
promotion to the rank of commander of 5,000 and appoint-
ment as governor of Delhi.
Hemu, advancing by way of Gwalior and Agra, encamped Fall of
near Old Delhi, and inflicted a severe defeat on the Mogul ^ jg, ;
forces, capturing 160 elephants, 1,000 Arab horses, and execution
an immense quantity or valuable booty. He thus gained Beg.
possession of both Delhi and Agra. The authorities differ
as to the exact amount of resistance offered by Tardi Beg,
who, according to Ahmad Yadgar, ' did not leave his position
to assist either party'. It is certain that his defence, if
made at all, was disgracefully feeble, and that he abandoned
his charge without adequate reason. He fled to Sihrind,
where he met Akbar and Bairam Khan. There is a direct
conflict of evidence concerning the responsibility of Akbar
for the irregular execution of the fugitive general, which
quickly followed on his arrival. According to Badaoni,
the Protector produced Khan Zaman and other witnesses
to prove the treachery of Tardi Beg, and, having by this
means convinced his young sovereign, 'obtained a sort of
permission ' to put the guilty man to death.^
The detailed account given by Abu-1 Fazl seems to be
more worthy of credit. He explains that although Bairam
Khan and Tardi Beg professed to stand in the relation of
brothers, they were really rivals. Tardi Beg regarded himself
as leader of the army and was lying in wait for an opportunity
to overthrow Bairam Khan. The Protector resolved to
make use of the opening afforded by Tardi Beg's failure to
hold Delhi, and to get rid of his rival. He inveigled his
victim to his own tent by friendly professions, made an excuse
to slip out, and caused his followers to slay Tardi Beg.
Akbar, who in those days paid no attention to affairs of
state, was out hawking at the time. When he came in the
Protector excused himself on the ground of necessity for
' Badaoni, ii, 7.
D2
taking action without permission, which he could not have

obtain. Akbar graciously accepted his guardian's
hoped to and
excuses continued to show him marks of favour and
confidence.^
Many authors denounce the informal and treacherous
execution of Tardi Beg as mere murder. The writers who
take that view do not sufficiently appreciate the usage of
the times, which sanctioned the removal of inconvenient
opponents by irregular methods, nor do they give adequate
weight to the consideration of the difficulties and dangers
which then beset the Protector and his royal ward. The
success of Tardi Beg in his rivalry with Bairam Khan
certainly would have involved the destruction of the latter,
and in all probability that of Akbar also. Firishta took
a sounder view when he wrote :
' The King felt bound to approve of this severe measure.

The author of this work has understood, from the best
informed men of the times, that had Tardy Beg Khan not
been executed by way of example, such was the condition
of the Mogul army, and the general feeling of those foreigners,
that the old scene of Sheer Shah would have been enacted
over again. But in consequence of this prompt though
severe measure, the Choghtay [Chagatai] officers, each of
whom esteemed himself at least equal to Keikobad and
Keikaoos [the legendary Persian heroes], now found it
necessary to conform to the orders of Beiram Khan, and to
submit quietly to his authority.' ^
It may be reasonably affirmed that failure to punish the
dereUction of Tardi Beg from his duty would have cost
Akbar both his throne and his life.'
Hemu Hemu, who had won Delhi and Agra in the name of his
&overe?|n master Adali, now began to reflect that his sovereign was
rank. a long way off, that he himself was in possession of the
army and elephants, and that it might be better to gain
• A. N., ii, 51-3. Abu-1 Fazl ' Firishta, ii, 186.
(ibid., p. 46) hints that treachery ' But it should be noted that
on the part of Pir Muhammad Bayazld attributes the action of
Shirwani may have had something Bairam Khan to private enmity
to do with the disaster. He {J. A. S. B., part i, vol. Ixvii
desired to bring discredit on Tardi (1898), p. 309)
Beg (ibid., p. 49).
THE REGENCY 37
a kingdom for his own benefit rather than for that of his
absent employer. Accordingly, he distributed the spoil,
excepting the elephants, among the Afghans who accom-
panied him, and thus won them over to his side. With their
concurrence he entered Delhi, raised the imperial canopy
over his own head, and exercised the most cherished privilege
of sovereignty by striking coin in his own name.^ He
assumed the style of Raja Bikramajit or Vikramaditya,
which had been borne by several of the most renowned
Hindu monarchs in ancient times, and so entered the field
as a competitor for the throne of Hindostan against both
Akbar and Sikandar SHr. When writing to his nominal
sovereign Adali, he concealed his usurpation, and pre-
tended to be acting in his master's name. For the moment
Sikandar Stir was of no account, and the issue had to be
fought out between Hemu, acting for himself, and Bairam
Khan, acting as Protector and guardian on behalf of Akbar.
The struggle of rival claimants for the throne unfortunately Famine,
coincided with one of the most awful recorded in the long
list of Indian famines. The dearth lasted for two years,
1555 and 1556 (a. h. 962-3), and was especially severe in
the Agra and Delhi territory, where armies were assembled,
and had long been engaged in the work of devastation.
The testimony of Badaoni, an eycAvitness of the horrible
fact of cannibaUsm and the utter desolation of the country,
agrees with that of Abu-1 Fazl, who remembered clearly the
horrors of the visitation.
But Hemii cared not. When he was encamped near
Bayana, fifty miles to the south-west of Agra,
' the while

and peoplehe died withthethelives
valued wordof "a bread " upon
hundred their men
thousand Ups,
at no more than a barley-corn, he fed his five hundred
elephants upon rice, sugar, and butter. The whole world
was astounded and disgusted.' ^
» No coin struck by Hemu is The brutality of Hemu is disclosed
known. by Badaoni alone. The other
' Badaoni, in E. & D., v, 490, historians are silent on the subject.
491 ; and, with verbal variations, Abu-1 Fazl, who could be brutal
in tr. Ranking, vol. i, pp. 549-51. himself, in spite of his philosophy.
Action of The Protector, rejecting the advice of timid counsellors,
Bairam
Khan. who recommended retreat to Kabul, decided that the crown
of Hindostan was worth fighting for, and we may feel certain
that Akbar heartily agreed with him. Bairam Khan and
Akbar advanced to Thanesar, and thence to the historic
plain of Panipat, where, thirty years earlier, Akbar's grand-
father had won the throne which Humayun had failed to
keep. Hemu, whose army was far superior in numbers,
encamped to the west of the town of Panipat. Bairam
Khan made an inspiring speech to his officers, pointing out
that they must conquer or perish, and his brave words were
supported by the divination of a soothsayer who deduced
favourable omens from his inspection of the shoulder-blade
of a sheep.
The
battle of Hemu's artillery, which had been sent on in advance,
Panipat,
Nov. 5, was captured by the vanguard of Akbar's army in a pre-
1556. liminary engagement. But, even after that loss, the Hindu
general still possessed an immense superiority of strength.
He relied especially on his 1,500 war-elephants, in accordance
with ancient Hindu tradition. Each army was drawn up
in three divisions. On November 5 Hemti succeeded in
throwing both the right and the left wings of his opponents
into confusion, and sought to make his victory decisive by
bringing all his ' mountain-like elephants ' to bear on the
centre of the enemy, commanded by Khan Zaman. Prob-
ably he would have won but for the accident that he was
struck in the eye by an arrow which pierced his brain and
rendered him unconscious. An Indian army never could
survive the loss of its leader, on whose life its pay depended.
descants on the merits of Hemu's The capital was devastated and
' virile spirit ' (A. N., ii, 69). For nothing remained but a few houses
proof of Abu-1 Fazl's brutality [the reference must be to Delhi].
see his disgusting account of the An epidemic plague ensued and
punishment of certain rebels spread through most of the cities
against Humayun {A. N., i, 315, of Hindostan. Multitudes died
chap, xxiii). He describes the {Am, vol. iii, p. 426). The same
famine and connected pestilence author confirms the fact that men
in his autobiography. The great were driven to feed on human
famine occurred, he says, in the flesh, and that parties were
beginning of the year of his formed to seize and
victims {A. N., ii, 57). eat solitary
Majesty's accession [a. h. 963
began on November 16, 1555].
THE REGENCY 39
Hemu's soldiers at once scattered in various directions and

made no further attempt at resistance. Hemu's dephant,
which had fled into the jungle, was brought back by Shah
Kuli Khan Mahram, and its unconscious rider was placed
before the Protector and Akbar, who had ridden up. During
the battle the young prince had been kept at a safe distance
in the rear, and Bairam Khan had left the conduct of the
fight to his lieutenants.
Bairam Khan desired Akbar to earn the title of Ghazi, Execu-
or Slayer of the Infidel, by fleshing his sword on the captive. g^mQ^
The boy naturally obeyed his guardian and smote Hemu
on the neck with his scimitar. The bystanders also plunged
their swords into the bleeding corpse. Hemu's head was
sent to Kabul to be exposed, and his trunk was gibbeted
at one of the gates of Delhi. Akbar, a boy of fourteen,
cannot be justly blamed for complying with the instructions
of Bairam Khan, who had a right to expect obedience ; nor
is there any good reason for supposing that at that time
the boy was more scrupulous than his oflicers. The official
story, that a magnanimous sentiment of unwillingness to
strike a helpless prisoner already half dead compelled him
to refuse to obey his guardian's instructions, seems to be
the late invention of courtly flatterers, and is opposed to
the clear statements of Ahmad Yadgar and the Dutch
writer, van den Broecke, as well as to the probabilities of
the case. At the time of the battle of Panipat, Akbar was
an unregenerate lad, devoted to amusement, and must not
be credited with the feelings of his mature manhood.^
The pursuit of the defeated army being vigorously pressed, Occupa-
the victors next day, without halting, marched straight to ueihi and
Delhi, which opened its gates to Akbar, who made his entry Agra,
in state. Agra also passed into his possession. In accor-
dance with the ghastly custom of the times, a tower was
built with the heads of the slain. Immense treasures were
' The text follows Ahmad cervices acinace praecidit' (de
Yadgar and van den Broecke. Laet, pp. ^). For full discus-
'The Prince accordingly struck sion of the evidence see 'The
him and divided his head from DeathofHemu', J. K.^.5., 1916,
his unclean body ' (E. & D., v, p. 527.
66). ' Achabar . . . dediticio
taken with the family of Hemu, whose aged father was

executed. The Mewat territory, which had been Tardi
Beg's jdgir or lordship, was conferred on Pir Muhammad,
a confidential servant of Bairam Khan.^
The end Akbar remained about a month at Delhi, returning early
dynasty? i" December to Sihrind, in order to complete the operations
directed against his rival Sikandar Sur. From Sihrind,
Bairam Khan and his sovereign advanced to Lahore, con-
tinuing the pursuit, until at last, in May 1557, Sikandar,
after enduring a long siege, surrendered at Mankot, a fort
in the lower hills, now included in the Jamu territory of the
Kashmir State. He was treated without animosity, and
was given the Kharld and Bihar Districts as a fief.^ He
died peacefully about two years later.
Muhammad Shah Adil, or Adali, had been killed, as
already related, in 1557, and Ibrahim Khan had withdrawn.
The stormy career of the Sur dynasty thus came to an end,
and Akbar was left free to consolidate his dominion, undis-
turbed by the claims of rivals to his sovereignty, except in
so far as his younger brother, Muhammad Hakim of Kabul,
made feeble attempts from time to time to contest the
throne of Hindostan.
Marriage In the course of the second year of the reign, 1557-8, the
Bairam ladies of the royal family arrived safely from Kabul and
Khan rejoined Akbar at Mankot. Akbar marched out a stage to
Salima meet them, and was ' much comforted by the reunion ',
Begam. prom Mankot the army marched to Lahore, halting on the
way at Jalandhar, where Bairam Khan married Salima
Begam, an accomplished young lady, the daughter of
HumayGn's sister, and consequently a grand-daughter of
Babur and cousin of Akbar. After the fall of Bairam Khan,
Akbar married her himself. She lived until 1612, and always
ranked as one of the most important ladies of the court.
' Mewat is the ill-defined tract Bharatpur. Alwar town was the
lying south of Delhi, largely capital (A. N., 1, 266).
inhabited by the Meos or Mewatis, ' A. N., ii, 91. Raverty dates
and now extending over parts the surrender of Mankot in August
of the British Districts of Mathura (Notes, p. 592 n.), but Abu-1 Fazl's
(Muttra), most of the Alwar precise chronology of these events
State, and a small portion of should be accepted.
THE REGENCY 41
In October 1558 Akbar and the court, travelling down

the Jumna by boat, migrated to Agra, at that time a town
of comparatively small importance.
The Protector did his best to arrange for the further The
education of his royal ward, and about this time appointed tjjjjfof
as Akbar's tutor a refugee from Persia, named Abdu-1 Latif, Akbar.
who is described by Badaoni as ' a paragon of greatness '.^
But the paragon was not more successful than his pre-
decessors had been. Akbar condescended to practise a little
drawing under the tuition of the renowned artists, Mir
Saiyid Ali and Khwaja Abdu-1-samad, but no tutors could
make him pay attention to books, even so far as to learn
the alphabet. While staying at Agra he devoted himself
almost exclusively to exciting sport, such as elephant fights
and the hunting of deer with the leopard {cheetah). Abu-1
Fazl never tires of repeating that his sovereign during his
early years remained ' behind a veil '. Akbar's intellectual
training did not suffer materially by reason of his inatten-
tion to the customary apparatus of learning. He constantly
employed other persons to read to him, and, being gifted
with an exceptionally powerful memory, was able to retain
the knowledge gained by hearing, so that he was as well
served by the ear as ordinary people are by the €ye. Even
in modern India much work is done by listening to a reader
in preference to reading oneself. An official can get through
far more business by having long police reports and the
like written in current script, which is practically shorthand,
read aloud quickly by an expert reader, than he could do
by reading the documents himself.
Illiteracy carries no reproach in India. Reading and
writing have never been regarded as fit occupations for men
belonging to the fighting races, and many of the most
notable Indian sovereigns, as for example, Haidar Ali and
Ranjit Singh, have been unable to read or write.
' ' He was the first that taught ii, 23) says that 'Abdullatif was
Akbar the principle of fulk-i-kul, accused in Persia of being a Sunni
" peace with all ", the Persian and in Hindustan of being a
term which Abu-1 Fazl so often Shiah ' (în.tr. Blochmann.vol.i,
fises to describe Akbar's policy of p. 448, «. 2).
toleration. Abu-1 Fazl {Akbam.,
Shaikh
Gadai, In the third year of the reign (1558-9) a person named
Sadr-i-
Sudur.
Shaikh Gadai, son of a Delhi versifier, and a member of the
Shia sect, was appointed at the Protector's instance to
the exalted office of Sadr-i-Sudur, and thus, as Badaoni
remarks, was ' put over the heads of all the magnates of
Hindustan and Khurasan ', The dignity of that office had
always been rated very high. No EngUsh title exactly
expresses the nature of the appointment, and the translation
as Chief Justice sometimes suggested is far from being
satisfactory. The holder ranked as the fourth official in
the empire, was the head of all the law officers, and was
vested with almost unhmited authority in the conferment
of grants of lands devoted to ecclesiastical or benevolent
purposes. He also exercised powers which may be fairly
described as equivalent to those of the Inquisition, extend-
ing even to the infliction of the capital penalty for heresy.
The appointment of a Shia to a position so important
naturally gave extreme offence to the orthodox Sunni
courtiers, and had much to do with the subsequent fall of
Bairam Khan, who was hated as being a Shia. Badaoni
makes the elevation of Shaikh Gadai the theme of his most
bitter gibes and venomous puns. The Shaikh enjoyed his
much envied dignity until the fall of his patron, Bairam
Khan, when he shared the minister's disgrace. Akbar, in
his later years, after his defection from Islam, reduced the
rank of the Sadr-i-Sudiir, and appointed adherents of his
own eclectic religion to fill the office.
Annexa-
tion of In the course of the third and fourth regnal years (1558-
Gwalior 60) the gradual consolidation of Akbar's dominion in
and
Hindostan was advanced by the surrender of the strong
Jaunpur,
fortress of Gwalior in Central India and the annexation of
the Jaunpur province in the east. An attempt to take the
castle of Ranthambhor in Rajputana failed, and preliminary
operations for the reduction of Malwa were interrupted by
the intrigues and troubles connected with Akbar's assertion
of his personal fitness to rule and the consequent fall of
Bairam Khan, the Protector.
The Persian histories narrate the circumstances of Bairam
THE REGENCY 43
Khan's fall at immense length and from different points of Causes of

view. A concise sunamary may be sufficient to satisfy the âirsm"^
curiosity of the modern reader. When Akbar had entered Khan,
on his eighteenth year (a.d. 1560) and began to feel himself
a man, the trammels of the tutelage in which he was held
by his guardian became galling, and he desired to be a king
in fact as well as in name. Those natural feelings were
stimulated and inflamed by the ladies of his household
and various courtiers who for one reason or another had
grievances against the Protector. His appointment of
Shaikh Gadai as Sadr-i-Sudur excited the sectarian animosity
of all the Sunnis at court, who complained, and not without
reason, that Bairam Khan showed excessive favour to the
adherents of his own Shia sect. Many influential people
had been offended by the execution of Tardi Beg, and on
several occasions Bairam Khan, presuming too much on his
position, had behaved with undue arrogance. He was
accused, too, of making indiscreet remarks. Moreover,
Akbar was annoyed by a special personal grievance, inasmuch
as he had no privy purse, and his household was poorly paid,
while the servants of the Protector grew rich. Bairam Khan,
on his side, was inclined to think that his services were in-
dispensable, and was unwilling to surrender the uncontrolled
power which he had exercised so long. Gradually it became
apparent that either Akbar or Bairam Khan must yield.
Hamlda Bano Begam, the queen-mother, Mahara Anaga,
the chief of Akbar's nurses and ranking as a foster-mother,
her son, Adham Khan, with her relative, Shihabu-d din,
governor of Delhi, were the principal persons concerned in
engineering the plot against the Protector. They were
obhged to proceed warily, because the man whom they were
attacking was in actual control of the army and administra-
tion, and it was impossible to be certain how far his loyalty
to the son of HumayHn would stand the strain of dismissal.
In fact, he was suspected of favouring the candidacy for
the throne of Akbar's first cousin, the son of Humayun's
brother Kamran. A son of Sikandar Siir was also at hand
as an alternative pretender, if wanted.
Develop-
ment of Early in A. D. 1560 (a. h. 967) the conspirators took
the court action. Bairam Khan being then at Agra, Akbar, who was
plot. out hunting as usual, was induced to go to Delhi, in order
to visit his mother, who either was or pretended to be ill.
The friendly governor strengthened the fortifications of
Delhi, and measures were taken to secure Lahore and Kabul.
Maham Anaga and her fellow conspirators made the most
of certain intemperate language attributed to Bairam Khan,
and took pains to make it generally known that he no longer
enjoyed his sovereign's confidence. Messengers passed
between the parties, and Maham Anaga, professing to be
afraid of Bairam Khan's resentment, begged permission to
proceed on the pilgrimage to Mecca. She knew well that
Akbar would not allow her to go, for at that time he was
completely under her influence.
Decision The advisers of Bairam were divided in opinion. Shaikh
of
Bairam Gadal, the Sadr-i-Sudur, and certain other counsellors
Khan.
advised their patron to seize Akbar's person and fight the
matter out. But Bairam Khan, after some hesitation,
honourably refused to stain the record of a lifetime of
loyalty by turning traitor, and intimated his intention to
submit. Meantime, the courtiers for the most part had
deserted the falling minister, and, after the manner of their
kind, had turned to worship the rising sun.
Akbar's
ultima-
Akbar now felt himself strong enough to carry the busi-
tum. ness to its conclusion, and sent his tutor, Mir Abdu-1 Latif,
to Bairam Khan with a written message to this effect :
' As I was fully assured of your honesty and fidelity,

I left all important affairs of State in your charge, and
thought only of my own pleasures. I have now determined
to take the reins of government into my own hands, and it
is desirable that you should now make the pilgrimage to
Mecca, upon which you have been so long intent. A suit-
able fief ijdgir) out of the parganas (districts) of Hindustan
will be assigned for your maintenance, the revenues of
which shall be transmitted to you by your agents.'
This ultimatum probably was dictated by Maham Anaga,
who, to use Abu-1 Fazl's words, ' in her great loyalty and
THE REGENCY 45
wisdom took charge of affairs '. Abu-1 Fazl displays

unblushing partisanship in his account of the transactions,
and even lavishes unstinted eulogies on Pir Muhammad,
the worst of Akbar's evil counsellors at this period.
Pir Muhammad, known as the ShirwanI, and originally Pir Mu-
a mere Mulla or religious teacher, had been lucky enough ghir-
to attract the favour of Eairam Khan, who made him his wani.
confidential manager. The sudden rise in his fortunes was
too much for Pir Muhammad, who displayed overweening
arrogance towards his patron, by whom he was deservedly
dismissed and exiled. He was in Gujarat when he heard of
Bairam Khan's disgrace, and at once returned to court,
receiving from Akbar the title of Khan. In April 1560,
when Bairam Khan moved to Bayana, Pir Muhanmiad was
selected to follow him with an armed force, and ' to arrange
for his leaving the imperial domains ', or, as Badaoni puts
it more bluntly, ' to pack him off as quickly as possible to
Mecca, without giving him any time for delay '.
Bairam Khan sent back his insignia to Akbar, who was Rebellion
much
offered gratified at that act
him in assigning of former
to his submission, but the
servant thetask
insult
of kô.'^^™
hounding him out of India induced him to change his attitude
and attempt rebelHon. Bairam Khan accordingly moved to
the Panjab, after placing his family in the fortress of Tabar-
hindh.^ Near Jalandhar his forces were defeated by the
royalists. Bairam Khan then retired into the hills, and
ultimately was captured near the Biyas river, and brought
before Akbar, who generously accepted his late guardian's
words of penitence.
Munim IQian, who had been summoned from Kabul to
■ The position of Tabarhindh or The indications may be taken to

Tabaihind has not been deter- point to a location in the northern
mined. It is sometimes identified part of the Bikaner State, but
either with Sahrind (Sihrind) or inquiry has failed to confirm the
withBhatinda(Bathinda), bothof conjecture. It is odd that the
which are now in the Fatiala State position of a place so often men-
(see7.Gf.,ig08,s.y.Bhatinda)..'Mr. tioned should be uncertain. See
Beveridge suggests that it should Raverty, the Tabakat-i-NSsin,
be looked for in the Sirsa District, pp. 457 «., 460 n. ; but his
now included in the Hissar District observations do not settle the
of the Panjab {A. N., ii, 166 n.). question.
assume the office of prime minister, placed all his tents
and equipage at the disposal of his fallen predecessor, to
whom liberal allowances were assigned in order that he
might proceed to Mecca in a manner befitting his rank and
eminent past services. Akbar returned to Delhi, and thence
proceeded by water to Agra, at the close of 1560 (a. h. 968).
Death of Bairam Khan, accepting his fate, marched across Raj-
Khan, putana towards the coast, in order to proceed to Mecca,
and in due course arrived at Patau, otherwise called Nahrwala
or Anhilwara, the ancient capital of Gujarat, now included
in the Baroda State. The town was in charge of an Afghan
governor, who received his distinguished guest with hos-
pitality, but failed to make adequate provision for the
safety of him and his retinue. Bairam Khan, during his
stay in the town, used to amuse himself by visiting the
gardens and beautiful lakes which then adorned it. One
day (January 1561) he had just landed from a visit to an
island pavilion in the principal lake when he was attacked
by a gang of thirty or forty Afghans, led by one Mubarak
Khan, whose father had been killed in the battle of Macchi-
wara, when Bairam Khan was in command.^ The ex-
Protector was stabbed to death, and his corpse left on the
ground. Some fakirs and poor people charitably gave it
burial. His camp was plundered, and his family was brought
with difficulty to Ahmadabad, pursued by a crowd of
Afghans.^ Bairam Khan's little son, Abdurrahim, then
four years of age, was summoned to court, and brought up
under the protection of Akbar. He lived to attain the rank
of Khan Khanan and to become the greatest noble in the
empire. He continued to serve Jahanglr faithfully for many
years, but, towards the end of a long Ufe, forgot his duty
and joined Prince Khurram (Shahjahan), when he rebelled
against his father. Abdurrahim will be often mentioned in
the course of this history.
• The battle was fought in 1540 (Blochmann, Aln, vol. i,
1555. The town is in the Ludlana p. 315), and, consequently, must
District. have been born about 1524. He
^ Bairam Khan is said to have was still a young man, thirty-six
been sixteen years of age at the or thirty-seven years of age, when
time of the battle of Kanauj, in he perished, in 1561.
THE REGENCY 47
The story of the transactions leading up to the fall and Observa-

death of Bairam Khan leaves an unpleasant taste. It seems *'°°**
to be clear that the intriguers who surrounded and controlled
the young Padshah were resolved to get rid of the Protector
at any cost, and that they deUberately forced him into
rebellion in order to ensure his destruction. For a long time
he steadily resisted the advice of Shaikh Gadal and others
who counselled open opposition, and if his enemies had
abstained from the outrage of deputing Pir Muhammad to
' pack him off as quickly as possible to Mecca ', he would
apparently have submitted to his sovereign's will, as his
modern representative, Bismarck, submitted to William II,
that is to say, reluctantly, but as a matter of both necessity
and duty. Bairam Khan obviously was only a half-hearted
rebel, and was glad to be captured. Even Abu-1 Fazl, who
made the most of the Protector's faults, and could hardly
find language emphatic enough to express his sense of the
alleged merits of Maham Anaga and Pir Muhammad, was
consferaîned to admit that ' Bairam Khan was in reality
a good man, and of excellent qualities '. The courtly
chronicler ascribes his deviations from the narrow path of
rectitude to his association with evil advisers and his inor-
dinate appetite for flattery. As a matter of fact, Bairam
Khan, although misled sometimes by his partiality for
Shia co-reKgionists, chose his instruments far better than
Maham Anaga chose hers during her brief tenure of power.
He had the nerve needed to punish the traitor Tardi Beg,
and so to save his master's cause. It is true that he made
a mistake in giving his confidence at first to Pir Muhammad,
but when he discovered the man's ingratitude and baseness
he had no hesitation in dismissing him.
Both Humayun and Akbar owed their recovery of the
throne to Bairam Khan, and the obligations of gratitude
required that when the time came for Akbar to take the
reins into his own hands the demission of his faithful
charioteer should be effected as gently as possible. But
the many enemies of Bairam Khan were not in a humour
to make his exit easy. If they could have had their way
unobstructed, they would certainly have put him to death.
The generosity of his reception after the failure of his
rebellion may be fairly attributed to young Akbar himself,
who had had little to do with the previous transactions,
for which Maham Anaga was responsible, as her panegyrist
Abu-1 Fazl expressly affirms.
Akbar shook off the tutelage of Bairam Khan only to
bring himself under the ' monstrous regiment ' of unscrupu-
lous women. He had yet another effort to make before
he found himself and rose to the height of his essentially
noble nature.
The next chapter will tell the story of the rather ignoble
interval during which he was subject to petticoat government
of the worst kind.
CHAPTER III
PETTICOAT GOVERNMENT ; THE EMANCIPATION OF AKBAR,
1560-4
Akbak, who was still little more than a boy, continued to Rule of
occupy himself with field sports and elephant fights, appa- ^^sa*
rently taking no interest in the business of government,
which he allowed Maham Anaga to control . Notwithstanding
the praise lavished on her by Abu-1 Fazl, the facts as recorded
by him and other authors prove that she was unworthy of
the trust reposed in her. One of the main objects of her
life was to push forward Adham Khan, her second son, a man
clearly unfit for high office. She also bestowed her favour
on the treacherous and brutal Pir Muhammad Shirwani,
who had betrayed Tardi Beg at Delhi, shown the grossest
ingratitude to Bairam Khan, his patron, and was about
to earn eternal infamy by his savage cruelty in Malwa.
In short, there is reason to believe that the men who secured
power and wealth from the hands of Maham Anaga were
the worst members of the court circle.
At the time of Bairam Khan's fall Akbar was still far from Baz
being master of the whole of Hindostan. The condition of ^^ * "'
the kingdom of Malwa, the fertile plateau lying to the north Malwa.
of the Vindhya range, between the parallels 23° 30' and
24° 30' N. and the meridians 74° 80' and 78° 10' E., was
then such as seemed to invite a war of conquest with good
prospects of success. Shujaat Khan, an officer under the
Sur kings, and himself a Sur Pathan,i who had governed
the country in practical independence in the time of Islam
Shah, died in a. h. 963 (a. d. 1555-6), the year of Akbar's
accession, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Baz Bahadur,
who assumed the title of Sultan. The new ruler began
• Also known as Shuja or Shajawal Khan.
1845 E
badly by murdering his younger brother and many of his own

officers. Having sujffered defeat at the hands of the Gonds,
he gave himself up to pleasure, wine, women, and music.
In the arts of music and song he was an expert, and, like
Tansen, was reputed to have received instruction from Adali,
or Muhammad Shah Adil, the last of the Sur kings.^ The
government of Agra resolved to attack Baz Bahadur, who,
although personally brave enough, was not likely to offer
effectual resistance.
Attack on Accordingly, in the autumn of 1560, an expedition against
Malwa was organized, under the supreme command of
Adham Khan, assisted by Pir Muhammad Shirwani and other
officers. Pir Muhammad, although nominally second in
command, was really the guiding spirit. Baz Bahadur was
badly defeated (1561) near Sarangpur, now in the Dewas
State, Central India Agency, and much valuable spoil was
taken by the imperialists. Baz Bahadur had, in accordance
with Indian custom, placed confidential men in charge of
his wives and concubines with orders to slay them all in
case of their lord's defeat. The best beloved of these women
was Rupmati, ' renowned throughout the world for her
beauty and charm '. When the defeat occurred she was cut
down by her guardian but only half killed. Adham Khan
having sought to gain possession of her, she escaped further
dishonour by taking poison. The loves of Baz Bahadur
and Rupmati form a favourite subject for the skill of Indian
poets and artists. Adham Khan sent to Akbar nothing
except a few elephants, reserving for himself the women and
the choicest articles of the spoil.
Meantime, both Pir Muhammad and Adham Khan had
disgraced themselves and their sovereign by disgusting
cruelties, of which Badaoni the historian was a horrified
witness.
' On the day of the victory,

on the spot, and had the captivesthebrought
two captains remained
before them, and
troop after troop of them put to death, so that their blood
flowed river upon river.' Pir Muhammad cracked brutal
• Badaoni, tr. Ranking, i, 557.
PETTICOAT GOVERNMENT 61
jests, and when remonstrance was offered, replied :— ' In

one single night all these captives have been taken, what
can be done with them ? '
Even Sayyids and learned Shaikhs who came out to meet
him with Korans in their hands were slain and burnt.
Akbar was much incensed at the misconduct of Adham Mis-
Khan in retaining the women and choice spoil which should "("J^*
have been sent to court. He resolved to surprise the delin- Khan ;
quent and abate his insolence. Leaving Munim Khan, action,*
the Khan Khanan, and other officials in charge at Agra,
Akbar, without giving notice to the great officers of state,
on April 27, 1561, quitted his capital attended by only a small
escort. Although Maham Anaga sent off swift couriers to
warn her son, Akbar was too quick for her, and rode in upon
Adham Khan, who had no news of his sovereign's arrival.
He was amazed, and
' when his eye fell on the world-illuminating beauty of His
Majesty the Shahinshah he became confounded, and like
a bewildered moth dismounted and did homage. He placed
the face of servitude in the dust of supplication and was
exalted by kissing the stirrup.'
His attempts to assuage Akbar's just wrath were unsuccessful
at first, and it was not until his mother arrived and arranged
matters that his submission was accepted. Even then the
villain did not cease from his lustful wickedness. He secretly
stole two special beauties who had been in Baz Bahadur's
harem. When Akbar heard of this impudent crime he delayed
his march until the women were recovered.
' Maham perceived that if these two women were intro-

duced to His Majesty the veil over her acts would be raised,
and her son's treachery be revealed. She therefore caused
these two innocent ones to be put to death, for " a severed
head makes no sound ". The Khedive of the age over-
looked this gross outrage, as the veil was not yet removed
from his world-illuminating countenance, and [he] regarded
the done as not done.'
The same Abu-1 Fazl who records that atrocious deed was
not ashamed to praise the ' wisdom and perspicacity ' of
the guilty woman.
E2
Akbar hastened back to Agra, where he arrived on June 4,

1561, after an absence of only thirty-eight days. Akbar,
who resembled Alexander the Great in his disregard of
climatic conditions or physical obstacles, made his rapid
journey in the height of the hot season.
It is not pleasant to read that Pir Muhammad, who
waited on the Padshah after his return, was honoured with
gifts of robes and horses.^ Akbar's conscience had not yet
been awakened.
Personal In the course of his journey homewards Akbar met a tigress
of Xkbar. ^^^ five cubs near Narwar. He encountered the beast on
foot and killed her with a single blow of his sword, a most
remarkable feat. His escort accomplished the easy task
of killing the cubs. This, we are told, was the first beast
of prey which His Majesty personally attacked.^
Some months later, at Agra, Akbar gave another exhibition
of reckless courage, pre-eminent physical strength, and
extraordinary mastery over animals. At the early age of
fourteen he had acquired the difficult art of controlUng
vicious elephants. An elephant named Hawai, meaning
' Like the Wind ', and probably the beast of that name
ridden by Hemu in his last fight, was notorious for his
' choler, passionateness, fierceness, and wickedness '. One
day on the polo ground Akbar, who had drunk two or three
cups of wine, took it into his head to mount the savage
brute, who was compelled to execute ' wonderful manoeuvres '.
Akbar then decided to have still more excitement, and set
Hawai to fight Ran Bagha, the ' Tiger in Battle ', another
vicious giant. Ran Bagha, unable to withstand Hawai's
furious onset, fled pursued by the victor, who justified his
name by his speed. Akbar, to the terror of the onlookers,
held on firmly, and the two maddened beasts, plunging down
the steep bank of the Jumna, raced across the bridge of
boats. The pontoons swayed and were submerged, the royal
" Tabakdt, E. & D., v, 271. lioness never has more than four,
" Mr.Beveridge(/4.iV.,ii,222n.) and usually only three. The
is inclined to accept the reading number in the litter of a tigress
babari, ' lioness ', of some MSS. ranges from two to six (Chambers,
But ' tigress ' must be right, Encycl., and Encycl. Brit., latest
because there were five cubs. A ed.).
servants meantime swimming alongside in case their help

should be needed. By good luck the elephants got safely
across to the other side of the river and Ran Bagha
continued his flight to save his life. Akbar, exercising the
marvellous personal power over the brute creation which
was one of his peculiar gifts, was able to restrain Hawai in
a moment.^
In later years Akbar explained more than once to Abu-1
Fazl that his motive in undertaking such adventures was
that God might end his life, if he should have knowingly
taken a step displeasing to the Most High or cherished an
aspiration contrary to His will, for, he said, ' we cannot
support the burden of hfe under God's displeasure '. The
expression of such sentiments in mature age may be accepted
as sincere, but when he was nineteen he may be presumed
to have taken less serious views, and to have been simply
carried away by his sense of possessing exceptional power
and by the intoxication of perilous excitement.
In this connexion another wild adventure, which took An ad-
place in the following year, 1562, deserves brief notice, v^"**"^^-

The story is too long to be narrated in full detail. Com-
plaints having been received of the violence practised by the
people of eight villages in the Sakit pargana now in the Etah
District, United Provinces, a tract still noted for its turbulence,
Akbar determined to chastise the evil-doers. He availed
himself as usual of the pretext of hunting, and accompanied
by a small escort of less than two hundred horsemen, sup-
ported by as many elephants, he attacked the villagers,
who were supposed to number four thousand. A hot fight
ensued. His Majesty then perceived that some of his follow-
ers were shirking in a cowardly fashion and taking cover.
' The royal wrath blazed forth,' and Akbar, without waiting
to collect the shirkers, advanced on his elephant Dilshankar
against a house in the village of Paronkh. His elephant
put his foot into a grain-pit, so that the officer riding behind
' Jahangir also tells the story pictures of the Clarke MS. at the
as recounted by his father. The V. & A. Museum, S. Kensington
incident is depicted in one of the (Jahangir, R. B., ii. 41).
fell on top of his sovereign, who cleverly extricated his mount.

Seven arrows hit and five pierced Akbar's shield, but
ultimately he succeeded in forcing his elephant through
the wall. The house was set on fire, and about a thousand
rebels were consumed.
We shall see that Akbar, even when a good deal older,
retained the impetuous spirit of his youth, and was as ready
as Alexander of Macedon had been to risk his life in personal
combat with man or beast. The pecuhar system of self-edu-
cation which he had adopted had endowed him with nerves of
iron and bodily vigour which scorned fatigues enough to kill
an ordinary man. We can imagine how the reports of the
young Padshah's prowess at Paronkh must have echoed
through the kingdom and inspired a wholesome terror amoiig
all men who thought of defying the royal authority.
A noc- In the first half of 1561 Akbar had begun to take some
adwn- personal share in pubUc business, although his final emancipa-
ture. tion from the evil influences surrounding him was not effected
until three years later. Even in his twentieth year he was
keen to learn all that he could about his people, and for
that purpose made use of information derived from various
classes of ascetics and faldrs, in whose society he took much
pleasure, being " more restless than ever in his search for
physicians of the soul '. He followed the example of Harunu-r
Rashid in taking nocturnal rambles in disguise. One night
he so ventured out into a dense crowd on the far side of
the Jumna opposite Agra, and was unlucky enough to be
recognized by a vagabond who communicated his discovery
to others.
' When I became aware of this ', said Akbar, as he told

the story, ' I without the least delay or hesitation rolled
my eyes and squinted, and so made a wonderful change in
my appearance. In a sense that they could not imagine
I was a spectator and was observing the ways of destiny.
When those good folks looked at me they, on account of
the change in my appearance, could not recognize me, and
said to one another, " These are not the eyes and features
of the King ". I quietly came away from them and went
to my palace.'
Nobody will dispute the truth of Abu-1 Fazl's comment

that ' it was a very strange performance '} Although not
so indifferent to affairs of state as he had been previously,
Akbar still devoted most of his time to sport, and still,
to use his chronicler's recurrent phrase, remained for the
most part ' behind the veil '.
About this time information was received that Khan Eastern
Zaman (All Kull Khan), the governor of Jaunpur and the t^^^?'"
eastern provinces, was meditating rebellion. Akbar accor- Shamsu-d
dingly resolved to go in person to bring him back to obedience. Khan.
He started in the middle of July 1561, hunting on the way
in his accustomed manner. At Kara on the Ganges, now
in the Allahabad District, Khan Zaman and his brother
Bahadur Khan thought it prudent to come in and do homage,
which was accepted. Akbar accomplished this expedition
with his usual celerity, and was back in Agra before the
end of August.
In November Shamsu-d din Muhammad Khan Atga came
from Kabul, was received with favour, and entrusted as
minister with the management of affairs political, financial,
and military. This arrangement was displeasing to Maham
Anaga, who ' regarded herself as the substantive prime
minister ', and was vexed to find that Akbar was gradually
freeing himself from her control. Munim Khan shared her
jealousy. The fortress of Chunar near Mirzapur was sur-
rendered about this time.*
Akbar now took a more decisive step towards asserting Recall of
his independence by recalling Adham Khan from Malwa, ghan™
and making over the government of that imperfectly con- Pir Mu-
quered province to Pir Muhammad in name as well as in j^™™*
fact. But in conferring such an important trust on a man Malwa.
so unworthy Akbar committed a grievous error. Pir
Muhammad, feehng himself to be invested with absolute
power, attacked Burhanpur and Bijagarh with success,
• A. N., ii, 225, 226. the event In the ninth regnal
^ A.N., ii, 231. Abu-I Fazl year, a. d. 1564-5 (E. & D., v,
dates the surrender in a. h. 969, 287). Abu-1 Fazl took much
A. D. 1561-2. The Tabakdt, pains to fix the chronology of
erroneously it would seem, dates the reign.
INDIA IN 1561
When Akbar ascended the throne in 'January 1556 he possessed no

definite territory. Five years later he held firmly the Panjab, with
the Multan district ; the basin of the Ganges and Jumna as far east
as Prayag (later known as Allahabad), and also Gwalior in Central
India, and Ajmer in Rajasthan. The Kabul territory (excluding
Kandahar with its dependencies, then in Persian hands, see Raverty,
Notes on Afghanistan, pp. 592, 600) was governed in practical inde-
pendence by the guardians of Akbar's younger half-brother, MirzS
Muhammad Hakim. The various Himalayan States, including Kashmir,
were completely independent. Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa were under
the government of an Afghan prince, Sulaiman Kararani. Orissa then
meant the modern Midnapore, Puri, Katak (Cuttack), and Balasore
Districts. The numerous chiefs in Rajasthan or Rajputana, Sind,
and the extensive wild country now forming the Central Provinces,
Chutia Nagpur, and Orissa Tributary States, recognized no man as
master. Gujarat, which had been occupied by Akbar's father, Huma-
yun, was ruled by a Muhammadan dynasty, as was Malwa. The five
kingdoms of the Deccan plateau, namely, Ahmadnagar, Birar (Berar),
Bidar, Bijapur, and Golkonda, constituted out of fragments of the
Bahmani Empire, were autonomous under Musalman dynasties, con-
stantly at war one with another or with Vijayanagar. The boundaries
frequently changed. Bijapur was the most powerful of the five States.
The small Muhammadan principality of Khandesh in the valley of
the Tapti was practically independent. The whole peninsular area to
the south of the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers was under the
lordship of the Hindu kings of Vijayanagar.
The Portuguese were strongly established on the western coast in
fortified settlements taken from the Sultans of the Deccan, and situated
at Goa, with a considerable territory attached ; Chaul, Bombaim
(Bombay) with neighbouring places ; Bassein (see Malabari, Bombay in
the Making, 1910, p. 21) ; Daman, and Diu. Their fleet controlled the
mercantile and pilgrim trafiic of the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf.
No other European power had gained any footing on the soil of India,
and no Englishman had even landed in the country. All delineations
of frontiers and boundaries necessarily are merely approximate. The
boundaries of the Sultanates of the Deccan are taken from Sewell's
map in A Forgotten Empire (1900).
perpetrating a general massacre at the latter fortress. As

Badaoni observes, he ' practised to the utmost the code of
Chinghiz Khan ', massacring or enslaving all the inhabitants
of Burhanpur and Asirgarh, and destroying many towns
and villages to the south of the Narbada, ' sweeping every-
thing clean and clear '. Contrary to advice he started to
pursue Baz Bahadur across the river. As he was riding
through the stream his horse collided with a string of camels
and threw him, so that he was drowned. Thus, to use
Badaoni's terse phrase, ' he went by water to fire ' ; his
cruelty, insolence, and severity were punished, and the sighs
of the orphans, the helpless, and the captives were avenged.^
It is not often that we find a Muhammadan historian pro-
nouncing an ethical judgement so distinct and just. Abu-1
Fazl slurs over the crimes of Pir Muhammad with a vague
allusion to the oppression committed by him, and laments
that ' by heaven's decree so loyal, able, and gallant a man
underwent such a fate '. The remark goes a long way
to discredit the writer's pretensions as a moralist. The
defeat of Pir Muhammad resulted in the temporary restora-
tion of Baz Bahadur.
One night, Akbar, when on a hunting excursion, was Pilgrim-
passing through a village near Agra when he happened to ^^g° .
hear a party of Indian minstrels singing the praises of first
Khwaja Muinu-d din, the renowned saint buried at Ajmer, ^th'a^
and was thus inspired to make a pilgrimage to the tomb of Hindu
the holy man. Accordingly, in the middle of January 1562,
he started for Ajmer with a small retinue, hunting on his
way. At Deosa, midway between Agra and Ajmer, he
received Raja Bihar Mall,^ the chief of Amber or Jaipur
in Rajputana, who offered his eldest daughter to Akbar in
marriage. The court made only a brief stay at Ajmir and
returned by forced marches to Agra, leaving the heavy
camp equipage to follow. The marriage was celebrated at
Sambhar. Man Singh, nephew and adopted son of Raja
' Badaoni, tr. Lowe, ii, 43, 47. as Bihara, Bahar (/. G.), or Bhar.
A various reading gives ' mules ' Blochmann writes Bihari. Bihar
instead of ' camels '. seems to be the correct form,
' The name is written variously
Bhagwan Das, the heir of Raja Bihax Mall, was taken into
the imperial service, and rose ultimately to high office.
The bride subsequently became the mother of Jahangir.
Her posthumous official title, Maryam-zamani (or -uz
zamani), ' the Mary of the age ', has caused her to be con-
founded sometimes with Akbar's mother, whose title was
Maryam-makani, ' dwelUng with Mary '. The dust of Akbar's
first Hindu consort lies in a fine mausoleum situated near
Akbar's tomb at Sikandara. The building has been restored
by judicious measures of conservation.^
Although it has been asserted that Humayiin had one
Hindu consort, that lady, if she really existed, does not
appear to have exercised any influence.^ Akbar's marriages
with Hindu princesses, on the contrary, produced important
effects both on his personal rule of life and on his public
policy. His leanings towards Hinduism will be more con-
veniently discussed at a subsequent stage, and the effects
of the Rajpiit matrimonial alliances on public affairs also
will become more apparent as the story proceeds. But at this
point of the narrative so much may be said, that the marriage
with the Amber princess secured the powerful support of her
family throughout the reign, and offered a proof manifest
to all the world that Akbar had decided to be the Padshah
of his whole people — ^Hindus as well as Muhammadans.
While the court was on its way back to Agra one of the
keepers of the hunting leopards was convicted of stealing
a pair of shoes. Akbar ordered the thief's feet to be cut off.
Later in life he would hardly have inflicted such a savage
punishment for a petty theft.
' The tomb is accurately de- Portuguese or a Christian. Mu-

scribed and illustrated in Ann. hammadans venerate the Virgin
Rep. A. S. India, 1910-11, pp. Mary and are glad to associate
94-6, Plates XLVIII-L. The deceased ladies of rank with her
descriptions in other books, as name. The daughter of Raja
in Syad M. Latif, Agra (1896), Bihar Mall probably conformed
p. 194, are erroneous, and usually more or less to the Muslim religion,
repeat the false statement Certainly she received a Muham-
that Maryam-zamani was a madan title and was buried in
Portuguese Christian. There is a Muhajnmadan sepulchre,
not the slightest reason for be- * Tod, feudal System, ch. v,
lieving thatwives
numerous any one
was of either
Akbar's
a vol.
ment i,seems
pp. 124,
to be 268. The state-
a blunder.
Many events of importance happened in the seventh Recovery

regnal year, reckoned officially as beginning on March 11, âlwa •
1562. various
Abdullah Khan Uzbeg.^ who was sent to Malwa in super- *'*'^"*®-

session of Adham Khan, quickly expelled Baz Bahadur,
and again brought the province under the dominion of his
sovereign. Baz Bahadur remained in exile at the courts of
various princes for several years. In the fifteenth year of
the reign he submitted to his fate, appeared at the imperial
court, and accepted office as a " mansabdar of 1,000 '.
Subsequently, he was promoted to the rank ' of 2,000 ',
and so ended his days. Tradition points out a tomb at
Ujiain, built in a tank, as the place where his dust rests
beside that of his favourite Rupmati.
Shah Tahmasp of Persia sent a belated complimentary
embassy to Agra to offer condolence for the death of Huma-
yiin and congratulations on the accession of Akbar,
The practice of enslaving prisoners of war was strictly
forbidden, and the strong fortress of Mirtha (Merta) in
Rajputana was taken after a stiff fight.
On May 16, 1562, an extraordinary event took place which Murder of
finally freed Akbar from the debasing influence of Maham ^„ ^^g^j
Anaga and her worthless son. The appointment of Shamsu-d by Ad-
din Muhammad Atga Khan as minister in November 1561 Khan,
was, as already mentioned, highly displeasing to Maham
Anaga, her son Adham Khan, her ally Munim Khan, and
sundry other influential members of the royal circle. The
dissatisfaction of those personages, who felt that power was
slipping from their grasp, was the immediate cause of the
crime committed on May 16 by Adham Khan,^ who may
' Blochmann, Ain, vol. i. No. next page give 970 in one case,
14, p. 320. He must not be con- and 969 in the other. Abu-1 Fazl
founded with his namesake, the {A. N., ii, 269) states the date in
independent ruler of Transoxiana. terms of both the Ilahi and Hijrl
' The authorities, as is the case eras, as Isfandiyar 5, Khurdad =
so often, differ about the date. Saturday, Ramazan 12, 969.
The Tabakat (E. & D., v, 277) According to Cunningham's tables
gives'it
A. H. 970.as' Badaoni
Sunday, Ramazan 12,
(ii, 49) states Ramazan 12,(Ain,
Blochmann 969, was a Saturday.
i, 324) accepts
it as Monday, Ramazan 12, a. h. that statement, which may be
969. The chronograms on his taken as correct. The ^dbakat
possibly have acted on his own impulse without the privity
of his sympathizers. It seems hardly credible that they
could have sanctioned in advance his audacious outrage.
On the day mentioned, Shamsu-d din, the minister, with
Munim Khan and other high officials, was sitting in the palace
hall engaged on public business, when Adham Khan swaggered
in attended by blustering followers. The minister and his
companions pohtely rose to receive the visitor, but Adham
Khan, far from responding to the courtesy, put his hand
to his dagger and advanced in a threatening attitude to the
minister. At a signal from Adham Khan two of his men
cut down Shamsu-d din, who ran out and fell dead in the
courtyard of the hall.
The tumult awoke Akbar, who was asleep in an inner room.
Adham Khan, meditating the last extremity of treason,
tried to force his way in, but was kept back by a faithful
eunuch who bolted the door. Akbar, having been told what
had happened, came out by another door, receiving as he
passed his special scimitar from the hands of a servant.
Coming across the terrace he met Adham Khan and roughly
asked what he meant by killing the Atga. Adham Khan
made impertinent excuses and had the audacity to seize
his sovereign's hands. When Akbar tried to disarm him
the villain grasped the king's sword. Akbar responded by
hitting Adham Khan in the face a blow with his fist which
was like the stroke of a mace, and knocked the traitor
senseless. Akbar ordered his attendants to bind him and
throw him headlong from the terrace. They obeyed, but in
a timid, hesitating way, so that the criminal was only half
killed. Akbar then compelled them to drag him up again,
and throw him down a second time. His neck was broken
and his brains dashed out.^
Munim Khan, his friend Shihabu-d din, and some other
notables, conscious of guilt, and fearing just retribution for
their secret treason, absconded.
date, a year later, is impossible. ^ The horrid scene is realisti-
Ramazan 12, 970 was a Wednes- cally reproduced in one of the
day. The event certainly hap- Akbamama pictures exhibited at
pened in 1562, not in 1563. South Kensington.
After the performance of his stern act of justice, Akbar

retired into the female apartments where Maham Anaga
was lying ill. He told her briefly what had happened,
refraining from saying explicitly that Adham Khan was dead.
The unhappy woman merely rephed ' Your Majesty did well ',
and then held her peace. But her life was bound up with that
of her favourite son, and forty days later she followed him
to the grave. Both the bodies were sent to Delhi and interred
in a handsome tomb erected at Akbar 's expense near the
Kutb Minar. The building still exists.^
The fugitive conspirators were pursued and arrested. Conse-
Akbar behaved to them with extraordinary generosity, of*thg^^
prompted, perhaps, by deep policy, inflicting no penalties, crime,
and actually restoring Munim Khan to favour and his rank
as minister and Khan Khanan. The Atka Khail, or ' foster-
brother battalion ', who thirsted for vengeance on the family
of the murderer, were judiciously pacified and kept employed
on an expedition against the Gakhars in the Salt Range.
Abu-1 Fazl tells us that from the time of Adham Khan's
catastrophe ' H.M. the Shahinshah perceived the spirit
of the age and the nature of mankind and gave his attention
to the affairs of State '. He was then in his twentieth
year. Under Maham Anaga's corrupt regime the finances
had fallen into disorder, and public revenue was constantly
embezzled by the officials.^ Akbar secured the services of
a capable eunuch, who had been in the employ of the Stir
kings, and was now honoured with the title of Itimad Khan.
This man drew up and enforced the necessary rules and
regulations so that embezzlement was checked and the
revenue system was placed on a sounder footing.
Akbar, although engaged in so much troublesome business Tansen
in various departments, was not indifferent to the pleasures music,
of life. He took special dehght in music and song, and seems
to have had a considerable knowledge of the technicalities
of those arts. About this time (1562) he required Raja
» Can- Stephen, The Archaeology rupees, the treasurer professed his
of Delhi, p. 200. Inability to produce the petty
' On one occasion, when Akbar sum (Bayazid, in J. A. S. B.,
happened to ask for eighteen part i, vol. Ixvii (1898), p. 311).
Ramchand of Bhath or Riwa to send to court Tansen of
Gwalior, who was universally recognized as the premier
musician and singer of the age. Tansen, who became a
Musalman subsequently, was received with marked favour
and liberally paid. He is credited by Abu-1 Fazl with
having introduced ' great developments ' into his art.
Conservative Hindu musicians take a different view and
accuse him of having falsified the traditional rags, two of
which, Hindol and Megh, have disappeared since his time.
Such critics hold that the influence of Tansen was deleterious
to the musical science of India.^ It would seem possible
that he may have violated the ancient Hindu canons and
sought to modernize his art by making changes to suit
MusUm taste. Few people have a right to express any
positive opinion on the subject, and the author of this book
is not included among those few.
1562. Akbar experienced a remarkable spiritual awakening on
ch^nee in *^® completion of his twentieth year, in October or November
Akbar. 1562. His words, as translated by Jarrett, are :
' On the completion of my twentieth year ', he said,
' I experienced an internal bitterness, and from the lack
of spiritual provision for my last journey my soul was seized
with exceeding sorrow.' *
It is impossible not to connect this access of religious
melancholy with the public events which preceded it. Akbar
had learned the painful lesson that the persons, male and
female, in whom he had reposed confidence, were wholly
unworthy of his trust and were even prepared to take his
life. He had become conscious of the weight of the vast
responsibilities resting upon his shoulders, and was forced to
' A. H. Fox Strangways, The post.

Mmic of Hindostan, p. S3 (Oxloid, ^ ' Happy Sayings,' în, vol. iii,
1914). For the theory of the p. 386. Beveridge {A. N., iii, 338)
Hindu rags, or ' musical modes ', notes that there is a various
see that work and H. F. A., p. 330. reading asp, ' horse ' for Inst,
The subject remains extremely ' twenty ' ; and suggests that the
obscure. The concluding section remark refers to Akbar's horse
of Ain 30, Book II of Am, tr. having stumbled, which does not
Blochmann, vol. i, pp. 611-13, seem to be a tenable interpreta-
deals with the musicians of the tion.
imperial court. See also ch. xv,
the conclusion that he must rely on his own strength, with

Divine help, to bear them. He could not any longer lean
upon the broken reed of false friends. He never again
placed himself under the control of any adviser, but mapped
out his course, right or wrong, for himself.
' It was ', he observed, ' the effect of the grace of God that
I found no capable minister, otherwise people would have
considered my measures had been devised by him.' ^ That
saying was not merely the outcome of self-conceited vanity.
Young Akbar, in the days of his apprenticeship, had seen
one minister after another fail to rise to the height of his
duty. When he reinstated the traitor Munim Khan, there
was, I think, some contemptuousness in the action, which
signified that it did not much matter who conducted the
routine business while Akbar hitnself was there to shape
the policy. During the years in which he was apparently
devoted to sport alone, and oblivious of all serious affairs,
the young man had been thinking and shaping out a course
of poUcy. His abolition of the practice of enslavement of
prisoners of war, his marriage with the princess of Amber,
and his reorganization of the finances were measures which
proved that his thinking had not been fruitless. No minister
would or could have carried them through.
Peruschi, one of the acute Jesuit authors, who based their
accounts on the letters sent by the missionaries at Akbar's
court in the middle and latter part of his reign, states that :
' He is willing to consult about his affairs, and often takes
advice in private from his friends near his person, but the
decision, as it ought, always rests with the King.' ^ Akbar
was conscious of being a king of men, immeasurably superior
in breadth and comprehensiveness of view to any of the
people surrounding him, and was justified in keeping his
prime minister, whether Munim Khan or another, in a
position of definite subordination.
Although the events of 1562 freed Akbar once and for Affairs at
all from the thraldom of Maham Anaga and her gang, his "^*°"'-
complete emancipation from the control of palace influence
» Am, vol, iii, p. 387. » Peruschi, p. 23.
and intrigue should be dated later, about the end of March
1564, when he inflicted on Khwaja Muazzam, his mother's
unruly brother, the punishment which will be described
presently.
In the interval several occurrences of considerable impor-
tance took place, which will be now briefly related. Kabul
had been unfortunate in its governors. Ghani Khan, son
of Munim Khan, was one of the failures, and was shut out
of the city by Mah Chuchak Begam, mother of Muhammad
Hakim, Akbar's young brother, the nominal ruler. Akbar
was obliged to send Munim Khan with instructions to
undertake the guardianship of the prince and try to restore
order. But the Begam attacked and defeated him.^ After
some delay Munim Khan ventured to return to court in
August 1563 (end of a. h. 970). Akbar again extended to
him a gracious reception, and secured his loyalty for the
rest of his life. Matters at Kabul were complicated by the
intervention of the turbulent Shah Abu-1 Maali, who had
returned from a pilgrimage to Mecca. He came to Kabul
and persuaded the Begam to give him her daughter, a half-
sister of Akbar's, in marriage. He then attempted to seize
the government for himself, and cruelly killed the Begam
in April 1564. Mirza Sulaiman of Badakhshan came to
the rescue of the young prince, and defeated Abu-1 Maali,
who was justly executed. Kabul then remained for some
time under the government of the Mirza.
Abolition In 1563 Akbar happened to be at Mathura (Muttra)
pilgrhns? engaged in tiger-hunting. He had the luck to bag five out
of seven tigers seen.* While he was in camp there it was
brought to his notice that the government had been accus-
tomed to levy dues from the pilgrims worshipping at Mathura
and other holy places of the Hindus. Akbar expressed the
opinion that it was contrary to the will of God to tax people
assembled to worship the Creator, even though their forms
of worship might be considered erroneous. Acting on that
' As pointed out in Lowe's note, been defeated by Munim Khan
the translator of the Tabakat (BadaonI, ii, 55, note 4).
(E. & D., V, 282) erroneously ^ Tigers have not been seen
represents the Begam as having near Mathura for many a year.
principle he remitted all pilgrim taxes throughout his

dominions, which, according to Abu-1 Fazl, amounted to
millions of rupees. He amused himself by walking from
beyond Mathura to Agra, a distance of about thirty-six miles,
in one day. A considerable party started with him, but only
three of his companions were in at the finish with their
athletic young sovereign.
Early in January 1564 Akbar moved to Delhi. On the Attempt
11th he was returning from a visit to the famous shrine of bar's life.
Shaikh Nizamu-d din Auliya, and had just passed Maham
Anaga's newly built madrasa, now no longer in existence,
when a man standing on the balcony of the madrasa dis-
charged an arrow which wounded Akbar in the shoulder.
The arrow was extracted at once, and the assailant was
instantly cut to pieces. In ten days Akbar was sufficiently
recovered to be able to return to Agra riding in a litter.
The assailant was a slave named Fulad, who had been
manumitted by Mirza Sharfu-d din Husain, an ally of Shah
Abu-1 Maali. Akbar seems to have discouraged attempts to
ascertain the identity of Fulad's accomplices. He was then
engaged in a scheme for marrying certain ladies belonging
to Delhi families, and had compelled one Shaikh to divorce
his wife in his favour. The attempted assassination put
an end to these discreditable proceedings, and probably was
prompted by resentment at the royal invasion of the honour
of families. Akbar, throughout his life, allowed himself
ample latitude in the matter of wives and concubines, but
we do not hear again of scandals like those which tarnished
his good name at Delhi when he was one-and-twenty.'^
Early in 1564 Akbar took another important step in Abolition
pursuance of the policy which had dictated the Amber ?|,*^^
marriage, the conferment of office on Man Singh, and the
abolition of the dues exacted from pilgrims. He now
made a second large sacrifice of revenue by remitting the
jisya, or poll-tax on non-Muslims, that is to say in
• The historians, as usual, differ in stating that the assailant dis-

concerning the details of Fulad's charged the arrow from the
attempt. I follow Badaoni (ii, 60) balcony.
1845 T?
practice, on Hindus, throughout his dominions. The tax
had been originally instituted by the Khalif Omar, who
fixed it in three grades, of 48, 24, and 12 dirhams respec-
tively.^ The rate of taxation in Akbar's time does not seem
to be recorded. In Sind (a. d. 712) Muhammad bin Kasim
had levied the tax according to Omar's canonical scale.^
In the fourteenth century Firoz Shah Tughlak, a zealous
bigot, assessed the three grades for Delhi at 40, 20, and
10 tankas respectively ; Brahmans, who up to then had
been exempt, were charged 10 tankas and 50 jltals? It is
not unlikely that the assessment of Fir5z Shah continued in
force until Akbar's time, rupees being substituted for silver
tankas of slightly less value. No statistics are available
concerning the yield of the jizya collections. Abu-1 Fazl
merely states that it was immense. The tax, which concerned
adult males only, was levied in a lump sum for the whole
year, and in a country so poor as India must have been
extremely burdensome. Aurangzeb, as is well known, re-
imposed it in 1679, after the death of Raja Jaswant Singh,
and his feeble successors more than Qpce tried to levy it
when they could.
Some writers are incUned to attribute too much influence
on Akbar's policy to Abu-1 Fazl. It is noteworthy that
Akbar, of his own motion and contrary to the advice of his
councillors, abolished the jizya ten years before he made
the acquaintance of his famous secretary. He had swept
away the pilgrim taxes at a still earlier date. The main
hues of his pohcy, directed to obUterating all difference
in treatment between Muslims and Hindus, were fixed as
' Aln, ii, 57, tr. Jarrett. jital is defined as an imaginary
^ Chach-namah, E. & D., i, 182. ^jth of the copper dam, used by
" E. & D., iii, 366. The dirham accountants for the purposes of
' is the general name for a silver calculation. The silver tankah
coin, as the dinar is for gold. It of Firoz Shah weighed about
corresponds to the drachma, and 175 grains. The kani or silver
when 48usedgrains.
equal as a But
weight
silvershould
coins yitoiin his time,
should have weighed if of 'pure silver,
nearly 2|
having the name dirham on grains. 64 kdnis or jltals went to
them vary much in weight and the tankah (E.' Thomas, Chronicles
size ' (Codrington,
Numtsmaiics, 1904,, p. Musalman
117). In of the Pathan Kings of Delhi, 1871,
pp. 218n., 219n., 281n.).
the Am (Blochmann, vol. i, p. 31)
political principles while he was still to all outward appear-

ance an orthodox and zealous Muslim, and long before
his open breach with Islam, which may be dated in 1582,
after the defeat of his brother's attempt to win the throne
of India. When it is remembered that Akbar was only
twenty-one or twenty-two years of age when he abolished
the pilgrim tax and the jizya, in defiance of the sentiments
of his co-religionists and the practice of his predecessors,
we may well marvel at the strength of will displayed by
a man so young, who a little time before seemed to care for
nothing but sport. Abu-1 Fazl's tiresome rhetoric about
the * veil ' behind which Akbar concealed his real nature
for several years has some justification in fact.
Khwaja Muazzam, son of Ali Akbar, and half-brother of The fate
Akbar's mother, had always manifested a turbulent, unruly ? jiimz-
disposition from his boyhood, and when he grew up was zam.
guilty of many murders and other offences. His relationship
with the royal family secured him impunity. In March 1564
a lady who held high office in the harem, and whose daughter
was married to the Khwaja, informed Akbar that she had
reason to beUeve that Khwaja Muazzam intended to kill
his wife, whom he was removing to his country-seat for that
purpose. Akbar promised his protection, and in fulfilment
of his promise crossed the Jumna, as if for hunting, accom-
panied bya small retinue of about twenty persons. Messen-
gers were sent on to advise the Khwaja of his sovereign's
approach. The man horrified them by throwing out a bloody
knife with which he had that moment stabbed his wife.
When Akbar rode up there was reason to fear that he might
be attacked, and his retinue were obliged to cut down one
of the Khwaja's followers who seemed to be dangerous.
Ultimately Khwaja Muazzam was arrested, and ducked in
the river along with his servants. He did not drown as he
was expected to do, and was sent to the state prison at
Gwalior, where he died insane. Probably he had been
more or less mad all his Ufe. The punishment inflicted on
him proved definitely that Akbar was not to be deterred
by family influence from doing justice on evil-doers after
F2
the rough-and-ready manner of the times. The incident may

be taken as marking the date of Akbar's final emancipation
from the control of a palace clique. He continued to show
all proper respect to his mother, but he did not allow her
to control his policy, which was conceived on principles
distasteful to her.
CHAPTER IV
CONQUEST OF GONDWANA ; REBELLIONS OP ABDULLAH
KHAN, KHAN ZAMAN, ASAF KHAN (I), AND THE MIRZAS ;
REDUCTION OF THE GREAT FORTRESSES ; BUILDING
OF PATHPUR-SIKRI ; CONQUEST OF GUJARAT, ETC.
AsAF Khan (I), governor of Kara and the Eastern Pro- Asaf
vinces,^ having subdued the Raja of Panna in Bundelkhand, an<f Rani
who possessed diamond mines, was directed by Akbar to Durga-
turn his arms against Gondwana, or the Gond country, now
forming the northern part of the Central Provinces. That
country was then (1564) governed by a gallant lady, KanI
Durgavati, who, fifteen years previously, had become regent
for her minor son. Although he had now attained manhood,
and was recognized as the lawful Raja, she continued to
rule the kingdom. The Rani was a princess of the famous
Chandel dynasty of Mahoba, which had been one of the
great powers of India five hundred years earlier. Her
impoverished father had been obliged to lower his pride and
give his daughter to the wealthy Gond Raja, who was far
inferior in social position. She proved herself worthy of
her noble ancestry, and governed her adopted country with
courage and capacity,
' doing great things ', as Abu-1 Fazl remarks, ' by dint of
her far-seeing abilities. She had great contests with Baz
Bahadur and the Mianas, and was always victorious. She had
20,000 good cavalry with her in her battles, and one thousand
famous elephants. The treasures of the Rajahs of that
country fell into her hands. She was a good shot with gun
and arrow, and continually went a-hunting and shot animals
' His full name was Khwaja successively received the title
Abdu-I Majid Asaf Khan. See his Asaf Khan. The conqueror of
biography by Blochmann, No. 49 Gondwana is conveniently dis-
in Ain, vol. i, pp. 366-9. Later tinguished as Asaf Khan I.
in the reign two other nobles
of the chase with her gun. It was her custom that when
she heard that a tiger had made his appearance, she did
not drink water till she had shot him.' ^
She carried out many useful public works in different parts
of the kingdom and deservedly won the hearts of her
people. Her name is still remembered and revered.
Akbai's Akbar's attack on a princess of a character so noble was
aggres-
sive mere aggression, wholly unprovoked and devoid of all
policy. justification other than the lust for conquest and plunder.
Akbar shared the opinion of all Asiatic and not a few
European monarchs that it is the duty of a king to extend
his dominions. ' A monarch ', he said, ' should be ever
intent on conquest, otherwise his neighbours rise in arms
against him.'^ Mrs. Beveridge is quite right when she
declares that Akbar was
' a strong and stout annexationist before whose sun the

modest star of Lord Dalhousie pales. He believed, probably
without any obtrusion of a doubt as to his course, that the
extension and consolidation of territory was a thing worth
fighting for; he believed in supremacy as [being] in itself
a desirable object, and having men and money, he went to
work and took tract after tract without scruple.' *
Akbar would have laughed at the remorse felt by Asoka
for the miseries caused by the conquest of Kalinga, and would
have utterly condemned his great predecessor's decision to
abstain from all further wars of aggression. Count von Noer's
belief that ' it was not passion for conquest which thrust
the sword into the great emperor's hand ' * is opposed to
the obvious facts and to Akbar's clear language. The same
author (or his secretary) puts a false gloss on the attempted
conquest of the Deccan, when he writes :
' Sunnl and Shl'ah animosity had long distracted those
southern kingdoms of the Indian peninsula by conquest of
which Akbar thought to crown his career. He had set it
before him to quiet the unrest of lesser states by welding
them into a great empire, and his inner feelings justified
' A. N., ii, 326. ^ A. S. Beveridge, in von Noer,

' ' Happy Sayings,' Am, vol. ill, vol. 1, p. xxxvii.
' von Noer, ii, 281.
p. 399.
REBELLIONS AND CONQUESTS 71
him in stepping forward as a redeemer from discord and

embroilment, Only war and conquest could lead him to
his goal.'
That is sentimental rubbish. Akbar's annexations were the
result of ordinary kingly ambition supported by adequate
power. The attack, devoid of moral justification, on the
excellent government of Rani DurgavatI was made on the
principle which determined the subsequent annexations of
Kashmir, Ahmadnagar, and other kingdoms. Akbar felt
no scruples about initiating a war, and once he had begun
a quarrel he hit hard and without mercy. His better nature
made itself felt after victory had been secured. Until then
his proceedings were much the same as those of other able,
ambitious, and ruthless kings.
Rani Durgavati made a gallant defence, but many of her Fate
soldiers, apparently terrified by the might of the invader, gavati";
deserted and left her to fight the enemy with inadequate *'^P*"'^^
forces. Her final stand was made between Garha and ragarh.
Mandla, now in the Jabalpur District. Mounted on a mighty
elephant, she led her men with the utmost bravery until
disabled by two wounds from arrows. Choosing death rather
than dishonour, she stabbed herself to the heart, so that
' her end was as noble and devoted as her life had been
useful '.
Two months later Asaf Khan, after a short struggle,
took from the Raja the fortress of Chauragarh, now in the
Narsinghpur District, which was the treasure city of the
kingdom.
' When the fort was taken there fell into the hands of
Asaf Khan and his men an incalculable amount of gold and
silver. There were coined and uncoined gold, decorated
utensils, jewels, pearls, figures, pictures, jewelled and
decorated idols, figures of animals made wholly of gold,
and other rarities.'
The coin was said to include a hundred large pots full of the
gold ashrafls of Alau-d din Khilji. It is surprising that the
ruler of a country so wild as Gondwana, or Garha-Katanga
as the Persian authors call it, should have accumulated such
a rich treasure. The historian of Indian art would be glad
if he could see a specimen of the pictures, examples of Hindu
pictorial art between the seventh century and Akbar's
introduction of Persian fashions about 1570 being almost
wholly lacking.
The
The young Raja, whose name was Bir Narayan, died
jauhar
of Chau- bravely, and protected the honour of his household by the
lagarh. awful act of sacrifice so often recorded in Hindu history.
The tragic story is well told by Abu-1 Fazl :
' He had appointed Bhoj Kaith and Miyan Bhikari Rumi
to look after the jauhar, for it is the custom of Indian
rajahs under such circumstances to collect wood, cotton,
grass, ghee, and such like into one place, and to bring the
women and burn them, wiUing or unwilling. This they call
the jauhar. These two faithful servants, who were the
guardians of honour, executed this service.
' Whoever out of feebleness of soul was backward (to
sacrifice herself) was, in accordance with their custom, put
to death by the Bhoj aforesaid. A wonderful thing was
that four days after they had set fire to that circular pile,
and all that harvest of roses had been reduced to ashes,
those who opened the door found two women alive. A large
piece of timber had screened them and protected them from
the fire. One of them was. KamlavatI, the Rani's sister,
and the other the daughter of [the] Rajah [of] Puragadha,
whom they had brought for the Rajah, but who had not
yet been united to him. These two women, who had emerged
from that storm of fire, obtained honour by being sent to
kiss the threshold of the Shahinshah ' [scil. were placed in
Akbar's harem at Agra].^
Mis-
conduct Asaf Khan was intoxicated with pride by reason of his
of Asat victory and the acquisition of enormous wealth. The booty
Khan ;
included a thousand elephants, of which only two hundred
Akbar's
policy. Erzdhlungen in Mafiardshtri, p. S,
1 A.N., ii, 331. The passage
proves that Abu-1 Fazl could 1. 57), representing the Sanskrit
write effectively in a simple style jalu-griha, flammable
the material
' lac-house
when he chose to do so. No other in which' oftheir
in-
case of escape from a jauhar enemies tried to burn the Panda-
seems to be on record. Sir George vas alive (Mahabh., i, chaps. 141-
Grierson permits me to announce 51). The word should be written
that he has discovered the etymo- jauhar, not johar. Forbes, using
logy of the word jauhar. It is the the latter spelling, marked it as
Prakrit jaSftara (Jain story of Bam- of Persian origin.
bhadatta in Jacobi, Ausgewdhlte
were sent to court, while Asaf Khan kept everything else

for himself, following Adham Khan's evil example in Malwa.
Evidently he thought of setting up as an independent
potentate, and ignoring the imperial authority. Akbar
' winked at his treachery ', and deferred the settlement of
accounts to a more convenient season. The magnanimity
and clemency shown to various rebellious nobles in the
early years of his reign with which Akbar is credited seem
to have been really the result of his weakness in military
strength, his power at that time not being sufficiently
established to enable him to assert his sovereign position
with full effect. He was a master in the arts of dissimula-
tion and concealment of his feelings. Bartoli, the excellent
Jesuit author, summing up the testimony of his brethren
concerning Akbar as he was in middle age, tells us that
' He never gave anybody the chance to understand

rightly his inmost sentiments, or to know what faith or
religion he held by. . . . And in all business, this was the
characteristic manner of King Akbar — a man apparently
free from mystery or guile, as honest and candid as could
be imagined ; but, in reality, so close and self-contained,
with twists of words and deeds so divergent one from the
other, and most times so contradictory, that even by much
seeking one could not find the clue to his thoughts.' ^
We may feel assured that there was much policy in his
clemency.
In July 1564 Abdullah Khan Uzbeg, who had succeeded Revolt of
Pir Muhammad in Malwa, revolted, and Akbar was obliged Khan
to organize an expedition for the chastisement of the rebel. ]^?*^S in
He marched through the Narwar territory, where he enjoyed
a grand elephant hunt, in which seventy beasts were cap-
tured. Thence he proceeded to Mandu, defeated Abdullah,
and drove him into Gujarat, where he left him. In October
Akbar was back at Agra, having made another great catch
of elephants at Sipri while on his way. He continued to
practise his old amusement of riding ferocious animals.
One of the elephants, named Khandl Rai, was so fierce that
' Bartoli, ed. 1714, p. 6. The first edition appeared in 1663.
he could be mastered only by the use of two goads at once,

which Akbar appHed to his skull unmercifully. Abdullah
Khan did not seriously attempt to recover the position
which he had lost. He ultimately made his way to Jaunpur,
where he joined Khan Zaman, and died a natural death
during the rebeUion of that officer, which will now be related.
Rebellion The leading adventurers who had helped Humayun and
Zaman, Akbar to recover the throne of Hindostan did not readily
&"•'
Uzbegs.
settle
1 . T
down to the position of mere noblemen in an ordered
kingdom. They all cherished personal ambitions for sovereign
power, and were constantly breaking into rebellion. Khan
Zaman, who as All Kuli Khan had helped to defeat Hemu,
and had latterly become governor of the Jaunpur territory,
rebelled early in 1565. He was an Uzbeg, like Abdullah
Khan of Malwa. At that time Akbar was considered to
favour the Persian officers, between whom and the Uzbeg
chiefs intense jealousy existed. Khan Zaman, who was
assisted by his brother Bahadur and his uncle Ibrahim,
defeated the royal troops, which were obliged to withdraw
to Nimkhar in Oudh, now in the Sitapur District. Todar
Mall, afterwards famous as Akbar's finance minister, is men-
tioned on this occasion for the first time as taking part
in the negotiations. He was opposed to compromise with
the rebels. In May 1565 Akbar took the field in person
and crossed the Jumna.^ The rebels were driven eastwards,
and Asaf Khan came to the aid of his sovereign. Ultimately
Khan Zaman formed an entrenched camp at Hajipur,
opposite Patna. Akbar made Jaunpur his head-quarters.
A complication was introduced by the sudden defection
and flight of Asaf Khan, who was alarmed at reports that
he would be called on to account for the treasures of Rani
Durgavati.
In December 1565 Munim Khan met Khan Zaman in
a boat in the middle of the Ganges opposite Buxar, and
patched up a reconciliation, the principal stipulation being
' About this time Akbar found have been set up as a pretender
it expedient to execute Kamran's to the throne (a. h. 973, July 1565-
son, Abu-1 Kasim Khan, who was July 1566) (Beale).
a prisoner in Gwalior and might
REBELIJONS AND CONQUESTS 75
that Khan Zaman should not cross the Ganges. The rebel,
who never intended to observe the terms, promptly violated
them. However, he again professed submission, and once
more Akbar accepted his excuses, probably because the royal
force was not sufficient to secure victory. In March 1566
Akbar started to march back to Agra.
Before the story of the Uzbeg rebellion can be concluded
certain miscellaneous occurrences of this time must be
recorded.
Late in 1564 twin sons were born to Akbar. They received Various
the names of Hasan and Husain, an indication probably that
their father was then under the influence of Persian Shias.^
They lived for only a month. The name of their mother is
not recorded.
In the cold weather of 1564-5 Haji or Bega Begam, the
senior widow of Humayun, who had lost both her children,
went on pilgrimage to Mecca, and was absent from the
court for three years.^ Before starting she made arrange-
ments for building at her own cost the noble mausoleum
under which her husband's remains rest. It was finished
after her return.
Muhammad Hakim's officers, apparently in 1564, drove
out the Badakhshanis from Kabul and reinstated their
young prince, then about ten years old.
Shaikh Abdu-n Nabi was appointed Sadr-i-Sudur in 1565
or 1566 (tenth regnal year), an appointment which Akbar
afterwards had reason to regret.
About this time Akbar began the extensive building Akbar's
operations in which he took dehght for many years. One ^yf,5ings.
of his earliest undertakings, executed rapidly at the close
of 1564, on his return from Mandu, was the erection of
a country palace, or hunting lodge, at a village called
Kakrali, seven miles to the south of modern Agra, to which
' The Imams Hasan and Husain, as Haji, or the • pilgrim ' Begam.
the sons of the Khalif Ali and the Many books confound her with
Prophet's daughter, Fatima, are Hamida Bano Begam, Akbar's
venerated Shias
by thecalls
' Gulbadan .
her Bega mother.
on the subject R. A. S., essay
theJ. author's
See in 1917.
Begam, but she is generally known
he gave the name of Nagarehain, or, in Persian, Amanabad,
' the Abode of Peace '. Agreeable gardens were laid out
and a town grew up around the palace buildings for the
accommodation of the people dependent on the court.
Akbar sometimes received ambassadors there. The strange
thing is that when Badaoni was writing late in the reign all
trace of palace, gardens, and town had vanished. Nobody
knows when, why, or how the demolition was effected.^
The old Hindu and Afghan fort at Agra, called Badalgarh,
was built of brick, and had fallen into disrepair. If the
chronograms quoted by Badaoni can be trusted, Akbar
began building within its precincts as early as 1561-3
(a. h. 969-70), when he erected the Bengali Mahall and
another palace. Portions of the Bengali or Akbari Mahall
still exist in a much mutilated condition.^ In 1565 (i.e. in
tenth regnal year = 1565-6, and a. h. 972 = 1564-5) the
command was given for building a new fort of hewn stone
at Agra to replace the ruinous brickwork of ancient date.
According to Jahangir, the work of construction continued
for fifteen or sixteen years, and cost thirty-five lakhs, or three
millions and a half of rupees, equivalent to nearly 400,000
pounds sterling.* The peasantry had to pay for the work
by a special tax. Akbar is said to have erected in the Agra
Fort during his reign ' five hundred buildings of masonry
after the beautiful designs of Bengal and Gujarat which
masterly sculptors and cunning artists of form have fashioned
' A. N., a, 358 ; Badaoni, years (A. N., ii, 497).

ii, 69. Fanthome describes the = Jahangir, R. B., vol. i, p. 3.
site as ' A Forgotten City ' in Abu-1 Fazl says that the work was
J. A. S. B., 1904, part i, p. 276. completed in eight years, under
It is now known as Mahal Mandii, the superintendence of Kasim
and adjoins the village of Kakrali. Khan, who was both head of the
The existence of Nagarehain has Admiralty and 'First Commissioner
been forgotten, but there are of Works ' (Mir Ban u Bohr)
trifling traces of mosques and {A.N., ii, 373). Badaoni's text
a well . assigns only five years for the work,
2 Badaoni, ii, 74 ; Ann. Rep. but, as Nur Bakhsh points out
A. S. India for 1903-4 and (Ann. Rep. A. S. India for 1903-4,
1907-8. Abu-1 Fazl notes that p. 165, note 5), the word ' five '
on May 11, 1569, Akbar lodged should be corrected to 'fifteen',
in the Bengali Mahall, then newly The chronogram gives a. h. 986
constructed. The building work (1578-9) as the year of om-
evidently continued for several pletion.
as architectural models '.^ Most of them were destroyed by

Shahjahan when he reconstructed the buildings to please
his own taste, which differed widely from that of Akbar.
The most important relic of Akbar's time still existing is
the so-called Jahangiri Mahall, which seems to have been
erected later in Akbar's reign as a residence for the heir
apparent, Prince Salim, who became the Emperor Jahangir ;
but its exact date cannot be ascertained.
The foundation for the more extensive revenue reforms Adminis-
executed later by Raja Todar Mall was laid by a revision reforms
of the assessment of the crown rent or land revenue carried
out by an officer named Muzaffar Khan, with the help of
the local officials called Kanungos. Particulars of the
measures taken are not recorded. So far as appears, their
object was purely fiscal in order to prevent embezzlement.
A beginning was also made in the organization of the military
force attached to the sovereign's person.^
While staying at Nagarchain Akbar amused himself
playing polo, and invented a luminous ball so that play
could be continued after dark. The courtiers were allowed
to have bets on the game, and were required to attend
regularly.*
The pleasant life at the Nagarchain lodge was interrupted Invasion
by the serious news that Muhammad Hakim, prince of hammad
Kabul, had invaded the Panjab. He was encouraged by Hakim;
the Uzbeg rebellions to claim the throne of Hindostan, and rebellion
Khan Zaman went so far as to recite the khutba, or prayer ^.*'^5
for the king, in his name. The ' flames of the wrath ' of
Akbar blazed forth when he heard of his brother's action,
and no time was lost in preparing to repel the invasion.
Akbar placed the Khan Khanan (Munim Khan) in charge
of the capital, and set out in person for the north on
November 17, 1566. While at Delhi he visited the shrines
of the saints and the tomb of his father, whose splendid
' Ain, vol. ii, p. 180. {Butea frondosa), which smoulders

' A. N., ii, 402, 403. when ignited. It is recorded that
298. of The
i, p.made
vol. was
' Ain, ball a courtier was punished for slack-
luminous the ness in his attendance at the
wood of the dhdk or palds tree game.
mausoleum was then in course of erection.^ Towards the

end of February he arrived at Lahore, but before that
date his brother had taken fright and retired across the
Indus. Akbar, while staying at Lahore, organized a grand
battue or hunt of the kind called kamargha. Fifty thousand
beaters were employed for a month to drive in all the game
within a space ten miles in circumference. When that task
had been completed, Akbar enjoyed his murderous sport
for five days, using the sword, lance, musket, arrows, and
lasso. Such a hunt, it is said, was never known before or
since.
About this time Asaf Khan made his submission, which
was accepted.
Intelligence having been received of the rebellion of the
nobles commonly called the Mirzas, who were the sons of
Muhammad Sultan Mirza and Ulugh Mirza, descendants of
Timur and distant relatives of Akbar, it was necessary to
quit the Panjab and return to Agra, in order to arrange for
the suppression of the rebels. The Mirzas, having first
broken out at Sambhal, near Moradabad, where they had
been granted estates, had been driven into Malwa. When
starting on the return journey, Akbar characteristically
plunged his horse into the Ravi and swam the river. Two
of his attendants were drowned.
Fight ^^ extraordinary incident which occurred in April while
of the _ tjjg royal camp was at Thanesar, the famous Hindu place of
at pilgrimage to the north of Delhi, throws a rather unpleasant
Thanesar. Ugji^ upon Akbar's character. The Sanyasis, or fakirs, who
assembled at the holy tank were divided into two parties,
which Abu-1 Fazl calls Kurs and Puris. The leader of the
latter complained to the king that the Kurs had unjustly
occupied the accustomed sitting-place of the Pilris, who
were thus debarred from collecting the pilgrims' alms.
Neither party would listen to friendly counsel. Both
factions begged permission that the dispute might be
decided by mortal combat. The desired leave having been
' A. N., vol. ii, p. 411. The mausoleum was completed about three
years later.
granted, the hostile crowds drew up in Une, and the fight

began with swords, one man on each side advancing in
braggart fashion and starting the fray. Swords were
discarded for bows and arrows, and these again for stones.
Akbar, seeing that the Purls were outnumbered, gave the
signal to some of his more savage followers to help the
weaker party. The reinforcement enabled the Puris to
drive the Kurs into headlong flight. The vanquished were
pursued and a number of ' the wretches sent to annihila-'
tion '. The dead are said to have been about twenty. The
chronicler unctuously adds that ' the holy heart, which is
the colourist of destiny's worship, was highly delighted with
this sport % The other historians tell us that the numbers
originally engaged were two or three hundred on one side \
and five hundred on the other, so that with the reinforce- , i
ment the total came to about a thousand. The author of
the Tabakat agrees with Abu-1 Fazl that ' the Emperor
greatly enjoyed the sight '.^
It is disappointing to find that a man like Akbar could
encourage such sanguinary ' sport ', and even wantonly
sacrifice the lives of his own soldiers who had no interest
in the quarrel. In his youth he certainly had no qualms
of conscience about bloodshed. The story does not stand
alone as a proof that the ferocity of his Turk and Mongol
ancestors was an essential element in the character of
Akbar, kept under control as a rule, but occasionally given
free play.
At the beginning of May 1567 Akbar left Agra in order Suppres-
to deal finally with the renewed rebellion of Khan Zaman, ^^°
who crossed the Ganges with the object of proceeding to Zaman.
Kalpi. Akbar, on arrival at the Manikpur ferry, displayed
his customary energy and contempt of personal danger by
swimming the elephant he rode across the great river,
a most perilous feat. A thousand or fifteen hundred of his
soldiers managed somehow to swim over with him. The
' A.N., ii, 423; Badaoni, ii, script entitled Tdnkh-i Khdn-
94 ; Tabakat, E. & D., v, 318. ddn-i Tlmuriyah, preserved in the
The affair is described and illus- Khuda Bakhsh or Oriental Public
trated in the magnificent manu- Library at Banldpore.
rebel chiefs, given over to drunkenness and debauchery,
had no sentries posted, and were ill prepared to withstand
a determined foe. In the battle which followed at a village
in the Allahabad District, Khan Zaman was killed and his
brother Bahadur was taken prisoner and beheaded.^ The
rebelhon was thus brought to an end. Some of the sub-
ordinate leaders were pardoned, but several were executed
by being trampled to death by elephants. ' An order was
issued that whoever brought in a Moghul rebel's head
should get a gold mohar, and whoever brought a Hindu-
stani's head should get a rupee. The crowd ran off after
heads, and brought them in and were paid.'
Akbar then marched to Prayag (Allahabad) and on to
Benares, which was plundered because the people were rash
enough to close their gates. He proceeded to Jaunpur, and
so, crossing the river, to Kara. It is evident that Akbar's
resentment was excited by the repeated and continued
rebellions of Khan Zaman, and that he was not in the mood
to show much mercy to the rebels.
One man, Muhammad Mirak of Mashhad, a special con-
fidant of Khan Zaman, was tortured for five successive days
on the execution ground. Each day he was trussed up in
a wooden frame and placed before one of the elephants.
' The elephant caught him in his trunk and squeezed him
and the stocks and shoulder-boards, and flung him from one
side to the other. As a clear sign for his execution had not
been given (by the driver) the elephant played with him
and treated him gently. ... At last, on account of his being
a Sayyid [descendant of the Prophet], and on the inter-
cession of courtiers, he was granted his life.'
Abu-1 Fazl relates this horrid barbarity without a word of
censure.
The fiefs of Khan Zaman were bestowed on Khan Khanan
' The name of the village is occupying part of the site of an

written ' Sakrawal ' in A. N., ii, ancient town about ten miles
434. Badaoni spells ' Maakarwal ' south-south-west of Allahabad (see
(ii, 100) ; and the Tabakdt (E. & Cunningham, Arch. Survey Rep.,
D., V, 321) has ' Maiikarwal ' . x, 5, 6). The name of Fathpur
All these forms apparently are (' town of victory ') was bestowed
intended for Mankuwar, a village on the village.
(Munim Khan). On July 18, 1567, the court arrived at

Agra. Another rebel force under Sikandar or Iskandar
Khan was expelled from Oudh.
In September 1567 Akbar resolved on the most famous Akbar's
and tragically interesting of his martial enterprises, the siege on cidtor.
and capture of Chitor (Cheetore), which deserves narration
in exceptional detail. The Muhammadan historians speak
of one attack only, but the local annahsts affirm that Akbar
had previously made an unsuccessful attempt, which was
repulsed by
' the masculine courage of the Rana's concubine queen, who

headed the sallies into the heart of the Mogul camp, and on
one occasion to the emperor's head-quarters. The imbecile
Rana proclaimed that he owed his deliverance to her ; when
the chiefs, indignant at this imputation on their courage,
conspired and put her to death.' ^
It does not appear when that attempt was made, and it is
difficult to find a place for it in Abu-1 Fazl's chronology,
but there is also difficulty in believing the alleged fact to
be an invention. Akbar probably found a special motive
for his hostility in the knowledge that the Rana had bestowed
hospitality on Baz Bahadur, the fugitive king of Malwa,
and on an insubordinate chief of Narwar. Abu-1 Fazl tells
a story that Sakat Singh, a son of the Rana, was in attendance
on Akbar in camp at Dholpur, when the king remarked to
him in a jesting manner that ' though most of the landholders
and great men of India had paid their respects, yet the
Rana had not done so, and that therefore he proposed
to march against him and punish him '. The proud Rajput
prince, faiUng to be amused by such jests in the mouth
of the master of many legions, fled to his home, and gave
the alarm to his father. Akbar resented the departure of the
prince without leave, and resolved definitely to humble the
pride of the proudest chief in Rajasthan, the acknowledged
head of the Rajput chivalry. So ' the Shahinshah's wrath
was stirred up, and jest became earnest '. His ' innate
• Tod, dnnals, 1, 260.
1845 G
dignity ', we are told, ' demanded that he. should proceed in
person to chastise the Rana ', while the task of suppressing
the rebellion of the Mirzas in Malwa was left to the imperial
officers.^ Although the anecdote may be accepted as true,
it is superfluous to seek for special pretexts or provocations
to explain the attack on Chitor. Akbar, being determined
to become undisputed master of all Northern India, could
not brook the independence of a chief who was ' proud of
his steep mountains and strong castles and turned away
the head of obedience from the sublime court '. No Rana
of Mewar, to use the old name of the Chitor territory, has
ever abased himself by giving a daughter of his house to
Mogul embraces, as fellow chieftains in most of the other
states were eager to do. No monarch could feel himself
secure in the sovereignty of Upper India until he had
obtained possession of ChitSr and Ranthambhor, the two
principal fortresses in the domains of the free Rajput chiefs.
Mirtha (Merta) had been already won, and the ' world-
conquering genius ' of Akbar demanded that he should also
hold the two greater strongholds.
Descrip- The fortified hill of Chitor is an isolated mass of rock
Chitsr rising steeply from the plain, three miles and a quarter long
and some twelve hundred yards wide in the centre.^ The
circumference at the base is more than eight miles, and the
height nowhere exceeds four or five hundred feet. A smaller
hill called Chitori stands opposite the eastern face and offers
facilities to assailants which have been utilized more than
once. In Akbar's time the city with its palaces, houses,
and markets was on the summit within the fortifications, and
the buildings below formed merely an outer bazaar. At
the present day the lower town has about 7,000 or 8,000
inhabitants, and the ancient city lies almost wholly desolate.
Its more complete desolation a century ago is recorded in
the' A. N., between

space ii, 442, 462. Most of
those pages is was a young man of twenty or
thereabouts,
occupied by a tiresome ode, com- ' The spelling Chitaur (Sanskrit
posed by Abu-1 Fazl's elder Chitrapura) is the more correct,
brother Faizi, who was introduced but ' Chit5r ' is retained as repre-
at court about this time, when he senting the current pronunciation.
touching language by Tod, who visited the place in February

1821:
' With the wrecks of ages around me, I abandoned myself

to contemplation. I gazed until the sun's last beam fell
upon " the ringlet of Cheetore ",^ illuminating its grey and
grief-worn aspect, like a lambent gleam lighting up the face
of sorrow. Who could look on this lonely, this majestic
column, which tells in language more easy of interpretation
than the tablets within, of
" deeds which should not pass away,
And names that must not wither,"
and withhold a sigh for its departed glories ? But in vain
I dipped my pen to record my thoughts in language ; for,
wherever the eye fell, it filled the mind with images of the
past, and ideas rushed too tumultuously to be recorded.
In this mood I continued for some time, gazing listlessly,
until the shades of evening gradually enshrouded the
temples, columns, and palaces ; and as I folded up my
paper till the morrow, the words of the prophetic bard of
Israel came forcibly to my recollection :— " How doth the
city sit solitary that was full of people ! how is she become as
a widow ! she, that was great among the nations, and prin-
cess among the provinces, how is she become tributary ! " ' 2
The principal approach to the fortress-city was from the
south-east angle of the lower town by a road which ran for
nearly a mile to the upper gate, with a slope of about one
in fifteen. The way then formed two zigzag bends, in the
course of which stood seven gates, of which the uppermost
is called Ram Pol, a large and handsome portal arched in
the Hindu manner. The Ram Pol is on the west. Minor
gates, approached by other paths, are the Suraj Pol on the
east and the Lakhota Bar! on the north. The summit of
the rock slopes inwards on all sides, so that innumerable
tanks were easily formed, and a water-supply practically
unlimited was assured. The city included many magnificent
monuments and buildings, the most notable being the two
great towers — ^the Jain Kirtti Stambh, or ' pillar of fame ',
dating from the twelfth or thirteenth century, and the
' The ' tower of victory '. " Lam. i. 1.
02
Jai Stambh, or ' pillar of victory ', erected between 1442

and 1449 by Rana Kumbha to commemorate his success over
the aUied armies of the Sultans of Malwa and Gujarat.^
The The Ranas of Mewar, whose ' abode of regality ' was the
sacred fortress of Chitor, the chiefest in honour among the
cities of Hindostan, are universally recognized and for ages
have been acknowledged as the heads of the RajpUt clans.
Their dynasty, the most ancient royal house of importance
in India, has ruled Mewar, with merely temporary interrup-
tions, since the early part of the eighth century to the present
day, a period of twelve hundred years. Official legend traces
the ancestry of the Rana back to the epic hero Rama and
thence to the Sun himself. Sober history accepts as a fact
the statement that the Rana's ancestor Bappa (Bapa or
Bashpa) wrested Chitor from the Mori clan in or about
A. D. 728. Guhila (Guhadatta, &c.), a more remote ancestor,
who lived about a. d. 600, gave the name Guhilot, or
' sons of Guhila ', to the ruling clan of Mewar. The name
Sisodia, applied to the royal section of that clan, is derived
from a village in the territory. Guhila was a Nagar Brahman
from Varnagar (Vadnagar, Anandapura),^ a town of Gujarat
now included in the Baroda State.
Modern research gives good reason for believing that he
was of foreign lineage and belonged to one or other of the
Central Asian tribes which entered India in the sixth century
and were closely related to the Mers of Gujarat and the
Rajas of Valabhi. Mewar traditions rightly preserve the
memory of the connexion between the Ranas and Valabhi,
but the further claim that the rulers of Mewar also have
in their veins the blood of the Persian King Aniishirwan
(Niishirwan or Khusru I), the famous rival and enemy of
Justinian, is more dubious.
» For a curious sketch of Chitor in Northern India as r, is written

by an English gunner in Aurang- and pronounced d by educated
zeb's service see Fryer, A New Hindus. The Muhammadans and
Account, &c., ed. Croolce, Hakluyt lower class Hindus in the west,Pro-
Soc, 1915, plate facing p. 170, fessor Rawlinson tells me, follow
vol. iii. the northern way of writing and
' In Western India the cerebral pronunciation. The variation in
letter, written and pronounced spelling is sometimes confusing.
REBELLIONS AND CONQTJESTS 85
The reader may be puzzled by the assertion that the

ancestor of the head of the Rajput clans was a Brahman.
The fact, however, seems to have been established and finds
its explanation in the occurrence of a change in occupation
made by Guhila, His descendants, when they took up the
business of kingship, were reckoned as members of the
Rajput or Kshatriya group of castes, to which all rulers
were supposed to belong.
The annals of Mewar, as recorded with sympathetic
enthusiasm by Tod, are full of romantic stories of heroic
deeds performed and extremest sufferings endured by the
men and women aUke of the Guhilot and other clans. Few
members of the Sisodia royal house ever forgot for a moment
the obligations imposed upon them by their noble ancestry.
Almost without an exception, they upheld, even to death,
the honour of their race. It was the ill fate of Mewar to be
cursed with a craven prince at the critical moment when
India was ruled by the ablest, and perhaps the most ambitious,
sovereign who has ever swayed her sceptre.^
The ambitious designs of the Mogul were facilitated by Rana
the unkingly weakness of Rana Udai Singh, the unworthy sjngi,.
son of a noble sire. When Rana Sanga, the gallant opponent
of Babur, died in a. d. 1530, the year of Babur's decease,
the throne of ChitSr was occupied in succession by three
princes, two of whom were legitimate sons of Sanga, and the
third a bastard relative. Udai Singh, the posthumous child
of Rana Sanga, was saved from destruction in his infancy
by the heroic fidelity of a nurse who sacrificed her own
offspring in his stead, and after years of concealment he was
enthroned by the nobles of the State in the seat of the bastard,
who was allowed to depart to the Deccan, and became the
progenitor of the Bhonsla Rajas of Nagpur, famous in later
' See E. H. I., 3rd ed., pp. 407- Bhandarkar's valuable paper en-
15, 419 ; and Stratton, Chitor titled ' Guhilots ' (J. tfc Proc.
and the Mewar Family, published A. S. B. (N. S.), vol. v, 1909,
anonymously at Allahabad in pp. 167-87). His conclusions are
1881. Detailed proof of the disputed by Pundit Mohanlal
Brahman descent of the Ranas and Vishnulal Pandia in J. & Proc.
of the meaning
makshatri will be foundtermin Brah-
of the D. R. A. S. B., 1912, pp. 63-99.
history. Those events happened in the Samvat year 1597
(a. d. 1541-2) shortly before Akbar's birth. Udai Singh,
Tod tells us, ' had not one quality of a sovereign ; and
wanting martial virtue, the common heritage of his race,
he was destitute of all '. The historian of the Rajputs justly
exclaims that ' well had it been for Mewar had the poniard
fulfilled its intention, and had the annals never recorded the
name of Udai Singh in the catalogue of her princes '. Udai
Singh shamelessly abandoned the post of honour and hid
himself in distant forests. Some time before the siege he
had formed in the valley of the Girwo a lake which was
called after his name. He now built a small palace on an
adjoining hill, around which edifices gradually arose and
became the city of Udaipur, the modern capital of Mewar.
Such was the craven to whom the destinies of Chitor were
entrusted when Akbar resolved to make himself master of the
historic fortress.
The siege. On October 20, 1567, Akbar formed his camp, extending
for ten miles, to the north-east of the rock, and after careful
reconnaissance of the whole circumference, completed the
investment in the course of a month, establishing many
batteries at various points. The site of his encampment
is still marked by a fine pyramidal column, built of blocks
of compact whitish hmestone, known as ' Akbar's lamp '.
The structure, perfect to this day, is
' about thirty-five feet high, each face being twelve feet at
the base, and gradually tapering to the summit, where it
is between three and four, and on which was placed a huge
lamp {chirdgh), that served as a beacon to the foragers, or
denoted the imperial head-quarters.' ^
' Annals of Mewar, ch. x, cavity or chamber is 4 ft. square
vol. i, p. 260 and note ; Personal and It has seven openings to
Narrative, ch. xv, vol. ii, p. 604. admit light. The monument
Tod was mistaken in believing stands about a mile to the NE.
that there was ' an interior stair- of Nagari, a small village repre-
case '. areMore
ments accurate
: height, measure-
36 ft. 7 in. ; senting
about six a town
miles ofor high
moreantiquity
NE. of
14 ft. 1 in. square at base ; Chitor hill. The building may
3 ft. 3 in. square at apex. The possibly be very ancient, although
tower is solid for 4 ft., then hoi- used by Akbar as alleged by local
low for 20 ft., and solid again traditions (Kavi Raj Shyamal
up to the top. The floor of the Das, ' Antiquities at Nagarl ', in
AKBAR'S LAMP, NE. OF CHITOR
The principal batteries were three, namely, Akbar's

opposite the Lakhota gate on the north, where the mines
were worked, and two others, of which the position is not
stated. Raja Todar Mall was one of the officers in charge
of the second. A large mortar capable of throwing a ball
half a maund, or forty pounds, in weight, was cast on the
spot in Akbar's presence. Numerous direct assaults having
been repulsed with heavy loss, Akbar decided to proceed by
a regular sap and mine process. The miners made their
approach by a covered way {sabdt) so spacious that ten men
could pass along it abreast, and a mounted elephant could
be ridden through. On December 17 two heavily charged
mines were fired, but failed to explode simultaneously.
The storming party, rushing in impetuously at the moment
when the first mine was fired, were blown to pieces when
the second exploded a httle later. The casualties among
the besiegers amounted to two hundred, including about
a hundred men of note, one of whom was a Saiyid of Barha,
a designation destined to play a prominent part in the history
of the eighteenth century. The besieged garrison lost only
about forty men by the accident, and quickly built a new wall
to defend the breach. Akbar recognized the truth that the
stronghold could not be taken without patience and devoted
himself to perfecting the covered way. One day he was
standing in it firing from a loophole when a marksman in
the garrison slightly wounded an officer named Jalal Khan
who was in attendance. Although Akbar could not see
the marksman, he fired at his musket, and it was ascertained
subsequently that Ismail, the captain of the sharpshooters,
had fallen a victim to the royal shot. Another day, when at
the Chitorl battery, Akbar narrowly escaped being killed
by a large cannon ball which destroyed twenty of his men.
At last the sabdt was completed under the supervision
of Raja Todar Mall and Kasim Khan, the head of the works
and admiralty departments, who had built the Agra fort.
build-
J A. S. B., part i, vol. Ivi (1887), The original purpose of theA.S.R.,
p. 75, Plate V). Probably a ing is uncertain. See
wooden ladder gave access to vol. vi, pp. 196, 208.
the chamber and to the summit.
For two nights and one day, while the work was being
completed, Akbar stayed in quarters on the top of the
sdbdt and the workers took neither sleep nor food. ' The
strength of both sides was exhausted.'
On Tuesday, February 23, 1568, Akbar noticed at the
breach a personage wearing a chief's cuirass who was busy
directing the defence. Without knowing who the chief
might be, Akbar aimed at him with his well-tried musket
Sangram. When the man did not come back, the besiegers
concluded that he must have been killed. Less than an hour
later reports were brought in that the defences were deserted
and that fire had broken out in several places in the fort.
Raja Bhagwan Das, being familiar with the customs of his
country, knew the meaning of the fire, and explained that
it must be the jauhar, that awful rite already described as
having been performed at Chauragarh.
Fall of Early in the morning the facts were ascertained. The
fortress, chief whom Akbar'swhoshothadhad killed proved to be Jaimall
Rathor of Bednor, taken command of the fortress
when Udai Singh, his cowardly sovereign, had deserted it.^
As usual in India the fall of the commander decided the fate
of the garrison. Shortly before Jaimall was killed a gallant
deed was performed by the ladies of the young chieftain
Patta, whose name is always linked by tradition with that
of Jaimall. The incident is best described in the glowing
words of Tod :
' When Salumbra [alias Sahidas] fell at the gate of the

sun, the command devolved on Patta of Kailwa. He was
only sixteen.^ His father had fallen in the last shock, and
his mother had survived but to rear this the sole heir of
their house. Like the Spartan mother of old, she commanded
him to put on the " saffron robe ", and to die for Chitor ;
but surpassing the Grecian dame, she illustrated her precept
by example ; and lest any soft " compunctious visitings "
" Jaimall is said to have been an active part in the defence of
previously in command at Mirtha. Mirtha. His name is spelt
' Stratton points out that variously, sometimes assuming
Patta must have been more than the Musalman form of ' Fateh '.
sixteen years of age, as he left Bernier calls him ' Polta ', which
two sons, and had already taken may be a misprint.
for one dearer than herself might dim the lustre of Kailwa,
she armed the young bride with a lance, with her descended
the rock, and the defenders of Chitor saw her fall, fighting
by the side of her Amazonian mother. When their wives
and daughters performed such deeds, the Rajputs became
reckless of life.'
Patta himself fell later. At dawn on the morning after
the jauhar Akbar rode into the fortress, mounted on an
elephant, and attended by many other elephants and
several thousand men.
' His Majesty related that he had come near the temple
of Gobind Syam when an elephant-driver trampled a man
under his elephant. The driver said that he did not know
the man's
leaders, and name*
that abut that
large he appeared
number to befought
of men had one of the
round
him with sacrifice of their lives. At last it came out that
it was Pata who had been trampled to death. At the time
he was produced, there was a breath of life in him, but he
shortly afterwards died.'
The jauhar sacrifice completed before the final capture The
of the fortress was on a large scale, although far smaller massacres
than on previous occasions, if the traditional numbers can and de-
be believed. The fires were kindled in three distinct places,
belonging respectively to members of the Sisodia, RathSr,
and Chauhan clans. Nine queens, five princesses, their
daughters, as well as two infant sons, and all the chieftains'
families who happened not to be away on their estates
perished either in the flames or in the assault. Abu-1
Fazl estimates that three hundred women were burnt.
During the course of the following morning, when Akbar
made his entry, eight thousand Rajputs, vowed to death,
sold their lives as dearly as possible and perished to a
man.i
Akbar, exasperated by the obstinate resistance offered to
his arms, treated the garrison and town with merciless
severity. The eight thousand Rajput soldiers who formed
the regular garrison having been zealously helped during the
■ Interesting reproductions of various scenes at the siege of
pictures from the Akbarndma at Chitor, are given in J, I. A.,
South Kensington, representing April 1915, No. 130.
90 AKBAR THK GREAT MOGUL
siege by 40,000 peasants, the emperor ordered a general
massacre, which resulted in the death of 30,000. Many,
however, were spared and made prisoners.
The operations of the defence had been greatly aided by
the skill of a body of a thousand expert marksmen from
Kalpi who had done much execution among the besiegers
and had imperilled the life of Akbar. He was accordingly
eager to destroy those men and was much annoyed to find
that they had escaped by means of a clever stratagem.
They passed themselves off as royal troops, and so marched
out, taking with them their wives and children, who were
represented to be prisoners.
The wrath of the conqueror fell upon what Tod calls the
' symbols of regality ' as well as upon the persons of the
vanquished. The gates of the fortress were taken oft their
hinges and removed to Agra.^ The nakkdras, or huge
kettle-drums, eight or ten feet in diameter, the reverberations
of which had been wont to proclaim ' for miles around the
entrance and exit of her princes ', as well as the massive
candelabra from the shrine of the ' Great Mother ', who
had girt Bappa Rawal with the sword by which Chitor
was won, were also taken away. There is no good evidence
that Akbar did serious structural damage to the buildings.
The statement made by Tod in one place that the emperor's
proceedings were marked by ' the most illiterate atrocity ',
inasmuch as he defaced every monument that had been
spared by the earlier conquerors, Alau-d din Khilji and
Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, apparently is untrue, and cer-
tainly is inconsistent with the allegation elsewhere made
by him that only one building had escaped the wrath of
Alau-d din.^
' This fact is confirmed by and wanton dilapidation which
Tieftenthaler(ed.Bernouilli(1791), a bigoted zeal could suggest,
p. 331). overthrowing the temples and
' Tod's abuse of Akbar is in other monuments of art ', and
ch. X of the Annals of Mewar, sparing only the ' palace of Bhim
vol. i, p. 262 M. When writing and the fair Pachnini '. Again
that passage the author evidently (p. 221), he observes that the
forgot his earher statement (ibid., Jain tower was the only building
ch. vi, p. 216) that Alau-d din left entire by Alau-d din in 1303.
' committed every act of barbarity The same author (ch. ix, p. 249)
The fall of the fortress of ChitSr, sanctified by the memory ' The sin
of eight centuries of heroic deeds and heart-rending tragedies, "laughter
wounded deeply the Rajput soul. The place became accursed, ofChitSr.'
and to this day no successor of Udai Singh would dare to
set foot within the limits of the once sacred stronghold of
his ancestors. The ' sin of the slaughter of Chit5r ', like the
' curse of Cromwell ' in Ireland, has become proverbial, and
the memory of it is kept alive, or was so kept a hundred years
ago, by a curious custom. It is said that Akbar estimated
the total of the Rajput dead by collecting and weighing the
' Brahmanical cords ' {janeo or zandr), which it is the
privilege and obUgation of high caste men to wear.^ The
recorded amount was 74|- mans of about eight pounds each.
' To eternise the memory of this disaster, the numerals
74^ are tildk or accursed. Marked on the banker's letter in
Rajasthan it is the strongest of seals, for "the sin of the
slaughter of Chitor " is thereby invoked on all who violate
a letter under the safeguard of this mysterious number.'
The note shows that the traditional explanation of the
figures probably is imaginary.*
describes in detail the storm by annulos aureos, qui tantus acervus
Bahadur Shah. In his note fuit, ut metientibus dimidium
(p. 262) he accidentally confounds super tres modios explesse sint
Bahadur Shah with the later quidam auctores. Fama tenuit,
king, Baz Bahadur, alias Bayazid. quae propior vero est, baud plus
According to the Mirdt-i Sikandari fuisse modio ' (Livy, xxiii, 12).
(tr. Bayley, GM/ora/(1886),p.372), ' The Rajputana bankers' use
in 1533* Bahadur Shah had merely of 74J as protection for their
invested the fortress, ' received letters is merely » modification
the promised tribute, and removed of the ordinary use of the figures
his camp one march from Chitor'. 74^, meaning apparently 84, as
Later (p. 383) the same author explained by Sir H. M. Elliot :
states that Bahadur accomplished ' There is also a very remarkable
the conquest of Chitor, but no use of seventy-four in epistolary
details are given. That occasion correspondence. It is an almost
would seem to be the one de- imiversal practice in India to
scribed by Tod. write this number on the outside
' Tod (i. 263) appositely cites of letters ; it being intended to
the similar action of Hannibal. convey the meaning that nobody
■ When the Carthaginian gained is to read the letter but the person
the battle of Cannae, he measured to whom it is addressed. The
his success by the bushels of practice was originally Hindu,
rings taken from the fingers of but has been adopted by the
the equestrian Romans who fell Musalmans. There is nothing
in that memorable field.' ' Ad like an intelligible account of its
fidem deinde tam laetarum rerum origin and object, but it is a
effundi in vestibulo curiae iussit curious fact that, when correctly
The later The recreant Rana Udai Singh died at Gogunda in the
CWtSn °^ -S-ravalh hills four years after the storm of the fortress which
he should have defended in person. His vaHant successor,
Rana Partap Singh, waged a long war with Akbar, and gradu-
ally recovered much of Mewar. But ChitSr remained desolate.
Jahangir forbade the repair of the fortifications, and when
his prohibition was disregarded in 1653 (a. h. 1064) Shah-
jahan caused the demolition of the portion which had been
restored. On March 4, 1680, Aurangzeb visited the place
and posted a garrison in it. He destroyed sixty-three
temples in the town, and in various ways did the Rana all
the harm that he could do. Among other things he broke
to pieces the statues of the Ranas which were collected in
a palace.^ When Father Tieffenthaler examined the ruins
in 1744 or 1745, the area on the summit was covered with
dense forest, full of tigers and other wild beasts, whose
society was shared by a few fearless hermits. A colony
of less adventurous holy men lived at the base of the rock.
The break-up of the Mogul empire in the second half of
the eighteenth century naturally involved the restoration
of the hill and town to their lawful sovereign, the Rana.
In recent times the lower town has developed and has now
about 7,000 or 8,000 inhabitants. It is the head-quarters
of a district in the Udaipur State. The railway station,
written, it represents an integral and ten have been originally
number of seventy-four [as if intended to convey a mystic
of rupees] and a fractional num- symbol of Chaurasi [scil. 84] ? '
ber of ten [as if of annas] ; (Elliot, Supplemental Glossary, ed.
„„„„„^}{||
thus im= [equivalent
rru^c^ to Rs 74,
„AA:f i
Beames (1869), vol. ii, p. 68 n.).
The number 84 (7X12) is
annas 10 . Inese additional j.u n- j j « one ■*of
. , , J- -J J the Hindu sacred or favourite
strokes being now considered, „■: o<îv,u yj^ .a,yv,ui.u^
excent hv well-educated men "umbers, with an astrological
merely ornamental, y
merely Mnamental we_ we nna it
find "t «g»ifica
^j^^ Agnikula section ofespeciall
ncc. Rajputs, foreign
frequently written ||^}J||. The origin, show a special preference
= , for 84 (ibid., p. 77).
Musalmans usually write the i Irvine, Storia do Mogor, vol. ii,
seventy-four with two strokes pp. 240-2. In other books the
across, or after, the number, date of Aurangzeb's visit is usually
with the addition of the words stated erroneously. Irvine settled
others"] the chronology of Aurangzeb's
which . ["with ...
,--'. ', " 6a , dJflaran
^l£^jj, reign in a valuable paper entitled
makes it assume the form . ^he Emperor Aurangzeb Alam-
of an imprecation. May not, j^ , (Ind.Ant., 1911, pp. 69-85).
then, after all, this seventy-four "= > > , r-r- /
a junction for the Udaipur-Chitor and Rajputana-Malwa

railways, is about two miles to the west of the town.
Justice to the memory of Akbar requires that before the Partial
subject of Chitor is quitted a quotation should be made from f™the^
Tod which qualifies his stern and partially erroneous censure ' sipp^,
on Akbar for the severities inflicted on the fortress and its
garrison, as previously cited.
' Akbar was the real founder of the empire of the
Moguls, the first successful conqueror of Rajput indepen-
dence ;to this end his virtues were powerful auxiharies,
as by his skill in the analysis of the mind and its readiest
stimulant to action, he was enabled to gild the chains
with which he bound them. To these they became
familiarised by habit, especially when the throne exerted
its power in acts gratifying to national vanity or even in
ministering to the more ignoble passions. But generations
of the martial races were cut off by his sword, and lustres
rolled away ere his conquests were sufficiently confirmed
to permit him to exercise the beneficence of his nature,
and obtain by the universal acclaim of the conquered, the
proud epithet of Jagat-Guru, or " guardian of mankind ".
He was long ranked with Shihabu-d din, Alau-d din,
and other instruments of destruction, and with every
just claim ; and, like these, he constructed a mimbar
[scil. " pulpit " or " reading desk "] for the Koran from the
altars of Ekhnga. Yet he finally succeeded in healing the
wounds his ambition had inflicted, and received from
millions that meed of praise which no other of his race
ever obtained.' ^
One of the ' acts gratifying to national vanity ' which The
helped to heal the wounds of the Rajput heart was the erec- gj|pij'a,nt
tion of fine statues in honour of Jaimall and Patta, the statues,
defenders of ChitSr. Early in the reign of Aurangzeb, the
French travellers, Bernier in 1663, and de Thevenot, three
years later, saw apparently the same images still standing
• Annals of Mewar, eh. x, vol. i, deity of the Ranas, who are
p. 259. In this quotation from regarded as his cRwans, or vice-
Tod, as in others, the author's gerents. The splendid temple of
eccentric presentation of names Eklinga, built of white marble,
and oriental words has been is situated in a dejfile about six
changed for the more correct miles north of Udaipur, and is
forms. Eklinga, a manifestation richly endowed (ch. xix, vol. i,
of Siva or Mahadeva, is the patron P- 410).
at the principal entrance to the fortress-palace of new Delhi,

or Shahjahanabad, where they had been set up by Shahjahan,
who began work on the fort in 1638. Some time after the
passing of the travellers named, those statues were broken
up by order of Aurangzeb, as being idolatrous. The task
of describing Delhi in detail was left to Bernier by his friend
de Thevenot, who merely states that he saw ' two elephants
at the entry, which carry two warriors '.^ Bernier's fuller
account is as follows :
' The entrance of the fortress presents nothing remark-

able except two large elephants of stone, placed at either
side of one of the principal gates. On one of the elephants
is seated the statue of Jaimall, the renowned Raja of Chitor ;
on the other is the statue of Patta his brother. These are
the brave heroes, who, with their still braver mother, immor-
talised their names by the extraordinary resistance which
they opposed to the celebrated Akbar ; who defended the
towns besieged by that great Emperor with unshaken
resolution ; and who, at length reduced to extremity,
devoted themselves to their country, and chose rather to
perish with their mother in salUes against the enemy than
submit to an insolent invader. It is owing to this extra-
ordinary devotion on their part, that their enemies have
thought them deserving of the statues here erected to their
memory. These two large elephants, mounted by the two
heroes, have an air of grandeur, and inspire me with an
awe and respect which I cannot describe.' ^
Bernier does not state by whose order the Delhi statues
were erected, but it is difficult to beUeve that they were
not identical with those erected earHer at Agra in honour
of the same heroes. President van den Broecke, writing
in 1629 or 1630, states that statues of Jaimall and Patta
mounted on elephants were executed by command of Akbar
and set up at each side of the gate, presumably the main
entrance, of the fort at Agra. That author believed the ele-
phants and their riders to have been carved simultaneously,
■ English transl., 1687, part iii, Smith, 1914, p. 256. The traveller,
p- 42. who spells the names ' Jemel ' and
^ Bernier,
Empire, Travels in the
ed. Constable, and Mogul
V.A. ' Polta the
posing ', was
heroesmistaken in sup-
to be brothers.
but the Delhi elephants certainly were executed in black

marble and the riders in sandstone. The style, too, of the
riders' effigies is thought to be later than, and different from,
that of the animals. It is possible, therefore, that the black
elephant images may have been ancient works, which stood
at the ' elephant gate ' of some other captured fortress.
Akbar may have utilized a pair of ancient elephant statues
and caused the newly carved sandstone effigies of the heroes
to be mounted upon them. When Rana Amar Singh and
his son Karan submitted to Jahanglr, the emperor was so
pleased that he imitated his father's example, and ' caused
full-sized figures of the Rana and his son Karan to be carved
out of marble '. The statues, apparently mounted (tarkib),
were executed rapidly at Ajmer while the emperor was
staying there in 1616, and were transported to Agra, where
they were erected in the palace garden under the audience
window.^ Agra thus possessed two pairs of statues of
Chitor heroes, namely Jaimall with Patta, and Amar Singh
with Karan.* It seems to me almost certain that Shahjahan,
when building New Delhi, removed the statues of Jaimall
and Patta from Agra. I cannot believe that those chiefs
were commemorated by distinct effigies at both Agra and
Delhi.
The gallant resistance offered and the ' inflexible magna-
nimity' displayed by Rana Partap Singh for many years
were believed by Tod to have ultimately touched the heart
of Akbar, and to have induced him to refrain from disturbing
the repose of his brave rival for a considerable time before
the death of the Rana, which occurred eight years before the
decease of Akbar. During those eight years Rana Amar
Singh (' Umra ' of Tod) was equally free from molestation.
But that charming hypothesis is baseless. The evidence
of both Muslim and Jesuit historians proves incontestably
that Akbar to the end of his life was eager to destroy the
Rana, and was held back from doing so only by the refusal
' Jahan^r, R. B. (1909), i, 332. Delhi.
The marble statues ordered by ^ No trace survives of the Amar
Jahangjr cannot be identified and Karan images,
with the sandstone statues at
of his son and great officers to undertake an effective cam-

paign in the wilds of Mewar. Akbar's action in erecting
memorials of his opponents apparently must have been taken
at some time late in his reign, when he had definitely aban-
doned Islam, and regulated his life in most respects according
to Hindu dharma, or rules of conduct.^
The fact that Mogul emperors on two distinct occasions
paid chieftains of ChitSr the unprecedented compliment of
erecting statues in honour of their stout resistance to the
Mogul arms bears eloquent testimony to the depth of the
respect excited in the minds of the victors by the glorious
heroism of Jaimall and Patta and the gallant chivalry of
Amar Singh and Karan. It is pleasant to be able to close
the tragical story of the sacred Rajpiit fortress with the
narration of incidents so much to the credit of both the con-
tending parties.
Akbar's At the commencement of the siege of Chitor Akbar had
vow.
vowed that, in the event of success, he would go on foot to
the shrine of Khwaja Muinu-d din Chishti at Ajmer, a distance
of about a hundred and twenty miles. He started accordingly
' The guide-books to Delhi and mentum, wliich comes down to
Agra and the current histories the end of 1628, must have been
give utterly erroneous accounts written in 1629. It was ' e
of the Delhi elephants. Their genuino illius regni chronico ex-
true story, so far as ascertained pressum '. The author, it will
in 1911, will be found in H. F. A., be observed, jumbles and corrupts
p. 426. But at that date I was the names of Jaimall and Patta.
not acquainted with the passage Although he believed the elephants
from President van den Broecke, and riders to have been simul-
wliich is : ' Ingens ea victoria taneously carved, his informant
fuit, in cuius memoriam rex duos might have been easily mistaken
elephantos, et Tzimel Pathan uni, about that detail. The facts
aliumque ex ipsius ducibus alteri indicate rather that the elephants
insidentes, sculpi curavit, et were ancient Hindu work, and
portae arcis Agrensis utrimque that the riders in different ma-
addi.' Or in English : ' That was terial and style were added by
a great victory, as a memorial command of Akbar. But a
of which the king arranged for difficulty in my theory of the
the carving of two elephants, with identity of the Delhi elephants
Tzimel Pathan seated on one, and seen by Bernier with Akbar's
another of his commanders seated pair set up at Agra is that
on the other, which he had set pedestals recently discovered at
up at each side of the gate of the Agra are said not to fit the re-
fort at Agra ' (' Fragmentum mains of the Delhi elephants.
Historiae Indicae ' by P.*an den Father H. Hosten, S. J., has
Broecke, in de Laet, De Imperio a discussion of the subject in the
Magni Mogolis, Elzevir, 1631, press.
2nd issue, p. 178). The Frag-
on February 28, many of the courtiers and even of the ladies

beginning the long walk in attendance on him. But the
hot winds had commenced, and when the pilgrims reached
Mandal, a town about forty miles from Chitor, they met
messengers from the holy men of Ajmer bearing the opportune
intimation that His Holiness the Khwaja had appeared in
a vision and advised that His Majesty and the suite had
better ride. Nobody was disposed to examine such a wel-
come commiinication too critically, so they all mounted and
were carried the rest of the way, save the final stage, which
was duly walked. Akbar, an excellent pedestrian himself,
had a fancy for vowing to make such pilgrimages on foot,
and sometimes would start on a long walk merely for fun.
In March 1568 Akbar returned to Agra. An exciting Adminis-
encounter with two tigers on the way resulted in the death measures
of a member of the suite. The emperor's hopes of capturing 1368.
Ranthambhor, the fortress in Rajputana next in importance
to Chitor, had to be deferred owing to the necessity of
sending against the troublesome Mirzas the army which had
been assembled for the siege. The reader will remember
that in the early years of the reign Akbar's foster-relatives
had enjoyed more power than was good either for them or
for the State. Their undue influence had been curtailed by
the swift punishment of Adham Khan in May 1562, and
Akbar's subsequent assertion of his royal authority. They
still, however, held together in the Panjab and controlled
that province, where they occupied numerous fiefs. Their
sovereign now felt himself strong enough to put an end to
the ambitious designs of the Atka Khail, as the foster-
relatives were called collectively. He summoned all of
them to court, and required them to surrender their Panjab
fiefs, receiving others in exchange. An exception was made
in favour of Mirza Aziz Koka (often referred to by his title
of Khan-i-Azam), the son of Adham Khan's Adctim, Shamsu-d
din and Jiji Anaga. The Mirza was allowed to retain
Debalpur,! while the other members of the Atka Khail
^ Now in the Montgomery name is Deobalpur. Dipalpur is
District. The oldest form of the a corrupt Persian form.
1845 TT
had to move to Rohilkhand or elsewhere. The government
of the Panjab was entrusted to Husain Kuli Khan {alias
Khan Jahan). The arrangements made were submitted to
quietly. Akbar's growing interest in good administration
was further shown by his appointment as finance minister
of a competent officer named Shihabu-d din Ahmad Khan,
who was embarrassed in the work of reform by the fact
that officials " who did not embezzle much were few '. The
new minister, however, was able to check malpractices,
although he could not suppress them completely.
Siege and By the end of the year Akbar was able to raise an army
surrender ^^^ ^^^ ^.^^^ ^^ Ranthambhor, the stronghold of the Hara
Rantham- section of the Chauhan clan in Rajputana. The siege was
opened in February 1569, in due form, with sabots, or covered
ways, and all the other appliances of the military science
of the time. It threatened to be a long business, but after
a month came to an unexpected end by the surrender of
Surjan Hara, the commandant. The methods by which the
surrender was obtained, which do not appear clearly from
the Muhammadan accounts, are revealed fully by the
Annals of Bundi (Boondee), the Hara capital. The story
is so remarkable, and throws so much light upon Akbar's
Rajput policy, that it is worth while to transcribe at con-
siderable length Tod's condensed version of the Annals, as
follows :
' Ranthambhor was an early object of Akbar's attention,

who besieged it in person. He had been some time before
its impregnable walls without the hope of its surrender,
when Bhagwandas of Amber and his son, the more celebrated
Raja Man, who had not only tendered their allegiance to
Akbar, but allied themselves to him by marriage, deter-
mined to use their influence to make Surjan Hara faithless
to his pledge — " to hold the castle as a fief of Chitor ".^
1 Chitor is situated in 24° 53' 140 miles north-east from Chitor.
N. and 74° 39' E. Ranthambhor A good summary of Bundi
( = Sanskrit Ranasiambhapura, history will be found in J. G.
'the town of the war-pillar') is (1908), s,v. For pictures from
situated in 26° 2' N. and 76° 28' the Akbarnama at S. Kensington
E., and is now in the SE. corner representing incidents during the
of the Jaipur State, a few miles siege of RanthambhSr see J. /. A.,
from the Bundi border, and about April 1915, No. 130.
That courtesy, which is never laid aside among belligerent

Rajputs, obtained Raja Man access to the castle, and the
emperor accompanied him in the guise of a mace-bearer.
While conversing, an uncle of the Rao recognized the
emperor, and with that sudden impulse which arises from
respect, took the mace from his hand and placed Akbar on
the " cushion " of the governor of the castle. Akbar's
presence of mind did not forsake him, and he said, " Well,
Rao Surjan, what is to be done ? " which was replied to by
Raja Man, "Leave the Rana [scil. of Chitor], give up
Ranthambhor, and become the servant of the King, with
high honours and office." The proffered bribe was indeed
magnificent — ^the government of fifty-two districts, whose
revenues were to be appropriated without inquiry, on furnish-
ing the customary contingent, and liberty to name any other
terms, which should be solemnly guaranteed by the King.
' A treaty was drawn up on the spot, and mediated by
the prince of Amber [Jaipur], which presents a good picture
of Hindu feeling. [The terms were] (1) that the chiefs of
Bundi should be exempted from that custom, degrading to
a Rajput, of sending a dola [bride] to the royal harem;
(2) exemption from the jizya or poll-tax ; (3) that the chiefs
of Bundi should not be compelled to cross the Attock ;
(4) that the vassals of Bundi should be exempted from the
obligation of sending their wives or female relatives " to '
hold a stall in the Mina bazaar " at the palace, on the
festival of NaurSza [New Year's Day] ; ^ (5) that they
should have the privilege of entering the Dlwan-i-dmm, or
" hall of audience " completely armed ; (6) that their sacred
edifices should be respected ; (7) that they should never be
placed under the command of a Hindu leader ; (8) that
their horses should not be branded with the imperial dagh
[a fiower branded on the forehead] ; (9) that they should
be allowed to beat their nakkdras, or kettle-drums, in the
streets of the capital as far as the Lai Darwaza or Red Gate ;
and that they should not be commanded to make the
" prostration " [sijdah] on entering the Presence ; * (10) that
Bundi should be to the Haras what Delhi was to the King,
who should guarantee them from any change of capital.'
That detailed story seems to me to be worthy of credit. Sequel of
It does not conflict with the summary version of the transac- render.
' For explanation of the Nau- ' According to Abu-1 FazI, the
roza scandal see Tod, i, 275 Kao performed the sijdah (A. N.,
{Annals of Mewar, eh. xi). ii, 494, 495).
B2
tion given by Abu-1 Fazl, who states that the surrender

was arranged by ' the intercession of the courtiers ' and
' the instrumentality of some high officers '.^ The romantic
incident of the emperor's entry in the guise of a mace-
bearer is in accordance with the character of Akbar, who,
as a younger man, used to wander about disguised in the
midst of the Agra crowds at night. The Muhammadan
author does not trouble to relate the strange sequel of the
surrender, which is told at length by Tod. Ranthambhor
became part of the imperial territory, and in due course
was included as a Sarkar, or District, in the Suba or province
of Ajmer. Surjan was granted a residence in Benares,
with a much-valued privilege of sanctuary attached to it,
which was still maintained in Tod's time, in the early years
of the nineteenth century. After a short interval, Rao
Surjan was given a command in Gondwana, and, having
performed acceptable service there, was appointed governor
of the Benares province, including the fwtress of Chunar,
with the rank of ' commander of 2,000 '. He
' resided at his government of Benares, and by his piety,
wisdom, and generosity, benefited the empire and the Hindus
at large, whose religion through him was respected. Owing
to the prudence of his administration and the vigilance
of his police, the most perfect security in person and property
was established throughout the province. He beautified
and ornamented the city, especially that quarter where he
resided, and eighty-four edifices, for various public purposes,
and twenty baths, were constructed under his auspices.' ^
Two of his sons gave vaJiant support to Akbar in the
expedition to Gujarat, which will be described presently, as
well as in the Deccan war towards the close of the reign.
Surren- The strong fortress of Kalanjar in Bundelkhand, now in
Kalaniar ^^® Banda District, which had defied Sher Shah and cost
him his life, was at this time in possession of Raja Ramchand
of Bhatha or Riwa, the chief who had surrendered Tansen,
the musician, to Akbar's demand. The fort was besieged
on the emperor's behalf by Majniin Khan Kakshal and
• A. N., ch. Ixviii, vol. ii, p. 494. ' Tod, vol. ii, p. 384.
closely invested. The Raja, making a virtue of necessity,

submitted to irresistible power. Abu-1 Fazl describes the
surrender with his accustomed turgid rhetoric :
' When the report of the captures of Chitor and Ran-

thambhor resounded in the ears of the haughty ones, every
one whose eyes had been in a measure touched by the
coUyrium of understanding saw that there was no remedy
except to lay down the head of presumption on the ground
of submission. Raja Ramchand, who possessed some rays
of intelligence, heard of the arrival of the holy cortege at
the capital and asked for quarter. He made over the fort
to the imperial servants and sent the keys along with
splendid presents by confidential agents to the subUme
threshold, and offered his congratulations on the recent
victories. His wisdom and foresight were approved of, and
his agents were received with favour. The government of
the fort was made over to Majnun Khan Kakshal. By this
felicity of the Shahinshah's fortune such a fortress, upon
whose battlements the eagle of the imagination of former
rulers had never alighted, came into the possession of the
imperial servants without the trouble of a battle or contest-' ^
Akbar received the welcome news in August 1569, and
gave the Raja ajdgir near Allahabad.
The surrender of Kalanjar, the last of the great fortresses
to submit, secured Akbar's military position in north-
western India, and left him free to pursue his ambitious
projects in other regions. Before we enter upon the descrip-
tion of his next important campaign, that directed to the
subjugation of Gujarat, various events of a peaceful nature
demand attention.
Akbar, although he had married early and often, was still children.
Akbar's
childless, several children who had been bom to him having
• A.N., ii, 499, the names Hamilton, Description of Hindo-
being spelt in my fashion. sian, 4to, 1820, vol. i, p. 316 ;
Mr. Beveridge errCMjeously calls Elliot, ed. Beames, Glossary,
Ramchand Raja of ' Panna ' map at p. 203, vol. i and vol. ii,
instead of Bhatha. It is easy to p. 164. Kalanjar, a fortress and
misread names as written in the sacred place of immemorial an-
Persian character. The same tiquity, is in 25° 1' N. and 80° 29
mistake occurs in E. & D., v. E. It was bestowed as jagir on
333 n. Lowe's translation of Akbar's favourite, Raja Bfrbal
BadaonI gives the name correctly {I.G., s.v. 'Kalinjar'). The
as ' Bhat'h ' (ii, 124). See Am, spelling Kalanjar (Kalanjaia) is
vol. i, pp. 367, 369 ; vol. ii, p. 166 ; the correct one.
died in infancy. He earnestly desired to be blessed with
a son, and was assiduous in his prayers at the shrines of
famous Muslim saints at Delhi, Ajmer, and elsewhere. He
made a point of performing every year a pilgrimage to the
tomb of Shaikh Muinu-d din Chishti at Ajiher, and main-
tained the practice until 1579, when he made his last visit.^
Shaikh Salim, also a Chishti, a reputed holy man who hved
at Sikri, twenty-three miles to the west of Agra, among the
rocks close to the battle-field where Babur had routed the
host of Rana Sanga, shared in the imperial, devotion, and
ventured to recognize its fervour by assuring his sovereign
that his prayers would be fulfilled.^ At the beginning of
1569 the heart of Akbar was gladdened by the news that
his earliest Hindu consort, the daughter of Raja Bihar Mall
of Amber, was with child, and that he might hope for the
first of the three sons whom Shaikh Salim had promised.
Akbar, being resolved to make sure so far as possible of the
utmost benefit obtainable from the saint's orisons, sent the
expectant lady to the Shaikh's humble dweUing at Sikri,
in order that she might be confined while there. On
August 30, 1569, the boy so ardently desired saw the light
and received the name of Salim, in acknowledgement of his
father's faith in the efficacy of the holy man's prayers. In
November the royal nursery was enriched by the arrival
of a daughter, to whom the name of Khanam Sultan was
given. On June 8 in the following year, 1570, Salima
Sultan Begam, Bairam Khan's widow, whom Akbar had
' Rajab (7th month) a. h. 987 a ceUbate. He died In 1571

(Badaoni, ii, 280). (a. h. 979), at the age of 95 lunar
2 For biography of Shaikh years ; about 92 solar years.
Salim see Badaoni, tr. Haig, Father Monserrate gives him
vol. ill, fasc. 1 (all publ.), 1899, a bad character, describing him
No. VIII, pp. 18-27. He was as a man ' qui per summam
descended from the famous saint, stultitiam pro sancto colitur, cum
Shaikh Farid-i-Shakarganj, who homo fuerit omnibus Agarenorum
lived in the thirteenth century, sceleribus flagitilsque contamina-
He twice travelled from India, tus ' {Commentarius, p. 642). The
once by land and once by sea, to words ' stained with all the
the holy places, and performed wickedness and disgraceful con-
the actual pilgrimage at Mecca duct of Muhammadans ' probably
twenty-two times. He was called imply an accusation of addiction
the ' holy man of India ', and lived to unnatural vice,
with great austerity, but was not
Pi
I):m
— I
K
H
Em
w
W
I— I
C/2
married, bore to her lord a son who was named Murad. In
order to complete the story of Akbar's family it may be
stated here that his third son, Daniyal (' Daniel '), was born
of a concubine on September 10, 1572, at Ajmer, in the
house of Shaikh Daniyal, one of the holy personages whom
Akbar had so often visited.^ There were at least two other
daughters besides the first-born, namely, Shukru-n nisa.
Begam, who, like the elder sister, Khanam, was allowed to
marry, and Aram Bano Begam, who died unmarried in the
reign of Jahangir (Salim). The daughters apparently took
no part in affairs of state and are rarely mentioned. The
three sons attained mature age.
Akbar, in pursuance of a vow, started on January 20,
1570, for Ajmer, to return thanks for the birth of his children.
He honestly walked the sixteen stages, covering an average
distance of about fourteen miles a day.
From Ajmer he went to Delhi, where, in April 1570, he events. Various
inspected the newly-built mausoleum of his father, erected
under the pious superintendence of Haji Begam, and at her
expense. She had arranged for the work before she started
on her pilgrimage, and it took eight or nine years to com-
plete. The architect was Mirak Mirza Ghiyas.* Badaoni
justly praises the ' magnificent proportions ' of the building.
Its position in the history of Indo-Muhammadan art will be
considered in a later chapter.
While on the way to Agra Akbar several times amused
himself hunting deer by moonlight. Deer-hunting by torch-
light was a subject much favoured by the skilled painters
of a date slightly later.
In September of the same year (1570) Akbar returned to
Ajmer, and with the assistance of able architects, arranged
» On the night of Jumada I " Badaoni, ii, 135. The visit

(5th month), 979, the 119th day took place near the close of A. H.
of the Hijri year, which began on 977 (= June 16, 1569-June 4,
May 26, 1571. The corresponding 1570), and in the fifteenth regnal
date, consequently, is September year, which began on March 11,
11 (Jahan^r, R. B., i, 34). Beale 1570. The date consequently
erroneously states that Daniyal falls between March 11 and
was the son of a daughter of June 4.
Raja Bihar Mall Kachhwaha.
for the enlargement of the fort and the erection of many-

handsome buildings for the accommodation of the sovereign
and court. The works were completed in three years.
Improvements were effected also at the ancient town of
Nagaur in Rajputana, where a fountain with seventeen jets,
dating from Akbar's time, may stiU be seen.^
The emperor continued his policy of making Hindu
alliances by marrying princesses from Bikaner and Jaisalmer,
the two leading principalities of the Rajputana desert.
He indulged his love of novel kinds of sport by hunting
wild asses for the first time, and succeeded in shooting
sixteen during a single day's arduous hunting, in which he
covered a distance of more than thirty miles.^
About the same time he had the satisfaction of receiving
the submission of Baz Bahadur, the fugitive king of Malwa,
who was content to accept office as a ' commander of 1,000 '
in the imperial service.*
Akbar then marched into the Panjab, and visited more
saints' shrines.
In August 1571 he camie back to Sikrl, where he took
up his quarters in the Shaikh's residence, and made himself
quite at home. During this year an embassy from AbduUah
Khan Uzbeg, the powerful ruler of Turan or Transoxiana,
was received with due honour.
Fathpur- Akbar resolved at this time to press on his scheme for
Sikri.
converting the obscure village of Sikri into a great city.
His reasons, or some of them, for doing so may be stated
in the words of Abu-1 Fazl :
' Inasmuch as his exalted sons [Salim and Murad] had

taken their birth in Sikri and the God-knowing spirit of
Shaikh Salim had taken possession thereof, his holy heart
desired to give outward splendour to this spot which possessed
spiritual grandeur. Now that his standards had arrived at
» /. G: (1908), s. V. In ch. xiii. This is the earliest

" One of the Akbamama pic- mention of a particular rank in
tures at S. Kensington represents Akbar's reign, but Humayun,
the emperor in the desert, over- about 1539, had appointed Raja
come by tMrst. Bihar Mall to be a ' commander
' The gradations of office in of 5,000 '.
Akbar's service will be explained
this place, his former design was pressed forward, and an

order was issued that the superintendents of affairs should
erect lofty buildings for the use of the Shahinshah.' ^
A wall of masonry was built round the town, but never
completed, and dwellings of all classes were constructed, as
well as schools, baths, and other public institutions, the
indispensable gardens not being neglected. The emperor,
after the conquest of Gujaxat, gave it the name of Fathabad
(' town of victory '), which was soon exchanged in both
popular and official use for the synonymous Fathpur.^ The
language of Abu-1 Fazl in the passage quoted might be
understood to mean that Akbar did not begin his extensive
prograrame of building at Fathpur-Slkri until 1571, but that
is not the fact. The design had been formed in his mind
and his buildings had actually been begun in 1569. They
continued to be constructed for fourteen or fifteen years.*
Salim, the old saint, had settled among the rocks and wild
beasts as a hermit in a. d. 1537-8 (a. h. 944), and in the
year following had constructed a monastery and school-
house. The local workmen engaged in the extraction and
dressing of the excellent red sandstone which abounds in
the locality had built at the same time for the use of the
holy man, and adjoining his dweUing, a small mosque, which
still exists, and is known as the Stone-cutters' Mosque.
The bmlding, being some thirty years older than any other
structure at Fathpur-Sikri, is of considerable interest as
a landmark in the history of Indo-Muhammadan archi-
tecture.* , \,
Akbar's acquaintance with Shaikh Salim seems hot to.
have begun until a year or so before the birth of Prince
Salim. The fulfilment of the saint's promise induced the
emperor at once to decide to leave unlucky Agra and to
estabUsh his capital at Sikri, which he regarded as ' a place
' Monserrate (p. 562) was in- Fathpflr. I do not know any<
formed that the buildings at Agra instance of the actual use of the
were supposed to be haunted by form Fathabad.
evil spirits. » Jahanglr (R. B.), i, 2.
2 A. N., ii, 530 ; ch. Ixxvi. The ' E, W. Smith, Faihpur-Sikn,
name- on the coinage is invariably part iv, oh. ili.
lucky for him '. Akbar, we must remember, was quite as

superstitious as most of his contemporaries, in spite of his
rationaUsm.
The building miscalled Jodh Bai's Mahall, and designated
also, with better reason, as the Jahangiri Mahall, which is
the largest of the residential palaces, is one of the earliest
of Akbar's edifices, and probably was occupied by the mother
of Prince Sallm (Jahangir).^
The great mosque, purporting to be a ' duplicate of the
holy place ' at Mecca, has a chronogram inscription record-
ing its completion in a. h. 979 (May 1571-May 1572).2
The The immense portal, known as the Buland Darwaza, or
Darwaza. Lofty Gateway, which far exceeds in dimensions the other
gateways of the mosque, was finished a few years later, in
1575-6 (a. H. 983), and in all probability was designed on
a scale of exceptional magnificence in order to serve as
a memorial of the conquest of Gujarat in 1573. It is usually
believed to have been erected in a.d. 1601-2 (a.h. 1010),
because that is the date of an interesting inscription on it
recording Akbar's triumphant return from the Deccan war.
But the gateway cannot possibly date from that year, when
Akbar was no longer a Muslim. He was then more disposed
to destroy mosques than to build them. He had ceased to
reside at Fathpur-SlkrI in 1585, when he went north, where
he remained for thirteen years. In 1601 he merely paid
a flying visit to his former capital, and made use of an
existing monument as offering a convenient place for the
record of his recent triumph. His inscription-writer and
skilled stone-cutters were in attendance in his camp, and
would have executed his orders with all speed. Fathpur-
Sikrl was deserted and ruinous in 1604, except so far as
a few of Akbar's buildings were concerned, and it must
have been far advanced in decay in 1601. At that date
the emperor could not have thought of erecting there
a costly building on the scale of the Buland Darwaza.*
part' Eii, W. Smith, Fathpur-Sikri,

ch. ii. tration see iv,
Slkri, part E. ch.
W. ii.
Smith, Fathpur-
The corrected
' Ibid., part iv, pp. 1, 4. date is given in A. S. Progress
' For fuJl description and illus- Rep., N. Circle, 1905-6, p. 34, on
It will be convenient to give in this place a summary Royal

history of Akbar's palace city, and to quote the only descrip- tkTn^f '
tion of it by a contemporary traveller. From 1569, the Fathpur,
year of Prince Sallm's birth, to 1585, when Akbar was ^^^^"^^•
obliged to go north in order to take over the Kabul province
and guard against an Uzbeg invasion, Fathpur-Sikri was
the ordinary and principal residence of the court. Akbar
quitted it finally in the autumn of 1585, and never lived
there again. The water-supply of the place was naturally
defective. Akbar had remedied the deficiency by con-
structing to the north of the ridge a êat artificial lake,
measuring about six miles long by two broad, which supplied
an elaborate system of water-works, traces of which still
exist. The bursting of the dam of the lake in 1582, although
it injured the amenities of the town, did not render it
uninhabitable. It continued to be the residence of the
court for three years longer. We are fortunate in possessing
a description of it by an English traveller who was there
in September 1585, just before Akbar left the place for ever,
save for the flying visit in May 1601, mentioned above.
Ralph Fitch, the traveller referred to, was not a good
observer or writer. His meagre notes leave much to be
desired, and his remark that the houses and streets of
Fathpur were not so fair as those of Agra strikes the modern
reader as curious. But the observation, no doubt, was
perfectly true. Fitch compared the two towns, not the
palaces, and he may have seen very Uttle of the Fathpur
palace buildings which now attract the tourist, who does
not trouble himself about the obscure ruins of the business
streets. Fitch was barely in time. The withdrawal of the •
court in August, just before his departure at the end of
September, must have left the place desolate and almost
empty.
the authority of a chronogram of the building is impossible, and the
unknown origin, printed by Beale memorable conquest of Gujarat
in Miftahu-t tawdnkh (Cawnpore, offers a suitable occasion for the
1867, p. 181). That chronogram erection of such a noble trium-
in itself is of little authority, but phal arch. Jerome Xavier's letter
it may be accepted as correct, of September 1604 proves that
because the a. h. 1010 date for Fathpui-Sikii was then ruinous.
This is his account, such as it is :
Descrip- ' Agra is a very great citie, and populous, built with
tion by stone, having faire and large streets, with a faire river
Rtch** running by it, which falleth into the gulfe of Bengala. It
Sept.' hath a faire castle and a strong, with a very faire ditch.
1585. Here bee many Moores and Gentiles, the king is called
Zelabdim [Jalalu-d din] Echebar ; the people for the most
part call him The great Mogor.'^
' From thence wee went for Fatepore, which is the place
where the king kept his court. The towne is greater than
Agra, but the houses and streetes be not so faire. Here
dwell many people both Moores and Gentiles.*
' The king hath in Agra and Fatepore as they doe credibly
report 1000 elephants, thirtie thousand horses, 1400 tame
Deere, 800 concubines; such store of Ounces,* Tigers,
Buffles,^ Cocks & Haukes, that is very strange to see.
' He keepeth a great court, which they call Dericcan.
' Agra and Fatepore are two very great cities, either of
them much greater than London and very populous.^
Between Agra and Fatepore are 12 miles [soil, kos — 23 miles],
and all the way is a market of victuals & other things, as
full as though a man were still in a towne, and so many
people as if a man were in a market.
' They have many fine cartes, and many of them carved
and gilded with gold, with two wheeles, which be drawen
with two Utle Buls about the bignesse of our great dogs in
England, and they will runne with any horse, and carie
two or three men in one of these cartes ; they are covered
with silke or very fine cloth, and be used here as our Coches
be in England. Hither is great resort of marchants from
Persia and out of India, and very much marchandise of
silke and cloth, and of precious stones, both Rubies, Dia-
mants, and Pearles. The king is apparelled in a white
Cabie, made like a shirt tied with strings on the one side,*
' The Portuguese so called him, • Buffaloes, kept for fighting,
but I doubt if his own people ' Creighton, using the 'bills
ever did. of mortality ', calculated the
' Muhammadans and Hindus. population of London to have
See the good article on Mogul, been 123,034 in 1580, and 152,478
Mogor, and connected terms in for the period 1593-5 (Encyel,
Yule and Bumeli, -Gfossarj/. Bril., ed. s.y., London, vol. xvi,
' The ' ounce ' properly means p. 965). Those figures suggest
Felis uncia, the snow leopard, that the population of Fathpur-
a Himalayan species. But Fitch Sikri may have been about 200,000
probably meant the ' cheetah ', in 1585.
or hunting leopard, Felis jubata, ' ' Cabie ' is more often spelt
or Cynaelurus. ' cabaya ', and is defined as ' a
and a little cloth on his head coloured oftentimes with red

or yellow. None come into his house but his eunuches
which keepe his women. ^
'Here in Fatepore we staied all three untill the 28. of
September 1585, and then Master John Newberie took his
journie toward the eitie of Lahore, determining from thence
to goe for Persia and then for Aleppo or Constantinople,
whether hee could get soonest passage unto, and directed
me to goe for Bengala and for Pegu, and did promise me,
if it pleased God, to meete me in Bengala within two yeeres
with a shippe out of England. I left WiUiam Leades the
jeweller in service with the King Zelabdim Echebar in Fate
pore, who did entertaine him very well, and gave him an
house and five slaves, an horse, and every day sixe S. Si.
[shillings] in money .^
' I went from Agra to Satagam in Bengala,^ in the com-
panie of one hundred and fourscore boats laden with Salt,
Opium, Hinge,* Lead, Carpets, and divers other commodities
down the river Jemena.' *
Akbar's proximate successors never resided at Fathpur, Later

but Muhammad Shah (1719-48) occupied it for a short ^^^^7
time.^ The town, which is now atuated near the western town,
end of the old city, and has about 7,000 inhabitants, was
never wholly abandoned. Several mosques and other
buildings erected by private persons about A. d. 1700 date
from the latter part of the reign of Aurangzeb.*
The reduction of the four fortresses — Mirtha, Chitor, Expedi-
RanthambhSr, and Kalanjar — ^having secured the control of th^"c„„.
the imperial government over the provinces of Hindostan, quest of
Akbar was in a position to proceed in the extension of his Gujarat.
dominions to the sea on both sides. His first move was
towards the west, the conquest of Bengal being reserved
for a later effort.
surcoat or long tunic of muslin (Hugli), and then the chief river
(Yule and Burnell, Glossary, s. v. port of Bengal.
Cabaya). ' ' Hinge ', more correctly king
'■ Neither Newbery nor Leedes or hingu, assafoetida, much es-
was ever heard of again. Fitch teemed in India as a condiment,
arrived safely in London on April See Yule and Burnell, s. v. Hing.
29, 1591. His dates are in ' old * Fitch, pp. 97-100.
style'. ' i.G. (1908), s. v.
' Satgaon, close to Hooghly ' Horowitz, p. 84, Nos. 644-6.
Gujarat, the extensive region lying between Malwa and

the Arabian Sea, had been occupied for a time by Humayun,
and might therefore be regarded as a lost province of the
empire which it was a duty to recover. Moreover, the
country was at that time without a settled government,
being divided into seven warring principalities, over which
the nominal king, Muzaffar Shah III, a prince of doubtful
legitimacy, exercised little authority. Such a condition of
affairs seemed almost to demand the interposition of a power
capable of enforcing order. Akbar, in fact, was actually
invited by one of the local princelings named Itimad Khan
to put an end to the prevailing anarchy.^ Even if those
special reasons for intervention had not existed, the attrac-
tions of the province itself were quite sufficient to tempt
Akbar. The possession of numerous ports and the resulting
extensive maritime commerce made Gujarat the richest
kingdom in India. Ahmadabad, the capital, was justly
reputed to be one of the finest cities in the world, while the
manufacture of salt, cloth, paper, and other commodities
flourished in many localities. A sovereign, consumed as
Akbar was by the lust of conquest and the ambition of
empire, could not possibly allow such a delectable land on
his frontier to continue in the enjoyment of unfettered
independence.
Having made up his mind, therefore, to annex Gujarat,
he marched out of Fathpur-Sikri on July 4, 1572, hunting,
as usual, on the way. At Phalodi, between Ajmer and
Nagaur, he received the joyful news of the birth of his
third son. Prince Daniyal. In September the court halted
at Nagaur.2
First Although the armed opposition to the invasion did not
Gujarat promise to be extremely formidable, due military pre-
— battle cautions were taken. Special arrangements were made to
of Sarnal. pj-gygji^ any j^^^ of interference from the side of Marwar
• Bombay Gazetteer (1896), vol. i, this point (p. 544). The rest of
part i, p. 264. the volume is occupied with
' Volume iiof oftheMr. Akbarnamdh
translation Beveridge's the
autobiographical
author, matter about
closes the historical narrative at
(Jodhpur) and a strong advance guard of 10,000 horse was

sent forward under the command of the Khan-i-Kalan
(Mir Muhammad Khan Atka).^ The arrival of the invaders
at Sirohi, a town famous for the excellence of its sword-
blades and arrow-shafts, and the head-quarters of the Deorva
sept of the Chauhan clan, excited the fanatical hostility of
a band of a hundred and fifty Rajputs, who deliberately
sacrificed their lives in a futile attempt at resistance. In
November 1572, when Akbar approached Ahmadabad,
Muzaffar Shah, the fugitive king, was found hiding in a corn-
field and brought in. He duly made his submission and was
granted a small allowance. Certain camp-followers having
insolently plundered his effects, Akbar set an example of
stern justice by ordering the offenders to be trampled to
death by elephants.
The emperor then made an excursion to Cambay in order
to view the sea for the first time. He took a short sail on
the waters, but, unluckily, the impression made on him by
the sight and experience has not been recorded. While at
Cambay he received the Portuguese merchants who came
to pay their respects, and he thus made acquaintance with
their nation.
He appointed the Khan-i-Azam (Mirza Aziz Koka), his
favourite foster-brother, to be governor of the newly-annexed
province as far as the river Mahi, and was engaged in other
administrative measures when he heard that Ibrahim
Husain Mirza had murdered a person of distinction named
Rustam Khan, and was meditating further misdeeds. The'
emperor's ' wrath was kindled ' at the news, so that he
resolved to postpone all other business until he had in
person inflicted condign punishment on the presumptuous
Mirza, who had taken advantage of Akbar's absence on the
trip to Cambay. Surat, the wealthy port at the mouth of
the Tapti, was the chief stronghold of the Mirzas, and
consequently the objective of the campaign, but the
immediate purpose was to meet and defeat Ibrahim Husain.
Akbar, who was then near Baroda, insisted on pursuing his
• For his biography see Blochmann, Am, vol. i, p. 322, No. 16.
rebellious relative with quite a small force, at the head of
which he rode off. When he came near the ford on the
Mahi, he learned that the enemy, much superior in number,
was holding Sarnal, a small town on the other side of the
river, five miles to the east of Thasra.^ He refused to listen
to advisers who counselled delay in order to await reinforce-
ments, and urged the advantages of a night attack. Akbar
replied that he considered an attack in the dark dishonour-
able, and expressed his resolve to fight at once, although
the men with him did not exceed two hundred.^ Supported
by Man Singh of Amber, his adoptive father, Bhagwan Das,
and sundry brave Muslim nobles, Akbar forded the river
and scrambled up the steep bank to the water-gate of Sarnal.
Meantime, the Mirza had gone out from the other side of
the town in order to find space on which to deploy his
superior force. The town, as is usual in Gujarat, was ap-
proached by narrow lanes fenced with prickly -pear cactus,
the most unsuitable ground possible for cavalry. Akbar's
party became entangled in the obstacles, and Bhupat, the
brother of Bhagwan Das, was slain. Bhagwan Das himself
rode with his sovereign, and when three men from the
enemy's ranks attacked them the Raja disabled one with
a spear-thrust, whUe Akbar successfully defended himself
against the other two. The Mirza's followers fled when the
rest of the royal party came up, and Akbar remained master
of the field. Darkness prevented pursuit, and the victors
had to spend the night in Sarnal. Akbar returned to his
camp on December 24. All his men who had fought so
valiantly were liberally rewarded, and Raja Bhagwan Das
was honoured by the grant of a banner and kettle-drums,
never before bestoVed on a Hindu,
1 Mr. Beveridge and other veyed by the Archaeological

writers have been puzzled about Department (Revised Lists of
the position of Sarnal. It still Antiquarian Remains, Bombay,
exists, five miles to the east of 1897, p. 94). The Bombay Gazet-
Thasra (in about 22° 50' N. lat_ teer (1896), vol. i, part i, p. 265,
73° 10' E. long.), a well-known erroneously identifies Sarnal with
small town in the Kaira District, Thasra.
marked on the maps and described ' 156 according to Firishta ;
in I. G. (1908). An ancient 200 according to Abu-1 Fazl ;
temple at Sarnal has been sur- 100 according to the Tabakat.
Raja Todar Mall was sent to report on the strength of Siege ot

the Surat defences. When he returned with an encouraging ûrat.
report, Akbar, on the last day of December, marched from
Baroda. On January 11, 1573, he approached Surat, and
presently began regular siege operations. While the siege
was in progress, according to the court chronicler's version,
certain Portuguese from Goa, who had arrived with the
intention of assisting the defence, came to the conclusion
that Akbar's force was irresistible, and that it would be
more prudent to conciliate him. They accordingly assumed
the attitude of friendly envoys, offered presents, and were
graciously received. But the truth is that Akbar, having
reason to fear an attack by a Portuguese naval squadron,
was glad to come to terms with the Viceroy, Dom Antonio
de Noronha. Akbar first sent an envoy, and the Viceroy,
having heard his proposals, sent back with him Antonio
Cabral, who concluded peace to the satisfaction of both
parties.^ The acquaintance with the Portuguese nation
begun at Cambay was thus extended, and Akbar was able
to gratify his insatiable curiosity by many ' inquiries about
the wonders of Portugal and the manners and customs of
Europe '. Friendly relations with the foreigners had for
him the practical advantage that they enabled him to secure
a safe conduct for the Mecca pilgrims, which was dependent
on the goodwill of the Portuguese. The Mogul emperors
never showed any aptitude for maritime affairs or possessed
a fleet worth mentioning. Their coasts and the neighbour-
ing seas were thus at the mercy of the Portuguese, who felt
no scruples about the manner in which they exercised their
power. In those days Akbar took a lively interest in the
Mecca pilgrimage, and was ready to spend money freely in
helping the pilgrims.
The siege of Surat was terminated in about a month and
a half by capitulation (February 26, 1573). The commandant,
» Hosten, quoting authorities, Viceroy, was in office from
in J. efc Proc. A. S. B., 1912, p. September 6, 1571 to December 9,
217 n. See also Bombay Gazetteer 1573 (Fonseca, Sketch of the City
(1896), vol. i, part i, p. 265. Dom of Goa, 1878, p. 90).
Antonio de Norofiha, the 11th
1845 T
Hamzaban, formerly in the service of Humayun, was
granted his hfe, but was barbarously punished by the
excision of his tongue, which he was alleged to have used
indiscreetly.
A A queer story related by Abu-1 Fazl describes an incident
drunken
freak. which happened at or near Surat. One night, we are told,
there was a select drinking-party, and the talk tiu-ned upon
the disregard for life shown by the heroes of Hindostan.
It was said that two Rajput rivals would run from opposite
sides against the points of a double-headed spear, or two
spears, held by third parties, so that the points would
transfix both of the rivals and come out at their backs;
Akbar, who could not pretend to have a rival, announced,
to the horror of his fellow revellers, that he would fight his
sword. He fixed the hilt into the wall, and was about to
transfix himself by rushing against the point, when Raja
Man Singh ' with the foot of fidelity ' kicked down the
sword, and in doing so cut his sovereign's hand. Akbar
promptly knocked down Man Singh and squeezed him
hard. Saijdd Muzaffar, one of the merry party, was obliged
to go so far as to twist Akbar's injured finger, in order to
make him loosen his hold on the throat of Man Singh, whom
he would have choked in his rage. The opportune wrench
opened Akbar's wound, but that soon healed. Akbar must
have been shockingly drunk. He appears to have had the
good sense not to resent the rough measures by which his
friends saved him from himself, and it is wonderful that two
historians should have had the candour to record the
scandalous affair.*
Akbar's Although the uncritical panegyrists of Akbar make no
intem-
perance. mention of his drunken bouts, and his published sayings
include phrases condemnatory of excess in wine, it is certain
that for many years he kept up the family tradition and
often drank more than he could carry. Jahangir naively
remarks at the opening of his authentic Memoirs :
' After my birth they gave me the name of Sultan Salim,
but I never heard my father, whether in his cups or in his
' A. N., vol. iii, p. 4p3, with reference in note to Iqbalnama.
sober moments, call me Muhammad Salim or Sultan Salim,

but always Shaikhu Baba.'
The phrase clearly implies that the writer's ' revered
father ' was not seldom * in his cups '. The Jesuit testimony
concerning the experience of the first mission under Aquaviva
in 1582 proves, beyond the possibility of doubt, that at that
time, some nine years after the fall of Surat, Akbar habitually
drank hard. The good father had boldly dared to reprove
the emperor sharply for his licentious relations with women.
Akbar, instead of resenting the priest's audacity, blushingly
excused himself, and even sought to subdue the flesh by
fasting for several days. The abstinence was not extended
to include liquor. ' He went to such excess in drinking
that the merit of fasting was lost in the demerit of inebria-
tion.' ^ Sometimes Akbar seemed to forget Padre Ridolfo
altogether, allowing long intervals to elapse without sum-
moning him.
' Even if he did invite the priest to say something about
God, he had hardly begun before Akbar fell asleep, the
reason being that he made too much use, sometimes of
arrack, an extremely heady palm-wine, and sometimes of
post, a similar preparation of opium, diluted and modified
by various admixtures of spices.' ^
Akbar, as a rule, exercised strict control over his naturally
violent temper. The occasional outbreaks of passion recorded
by the historians may have been due in some cases to the
effects of drink. His bad example in the matter of inebriety
was followed only too faithfully by his three sons who
attained manhood. Two of them, Murad and Daniyal, died
from the effects of their chronic intemperance, and Salim
(Jahangir) never freed himself wholly from the vice, although
Nurjahan, after her marriage with him, succeeded in keeping
him in order to some extent.
' Bartoli, p. 59. ' Ma allora tava ; e cio per lo troppo uso hor
disoTdin6 tanto in bere, che perdfe dell' Orraca, che k un fumosissimo
il merito dell' astinenza col de- vino di palma, hor del Posto, che
merito dell' ubbriachezza.' 6 una tal confettione d'Oppio,
' Ibid., p. 64. ' O se pur 1' in- rintuzzato, e domo con varie cor-
vitava a dirgli alcuna cosa di Dio, rettioni d'aromati.'
appena cominciato, s'addormenr
12
Return of Akbar started on his return journey on April 13, 1573,^

^4e ^f ' and on arrival at Sirohi heard the good news of the capture
Ibrahim and death of Ibrahim Husain Mirza, who after his escape
Mirza'" from the Sarnal fight had made his way into the Panjab,
and thence to Multan, where he died, a wounded prisoner.
His brother, Masud Husain Mirza, also was taken prisoner
by Husain Kuli Klian, governor of the Panj ab. The emperor,
as usual, paid his devotions at the shrine in Ajmer, and
arrived at Fathpur-Sikri on June 3. The notable persons
who came out to meet him included Abu-1 Fazl's father.
Shaikh Mubarak, who made a speech expressing the hope
that the emperor might become the spiritual as well as the
temporal head of his people.^ The suggestion pleased
Akbar, who bore it in mind and acted on it six years later
(1579).
Cruel On the arrival of the emperor at his capital, Husain
ment of -^"î Khan (Khan Jahan) waited on him with his prisoners,
prisoners. The eyes of Masud Husain Mirza had been sewn up, and
Akbar was credited with kindness. because he directed them
to be opened. The other prisoners, nearly three hundred
in number, met with little mercy.. They were brought
before Akbar with the skins of asses, hogs, and dogs drawn
over their faces. Some of them were executed with various
ingenious tortures, and some were released.® It is disgusting
to find a man like Akbar sanctioning such barbarities.. His
philosophy sometimes failed to curb the tendency to cruelty
which he inherited from his Tartar ancestors. The severities
practised did not finally extirpate the Mirza trouble, which
soon broke out again in Gujarat.
Failure The pursuit of the Mirzas had interrupted and rendered
to take ineffective an expedition against the famous fortress of
k6t°or NagarkSt or Kangra in the lower Himalayan hills which
Kangra. jjugîn Kuli Khan had undertaken with good hopes of
complete success. He had occupied the outer town, but
the inner citadel still held out, when he was obliged to with-
draw his troops to pursue the rebels. A peace was patched
» A. N., iii, 48. ' BadaonI, ii, 163 ; 'g'abakat,
^ A N. iii 55. in E. & D., v, 359.
up, the Raja undertaking to pay tribute and acknowledge

formally the suzerainty of Akbar, The capture of the
stronghold was deferred until 1620, when it capitulated to
the officers of Jahangir, who was much pleased at winning
a conquest which had eluded his father's grasp.^
Akbar had come home under the impression that the Rebellion
subjugation of Gujarat was complete, and that the arrange- Gujarat,
ments made for the administration of the province would
work smoothly. But he was soon disillusioned. Reports
were received from the governor that a fresh insurrection
had broken out, under the leadership of Muhammad Husain,
one of the irrepressible Mirzas, and a chief named Ikhtiyaru-1
Mvdk. The governor admitted in his dispatch that the rebels
were too strong for him, and Akbar without hesitation
resolved to proceed in person to suppress the insurrection.
He was not, however, in a position to move without prepara-
tion. His army, which was little more than a loosely organized
miUtia, had been exhausted by the previous campaign, and
the equipment at the disposal of the nobles responsible
for furnishing contingents was worn out. It was necessary,
therefore, to equip the fresh expedition from imperial funds.
Akbar opened wide the doors of his treasury and provided
the requisite cash without stint. He saw to everything with
his own keen eyes. One of his historians observes that,
' although he had full trust and hope of heavenly assistance^
he neglected no material means of success '.^ In other words,
he acted on the Cromwellian maxim of trusting in God and
keeping his powder dry.
' He frequently said ', we are told, ' that although he was
exerting himself in the organization and dispatch of the army,
no one would be ready sooner than himself to take his part
in the work.'
The young sovereign, then in his thirty-first year, and in Akbar's
the fullest enjoyment of his powers, bodily and mental, jyj ^^_ '
was as good as his word. On August 23, 1573 (24 Rabi II, pedition.
A. H. 981), he was ready, and rode out from his capital
• Jahangir, R. & B., ii, 183-6, ' Tabakat, in E. & D., v, 364.
223 ; A. N., iii, 52.
118 AKBAR THE GREAT MOGUI,
attended by a small suite, mounted on swift she-camels.

He travelled fifty miles through the stifling heat without
drawing rein, and proceeded each day with equal speed,
riding sometimes on a horse and sometimes in a light cart.
So travelling he rushed across Rajputana, until in the course
of nine clear days, or eleven days all told, he found himself
in the outskirts of Ahmadabad, distant nearly six hundred
miles by the road used. His route lay through Ajmer,
Jalor, Disa (Deesa), and Patan or Anhilwaxa, the ancient
capital of Gujarat. At the small town of Balisna, between
Patan and Ahmadabad, he made a halt and reviewed his
tiny force,^ which, including the cavalry sent on in advance
and his personal escort, did not exceed in all three thousand
horsemen. The enemy were estimated to muster 20,000. He
kept a bodyguard of about a hundred selected warriors
about his person, and divided the rest into three sections
or brigades, centre, right, and left. The command of the
centre, the post of honour, was given to Abdurrahim Khan,
a lad of sixteen, the son of Akbar's former regent and
guardian, Bairam Khan. The boy, who was with his father
at the time of his murder in January 1561, had been rescued,
brought to court, and carefully educated under the super-
vision ofAkbar, who seized the earliest possible opportunity
of giving him the chance of winning distinction in the field,
of course, under the guidance of older officers. He became
in due time the greatest noble in the realm.^
' ' Ballsana ' of A. N., iii, 66, is now chiefly remembered for his
with v.l. 'Maliyana' and 'Pali- Persian version of Babur's Me-
tana'. It must be Balisna of moirs from the Turki original. The
the I. G. (1908), s. v., a small town A. N., iii, 69, gives an interesting
in the Patan tdluka, Baroda State ; list of 27 officers who rode with
and not as suggested by Beveridge, Akbar on his rapid march. It
loc. cit. The positions are : includes 15 Hindus, of whom three
Patan, 23° 51' N., 72° 10' E. ; seem to have been painters,
Balisna, 23° 49' N., 72° 15' E. ; namely No. 5, Jagannath ; No. 21,
and Ahmadabad, 23° 2' N., Sanwal Das, and No. 26, Tara
72° 35' E. See sketch map. Chand. A picture of the Sarnal
' Abdurrahim was born at fight by Sanwal Das or Sanwlah
Lahore on December 17, 1556 = is in the Clarke MS. at the S.
Safar 14, a. h. 964 (Beale and Kensington Museum. No. 27
Blochmann). His education was Lai Kalawant, was a musician!
unusually thorough. He acquired Raja Birbar is No. 10, and Ram
proficiency in Arabic, Persian, Das Kachwhaha is No. 18.
Turk!, Sanskrit, and Hindi. He
The royal troops, when within a few miles of Ahmadabad,

approached the river Sabarmati, expecting to effect a junc-
tion with the army of the Khan-i-Azam, which failed to
appear. The insurgents, hearing the blast of their sovereign's
trumpets, could not beheve their ears, and said : ' Our
scouts reported that a fortnight ago the emperor was at
Fathpur-Sikri ; how can he be here now ? Where are the
elephants which always travel with him ? ' Whatever
might be the explanation, the fact of Akbar's presence
could not be denied, and the rebels were constrained to make
ready to fight for their Uves.
' Ikhtiyaru-l Mulk undertook the duty of watching the Battle
gates of Ahmadabad, and preventing Khan-i-Azam, the albsd"^
governor, from coming to the aid of his lord. Muhammad Sept. 2,
Husain Mirza, at the head of fifteen hundred fierce Moguls, ^^^^-
was prepared to receive the royalist attack. Akbar, indig-
nantly rejecting the advice of cautious counsellors who
advised him to wait for the city garrison to come out, com-
pelled his unwiUing followers to fight at once, and, with his
accustomed impetuosity, spurred his horse into and across
the river, and so challenged the enemy, who replied by
checking the small advanced guard. The emperor, per-
ceiving the check, ' gave the word, and charged hke a fierce
tiger '. Much hard fighting hand to hand ensued, and at
one moment Akbar was left with only two troopers by his
side. His horse was wounded, and a report spread that he
had been killed. His men, when they saw that he was safe,
ralHed and quickly drove the rebels from the field. Muham-
mad Husain Mirza was wounded and taken prisoner, and
the fight was won.
An hour later Ikhtiyaru-l Mulk appeared with 5,000 men,
hoping to reverse the defeat. But his followers were struck
with panic so disgraceful that ' the royal troops pulled the
arrows out of the quivers of the fugitives, and used them
against them'. Ikhtiyaru-l Mulk was slain by a trooper
who rode him down, and the wounded Mirza prisoner was
decapitated by his guards, in pursuance of an order obtained
with some difficulty from Akbar by officers who urged the
necessity of the act. The Khan-i-Azam did not come up

until all the fighting was over. Thus in one short, sharp
tussle the back of the rebellion was broken (September 2,
1573). In accordance with the gruesome custom of the times,
a pyramid was built with the heads of the rebels, more than
2,000 in number, who had fallen in the battle.^ Akbar slew
with his own hand a prisoner named Shah Madad who was
identified as having killed Bhupat, the brother of Bhagwan
Das, in the Sarnal affair. The one remaining Mirza of im-
portance, byname Shah Mirza, became a homeless wanderer,
and is heard of no more.
Akbar's return march, although not performed at the
lightning speed of his outward progress, was accomplished
rapidly in about three weeks. He was back in Fathpur-
Sikri within forty-three days from the time he had ridden
out. Considering the distances traversed, Akbar's second
Gujarat expedition may be described safely as the quickest
campaign on record. The victor, spear in hand, rode
proudly into his capital, on Monday, October 6, 1573.
Settle- The revenues of Gujarat not having been paid up properly
Guiarat <luring the period of disturbance, it was necessary to set in
order the finances of the province. That duty was assigned
to the capable hands of Raja Todar Mall, who made a ' settle-
ment of
' the land-revenue, and effected the measurement of
the greater part of the lands in the short space of six months. '
The province, as reorganized, yielded more than five milhons
of rupees annually to the emperor's private treasury, after
the expenses of the administration had been defrayed. The
work so well begun by Raja Todar Mall was continued by
another revenue expert, Shihabu-d din Ahmad Khan, who
was viceroy from 1577 to 1583 or 1584. He re-arranged the
Sarkars or administrative districts, so that sixteen were
included in the province. The conquest of 1573 was &aal,
although disturbances continued to occur. Gujarat remained
• 'JCabakat, In E. & D., v, 368. dead were counted on the field,

Badaoni says ' nearly 1,000 heads ' besides about 500 who perished
(ii, 172). A. N. does not state in the neighbourhood (ill, 87).
the number, but says that 1,200
under the government of imperial viceroys until 1758, when

Ahmadabad was definitely taken by the Marathas.^
About this time (1574) Muzaffar Khan Turbati, who had Adminis-
been in Bairam Khan's service, and had become governor reforms •
of Sarangpur in the Ahmadabad territory, was summoned Muzaffar
to court and entrusted with the duties of Vakil or prime
tninister. Raja Todar Mall served under him in the finance
department. Akbar's system of administration may be
said to have been definitely planned in 1573 and 1574,
immediately after the conquest of Gujarat. The emperor,
in concert with Raja Todar Mall, then ' promulgated the
branding regulation, the conversion of the imperial terri-
tories into crown-lands, and the fixing the grades of the
officers of State '. ^
The ' branding regulation ' means the adoption of a regular
system of branding government horses in order to prevent
fraud. It was based on the institutions of Alau-d din
Khilji and Sher Shah,* and excited the most lively oppo-
sition.
The phrase, ' the conversion of the imperial territories
into crown-lands ', means that the territories were not given
as fiefs (jdgirs) to nobles to be administered by them, subject
merely to the supplying of a fixed number of troops, but that
they were to be administered directly by imperial officials,
who would themselves collect the revenues. The ' fixing
the grades of the officers of State ' means the definite
estabhshment of the official bureaucracy of Amirs and
Mansabdars which will be explained in a later chapter.
These administrative reforms were distasteful to Muzaffar
Khan, who failed to carry out the imperial orders with
loyalty, and consequently was soon removed from his high
• Mirat-i-Ahmadi, in Bayley, mentioned already as having
History of Gujarat (1886), pp. 20, taken part in the intrigues against
22. 20, 82, 00, 342 dams, divided Bairam Khan, and as having
by 40, equal 5,205,008 rupees paid been finance minister for a short
to the private fisc (khalsdh-i- time. Blochmann gives his bio-
sharifah). Full statistical details graphy (J[ire, vol. i, p. 332, No. 26).
are given. See also Bombay ' A. N., iii, 95.
Gazetteer (1896), vol. i, part i, = For Sher Shah see B. & D.,
pp. 265-9. Shihabu-d dta Ahmad iv, 551.
Khan (Shihab Khan) has been
office."^ The revenue arrangements were further developed

by Raja Todar Mall some years later. His system will be
described in due course.
The execution of the reforms above mentioned, interrupted
by the war in Bihar, was resumed in 1575.
' Blochmann gives a full life of MuzaSar Khan Turbati (Ain,

vol. i, p. 348, No. 37).
CHAPTER V
CONQUEST OF BIHAR AND BENGAL ; ESTABLISHMENT OF
THE ' HOUSE OF WORSHIP ' ; AKBAR'S FIRST CONTACT
WITH CHRISTIANITY; ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES;
WAR IN RAJPUTANA.
The provinces of Bengal and Bihar, which had been Bengal

overrun by small Muhammadan armies at the close of the ^'^tory.
twelfth and the beginning of the thirteenth century, con-
tinued to be ruled by governors loosely dependent on the
Sultan of Delhi, but in practice usually independent, until
about 1340, in the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlak, when
the governor openly set himself up as independent king. In
the time of Sher Shah, Afghan chiefs held the country;
Sulaiman Khan, an Afghan of the Kirani or Kararani clan,
being then governor of Bihar.'- In 1564 Sulaiman occupied
Gaur, the capital of the Bengal kings, and so founded a new
and short-lived Bengal dynasty. Finding Gaur to be un-
healthy, hemoved his court to Tanda, a few miles to the south-
west.* He besieged Rohtas, the only place of importance
in Bengal or Bihar which then held out for the emperor.*
When Akbar had sent a small force to relieve the fortress
(1566), Sulaiman thought it prudent not to brave the
imperial wrath. He therefore retired to Bengal and left
the stronghold in the hands of the imperialists.
Sulaiman found it advisable to send valuable presents
from time to time to Akbar, and to recognize his superior
' Kirani <,^\ J) in Tabakat,&c., ' Rohtas, or Rohtasgarh, 24°

Kararam. m. - A.N.
/Vt "j Ba.da.om.
and d a- - 37' N. and 83° 55' E., is now in
^^^ Sasaram (Sahasram) sub-
Blochmann (în, vol. i, p. 171 dj.^gio„ ^jf thg shahabad District
note) says that the form Karzani j^^ gjj^-^ ^j^^ fortress occupies
also occirrs. a plateau with a circumference
' Old Tanda, or Tanra, seems ^j *^nearly 28 miles. Another
to have been cut away by the j^^htas was built by Sher Shah
Bhaâthi (Ganges), and Its exact ^^ ^^^ Jihlam (Jhelum) District,
site IS not ascertainable (i. Cr., pamab.
authority in a certain measure, with which the emperor was
content for the moment.
When Sulaiman died in 1572 (a. h. 980), he is said to have
been ' much regretted by his subjects, and highly respected
by all his contemporaries,' ^
His elder son, Bayazid, who succeeded to the throne, was
killed a few months later by Afghan chiefs, who substituted
Daud, Sulaiman's younger son. That prince, who ' was
a dissolute scamp, and knew nothing of the business of
governing ',^ ' forsook the prudent measures of his father ;
and, assuming all the insignia of royalty, ordered the Khutba
to be proclaimed in his own name through all the towns
of Bengal and Bihar, and directed the coin to be stamped
with his own title, thus completely setting at defiance the
authority of the emperor Akbar '. '
He found himself in possession of immense treasure,
40,000 well-mounted cavalry, 140,000 infantry, 20,000 guns
of various calibres, 3,600 elephants, and several hundred
war-boats — a force which seemed to him sufficient justifica-
tion for a contest with Akbar, whom he proceeded to provoke
by the seizure of the fort of Zamania, erected a few years
before by Khan Zaman, as a frontier post of the empire.*
Akbar' s Akbar, who was in Gujarat when he received the news of
a-for
prepartions
Baud's audacity, at once dispatched orders to Munim Khan,
the cam- Khan Khanan, and the representative of the imperial power
in Jaunpur, to chastise the aggressor. Munim, on receipt
of his sovereign's instructions, assembled a powerful force
and marched on Patna, where he was opposed by Lodi
Khan, an influential Afghan chief, who had placed Daud on
the throne, and now served that prince as minister. Munim
Khan, who was then very old, had lost his energy, and, after
some skirmishing, was content to cease hostilities and grant
Daud extremely lenient terms. Neither of the principal
' Stewart, History of Bengal • Zamania, now a small town
(1813), p. 151. The correct year of the Ghazipur District, U. P.,
of death is 980 (1572), as in situated in 25° 23' N. and 83° 34'
Badaoni (ii, 166), not 981 (1573), E. Khan Zaman (Ali Kuli Khan)
as in Stewart. joined in the Uzbeg rebellion, and
' Tabakat, in E. & D., v, 873. was killed in June 1567.
' Stewart, loc. cit.
BENGAL; ADMINISTRATION 125
parties was pleased. Akbar thought that the Khan Khanan

had been too easy-going, and Daud was jealous of his
minister: The emperor accordingly deputed Raja Todar
Mall, his best general, to take the command in Bihar, making
over the Raja's civil duties as Diwan temporarily to Rai
Ram Das. Daud treacherously killed his minister, Lodi
Khan, and confiscated his property.
Munim Khan, stung by his master's censure, returned
rapidly to Patna and laid siege to the city. But he soon
found the task of taking it to be beyond his powers, and
begged Akbar to come in person and assume charge of the
campaign..
Akbar, who had just returned to the capital after paying
his annual visit to Ajmer, proceeded to Agra in March 1574,
and prepared a fleet of elaborately equipped boats to proceed
down the rivers.
Before we enter upon the description of his doings certain Sundry
miscellaneous occurrences may be noted. On October 22, rences.
1573, the three princes had been circumcised at Fathpur- occur-
Sikri, and a little later a tutor was appointed for Prince
Salim, then more than four years of age. Haji Begam, Huma-
yun's senior widow, who lived a retired Ufe at Delhi, where
she was building her husband's mausoleum, came to court
in order to congratulate Akbar on his victories in Gujarat.
The emperor was so much attached to her that many people
were under the impression that she was his mother. Even
historians often confound her with Hamida Bano Begam.^
Early in 1574 Abu-1 Fazl, whose elder brother Faizi was
already in attendance, presented himself at court, but failed
to attract much attention, everybody being then intent on
the preparations for the campaign in the east. The historian
BadaonI.(Abdu-l Kadir) began his life as a courtier at nearly
the same time.
' Badaoni (Lowe, p. 308), when and good works'. See the author's
noticing
in the death
A. H. 989, of Hajidescribes
A. D. 1581, Begam essay, two
tween entitled ' The of
Consorts Confusion be-
Humayiin,
her as ' a second mother to the namely, Haji alias Bega Begam,
Emperor ... a very pUlar of and Hamida Bano Begam, Mar-
holiness, and purity, and virtue, yam Makani ',in J.iJ.^.S., 1917..
The river On June 15, 1574, Akbar embarked for the river voyage.
voyage, rjij^^ arrangements made for the comfort and convenience
of the emperor and his suite were astonishingly complete;
Two large vessels were appropriated as the residence of
Akbar himself, and were followed by a great fleet convejdng
the high officers with equipment and baggage of every kind.
Even ' gardens, such as clever craftsmen could not make on
land ', were constructed on some of the boats,^ and two
mighty fighting elephants, each accompanied by two
females, were carried.*
Adequate arrangements were carefully made for the
protection of the capital and the conduct of the civil ad-
ministration, during the absence of the sovereign, who was
accompanied by many of his best officers, Hindu and
Muhammadan. The names of nineteen given by Abu-1 Fazl
include Bhagwan Das, Man Singh, Birbal, Shahbaz Khan;
and Kasim Khan, the admiral or ' Mir Bahr '. The rainy
season being then at its height, the voyage was necessarily
adventurous, and many mishaps occurred. Several vessels
foundered off Etawah, and eleven oft Allahabad. After
travelling for twenty-six days Akbar reached Benares,
where he halted for three days. He then proceeded and
anchored near Sayyidpur, where the Gumtl joins the Ganges.
On the same day the army which had marched by land
arrived. The whole movement evidently had been thought
out and executed with consummate skill in the face of
tremendous difficulties due to the weather. The ladies and
children were sent to Jaunpur, and Akbar, in response to
urgent entreaties from Munim Khan that he would be
pleased to come in person with all speed to the front, advanced
to the famous ferry at Chaunsa or Chausa, where his father
had suffered a severe defeat in 1539.* The army was then
brought across to the northern bank of the river.
At this time the receipt of a welcome dispatch announcing
* A. N., iii, 120. village stands close to the east
" Ibid., 123. bank of the Karamnasa river,
' Chausa, in the Buxar sub- four miles to the west of Buxar
division of the Shahabad District, (Baksar).
Bihar, 23° 51' N. and 83° 54'. The
the capture of the strong fortress of Bhakkar (Bukkur) in

Sind naturally was interpreted as an omen of victory in the
east.
Akbar continued his journey by water, and on August 3i Fall of
1574, landed in the neighbourhood of Patna. After taking ^^^"*
counsel with his officers, and ascertaining that the besieged Hajipur.
city relied for the greater part of its supplies on the town
of Hajipur, situated on the opposite or northern bank of
the Ganges, he decided that the capture of that place was
a necessary preliminary to the successful accomplishment
of the main design. The difficulties caused by the flooded
state of the huge river, many miles in width at that season,
and the strenuous resistance of a strongly posted garrison
were overcome, and the fort was captured by the gallantry
of the detachment appointed by Akbar to the duty. The
heads of the Afghan leaders killed were thrown into a boat
and brought to Akbar, who forwarded them to Daud as a hint
of the fate which awaited and in due course befell him.
The same day Akbar ascended the Panj Pahari, or ' Five
Hills ', a group of extremely ancient artificial mounds,
standing about half a mile to the south of the city, and thence
reconnoitred the position.^ Daud, although he still had
at his disposal 20,000 horse, a large park of artillery, and
many elephants, came to the conclusion that he could not
resist the imperial power, and decided on flight. During
the night he slipped out quietly by a back gate and went
to Bengal. The garrison, which attempted to escape in
the darkness, suffered heavy losses in the process. Akbar
was eager to start at once, but was persuaded to wait until
the morning, when he entered Patna by the Delhi gate. He
then personally pursued the fugitives for about thirty kos,
' The Panj Pahari, or ' Five cupolas, either Jain or Buddhist.
Hills ', is b, group of ruins, lying They seem to date from the time
half a mile to the south of Patna of the Nandas, before the Mauryas.
and the same distance to the south- The site has never been examined
east of Kumrahar, where the properly. Some years ago Dr.
palace of Chandragupta Maurya Fflhrer did damage by ill-con-
probably stood. They extend sidered and futile excavations,
from north to south about three The Tabakat (E. & D., v, 378) is
furlongs, and evidently are the the authority for the fact of the
remains of solid slupas ox sacred reconnaissance.
or quite fifty miles, but failed to overtake them. An enormous
amount of booty, including 265 elephants, was taken, and
the common people enjoyed themselves picking up purses of
gold and articles of armour in the streams and on the banks.
The capture of so great a city in the middle of the rainy
season was an almost unprecedented achievement and a pain-
ful surprise to the Bengal prince. He had reckoned on Akbar
following the good old Indian custom of waiting until the
Dasahara festival in October to begin a campaign. But
Akbar resembled his prototype, Alexander of Macedon,
in his complete disregard of adverse weather conditions,
and so was able to win victories in defiance of the shdstras
and the seasons.^
Prosecu- The question now came up for decision whether the cam-
tion of
campaign should be prosecuted notwithstanding the rains, or
paign ; postponed until the cold season. Opinions were divided,
Alibar's
return. but Akbar had no hesitation in deciding that delay could
not be permitted. Accordingly, he organized an additional
army of more than 20,000 men, entrusting the supreme
command to old Munim Khan who was appointed governor
of Bengal. Raja Todar Mall and other capable officers were
placed under his orders. Jaunpur, Benares, Chunar, and
certain other territories were brought under the direct
administration of the Crown {Khdlsa), and officers were
appointed to govern them on behalf of Akbar. He resolved
to return to his capital, leaving the Bengal campaign to be
conducted by his generals.
Late in September, while he was encamped at Khanpur
in the Jaunpur district, he received dispatches announcing
the success of Munim Khan. The emperor arrived at
Fathpur-Sikri on January 18, 1575, after seven months of
strenuous travelling and campaigning.
Munim The accounts received from the commander-in-chief
Khan's
advance showed that the operations ordered had been successful
into
beyond all expectation. Mungir (Monghyr), Bhagalpur,
Bengal.
* ' Neither winter nor difficul- was impossible for Alexander, if
ties hindered Alexander . . . he
vii, undertook
15). it ' (Arrian, Anah.,
Nothing in the business of war
Khalgaon (Colgong), and the formidable Garhi or Teliagarhi

Pass were seized in succession, after only feeble resistance.
The pass, lying between the Rajmahal Hills on the south
and the Ganges on the north, and regarded as ' the gate of
Bengal \ was turned by a detachment sent round by a path
not in ordinary use. Once the pass had been traversed the
imperiahsts experienced no difficulty in entering Tanda,
the capital of Bengal.^ Daud retired in the direction of
Orissa, through Satgaon, which was occupied without
opposition by Muhammad Kull Khan Barlas.^
The prospect of pursuing Daud over bad roads into the
wilds of Orissa was so distasteful to the troops and their
commanders that dissensions broke out, and Raja Todar
Mall found it hard to persuade his colleagues to push ouj
as they were required to do by express written orders from
Akbar. Ultimately, Munim Khan (Khan Khanan), who was
old and sluggish, and had stayed behind, was constrained
to come to the front and press the advance under his
personal command. A road easier than that chosen at first
was made passable for troops*
The army accordingly was able to evade the obstacles Battle of
prepared by the enemy and to enter Orissa. On March 3, êatv°' '
1575, the battle decisive of the fate of Bengal was fought with
near the village of Tukaroi, now in the Balasore District, " "
Ijring between Midnapur and Jalesar or Jellasore. The
action was forced on Munim Khan, who was compelled to
engage before he was ready. In the early stages of the conflict
the imperialist commander received several severe wounds
and victory seemed assured to the Bengal army. But later
in the day the fall of DaHd's general, Gujar Khan, caused
fortune to change sides and brought about the total defeat
of Daud, who fled from the field.
Munim Khan, following the barbarous fashion of the times,
' The pass is now in the San- village near Hooghly (HQgli), was
tal (Sonthal) Farganas District, the principal commercial river
Tanda, as already mentioned, port of the province in those days,
stood a few miles to the south-west Its ruin was brought about by
of Gaur, in the region now known the silting up of the river channel
as the Malda District. and the consequent removal of
* Satgaon, now an insignificant the public offices in 1632.
1846 V
massacred his prisoners, whose heads were sufficiently
numerous to furnish ' eight sky-high minarets '.^
Shortly afterwards (April 12) Munim Khan accepted the
formal submission of Daud and again granted him liberal
terms, leaving him in possession of Orissa. Raja Todar Mall,
who perceived the insincerity of the enemy, opposed the
treaty and refused to sign it. Subsequent occurrences proved
the soundness of his judgement.
At this point we may quit Bengal for a time and turn to
the consideration of events happening elsewhere.
Famine The recently annexed province of Gujarat, which enjoys
and
lencepesti-
in^j^^ reputation
'^ of being^ less liable to the visitations of famine
Gujarat, than most parts of India, suffered severely from both famine
and pestilence in the nineteenth year of the reign, 1574-5,
while Akbar was engaged on the Patna campaign. The
one brief notice of the calamity records the bare facts that
the famine and epidemic lasted for nearly six months, that
prices rose to an extreme height, and that horses and cows
were reduced to feeding on the bark of trees. We are not
informed concerning the nature of the epidemic disease.^
The Akbar, on arrival at his capital in January 1575, found
?W^^- Pl^^ty of occupation. Within a month after his return
ship ', or home he issued orders for the erection of a ' House of
khina'' Worship ' ('Ibddat-khdna),
the accommodation a building
of selected persons specially designed
representing for
various
schools of Muslim theological and philosophical thought,
where they could discuss with freedom the most abstruse
problems under the presidency of the sovereign. Akbar
from early youth had been passionately interested in the
mystery of the relation between God and man, and in all
the deep questions concerned with that relation.
' Discourses on philosophy ', he said, ' have such a charm
for me that they distract me from all else, and I forcibly
restrain myself from listening to them, lest the necessary
duties of the hour should be neglected.' '
When he came home to his capital at the beginning of
• A. N., iii, 180. • ' Happy Sayings ', in Aln,

' âbakdt, in E. & D., v, 384. vol. iii, p. 386.
1575 he was conscious of having gained a long succession

of remarkable and decisive victories which left him without
an important enemy in the world as known to him. We
are told that at this time he ' spent whole nights in praising
God. . . . His heart was full of reverence for Him, who is the
true Giver, and from a feehng of thankfulness for his past
successes he would sit many a morning alone in prayer and
meditation on a large flat stone of an old building which lay
near the palace in a lovely spot, with his head bent over his
chest, gathering the bUss of the early hours of dawn '.^
Thus he felt himself at leisure and free to indulge his passion
for unlimited discussion of all things in heaven and earth.
His resolve to erect a building devoted to such discussion
was encouraged by stories told about the practice of Baud's
father, Sulaiman Kiranl, the late ruler of Bengal, who had
been in the habit of sitting up all night in the company of
a hundred and fifty renowned ascetic Shaikhs and learned
Ulama, or doctors of Muslim law. Moreover, Akbar expected
a visit from a distant relative, Sulaiman Mirza, the exiled
chief of Badakhshan, driven from his kingdom by the Uzbegs,
who was deeply versed in the pantheistic mysticism of
the unorthodox Sufi thinkers, and was reputed to have
attained the position of a ' Saliib-i-hal ', that is to say, a man
capable of experiencing a state of ecstasy and intimate union
with God.
Accordingly, the emperor instructed skilful architects to
design and clever builders to construct with all speed in the
gardens of the palace near the dwelling of Shaikh Salim
a building suitable for the proposed debates. The nucleus
of the new edifice was the deserted cell or hermitage of
Miyan or Shaikh Abdullah Niyazi of Sirhind, a renowned
ascetic, who had been at one time a disciple of Salim, but had
retired to Sirhind. Akbar caused the vacant hermitage to
be rebuilt, and on all four sides of it a hall to be erected
for the accommodation of his numerous holy visitors. No
visible trace of the building remains, nor is its exact position
known, but, apparently, it must have stood to the north-
> Badaoni, ii, 203.
K2
west of the great mosque built for Shaikh Salim in 1571,

and in a locality where gardens still exist.^ The structure,
which gave scope for the exercise of the skill of eminent
architects, must have been of considerable dimensions and
graced by appropriate ornament.
We are told that Akbar on Thursday evenings after
sunset, reckoned as part of Friday in the MusUm calendar,
would ' go from the new chapel of the Shaikh-ul-Islam [scil.
Salim] and hold a meeting in this building '. That statement
seems to mean that the emperor used to go from the precincts
of the great mosque to the House of Worship, as he could
do conveniently by passing through a door which probably
existed at the back of the mosque.^
The The persons invited to share in and hsten to the debates
Mes" were confined at first to Muslims of four classes, namely :
at the (1) Shaikhs, that is to say, ascetic holy men who claimed
Worship. ^^^ privilege of special communion with God, hke the der-
vishes of Syria and Egypt ; (2) Sayyids, or eminent reputed
descendants of the Prophet ; (3) Ulama, or doctors learned in
the law ; and (4) Amirs, selected nobles of the court inter-
ested in the subjects discussed. The building consisted of
a single spacious chamber, capable presumably of accommo-
dating two or three hundred people, and built round the
remodelled cell of Shaikh Abdullah. At the early meetings
persons belonging to all the four classes named were mingled
• See general plan prefixed to his own hut, and where the prince
each volume or part of E. W. who bore his name was born '
Smith's work on Fathpur-SikrI. (Latif, Agra, p. 154). Two small
2 ' At the back of the mosque openings in the rear or western
is an enclosure, containing a small wall of the mosque are indicated
tomb of an infant. This, the in the plan. For detailed discus-
legend goes, is the tomb of an sion of the position of the House
infant son of Shaikh Salim, aged of Worship see my paper, ' The
six months. ... In the debris Site and Design of Akbar's
about here will be found a door ^ Ibadat-KMna or " House of Wor-
leading to a cave which was the ship " ' (J. B. A. S., 1917). The
original abode of the saint before authorities are : Badaoni, ii, 203
the spot attracted the attention (tr. Lowe) ; iii, 73, 74 (tr. Haig,
of royalty. The place is also No. XXII) ; Tabakdt, in E. & D.,
pointed out where he used to v, 390 ; A. N., vol. iii, p. 157.
teach his pupils, as also the place The Tabakat states that the
where the holy man persuaded building was ' in the gardens of
the royal couple to take up their the palace '.
abode in the neighbourhood of
promiscuously, but when disputes arose about seats and

the order of precedence the emperor was obliged to assign
separate quarters to each class of guests. The Amirs occupied
the eastern side, where the main entrance probably existed ;
the Sayyids were on the west ; the Shaikhs on the north ; and
the Ulama on the south. The four quarters of the building
are sometimes spoken of as distinct ' halls ' (aiwan), but it
is certain that they formed only a single chamber, with the
' cell ', probably a small domed structure, in the centre.
The four sections may have been partitioned off one from
the other by light railings, perforated screens, or curtains.
No difficulty existed in passing from one section to another.
Akbar was in the habit of moving about freely, and chatting
with his visitors of all shades of opinion. The debates were
of portentous length. Beginning at some time after sunset
on Thursday evening, which counts as part of Friday
according to the Muhammadan calendar, they were often
prolonged until noon on that day. Akbar usually presided
in person, but sometimes, when he felt tired, would be
represented by some courtier selected for his tact and good
temper.
In those days Akbar, although much inclined to rational-
istic and unorthodox speculation, especially that of the Sufi
schools saturated with pantheistic ideas, was still a practising
and to some extent a believing Musalman. The guests in
the House of Worship, consequently, were representative of
the diverse sections of Muslim thought only, and originally
did not include Hindus or other non-Muslim persons. But
two or three years later, certainly in 1578, Hindus, Christians,
and adherents of divers reUgions were admitted. We do
not know how long the building continued in use. I suspect
that after 1579 or 1580 it must have ceased to be the scene
of the more extended debates which then took place and were
apparently carried on in other premises, usually the private
hall of audience, where men of all rehgions could meet.
The House of Worship was designed for the use of Muslims
only. The presumed early disuse of the structure may be
the explanation of its total disappearance and of the loss of
any recollection of its site. It is not unlikely that it was

deliberately pulled down by the orders of Akbar himself. "^
The controversies between the innumerable sects and schools
of Islam can have had little interest for Akbar when he
ceased to be a Musalman. His definite apostasy may be
dated from the beginning of 1582, after his return in December
1581 from his victorious expedition to Kabul, and his release
from the intense anxiety caused by his brother's attempt
earlieT in that year to seize the throne of India,^ which will
be described in the next chapter. The emperor, once he was
finally freed from the dread of deposition and death, felt
himself at liberty to proceed with his plan for establishing
that universal religion which he foohshly dreamed of im-
posing on his whole empire, under the name of the Divine
Religion or Divine Monotheism. From that time he cannot
be regarded as a Musalman. The development of Akbar's
opinions on religion will be discussed more fully in subsequent
pages.
Pilgrim'
&fCS to However unorthodox Akbar might be, the numerous
Mecca. ladies of his family, especially his mother, Hamida Bano
Begam, and his father's sister, Gulbadan Begam, were
extremely devout Muslims and hostile to all innovation.*
The latter lady, who had long been desirous to make the
pilgrimage to Mecca, had been prevented from attaining
her desire earlier by the insecurity of the roads and the
dangers from Portuguese piracy at sea. The reduction of
Gujarat to a tolerable state of order, and the nature of the
relations with the authorities of Goa in 1575 were considered
to justify Gulbadan Begam in then proceeding on pilgrimage.
She started early in October, accompanied by ten distin-
1 See my paper, ' The Site and simile facevano le tante mogli,
Design otAkhaT^s'Ibadat-lchdna, or ehe haveva, dubitando di esser
" House of Worship " ' (J.R.A.S., repudiate' (Peruschi, p. 31). Or,
1917). freely rendered : ' His mother,
' ' Assoluto da un gran timore ' his aunt, and certain great lords
(Bartoli, p. 75). of the court had an innate hatred
' ' Sua Madre, & sua Zia, & for the Christian religion which
alcuni di quei gran Signori, che they represented as being nasty
aveva intorno . . . per I'odio, che and evil. His numerous wives,
naturalmente hanno alia Religione afraid of being repudiated, adop-
Christiana, & per6 glie la dipin- ted the same attitude.'
gevano brutta, & cattiva, & il
guished ladies, of whom the chief was Salima Sultan Begam,

Bairam Khan's widow, who had married Akbar and borne
to him Prince Murad. Elaborate and successful precautions
were taken for the safety of the travellers during their long
journey to the coast, but the Portuguese did not prove so
amenable to the imperial wishes as had been expected.
The ladies were detained at Surat for about a year before
they could obtain a satisfactory pass guaranteeing them
against molestation on the voyage. Ultimately, they got
away safely, performed the pilgrimage, and landed again in
India early in 1582. Gulbadan Begam, who wrote Memoirs
of considerable interest, unfortunately did not take the
trouble to describe in detail her experiences as a pilgrim.
Akbar not only made ample provision for the comfort and
safety of his female relatives, but also sent at the same time
a large party of male pilgrims under the charge of a leader
(Mir Haji), well furnished Avith funds. That novel and
costly arrangement was continued for five or six years,
and Akbar even professed a desire to go on pilgrimage in
person. He yielded with apparent unwillingness to the
advice of his ministers, who pointed out that he could not
possibly quit his kingdom without incurring grave dangers.^
The emperor was so zealous, whether from conviction or
policy, during those six years (about 1575-81) that he issued
a general order to the effect that any one who wished might
go on pilgrimage at the expense of the treasury. Many
persons took advantage of the opportunity. ' But ', adds
BadaonI, when writing late in the reign, ' the reverse is now
the case, for he cannot now bear even the name of such
a thing ; and merely to ask leave to go on a pilgrimage is
enough to make a man a malefactor worthy of death. " We
alternate these days among men." ' * In or about October
1576 Akbar, when sending off Sultan Khwaja as leader of
the pilgrim caravan through Rajputana, himself donned
the pilgrim's garb {ihram), and made a symbolical pilgrimage
■ E. & D., V, 401 ; A.N., iii, cause these days o/rfi/feren< success
269-71. interchangeably to succeed each
' Badaoni, ii, 246. Sale renders other among men ' (Koran, iii,
the text more diffusely as : ' We 134).
by walking after the Khwaja for a few paces.^ The sincerity

of that theatrical demonstration may be reasonably doubted.
We shall see presently that at a sKghtly later date Akbar
deliberately shammed devotion for political purposes.
Akbar's In this connexion it will be convenient to notice Akbar's
first con- earliest dealings with Christians and Christianity.
tact with
Chris- The first Europeans with whom he became acquainted
tianity.
personally were the Portuguese merchants whom he met at
Cambay towards the end of 1572. A Kttle later, early in
1573, when Akbar was at Surat, hostilities between him and
the Portuguese seemed to be imminent, but peace was nego-
tiated successfully by Antonio Cabral, under the direction
of Dom Antonio de Noronha, the Viceroy, as already noted.
In 1576, the year following the erection of the House of
Worship, Akbar- obtained a favourable impression of the
Christian character and religion, on learning that two
missionary priests, recently arrived in Bengal, had refused
absolution to their converts for committing frauds on the
revenue by withholding shipping dues and the imperial share
of the harvest. The remonstrances of the priests having
effected a marked improvement in the provincial revenue,
Akbar was so much pleased that he remitted the arrears
found to be due. The incident convinced him that Christian
principles, which condemned dishonesty, even when practised
against an ahen government, must possess exceptional
value and influence over the hearts of men.^
Father At that time Father Julian Pereira was Vicar-General in
Julian
Pereira, Bengal, and stationed at Satgaon. Akbar sent for him.
• The ihram consists of two Anthony Vaz and Peter Dias, and
seamless pieces of white cloth, were Jesuits. The first Augus-
one wrapped round the loins, and tinian missionaries did not reach
the other worn on the body, the Bengal until 1599. They laid
right shoulder and the head being the foundation stone of their
left bare. A woodcut of a man church dedicated to Our Lady of
wearing it is given by Hughes the Rosary at Bandel (Hiigli) on
(Diet, of Islam, s.v.). Pilgrims August 15 of that year (Hosten,
assume the ihram when starting ' A Week at the Bandel Convent,
on the last stage of the Mecca Hugli,' in Bengal Past and Present,
road. vol. X, January-March 1915,
^ Bartoli, p. 7. The two priests, p. 43 ; De Sousa, in Commen-
the earliest missionaries to Bengal, tarius, p. 544).
arrived in 1 576. Thev were named
and when he came to court questioned him closely about Vicar-

Christian doctrine. The worthy Father, being a man of ^d'^''''''
more .. piety
, , than. learning,
.^ , was unable to satisfy the emperor's Tavires.
Pietro
insatiable curiosity.^
Akbar had already, in 1577, consulted Pietro Tavilres,
a Portuguese officer in his service, who either was then,
or soon afterwards became, the captain or commandant of
the port of Hugli (Hooghly).^ Naturally, he too was ill-
qualified to answer correctly the various conundrums
proposed to him.
The Portuguese occupation of Daman, a port on the coast Antonio
of the Gulf of Cambay, which had been seized by the foreigners pathpur*
in 1558, was always disagreeable to the Mogul court after Sikri.
the conquest of Gujarat in 1573. Friction between the
imperial authorities in the province and the Portuguese
constantly took place. We have seen that armed conflict
was averted with some difficulty at the beginning of 1573,
when Akbar was encamped near Surat. A few years later
trouble was renewed, and Akbar sent an embassy to Goa to
arrange terms of peace. In 1578 the Viceroy (Dom Diogo
de Menezes) responded by accrediting to Akbar's court
as his ambassador the same Antonio Cabral who had con-
ducted the satisfactory negotiations in 1573. He spent
some time at Fathpur-Sikri, and was able to give the emperor
a considerable amount of information concerning Christian
' ' Huomo di maggior virtii, che * For Tavares see Manrique,
sapete ' (Bartoli, p. 9). The pp. 13, 14 ; and Hosten (J. cfc
Christian name of the Vicar- Proc. A. S. B., 1911, 34 ; 1912,
General was Giullano (Julian), p. 218 n.). He appears in A. N.,
as stated by Monserrate and Hi, 349, as Partab-tar Firing^,
Peruschi. Goldie (p. 56), citing scil. European. Between 1578
Guerreiro, calls him Giles Aves. and 1580 Akbar seems to have
Bartoli gives the same names in made to him a grant of land,
the form Egidio Anes, Egidio being probably coincident in whole or
a Latinized version of Giles. De in part with a plot of 777 bighas
Sousa disguises him as Gileanas granted by Shah Shuja in 1633,
Pereyra (Or. Conq., vol. ii, C. I, of which the Fathers still retain
D. II, sec. 44, as cited by Hosten nearly half (Hosten, A Week, &c.,
in Commentarius,
still at court whenp. 544). He mis-
the first was ut supra, inpp.1578
mission 40, was
48, 106).
quite Cabral's
distinct
sion, that headed by Aquaviva, from his negotiation in 1573. The
arrived (ibid., p. 560). He was Bengal bigha is about one-third
not a Jesuit, and may have been of an acre,
a secular priest.
manners and customs ; but, being a layman, he was not

in a position to expound with authority the deeper matters
of the faith. Akbar, accordingly, was impelled to make
arrangements for obtaining instruction from fully quahfied
experts. The action taken and its results will be described
in the next chapter.
Adminis- During the interval of comparative leisure which Akbar
meliures. enjoyed in 1575 and 1576, after his victorious return from
Patna, and before the beginning of fresh troubles, he did
not confine his superabundant energy to theological dis-
cussions and the encouragement of pilgrimages to Mecca,
but also paid much attention to certain administrative
reforms, which had been planned before the war in Bihar.
The regulations about branding the horses belonging to
the government, introduced by Shahbaz Khan for the pre-
vention offraud, continued to be sullenly frustrated by local
officials whose perquisites were threatened.^ Mirza Aziz Koka,
Akbar's favourite foster-brother, was so particularly hostile
to the measure that Akbar was obliged to confine him to
his garden-house at Agra. It would seem that nothing
like complete obedience to the rules was ever attained.
The roster of the watches of the palace guard was re-
arranged, and a Mir Arzi, or Receiver of Petitions, was
appointed as a permanent member of the household.
A record office was organized, so that ' whatever proceeded
from the court should be recorded '.^ The record-room at
Fathpur-Sikri still exists. It is a fine room, 48^ feet long
by 28| feet wide, with a spacious verandah, and stands to
the south of Akbar's bedroom. The space provided, although
not inconsiderable, appears to be very scanty according to
modern European notions.* The records, or at any rate
a large part of them, used to be carried about with the
imperial camp.
The arrangements made concerning the collection and
assessment of the land revenue, or government share of the
' For a full biography of Shah- » A. N., iii, 167, 208.

baz Khan Kambu see Am, vol. i, ' Falhpur-Sikn, iii, pp. 41-3,
pp. 399-402, No. 80. PI. LXVIII.
2^
•■i—i
as
<
Pi
o
o
jÎ
Q
O
o
BENGAL ; ADMINISTRATION 139
crops, were more important. They were based on orders

passed in previous years and were subsequently modified
by Raja Todar Mall.
In 1575-6 the new idea which came into Akbar's mind Institu-
was to divide the empire (with certain exceptions) into Karons,
blocks, each yielding a haror (' crore ' = 10 miUions) of tankas,
and placed under charge of an officer termed Karorl, whose
duty it would be to encourage cultivation and so increase the
revenue. Every pargana, or ' barony ', was to be measured,
and the measurement was actually begun near the capital.
Bamboo measuring rods fitted with iron rings were substi-
tuted for the less accurate rope previously used.
The extensive provinces of Bengal, Bihar, and Gujarat
being excluded from the new organization, and many regions
subsequently annexed not having been then conquered,
182 Amils or Karons sufficed for the empire. Abu-1 Fazl,
as usual, attributes much virtue to the reform, declaring
that ' men's minds were quieted and also the cultiva-
tion increased, and the path of fraud and falsehood
was closed '.^
» A. N., iii, 167 ; Tabakat, in the following observations of

E. & D., V, 383. The value of Mr. Stanley Lane-Poole :
a tanks or tankah is variously ' The term tankah [or tanka]
stated. Abu-1 Fazl (Ain, Bk. i, appears to be used just as vaguely
Ain 2; Blochmann, vol. i, p. 13) as fiilus, both for dams of 315 to
treats it as being synonymous 325 grs., and double dams of
with the copper coin called dam, 618 to 644 grs. Mr. Rodgers
of which 40 went to the rupee states that his weights prove that
(ibid., p. 31). De Laet (reprint, the tankah was equal to two
p. 135) reckoned 30 copper ' tackae ' dams ; but I do not draw the
to the rupee. But the same same inference. AH [that] his
author (or rather van den Broecke, weights prove is that some
p. 206) reckons 20 ' tangas ' to tankahs weighed about 630 grs.,
the rupee : ' xx tangas in singulas and others about 320 grs. He
rupias computando '. According publishes a coin specifically named
to that reckoning the tanga would an eighth of a tankah, weighing
be a double dam. That valuation nearly 40 grs., which brings
agrees with certain coin legends, as the tankah to 320 grs., and also
for example, No. 412 of Wright's sixteenths of 38-5 grs., which would
Catalogue, Zarb Dihli mm tankah make it 616 grs.' (Stanley Lane-
Akbar Shahl (' half-tankah '), Poole, B. M. Catal. Mughal Coins,
weight 315 grains, a normal 1892, p. xciii).
weight for a dam. Quarter So far as the institution of the
tankahs also occur, e. g.. No. 558, Karoris is concerned, the point
weight, 158-7 grs. The dis- must be decided by the testimony
crepancies in the authors cited of Abu-1 Fazl, who says {A%n,
above are partly explained by loc. cit.), ' zealous and upright
Badaoni, on the other hand, gives an account quite

different, and presumably nearer to the truth than Abu-1
Fazl's courtly phrases :
' One Karor was named Adampur, another Shethpur,
another 'Ayytibpur, and so on, according to the names of
the various prophets [Adam, Seth, Job, &c.]. Officers were
appointed, but eventually they did not carry out the regula-
tions as they ought to have done. A great portion of the
country was laid waste through the rapacity of the Karoris ;
the wives and children of the raiyats [peasantry] were sold
[as slaves] and scattered abroad, and everything was thrown
into confusion.
' But the Karoris were brought to account by Raja
Todar Mall, and many good men died from the severe
beatings which were administered, and from the tortures
of the rack and pincers. So many died from protracted
confinement in the prisons of the revenue authorities, that
there was no need of the executioner or swordsman, and
no one cared to find them graves or grave-clothes.
' Their condition was like that of the devout Hindus in
the country of Kamrup [Assam], who, having dedicated
themselves to their idol, live for one year in the height of
luxury, enjoying everything that comes to their hands;
but, at the end of the period, one by one, they go and
assemble at the idol temple, and cast themselves under the
wheels of its car, or offer up their heads to the idol.' ^
The ordinary histories lavish so much praise on the revenue
reforms effected by Akbar and Todar Mall, and on the
merits of the imperial administration generally, that it is
startling to read a criticism so severe. Although Badaoni
men were put in charge of the the 182 jurisdictions, excluding
revenues, each over one karor Bihar, Bengal, and Gujarat. In
of dams '. For that purpose, Berar the tankah was reckoned
therefore, the tankd of Badaoni as equal to eight of that current
(ii, 192) must apparently be at Delhi, and other variations
considered as a synonym for the existed in other provinces (Aln,
dam of Abu-1 Fazl, and equal in vol. ii, p. 231).
value to the fortieth part of a silver * Badaoni, ii, 192, with correc-
rupee. Each karori, consequently, tions as on p. vi. The artificial
was supposed to collect 10,000,000 Karons' jurisdictions were soon
dams or tankahs -j- 40 = 250,000 abandoned, and the ordinary
rupees ; or two lakhs and a half, local divisions again became the
not a very considerable siun, units of administration. The
equivalent to about from £25,000 author's ' good men ' should be
to £28,000 ; the total amounting interpreted as meaning ' orthodox
to £4,500,000 or £5,000,000 for Muslims'.
had his personal grievances against both Akbar and Todar

Mall, and was embittered by the most rancorous bigotry,
it is not possible, I think, to disregard his testimony in this
matter as being merely the malicious invention of a disap-
pointed courtier and exasperated fanatic. He may be fairly
described in those terms, but his statements of fact, when
they can be checked from other sources, seem to be usually
correct. I fear it is true that the new system of revenue
administration must be regarded as a grievous failure,
resulting in shocking oppression of the helpless peasantry
and cruel punishment of the local oppressors, the wrongdoing
on both sides being directed to the purpose of screwing money
out of the people, rather than to anything else. The case
must remain at that, because no details have been recorded,
and verification either of Abu-1 Fazl's flattering phrases or
of Badaoni's savage denunciation is impossible.
In those days Akbar also systematized the grades of The
official rank and the conditions of promotion. The imperial fffic/als.°
officials were known as Mansabdars, that word meaning
simply ' official ', and were classed in thirty-three grades
as ' commanders of ten horse ' and so on, up to ' commanders
of 5,000 '. The statement that, in the fifteenth year of the
reign (1570-1) Baz Bahadur, the ex-king of Malwa, sub-
mitted to Akbar and was content to accept the rank of
' commander of 1,000 ', is the earliest reference to the
existence of the grades of mansabdars in Akbar's reign
which I have found. But the title of mansabdar had been
conferred by both Babur and Humayiin in accordance with
Persian precedent. The new arrangements, which had been
planned before the war in Bihar, as already mentioned, were
actually put into effect in 1575. The clearest contemporary
description of the measures then taken is that given by
Badaoni as follows :
' It was settled that every Amir should commence as

commander of twenty {Bisti), and be ready with his followers
to mount guard, carry messages, &c., as had been ordered ;
and when, according to the rule, he had brought the horses
of his twenty troopers to be branded, he was then to be
made a commander of 100 (Sadi), or of more. They were

likewise to keep elephants, horses, and camels in proportion
to their command (mansab), according to the same rule.
When they had brought to the muster their new contingent
complete, they were to be promoted according to their
merits and circumstances to the post of commander of 1,000
(Hazdrl), or 2,000 (Duhazdn), or even of 5,000 (Panjhazdri),
which is the highest command ; ^ but if they did not do
well at the musters, they were to be degraded.' ^
The essence of the system was that Akbar undertook to
administer the empire by about 1,600 salaried superior
officials directly amenable to himself alone, rather than, as
his predecessors had done, through jagirdars, each in posses-
sion of a definite fief or jagir, a tract of land adminis-
tered by him. The new system immensely enhanced the
autocratic power and wealth of the monarch, and so was
agreeable to Akbar who loved both power and riches.
The titles ' commander of 100 ', and so on, simply indicated
grades of rank and pay. The actual number of horsemen
which a mansabdar was required to furnish depended on
elaborate rules which were varied from time to time. The
ranks above 5,000 were ordinarily confined to princes of
the imperial family.
The subject will be noticed more fully in the chapter
devoted to the description of Akbar's administrative system.
In this place I desire to emphasize the facts that his system
had been formulated in 1573-4 after the conquest of Gujarat,
and that it was carried into effect more or less completely
in 1575, after the emperor's victorious return from Patna.
But it must be clearly understood that the actual execution
' In the earlier part of the reign sacred by the Persians (J. R. A. S.,
none but princes of the blood royal 1915, p. 448).
held commands above 5,000. ^ Badaoni, ii, 193. He gives
In the 45th year, after the con- details of some of the tricks
quest of Orissa, Raja Man Singh practised, indications of which
was raised to the rank of 7,000. may also be found in the Aln.
A little later Mirza Shahrukh The author of that work always
and Mirza Aziz Kokah were pretends to believe that every
elevated to the same dignity regulation produced the effect
(Blochmann, Aln, vol. i, p. 341). intended, and was efficiently
There were nominally 66 grades, administered by officials gifted
but actually only 33 (ibid., p. 238). with all the virtues.
The number 33 was held specially
BENGAL J ADMINISTRATION 143
of the imperial orders was extremely imperfect from first

to last, all sorts of evasions and frauds being continually
practised with considerable success. Akbar was well aware
that he must wink at a good deal of attempted deception.
The duties of the mansabdars included civil as well as miUtary
administration.
We now return to the story of the conquest of Bengal. Death of
Although the battle of Tukaroi on March 3, 1575, had been KhanT
decisive of the fate of the province at the moment, the ill- Khan
•1 11- oi t ■, -.r • -rj-i Khanan,
considered lemency of the terms granted by Mumm Khan October
in April against the advice of Raja Todar Mall enabled l^^\l j
Daud to retain the command of considerable forces, and Daud.
encouraged him to await an opportunity for recovering his
independence. The opportunity was not slow in coming.
Munim Khan, Khan Khanan, whatever may have been
his merits in earlier life, was at this time a jealous, obstinate
old man, about eighty years of age.^ Muzaffar Khan, who
had been in disgrace, but had regained favour at court
by harrying rebels in Bihar, and had consequently been
appointed governor of Hajipur, with orders to guard the
whole territory from Chausa to the pass of Teliya Garhi, was
specially disliked by the Khan Khanan. Akbar's support
maintained Muzaftar Khan in his position, but the discord
between the two commanders weakened the imperialists.
The Ghoraghat region, now in the Dinajpur District,
being much disturbed, Munim Khan desired that his head-
quarters should be near the scene of disturbance. He was
also attracted by the fine buildings of Gaur, which he hoped
to restore, and for those reasons decided to move his court
' For his life see Ain, vol. i, date, nearly correctly, as A. H.
p. 317, No. 11. But the great 975 = a.d.1567. The architect was
bridge of ten arches at Jaunpur Afzal All Kabul!. The inscrip-
which forms his enduring memorial tions are published in full in
was not built in a. h. 981 = a. d. ch. ii of E. W. Smith and Fiihrer,
1573-4, as stated by Blochmann The Sharqi Architecture of Jaun-
on the strength of a cluonogram. pur, 1889. One of the records
Six inscriptions on the bridge is dated a. h. 975. The frontis-
prove that it was begun in a. h. piece to the work cited is a fine
972 and finished in 976, corre- view of the bridge. Munim Khan
sponding respectively with a. d. erected many other buildings at
1564 and 1568. Beale gives the Jaunpur.
back from Tanda to the ancient capital. Remonstrances

from his officers, who pointed out the poisonous nature of
the Gaur climate, were of no avail, and Munim Khan carried
out his purpose. In that year an epidemic was prevalent in
the eastern provinces — ' a strong wind of destruction ', as
Abu-1 Fazl calls it. At Gaur the strong wind ' amounted
to a typhoon ', and in October swept away Munim Khan
with multitudes of his officers and men. ' Things came to such
a pass ', says Badaoni, ' that the living were unable to bury
the dead, and threw them head-foremost into the river. '^
Pending the orders of the emperor, the army elected a stop-
gap commander, but nobody really competent was available,
and the officers thought only of getting out of odious Bengal
with their booty as qtiickly as possible. They quarrelled
constantly among themselves and retired into Bihar. It
seemed as if Bengal must be lost. Daud, encouraged by the
dissensions among the imperiaUsts, did not scruple to break
the treaty and reoccupy the country, even including the
important TeUya Garhl Pass.
Arrange- When Akbar received news of these unpleasant events, he
Mimpaisn thought at first of sending Mirza Sulaiman, the Badakhshan
against exile, to Bengal. That prince having declined the offer, the
emperor, on second thoughts, made a wiser choice. He
selected as Munim Khan's successor, Khan Jahan (Husain
Kuli Khan), governor of the Panjab. That officer, who was
preparing an expedition for the reconquest of Badakhshan,
was obliged to abandon that project and hasten eastwards.
He was succeeded in the Panjab by Shah Kuli Khan Mahram,
the captor of Hemu twenty years earlier. Khan Jahan,
who was vested with full powers, intercepted at Bhagalpur
the retreating Bengal officers, and with the help of Raja
Todar Mall, who had arrived from the capital, bearing
Akbar's instructions, succeeded in bringing the mutineers
die1 inMunim
Gaur. Khan did not
He had actually
moved back as
namesone of
of ' which
various itdiseases,
would the
be
to Tanda shortly before his difficult to know '. The vagueness
decease. The precise nature of of the description suggests that
the epidemic is not recorded, the trouble was due to varieties of
Badaoni describes the visitation malarial fever.
back to their duty. The strategically valuable pass of

Teliya Garhi was recovered, and Daud was completely
surprised by the energy of the new viceroy. Khan Jahan
estabUshed himself at Ak Mahal, afterwards named Rajmahal,
in a position strong by nature, and easily defensible, which
recommended itself to later governors as the most suitab' •
capital of Bengal.^ Military operations being hampered by
the rains, Akbar sent the necessary funds and supplies to
the governor, and directed Muzaffar Khan to reinforce him
with the army of Bihar.
The emperor, however, received reports that unless he
undertook the conduct of the campaign in person complete
success could not be expected. He made arrangements in
consequence to take the field, disregarding, as before, the
inconveniences of the rainy season.
On July 22, 1576, he had actually started, and had made
only one march from Fathpur-Slkri to a village called
Birar when Saiyid Abdullah Khan rushed into camp with
the news of a great victory and cast down Baud's head in
the courtyard of the house where Akbar was lodged.
The messenger reported that the battle had been fought
on July 12, and that he had covered the distance between
Rajmahal and Birar in eleven days. The unexpected news
relieved Akbar from the necessity of proceeding eastwards.
He accordingly retraced his steps and went back to the
capital, where uneasiness was felt concerning the proposed
expedition at such an unfavourable season.
Daud met his fate in this manner. The army of Bihar Battle
under Muzaftar Khan, mustering nearly 5,000 horse, effected âhai'
the junction with the Bengal army under Khan Jahan on July 12,
July 10. The two generals, after private consultation,
resolved to give battle without delay to Daud who was
not far off. Khan Jahan, commanding the centre of the
' Rajmahal (24° 3' N., 87° 50' official capital of Bengal, extend
E.) is now a mere village of mud for about four miles westward.
huts in the Santal Parganas Jahan^r gave it the name of
District of the Bihar and Orissa Akbarnagar, which appears on
province. The ruins of the coins and in Persian records.
Muhammadan city, founded in Manrique obtained access to the
1592 by Raja Man Singh as the official records at Rajmahal.
1845 T.
imperialists, faced Daud in person ; the Bihar army, on the

right wing, was opposed by Baud's uncle, Junaid ; and the
left wing, led by Raja Todar Mall and other officers, encoun-
tered Kala Pahar, Baud's best-known general. The battle
was fought on Thursday, July 12, near Rajmahal or Akmahal.
Raja Todar Mall, as usual, took the leading part in encour-
aging his sovereign's troops. Junaid, who had been wounded
on the previous evening by a cannon-ball, died from his
injiury,! Kala Pahar was wounded on the field, and after
a vigorous fight the imperialists won. Baud, whose horse had
been bogged, was brought in a prisoner. His end is described
by Badaoni as follows :
' Baud being overcome with thirst asked for water. They
filled his slipper with water and brought it to him. But,
when he refused to drink. Khan Jahan offered him his own
private canteen, and allowed him to drink out of it. He
did not wish to kill him, for he was a very handsome man ;
but finally the Amirs said that to spare his life would be
to incur suspicions of their own loyalty,^ so he ordered them
to cut off his head. They took two chops at his neck without
success, but at last they succeeded in kiUing him and in
severing his head from his body. Then they stuffed it with
straw and anointed it with perfumes, and gave it in charge
to Sayyid Abdullah Khan, and sent him with it to the
Emperor. They took many elephants and much spoil.' '
Baud's headless trunk was gibbeted at Tanda.
End of The independent kingdom of Bengal, which had lasted
domo"^" ^°^ about two hundred and thirty-six years (1340-1576),
Bengal, perished along with Baud, ' the dissolute scamp, who knew
nothing of the business of governing'. Its disappearance
need not excite the slightest feeling of regret. The kings,
mostly of Afghan origin, were mere military adventurers,
lording it over a submissive Hindu population, the very
existence of which is almost ignored by history.
Bourdillon, when bringing to a close his summary of the
story of the Bengal kings, observes :
' As we look back on the scenes which have been presented
' A. N., iii, 254. ' Badaoni, ii, 245.
' Or.perhaps, ' of future revolts ' -
on the stage, what do we see ? A long procession of foreign

rulers, fierce, cruel, alien in race and faith to the people of
the country ; long periods of unrest, turmoil, and revolution
stained with murder and rapine ; shorter intervals when
the land had rest under a strong ruler, when the war cloud
rolled away to the west and when the arts of peace flourished
in a prosperous country under a cultured and luxurious
sovereign. Of the condition of the masses of the people we
get little information : they seem to have been held in
quasi-feudal control by the Afghan jagirdars, amongst
whom the country was parcelled out, especially along the
marches, and to have been the king's serfs elsewhere : in
times of peace they seem to have been fairly well off, and
many writers speak in enthusiastic terms of the beauty and
richness of Bengal : it was described by the homesick
Moghuls as " a hell full of good things " ; but in war time
they suffered unspeakably. Nor do we hear, with very
few exceptions, of a Hindu nobility, or of the trading and
mercantile classes.' ^
So far as appears the kings of Bengal did little worth
remembering, but it is to their credit that they erected
a considerable number of mosques and other buildings
possessing some artistic merit, though not of the first class.
The government of the imperial viceroys during the time
that the empire retained its vigour may have been slightly
more systematic and, perhaps, in some respects, better than
that of the kings, although it may be conjectured that ,;
the unrecorded mass of the people noticed little difference
between the two. We know hardly anything in detail
about the actual facts, and are not in a position to form
a positive opinion on the subject.
While the Bengal war was in progress Akbar was obliged The
to undertake through his officers another considerable o^^R^n^*'^
military operation in Rajputana, where Rana Partap Partap
Singh, the gallant son of the craven Udai Singh, continued Mewa"
to offer uncompromising resistance to the imperial arms.
The heroic story is best told in the glowing language of
» J. A. Bourdillon, Bengal under a list of the principal buildings

the Muhammadans, Calcutta, Ben- at Gaur and Pandua. The latter
gal Secretariat Press, 1902, p. 23. ruined city lies 20 miles north-
The same author (p. 36) givesL2 east of Gaur,
Colonel Tod, and is well worth reading in all its fascinating
detail.^ Here some extracts from his immortal pages are all
that can be given. They will suffice, it is hoped, to exhibit
clearly the course of Akbar's policy in Rajputana and to
give some notion of ' the intensity of feeling which could
arm this prince [the Rana] to oppose the resources of a small
principality against the then most powerful empire of the
world '. It is worth while to take special notice of the
concluding words in that brief quotation. Students well
versed in European history seldom, if ever, realize the fact
that the empire of Akbar during the last quarter of the
sixteenth century undoubtedly was the most powerful in
the world, and that its sovereign was immeasurably the
richest monarch on the face of the earth. Proof will be given
later that when he died, in 1605, he left behind him in hard
cash not less than forty millions of pounds sterling, equivalent
in purchasing power to at least two hundred milUons at the
present time, and probably to much more. Even in 1576
the amount of his hoarded riches must have been stupendous,
and none but the bravest of the brave could have dared
to match the chivalry of poverty-stricken Mewar against
the glittering hosts of rich Hindostan.
The ' Partap ', we are told, ' succeeded [in 1572] to the titles
Rana. g^jjjj renown of an illustrious house, but without a capital,
without resources, his kindred and clans dispirited by
reverses : yet possessed of the noble spirit of his race, he
meditated the recovery of Chitor, the vindication of the
honour of his house, and the restoration of its powers.
• Ch. xi of the Annals of Mewar. Another form of the word

Mewar ; pp. 264-78, vol. i, of is Kuka. It was customary with
the Popular Edition, Routledge, the princes of the Maharanas of
1914. In the quotations the Mewar to be called Kikd before
spelling of the names is regular- ascending the throne. According-
ized. Tod writes ' Amar ' as ly Partap Singh was called Kika
' Umra ', and so on. The reader while his father Maharana Udai
would be confused if his spelling Singh was alive. Akbar most
were preserved. In the Tabakdt probably used to call him Kika,
Partap is called Rana Kika. That and thus the Muhammadan his-
term is explained by Kaviraj torians called him Rana Kika,
ShySmal Das as follows : ' The even after he became Maharana '
word Klkd is the ordinary name (von Noer, The Emperor Akbar,
by which children are called in i, 245, note by translator).
Elevated with this design, he hurried into conflict with his

powerful antagonist, nor stooped to calculate the means
which were opposed to him. Accustomed to read in his
country's annals the splendid deeds of his forefathers, and
that Chitor had more than once been the prison of their
foes, he trusted that the revolutions of fortune might co-
operate with his own efforts to overthrow the unstable
throne of Delhi. The reasoning was as just as it was noble ;
but whilst he gave loose [rein] to those lofty aspirations
which meditated liberty to Mewar, his crafty opponent was
counteracting his views by a scheme of policy which, when
disclosed, filled his heart with anguish. The wily Mogul
arrayed against Partap his kindred in faith as well as blood.
The princes of Marwar, Amber, Bikaner, and even Bundi,
late his firm ally, took part with Akbar and upheld
despotism. Nay, even his own brother, Sagarjl, deserted
him, and received as the price of his treachery the ancient
capital of his race and the title which that possession
conferred.'-
' But the magnitude of the peril confirmed the fortitude
of Partap, who vowed, in the words of the bard, " to make
his mother's milk resplendent " ; and he amply redeemed
his pledge. Single-handed, for a quarter of a century
[1572-97] did he withstand the combined efforts of the
empire ; ^ at one time carrying destruction into the plains,
at another flying from rock to rock, feeding his family from
the fruits of his native hills, and rearing the nursling hero
' ' Sagarjl held the fortress and Ghayur Beg of Kabul, who has
lands of Kandhar. His descen- served me personally from his
dants formed an extensive clan childhood, and who, when I was
called Sagarawals, who continued prince, rose from the grade of
to hold Kandhar till the time of an aha^ to that of 500, giving
Siwal Jaisingh of Amber, whose him the title of Mahabat Khan
situation as one of the great and the rank of 1,500. He was
satraps of the Mogul court enabled confirmed as bakhshl of my pri-
him to wrest it from Sagarji's vate establishment (sftogird-^sfta)'
issue, upon their refusal to inter- (Jahanglr, B. & B., i, 24).
marry with the house of Amber. Jahangir cannot have been
The great Mahabat Khan, the mistaken about a man whom he
most intrepid of Jahang^r's gene- had known from childhood and
rals, was an apostate Sagarawat. who played such an important
They established many chieftain- part in his life,
ships in Central India, as Umii " This clause is inaccurate
Bhadaura, Ganeshganj, Digdolli — rhetoric. The author (p. 276)
places better known to Sindhia's comments later on ' the repose
officers than to the British.' he [Partap] enjoyed during the
The Rajput
Mahabat tradition
Hian must about
be erroneous, latter
ascribes years
that ofrepose
his life ', and
partly to
because Jahangir says : a change in Akbar's sentiments,
' I raised Zamana Beg, son of which did not really take place.
Amar, amidst savage beasts and scarce less savage men,
a fit heir to his p.-owess and revenge. The bare idea that
" the son of Bappa Rawal should bow the head to mortal
man " was insupportable ; and he spurned every overture
which had submission for its basis, or the degradation of
uniting his family with the Tatar, though lord of countless
multitudes. . . .
' Partap was nobly supported, and though wealth and
fortune tempted the fidelity of his chiefs, not one was found
base enough to abandon him. . . .
' With the aid of some chiefs of judgment and experience,
Partap remodelled his government, adapting it to the
exigencies of the times and to his slender resources. New
grants were issued, with regulations defining the service
required. Kumbhalmer, now the seat of government, was
strengthened, as well as Gogunda and other mountain
fortresses ; ^ and being unable to keep the field in the
plains of Mewar, he followed the system of his ancestors,
and commanded his subjects, on pain of death, to retire
into the mountains. During the protracted contest, the
fertile tracts watered by the Banas and the Beris, from the
Aravalli chain to the eastern tableland, were be chiragh,
" without a lamp ". . . .
' The range to which Partap was restricted was the
mountainous region around, though chiefly to the west of
the new capital [Udaipur] ; from north to south — Kum-
bhalmer to " Ricumnath " — âbout eighty miles in length ;
and in breadth, from Mirpur west to SatoUa east, about the
same.'
The bards relate that Raja Man Singh of Jaipur (Amber)
invited himself to an interview with Rana Partap Singh,
and was mortally offended because the Rana refused to
receive him in person, or eat with him.
'Every act was reported to the emperor, who was

exasperated at the insult thus offered to himself, and
who justly dreaded the revival of those prejudices he had
hoped were vanquished; and it hastened the first of those
sanguinary battles, which have immortalized the name of
Partap.'
• ' Komulmfer ' of Tod ; Kum- of Mewar, about 40 miles to the
bhalgarh of /. G., situated on a north of Udaipur city,
mountain near the western border
It is not necessary to adduce any particular incident as

supplying a motive for the attack on the Rana, who is
represented by Abu-1 Fazl as deserving of chastisement by
reason of his alleged arrogance, presumption, disobedience,
deceit, and dissimulation. His patriotism was his offence.
Akbar had won over most of the Rajput chieftains by his
astute poUcy and could not endure the independent attitude
assumed by the Rana, who must be broken if he would not
bend Uke his fellows. The campaign of 1576 was intended
to destroy the Rana utterly and to crush finally his preten-
sions to stand outside of the empire. The failure of the effort
caused deep disappointment to Akbar, who was not troubled
by any sentimental tenderness for his stiff-necked adversary.
The emperor desired the death of the Rana and the absorp-
tion of his territory in the imperial dominions. The Rana,
while fully prepared to sacrifice his life if necessary, was
resolved that his blood should never be contaminated by
intermixture with that of the foreigner, and that his country
should remain a land of freemen. After much tribulation
he succeeded, and Akbar failed.
But the first considerable fight was disastrous to the Battle ot
cause of liberty. The imperialist army, under the supreme S^^ 1,"^
command of Raja Man Singh of Amber (Jaipur), assembled Gogunda,
at the fortified
between Bundi town of Mandalgarh
and Chitor. in the was
Their march east directed
of Mewar,to jg"!
the fortress of Gogunda, situated in the southern part of the
Aravallis, and distant about a hundred miles in a direct line
from the place of assembly. Rajput tradition, as reported
by Tod, represents Prince Salim as being in command of
the Mogul army, which is absurd, the prince being then
in his seventh year. Raja Man Singh had the assistance
of Asaf Khan (11),^ and other officers of distinction. The
Rana gathered his three thousand horsemen at the pass
of Haldighat, on the way to Gogunda, distant from the
1 Asaf Khan No. II, whose battle, and must not be con-
personal name was Khwajah founded with Asaf Khan No. I
Ghias-ud-din of Kazwin. He had (Abdul Majid), the conqueror
received the title in a. h. 981, of Rani Durgavati (Blochmann,
about three years before the Aln, vol. i, p. 433, No. 126).
defile some twelve or fourteen miles.^ The contracted plain

in which the clans mustered is situated
' at the base of a neck of mountain which shut up the valley

and rendered it almost inaccessible. Above and below the
Rajputs were posted, and on the cliffs and pinnacles over-
looking the field of battle, the faithful aborigines, the
Bha[s], with their ["his " in text] natural weapon, the bow
and arrow, and huge stones ready to roll upon the combatant
enemy.
' At this pass Partap was posted with the flower of Mewar,
and glorious was the struggle for its maintenance. Clan
after clan followed with desperate intrepidity, emulating
the daring of their prince, who led the crimson banner
into the hottest part of the field. . . . But this desperate
valour was unavailing against such a force, with a numerous
field artillery and a dromedary corps mounting swivels ;
and of twenty-two thousand Rajputs assembled that day
for the defence of Haldighat, only eight thousand quitted
the field ahve.' ^
The fight took place in June 1576 close to the village of
Khamnaur at the entrance to the pass.*
Badaoni, the historian, who was then one of Akbar's
court chaplains or Imams, had begged leave of absence to
join in the holy war, in which he took part as a follower of
Asaf Khan. His description of the battle is the most detailed
and accurate extant. He enjoyed himself, in spite of the
scorching heat and air like a furnace which made men's
brains boil in their skuUs. At one stage in the fierce struggle
Badaoni asked Asaf Khan how he could distinguish between
the friendly and the enemy Rajputs, and was assured in
reply that he could not do wrong if he shot, as sportsmen
say, ' into the brown ', because, as the commander cynically
observed, ' On whichever side they may be killed, it will be
a gain to Islam '.
Badaoni gladly took the advice, and was soothed by an
inward conviction that he had ' attained the reward due to
» Gogunda, variously misspelt city. It is marked on the I. G.

as Kokandah, &c., is situated in map.
24° 46' N., 73° 32' E., about ^ Tod, Annals, i, 270.
16 miles north-west of Udaipur ' A. N,, iii, 245.
one who fights against infidels '. He also had the pleasure
of observing that the son of Jaimall, the hero of Chitor,
' went to hell ', and that there was much other ' good
riddance of bad rubbish '.^
The battle — a ferocious hand-to-hand struggle, diversified
by episodes of combats between mighty elephants — ^raged
from early morning to midday, with the result already
stated. The enemy lost about five hundred killed. On the
side of the imperialists, who narrowly escaped suffering
a total defeat, a hundred and fifty Muslims were slain,
besides some of their Hindu alUes.^
The Rana, having been wounded, fled to the hills, mounted
on his beloved steed Chaitak, and the victors were too ex-
hausted to pursue him. Supplies fell short and the men had
to subsist on either meat or mangoes.
Badaon! had the honour of carrying the dispatch sent by
Raja Man Singh to court, and at the same time of offering
to the emperor a noble elephant which formed part of the
spoil, for which service he was handsomely rewarded. Akbar
expressed displeasure at the failure to press the pursuit of the
foe, but after a time renewed his favour to Raja Man Singh.
Partap was obliged to retire to a remote fastness called The
Chaond, and his strong places one by one fell into the d^vs'of
enemy's hands. But later he recovered all Mewar, excepting the Rana.
Chitor, Ajmer, and Mandalgarh. During the latter years
of his life he was left in peace, owing to the inabihty of Akbar
to continue an active campaign in Rajputana, while necessity
compelled him to reside for thirteen years in the Panjab,
In 1597 Partap died, worn out in body and mind. His
chiefs pledged themselves to see that his son Amar Singh
should not forget his duty.
' Badaoni, ii, 237. Mr. Beve- Gogandah, as in von Noer.
ridge gives an independent transla- ' The details of the casualties
tion, with some small variations vary slightly in the different
of interpretation, in von Noer, authorities. Badaoni states that
Tlie Emperor Akbar, i, 247-56. half of the Rana's force was under
Haldighat is the correct name of the command of Hakim Siir, a
the pass, but Badaoni's and Muhammadan Afghan — a curious
Nizamu-d . din's texts give the fact not mentioned by the other
name in corrupt forms. The name historians.
of the town is Giogiinda, not
' Thus closed the life of a Rajput whose memory ', says
Tod, ' is even now idolized by every Sisodia.' ' Had Me war ',
he continues, ' possessed her Thucydides or her Xenophon,
neither the wars of the Peloponnesus nor the retreat of the
" ten thousand " would have yielded more diversified inci-
dents for the historic muse than the deeds of this brilliant reign
amid the many vicissitudes of Mewar. Undaunted heroism,
inflexible fortitude, that which " keeps honour bright ",
perseverance — with fidehty such as no nation can boast,
were the materials opposed to a soaring ambition, com-
manding talents, unlimited means, and the fervour of
reUgious zeal ; all, however, insufficient to contend with
one unconquerable mind.'
The historians of Akbar, dazzled by the commanding
talents and unlimited means which enabled him to gratify
his soaring ambition, seldom have a word of sympathy
to spare for the gallant foes whose misery made his triumph
possible. Yet they too, men and women, are worthy of
remembrance. The vanquished, it may be, were greater
than the victor.
CHAPTER VI
CONSOLIDATION OF CONQUESTS; DISCUSSIONS ON RE-
LIGION; RELATIONS WITH JAINS AND PARSEES ;
ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST JESUIT MISSION ; THE ' IN-
FALLIBILITY DECREE ' OF 1579
Some of the matters which occupied Akbar's attention Consoli-

after his return to the capital in July 1576 were dealt ofcon-
with in the last chapter. Certain other manifestations of his quests ;
Ti - 1 Ti- sundry
untinng energy, directed to the extension and consolidation events,
will now be briefly described. In September is'J'e-T.
he paidconquests,
of his his annual visit to Ajmer, being still persuaded of
the efficacy of prayers offered at the shrine of the saint.
Good news came of successful military operations in Bihar.
Rohtas, which had fallen into the hands of the Afghans,
was regained, and the fortress of Shergarh in the same
region capitulated to Shahbaz Khan.^ In Rajputana,
Sirohi and other places were occupied.
Akbar himself marched from Ajmer towards Gogunda
in October, and made many administrative arrangements.
His ardent desire to capture or kill the Rana was not gratified.
The emperor then advanced farther south into Malwa.
Mount Abii and the principality of Idar were seized, and
considerable progress was made in asserting effectively the
imperial authority over the southern parts of Rajputana.
An army was sent towards Kliandesh. Raja Todar Mall,
who had come from Bengal with good news and 304 elephants,
was ordered to undertake the government of Gujarat, where
Wazir Khan had been a failure.
About this time (October 1576) Khwaja Shah Mansur
of Shiraz, an expert accountant, was appointed temporarily
to the high office of Vizier. Beginning official life as a humble
» The Shergarh fortress, now of Sahasram (Sasseram). It was
ruined, stands in 24° 33' N., built by Sher Shah.
84° 48' E., 20 miles south-west
clerk, he rose by means of sheer ability to one of the highest
offices in spite of the hostiUty of Raja Todar Mall, who
disUked him, and was never content until the Khwaja came
to a tragic end, as he did in 1581.
The troops destined for the conquest of Khandesh were
diverted to Gujarat in order to suppress disturbances caused
by Mirza Muzaffar Husain, the youthful son of Ibrahim
Husain.
Late in 1577 Raja Todar Mall arrived from Gujarat with
a party of alleged rebel prisoners, who were executed.
The Raja then resumed his duties as Vizier, and undertook
the preparation of various administrative measures.
In November a remarkable comet with a long tail appeared
and remained visible for a long time. Its appearance gave
rise to the usual popular apprehensions, and was associated
in men's minds with the death of Shah Tahmasp of Persia,
which had occurred in 1576 and was now reported. The
assassination of his son and successor, Ismail, was believed
to be directly due to the influence of the strange visitor to
the sky.
In September 1577 Akbar had moved his camp in the
direction of the Panjab.
Reor- In December, when encamped in the neighbourhood of
ganiza- Narnaul,^ Akbar held a special council, at which he settled
the Mint, many matters of business in consultation with Raja Todar
Mall and Khwaja Shah Mansiir. One important department
then dealt with was that of the mint. Up to that time the
various mints had been under the charge of minor officials
known by the Hindu title of chaudhari (' headman ' or
' foreman '). Apparently those officers did not possess
sufficient rank and personal weight to secure satisfactory
administration. A responsible Master of the Mint at the
capital was now appointed to exercise general control over
the department ; the person selected being the eminent
painter and calligrapher, Khwaja Abdul Samad (Abdu-s
samad) of Shiraz, who bore the honorary designation of
' A considerable town, now in 76° 10' E., and the reputed birth-
the Patiala State, 28° 3' N., place of Sher Shah.
DEBATES ON RELIGION 157
SMrin-kalam, or ' Sweet-pen ', and had been an intimate

friend of Humayun. Akbar when a boy had studied the
elements of drawing under his tuition. In 1577-8 the artist
must have been well advanced in years. The five principal
provincial mints were each placed under the management
of one of the highest imperial officials. Raja Todar Mall
himself was made responsible for the Bengal mint, situated
at either Gaur or Tanda ; while Muzaftar Khan, Khwaja
Shah Mansur, Khwaja Imadu-d din Husain,^ and Asaf
Khan (II) were entrusted respectively with the mints at
Lahore, Jaunpur, Gujarat or Ahmadabad, and Patna. On
the same day orders were given for the striking of square
[jalî] rupees.
Silver and copper money was coined at many towns, of
which Abu-1 Fazl gives a list, far from complete.^ In sub-
sequent years modifications in the mint regulations were
introduced. Akbar deserves high credit for the excellence
of his extremely varied coinage, as regards purity of metal,
fullness of weight, and artistic execution. The Mogul
coinage, when compared with that of Queen Elizabeth or
other contemporary sovereigns in Europe, must be pro-
nounced far superior on the whole. Akbar and his successors
seem never to have yielded to the temptation of debasing
the coinage in either weight or purity. The gold in many
of Akbar's coins is beUeved to-be practically pure.'
' I cannot find any other the high dignity of Amir-ul-umara,
mention of this official. The or Premier Noble, under Jahan^r.
reference is to A. N., ill, 320. The best poets, calligraphists, and
' In the early years of the reign engravers were employed for the
gold coins were struck at many execution of the legends and
places. Later, the gold coinage designs of the more important
was confined to four mints, denominations of coins. Speci-
namely, those at the capital, mens of many denominations,
Bengal (? Tanda or Rajmahal), especially of the large gold pieces
Ahmadabad (Gujarat), and Kabul. struck for the purpose of hoarding,
Probably in 1578 gold may have are not now extant. The exten-
been coined only at the six mints sive subject of Akbar's coinage
named in the text, but Abu-1 maybe studied in Ains, Nos. 4-14
Fazl does not say so explicitly. of Book I of Aln ; in Stanley
' For biography of Abdul Lane-Poole, British Museum Cata-
Samad, or Abdu-s samad, see logue of Mughal Coins, 1892 ;
Blochmann, Ain, vol. i, p. 495, H. N. Wright, Catalogue of the
No. 266 ; and //. F. A., pp. 452, Indian Museum Coins, vol. iii,
470. He was a ' commander of 1908 ; Whitehead, Catalogue of
400 ', and his son Sharif attained Coins of the Mughal Emperors in
Akbar's Early in May 1578, when Akbar was encamped at Bhera

religious (Bihrah, Bahlrah) on the Jhelum in the Panjab,^ an extra-
ecstasy, ordinary event in his personal history took place, which has
been so imperfectly described that it is impossible to make
out exactly what happened. Late in April he had arranged
for a huge battue, or Kamargha hunt, in the course of which
the game within a circumference of about forty or fifty
miles (25 kos) were to be ringed in by a multitude of beaters
and driven to the slaughter. The complicated arrangements
necessary had been in operation for some ten days when
they were suddenly countermanded and the hunt was stopped.
' Active men ', Abu-1 Fazl tells us, ' made every endeavour
that no one should touch the feather of a finch and that
they should allow all the animals to depart according to
their habits.' The same writer, who obscures the facts with
a cloud of rhetoric, hints that Akbar was on the point of
abdication. We are informed that ' he was nearly abandoning
this state of struggle, and entirely gathering up the skirt
of his genius from earthly pomp '. He was supposed to
have attained a state of ecstasy and to have communed with
God face to face. ' A sublime joy took possession of his
bodily frame. The attraction (jazaba) of cognition of God
cast its ray.' Those phrases fail to present a clear picture.
The author of the Tabakat states that the vision came upon
Akbar while he was under a tree, the position of which he
ordered to be commemorated by the erection of a house and
garden on the spot.
Badaoni is sUghtly more explicit. He says :
' And when it had almost come about that the two sides
of the Kamargha were come together, suddenly all at once
a strange state and strong frenzy came upon the Emperor,
and an extraordinary change was manifested in his manner,
to such an extent as cannot be accounted for. And every
one attributed it to some cause or other ; but God alone
the Punjab Museum, Lahore, 1914 ; considerable bulk and be of great
and a host of minor publications. interest to numismatists.
See Bibliography, post. There is ' Bhera, situated in 32° 28' N.,
still room for a special treatise 72° 56 'E. It was the head-quarters
or monograph on the subject, of a mahal {I. G.).
which would make a book of
knoweth secrets. And at that time he ordered the hunting

to be abandoned :
" Take care ! for the grace of God comes suddenly,

It comes suddenly, it comes to the mind of the wise."
And at the foot of a tree which was then in fruit he dis-
tributed much gold to the fakirs and poor, and laid the
foundation of a lofty building and an extensive garden in
that place. And he cut off the hair of his head, and most
of his courtiers followed his example. And when news of
this spread abroad in the Eastern part of India, strange
rumours and wonderful Ues became current in the mouths
of the common people, and some insurrections took place
among the ryots [peasantry], but these were quickly
quelled.
' While he was at Bihrah (Bhera), the imperial Begam
[Akbar's mother] arrived from the capital.'
Her purpose, presumably, was to watch over her son's
health. Abu-1 Fazl adds that
' about this time the primacy of the spiritual world took
possession of his holy form, and gave a new aspect to his
world-adorning beauty. . . . What the chiefs of purity and
deliverance [meaning apparently " Sufi seers "] had searched
for in vain was revealed to him. The spectators who were
in his holy neighbourhood carried away the fragments of
the Divine bounty.'
Akbar soon returned to the earth.
' In a short space of time he by God-given strength turned

his face to the outer world and attended to indispensable
matters.'
He gave vent to his religious emotion by the fantastic
freak of filling the Anuptalao tank in the palace at
Fathpur-Sikri with a vast mass of coin, exceeding, it is
said, ten millions of rupees in value, which he subsequently
distributed.^
That is all we know about the mysterious occurrence.
The information is tantalizing in its meagreness, but prob-
ably Akbar never gave any fully intelligible account of the
spiritual storm which swept through him as he sat or lay
under the tree. Perhaps he slept and had a dream, or, as
' The identity of the tank has not been established.
seems to be more likely, he may have had an epileptic fit.^

No man can tell exactly what happened. The incident was
not altogether singular. Somewhat similar tempests of
feeling had broken over Akbar's soul before. Abu-1 Fazl
narrates at immense length a strange story of his behaviour
one day in 1557, when he was in his fifteenth year. The
boy, we are told, ' felt constrained by the presence of short-
sighted men, and began to chafe '. He mounted a specially
vicious Iraki horse named Hairan, and rode off, leaving
orders that nobody, not even a groom, should follow him.
He dismounted, and was supposed to have ' assumed the
posture of communing with his God '. Whatever posture
he may have assumed the horse galloped away, but luckily
it came back of its own accord and allowed its master to
mount. There may not be much in that anecdote, but
Akbar's own account, already quoted, of the ' exceeding
sorrow ' with which his soul was seized at the completion of
his twentieth year, seems to have been a foretaste of the
experience which he underwent in his thirty-sixth year
(1578), when, like Dante, he was ' nel mezzo del cammin
di nostra vita ', ' in the middle of life's path ', and, like
the poet, saw a vision, beholding things that ' cannot be
uttered '.
Akbar was by nature a mystic, who sought earnestly,
like his Sufi friends, to attain the ineffable bliss of direct
contact with the Divine Reality, and now and again believed
or fancied that he had succeeded. His temperament was
profoundly melancholic, and there seems to be some reason
to suspect that at times he was not far from the danger of
falling into a state of religious mania. His ambition and
' ' Natura erat melancholicus, posed by various writers to have
et epileptico subjectus morbo ' suffered from epilepsy, but there is
(Du Jarric, vol. ii, p. 498 ; Bk. ii, little evidence of the alleged fact
ch. 8). There is abundant evi- in most of the cases. Peter the
dence concerning Akbar's innate Great, however, certainly suffered
melancholy, but I have not met from convulsive fits of some kind,
elsewhere the statement that he See Lombroso, The Man of
was epileptic. Du Jarric must Genius, London ed., 1891. The
have got it from one or other of presence of the disease ' is quite
the .Jesuit missionaries. Muham- consistent with a high degree
mad, Julius Caesar, and many of bodily vigour ' {Encycl. Brit.,
other eminent men have been sup- ed. 11).
i
intense interest in all the manifold affairs of this world saved '
him from that fate, and brought him back from dreams to
the actualities of human life.^ He was not an ordinary
man, and his complex nature, like that of St. Paul, Muhammad,
Dante, and other great men with a tendency to mysticism,
presents perplexing problems.
About this time (1578 or 1580 ?) Akbar was much gratified European
by the return of Haji Habibullah, who had been sent to tie".°^'
Goa with instructions to bring back European curiosities
and information about the arts and crafts of Europe. The
agent had been supphed with ample funds and was attended
by a number of skilled craftsmen, who were instructed to
copy anything worthy of imitation. The Haji performed
his mission to the emperor's satisfaction and brought back
many objects of interest. Special admiration was bestowed
on an organ, ' like a great box the size of a man, played by
a European sitting inside '. The wind was supplied by bellows
or fans of peacock's feathers. A company of persons dressed
in European clothes, and seemingly including some actual
Europeans, arrived along with Habibullah, whose craftsmen
displayed their skill in newly acquired arts. Unluckily,
the only two extant accounts of the occurrence fail to give
any further details.*
The discussions in the House of Worship were continued Acrimo-
vigorously during 1578-9 with increasing acerbity, degenerat- ^^^^gg
ing at times into open quarrelling. Two parties among the on
Muslim doctors' formed themselves, one headed by Makh- ^ '8*°"-
diimu-1 Mulk and the other by Shaikh Abdu-n Nabi, the
• The references for the incident ' A. N., iii, 322 ; Badaoni, ii,
discussed are A. N., vol. iii, pp. 299. The latter author says that
346-8, 353 ; Badaoni, ii, 261 ; and the Haji brought the organ ' from
Tabakat text, at beginning of Europe '. He, however, did not
24th " year as reckoned in that go beyond the port of Goa.
work. The passage in the history Badaoni seems to date the Haji's
last named was not translated by return in A. h. 988 = a. d. 1580-1;
Elliot and Dowson, and I am but Abu-1 Fazl apparently places
indebted for the text reference to the incident earlier, in 1577 or
Mr. Beveridge's note on A. N., 1578. His account of the 33rd
iii, 346. The story of the ride on Ilahi year, running from March 11,
Hairan is told, ibid., ii, 92, and 1578, begins on p. 337, fifteen
the reminiscence of the completion pages after the notice of the
of the 20th year is in ' Happy Haji's return.
Sayings ', Ain, vol. iii, p. 386.
1845 M
Sadr-i sudur. Akbar found it hard to keep the peace, and

on at least one occasion lost his temper. Gradually, he was
becoming wholly estranged from the faith of his youth, and
was directing his energies to the evolution of a new religion,
which would, he hoped, prove to be a synthesis of all the
warring creeds and capable of uniting the discordant elements
of his vast empire in one harmonious whole. The differences
between the two parties of theUlama, one of whom denounced
as heretical notions declared by the other to be the truth,
confirmed Akbar in the opinion that both parties were in
error, and that the truth must be sought outside the range
of their bickerings. He now consulted the adherents of
other religions, Hindus, Jains, Parsees, and Christians, and
no longer confined himself to the vain attempt at arbitrat-
ing between the various Muslim schools of thought. As
Abu-1 Fazl expresses it : ' The Shahinshah's court became
the home of the inquirers of the " seven climes ", and the
assem^blage of the wise of every religion and sect.' '■
His relations at this period with Parsees, Jains, and
Christians will now be described in some detail.
Zoroas-
trian Akbar probably found more persbnal satisfaction in
influence Zoroastrianism, the religion of the Parsees, than in any
upon
Akbar. . other of the numerous religions examined by him so critically
in his odd, detached manner. The close connexion with
Persia always maintained by his family, and his manifest
preference for Iranian rather than Mogul (Uzbeg and
Chagatai) officers predisposed him to look with a favourable
eye on the creed and religious philosophy of Iran.
' A. N., iii, 366. The author seem to have known any Buddhist
classifies the members of the scholars. Abu-1 Fazl met a few
Buddhists at the time of his last
assemblage as 'Sufis, philosophers,
orators, jurists, Sunnis, Shias, visit to Kashmir, but ' saw none
Brahmans, Jatis, Siuras [scil. among the learned ' . He observes
two kinds of .Jains], Charbaks that ' for a long time past scarce
[scil. Charvaka, or Hindu materi- anj' trace of them has existed in
alistic atheists], Nazarenes [Chris- Hindustan ' {Am, vol. iii, p. 212).
tians], Jews, Sabians [Christians The statements in E. & D., vi, 59
of St. John], Zoroastrians, and and von Noer, i, 326 n., that
others ' . The Siuras or Sewras Buddhists took part in the debates
were Svetambara Jains. Yatls are erroneous. The passages cited
are considered to be unorthodox really refer to Jains. Abu-1 Fazl
(Stevenson, The Heart of Jainism, briefly describes the Charvaka or
1915, p. 233). Akbar does not Nastika doctrine (op. cit., p. 217).
debatp:s on religion les
The fit of religious frenzy which assailed Akbar at the
beginning of May 1578 was a symptom of the intense
interest in the claims of rival religions which he nianifested
in 1578-9 prior to the signing of the ' infallibility ' decree
in September of the latter year. Discussion in his ' parlia-
ment of religions ' was fast and furious. About that time,
probably in the latter part of 1578, the Zoroastrians found
their opportunity for giving the emperor further instruction
in the mysteries of their faith, with so much effect that he
was regarded by many as having become a convert.^ He
is said to have worn the sacred shirt and girdle which every
Parsee must wear under his clothes, just as, at a little later
date, he appeared in public with Hindu sectarian marks on
his forehead and also adopted the use of Christian emblems.
Akbar's principal teacher in Zoroastrian lore was Dastur
Meherjee Rana,^ a leading mobed or theologian from Nausari
in Gujarat, then the principal centre of the Parsee priest-
hood in India, whose acquaintance he had made at the
time of the siege of Surat in 1573, when the imperial army
was encamped at Kankra Khari. Even at that early date
Akbar was so eager to learn the mysteries of Zoroastrianism
that he extracted all the information he could from the
Dastur, and persuaded him to come to court in order to
continue the discussion. It is not clear whether the Dastur
accompanied Akbar on his return to the capital in 1573
or followed him later, but the Parsee scholar certainly
took part in the debates of 1578, and went home early in
1579.
His eminent services rendered at court to the religion of
his fathers justly won the gratitude of his colleagues at
home, who formally recognized him as their head, an honour-
able position which he held until his death in 1591. His
son who succeeded him also visited Akbar. Old Parsee
prayer-books of the eighteenth century are extant which
• ' The sun, the sun ! they rail at rites ' (J. A. S. B., part i, vol.
me, the Zoroastrian' (Tennyson, xxxvii, N. S. (1868), p. 14).
' Akbar's Dream '). Blochmann ^ The correct spelling is Mah-
says that ' Akbar, though a Sufi yar-ji,
in his heart, was a Parsee by his
M2
include the name of Dastur Meherjee Rana among the most

honoured benefactors of the Zoroastrian faith.^
Akbar rewarded him by a heritable grant of 200 btghas ^
of land as subsistence allowance {madad-i-madsh), which
after his death was increased by one half in favour of his
son. The deeds of grant are in existence. The Dastur
taught Akbar the peculiar terms, ordinances, rites, and
ceremonies of his creed, laying stress above all things on
the duty of reverencing the sun and fire. A sacred fire,
prepared according to Parsee rules, was started accordingly
in the palace and made over to the charge of Abu-1 Fazl,
who was held responsible that it should never be extin-
guished.
From the beginning of the twenty-fifth year of the reign
(March 1580) Akbar began to prostrate himself in public
both before the sun and before fire, and when the lamps
and candles were lighted in the evening the whole court
was required to rise respectfully. The reverence for artificial
lights thus inculcated finds expression in his recorded say-
ings, one of which is : 'To light a candle is to commemorate
the (rising of the) sun. To whomsoever the sun sets, what
other remedy hath he but this ? ' *
Akbar's devotion to the fire cult partly explains, though
it does not justify, the passionate ferocity which he dis-
played on one occasion in or about a. d. 1603. He was
accustomed to retire to his rooms in the afternoon to rest.
One evening he happenedto emerge earlier than was expected,
and at first could not find any of the servants.
' When he came near the throne and couch, he saw a

luckless lampUghter, coiled up like a snake, in a careless,
death-like sleep, close to the royal couch. Enraged at the
sight, he ordered him to be thrown from the tower, and he
was dashed into a^thousand pieces.'
» ' Nausarinum caput, et sedes * The Ugha of Akbar was a little
est, quorundam hominum qui se more than half an acre, but its
Persas, et Jezenos vocant, ex exact area is not known.
Jeze Persiae civitate, genere ' ' Happy Sayings,' Aln, vol. iii,
Gaberaei, quos Lusitani Cuarinos p. 393.
vocant ' (Commentarius, p. 548).
The imperial wrath fell also upon the responsible officers,

though in a fashion less terrible.^ The story i s not a pleasant
one, but its horror is somewhat lessened if we remember
that in Akbar's eyes the offence of the ' luckless lamp-
lighterwas
' a profanation as well as neglect of duty.
The Parsee propaganda was supported by the zeal of the
Hindu Raja Birbal, an ardent sun worshipper from another
point of view, and it also fitted in well with the practices
of the Hindu ladies in the zenana who had their burnt
offerings {horn), after the Brahmanical fashion. A few
years later (1589) Akbar carried further his compUance
■with Parsee ritual by adopting the Persian names for the
months and days, and celebrating the fourteen Persian festi-
vals. But he stopped without ever reaching the point of
definitely becoming a Zoroastrian. He acted in the same
way with regard to Hinduism, Jainism, and Christianity.
He went so far in relation to each religion that different
people had reasonable ground for affirming him to be
a Zoroastrian, a Hindu, a Jain, or a Christian.^
Nevertheless, he could not bring himself to accept frankly
any one of the four creeds, however much he might admire
certain doctrines of each, or even practise some parts of
the ritual of all four. He always cherished his dream
of imposing on the empire a new and improved religion of
his own which should include the best parts of all those
named besides others ; and, when at last he felt his throne
secure in 1582, the only religion to which he could be said
to adhere was that of his personal invention, the Tauhtd
Ildhl, or Divine Monotheism, with himself as Pope-King.*
1 Asad Beg, in E. & D., vi, treatise by J. J. Modi, entitled
164. The Parsees at the Court of Akbar,
" Badaoni, with reference to and Dastur Mehrjee Rdnd ; Bom-
the time about 1581, goes so far bay, 1903. The author, who
as to say that ' His Majesty presents many previously unpub-
firmly believed in the truth of Ushed documents in both text
the Christian religion ' (ii, 267). and translation, proves conclu-
The statement may be true for sively that Akbar's partial con-
that time, when the influence of version to Zoroastrianism was the
Aquaviva was strongly felt. work of the Dastur from Nausari,
' The leading authority for begun in 1573 and continued to
Akbar's relations with the Parsees 1578-9. He deals fully with the
is the excellent and convincing testimony of Badaoni (Lowe,
Jain The potency of the influence exercised by Jain teachers

influence
on on the ideas and policy of Akbar has not been recognized
Akbar. by historians. No reader of the works of Elphinstonc,
von Noer, or Malleson would suspect either that he listened
to the lessons of the Jain holy men so attentively that he
is reckoned by Jain writers among the converts to their
religion, or that many of his acts from 1582 onwards were
the direct outcome of his partial acceptance of Jain doctrine.
Even Blochmann failed to perceive that three of the learned
men of the time, as enumerated in Abu-1 Fazl's long hsts,
were eminent Jain gurus, or reUgious teachers, namely
Hiravijaya Suri, Vijayasena SQri, and Bhanuchandra
Upadhyaya. The first named, the most distinguished of
the three, and credited by Jain authors with the honour
of having converted Akbar, is placed by Abu-1 Fazl along
with twenty others, including Shaikh Mubarak, in the first
of the five classes of the learned, among the select few who
' understand the mysteries of both worlds '.
In 1582 the emperor, after his return from Kabul, having
heard of the virtues and learning of Hiravijaya, ordered
the Viceroy of Gujarat to send him to court. The holy
man, in response to the viceregal summons, came to Ahmad-
abad, paid his respects to the emperor's representative,
and, in the interests of his religion, decided to accept the
p. 268), and other authors ; refuting inclined clusions
to areaccept.
by an absolute demonstration the supportedModi's con-
by ample
shallow criticism of R. B. Karkaria documentary evidence. The essay
in ' Akbar and the Parsees ' in the same volume entitled 'Notes
(J. Bo. Br. R. A. S., 1896). Dates of Anquetil du Perron (1755-61)
render imtenable Karkaria's view on King Akbar and Dastur
that the Parsee lore of Akbar was
Meherji Rana ' adds certain
obtained from Ardeshir, a Persian material and interesting details.
scholar who was summoned to For life of Mir Jamalu-d din see
his court at Lahore. Ardeshir, Am, vol. i, p. 450, No. 164. He
who was sent by Shah Abbas the attained the rank of ' commander
Great, came for the sole purpose of 4,000 ' under Jahangir. The
of helping Mir Jamalu-d din in Farhang is described by Bloch-
the compilation of a dictionary mann in J. A. S. B., part i,
of old Persian, which appeared vol. xxxvii, N.S. (1868), pp.
in 1608-9, after Akbar's death, 12-15, 65-9. Akbar took a lively
under the title Farhang-i Jahan- interest in the work, which
gtri. His Indian labours extended occupied the Mir for thirty years.
from 1593 to 1597, many years It is of high value because it gives
after Akbar had absorbed all the the explanation of ancient Zoro-
Zoroastrianism which he was astrian words.
imperial invitation. He refused all the costly gifts pressed

upon his acceptance, and, in accordance with the rules of
his order, started on his long walk to Fathpur-Sikri. The
use of a conveyance of any kind by a man of his station
would have involved excommunication.
The weary traveller was received with all the pomp of Action
imperial pageantry, and was made over to the care of Akbar. ^
Abu-1 Fazl until the sovereign found leisure to converse
with him.^ After much talk upon the problems of religion
and philosophy, first with Abu-1 Fazl and then with Akbar,
the Suri paid a visit to Agra. At the close of the rainy
season he returned to Fathpur-Sikri, and persuaded the
emperor to release prisoners and caged birds, and to prohibit
the killing of animals on certain days. In the following
year (1583) those orders were extended, and disobedience
to them was made a capital offence. Akbar renounced his
much-loved hunting and restricted the practice of fishing.
The Suri, who was granted the title of Jagad-guru, or World-
teacher, returned in 1584 to Gujarat by way of Agra and
Allahabad. Three years later the emperor issued written
orders confirming the abolition of the jizya tax and pro-
hibiting slaughter during periods amounting collectively to
half of the year. The Suri's colleague, Bhanuchandra,
remained at court. In 1593 Siddhichandra, who visited
Akbar at Lahore, also received an honorary title, and was
granted control over the holy places of his faith. The tax
on pilgrims to Satrunjaya was abolished at the same time.
The temple of Adisvara on the holy hill of Satrunjaya near
Palitana in Kathiawar, which had been consecrated by
Hiravijaya in 1590, has on its walls- a Sanskrit inscription
of unusual length, which combines the praises of the Suri
with those of Akbar, and gives particulars of the emperor's
generosity.
In 1592 Hiravijaya Suri starved himself to death in the
approved Jain fashion, and on the spot where his body
> Abu-1 Fazl made a careful satisfactory information about
study of the doctrines of the the Digambaia or nude sect
Sewras or Svetambara Jains, but {A.ln, vol. iii, p. 210).
was unable to obtain equally
was cremated, at Unanagar or Unnatpur, a stupa or memorial

cupola was erected.
Akbar's action in abstaining almost wholly from eating
meat and in issuing stringent prohibitions, resembling those
of Asoka, restricting to the narrowest possible limits the
destruction of animal life, certainly was taken in obedience
to the doctrine of his Jain teachers. The infliction of the
capital penalty on a human being for causing the death of
an animal, which seems so unjust and absurd in our eyes,
was in accordance Avith the practice of several famous
ancient Buddhist and Jain kings. The regulations must
have inflicted much hardship on many of Akbar's subjects,
and especially on the Muhammadans.^
The contribution made to the debates by Christian dis-
putants was an important factor among the forces which
led Akbar to renounce the Muslim religion. The strange
story of the first Jesuit mission to his court will now be
told in outline. The material is so copious that it is not
Akbar's possible to narrate the interesting details in full. The result
invitation
sent to Qf ^j^g communications with Christians described in the
Goa. last preceding chapter was that in December 1578 Akbar
' The principal authority used for the cessation of those imposts
is the article by ' C ', entitled had not been fully obeyed, , at
' Hiravijaya Suri, or the Jainas least in Kathiawar. Such evasion
at [the] Court of Akbar ', in of imperial orders was common
Jaina-Shasana, Benares, 1910 in Mogul times. Similarly, Enghsh
(Vira Sam. 2437, pp. 113-28). kings repeatedly renewed Magna
The names of Akbar's Jain Carta and other charters, which
visitors, as recorded by Abu-l they habitually violated whenever
Fazl in slightly corrupted forms, they got the chance. The great
will be found in îin, vol. i, pp, inscription mentioned is No. 308
538, 547. The viceroy of Gujarat of Kielhorn's ' List ' in Ep. Ind.,
who sent the Suri to court was v, p. 44, App. The text, with
Shihab Khan (Shihabu-d djn a short abstract in English, was
Ahmad Khan). For the prohibi- printed by Biihler, as No. XII,
tion of the use by Jain ascetics ibid., vol. ii, pp. 38, 50. 'C '
of any conveyance see Stevenson, gives the text and an old transla-
The Heart of Jainism, Oxford tion of the relevant portions.
University Press, 1915, p. 211. The erection of a Jain stupa so
Mrs. Stevenson's book is the best late as 1592 is worth noting. No
readable treatise on Jainism. other modern example is recorded,
The mention of the abolition of so far as I know. See V. A. Smith,
the jizya and the pilgrim tax at The Jain StUpa of Mathurd,
the instance of the Suri and his Allahabad, 1901, a work acciden-
disciple proves that the general tally omitted from Mrs. Steven-
orders issued early in the reign son's bibliography.
dispatched to the authorities at Goa a letter in the following

terras :
' In the name of God.

'
the Letter
seat of ofGod.
Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar, king placed in
' [To the] Chief priests of the Order of St. Paul :
' " Be it known to them that I am a great friend of theirs.
' " I have sent thither Abdullah my ambassador, and
Domenico Perez, in order to invite you to send back to me
with them two of your learned men, who should bring the
books of the law, and above all the Gospels, because I truly
and earnestly desire to understand their perfection ; and
with great urgency I again demand that they should come
with my ambassador aforesaid, and bring their books.
For from their coming I shall obtain the utmost consolation ;
they will be dear to me, and I shall receive them with every
possible honour. As soon as I shall have become well
instructed in the law, and shall have comprehended its
perfection, they will be able, if willing, to return at their
pleasure, and I shall send them back with great honours,
and appropriate rewards. Let them not fear me in the
least, for I receive them under my pledge of good faith
and assure them concerning myself." ' ^
Abdullah, Akbar's envoy, reached Goa in September 1579, Akbar's
and was received with the stately ceremonial ordinarily |tôa.
reserved for the entry of a new Portuguese Viceroy. The
wholly unexpected invitation from Akbar excited the
warmest interest in the breast of every member of the
colony and aroused the most extravagant hopes. The
authorities of Goa had sought for years, and sought in vain,
to find a way to introduce the gospel into the Mogul empire,
» Translated direct from the De Sousa. The ' Order of St. Paul'
ItaUanof BartoU, p. 14. Maclagan is a synonym for Jesuits, Similar
(p. 48) gives another rendering, letters were addressed to the
substantially identical. A third Viceroy and Archbishop of Goa.
version, from Du Jarric, will be Abdullah the envoy may be the
found in von Noer, i, 325. Goldie Khwaja Abdullah, who was with
(p. 54 n.) furnishes a fourth, from Akbar in the Sarnal fight. See
the Latin of Alegambe's work, Blochmann, Am, vol. i, p. 423,
entitled Mortes illustres eorum de No. 109. Perhaps he may be
Societate Jem, &c. (1657). All identified preferably with Sayyid
the versions agree so closely that Abdullah Khan, a more eonspicu-
we may be confident of possessing ous personage. No. 189 of Bloch-
the correct text in substance. mann.
The date of the letter is given by
170 AKBAR THE CREAT MOGUL
which was almost unknown to them except by report.

Now, without any action on their part, they found the
door suddenly thrown open by the king himself, who not
only invited, but begged them to enter. The prospect of
winning a king so great and a kingdom so extensive to the
glory of the church and the benefit of Portugal was not to
be neglected.^ Although the Viceroy hesitated at first to
accept the invitation, his scruples were overborne by the
advice of the ecclesiastical authorities, who earnestly recom-
mended that the Fathers asked for should be allowed to go,
' without other securities than those of Divine Providence '.
When the question of acceptance had been decided in
November, anxious care was devoted to the choice of the
missioners, who should be men quaUfied to take full advan-
tage of the unique opportunity offered.^ The three Fathers
selected were Ridolfo Aquaviva, as head of the mission ;
Antonio Monserrate, as second in command ; and Francesco
Enriquez, a convert from Muhammadanism, as interpreter
and assistant. They joyfully welcomed the task imposed
upon them, and were filled Avith eager anticipations of the
conquest to be won for the Cross.
Before we proceed to narrate the story of the mission, it
wiU be well to introduce to the reader the two remarkable
men who conducted it, Aquaviva and Monserrate (Monserrat
or Montserrat). The third member. Father Enriquez
(Enrichez, Henriquez), the converted Persian, was of slight
importance.
Rî'^f/ Ridolfo (Rudolf) Aquaviva, a younger son of the Duke of
Aqua- Atri, one of the most influential nobles in the kingdom of
^'^^- Naples, was born in 1550, and, therefore, was Akbar's junior
by eight years. His parents were pious people, devoted to
the Church and influential in its councils. Ridolfo, from
early childhood, exhibited an intense vocation for the
' ' Acquisto d' un Re, e d' un ' De Sousa, Oriente Conquistado,
Regno gua'dagnato alia gloria vol. ii, C. 1, sec. 45, as transl. by
della Chiesa, e all' utile di Porto- Hosten in Commentarius, p. 544 ;
gallo ' (Bartoli,
ambition was p.combined
10). Political
with and
p. 547.Monserrate himself, ibid.,
missionary zeal.
religious career, and may be said to have been born a saint

of the ascetic type. He made no account of hfe or the
pleasures of life, and a martyr's crown was the one prize
for which his soul longed. By sheer strength of will he beat
down his father's opposition, and forced an entry into the
Jesuit Order. In September 1578, being then twenty-eight
years of age, he landed at Goa, as a member of a prose-
lytizing mission, full of enthusiastic zeal. A month after
his arrival he had the pleasure of baptizing a score of the
attendants of a princess of Bijapur, who had been persuaded
to become a Christian. He was appointed Professor of
Philosophy, and devoted much time to perfecting himself
in the local vernacular called Konkani, until he was selected
to be head of the mission. He then appUed himself with
equal diligence to the study of Persian, in which he rapidly
became proficient.^
Father Antonio Monserrate, a Catalan Spaniard, was Father
a worthy colleague of the saintly Aquaviva, although a man Mon"-""*
of a different type. During the visitation of plague at serrate.
Lisbon in 1569 he had distinguished himself by exhibiting
conspicuous zeal and devotion in his ministrations. At
Akbar's court his courage did not desert him, and in his
attacks on the religion of the Prophet of Mecca he allowed
^limself to use language so strong that even the latitudinarian
emperor was obliged to check him. In 1582 he returned
to Goa and continued his missionary labours at or near
that city until 1588, when he was ordered to Abyssinia.
While on his way he was taken prisoner by the Arabs, who
kept him in confinement for six years and a half.
When deputed to Akbar's court he had been appointed
by the Provincial of Goa as historian of the mission. He
' Aquaviva's biography is to that the conversion of the lady
be read most conveniently in and her suite was due to policy
Goldie. The Bijapur princess was rather than to conviction. In
a niece of Mir Al! Khan, uncle the time of Archbishop Dom
of All Adil Shah, the reigning Caspar, the Sultan of Bijapur had
King of Bijapur. The uncle was anticipated Akbar, by sending
kept by the Portuguese as a for priests and Christian scrip-
possible pretender to the throne, tures, ' without any further good
and a check on their enemy, the result ' (De Sousa, ut supra, in
king. There can be little doubt Monserrate, CommentoriMS, p. S45).
carried out conscientiously the duty imposed upon him,
and wrote up his liotes each night. After his return to Goa
he arranged his materials, and while confined by the Arabs
was permitted to complete his literary labours. He was
ransomed in 1596. The third mission was then at court,
and Akbar was indignant when he heard that his old friend
had been held captive.
Monserrate's principal work, entitled Mongolicae Legationis
Csmmentarius, which had been longlost, and was not recovered
until 1906, is of special importance as being ' the earliest
account of Northern India by a European since the days
of Vasco da Gama ', and also as including the fullest descrip-
tion extant of Akbar's successful campaign against his
brother of Kabul in 1581. The author, who was then tutor
to Prince Murad, accompanied Akbar as far as Jalalabad
on the road to Kabul.
A smaller tract, devoted to a description of Akbar per-
sonally, also has been preserved and is now accessible in
an English translation. Monserrate's writings deahng Avith
the geography, natural history, manners, and customs of
India have not yet been found, but may be hidden in some
European library. The map of Northern India which he
prepared on the basis of astronomical observations is
attached to the Commentarius, and is of much interest as
the earliest European map of India since the time of Ptolemy
and Eratosthenes.^
The On November 17, 1579, the missionaries left Goa by sea,
aries'°''' ^^^ after calling at Chaul arrived at Daman, a Portuguese
journey port farther north. Thence they marched through Bulsar and
Nausari to Surat, the western entrance to the Mogul empire,
where they arrived in December. After a necessary halt for
nearly a month there they began their journey inland on
January 15, 1580. They were accompanied by a caravan of
merchants bringing with them China silks and other goods for
sale in the interior. The roads were so unsafe in those days that
only large caravans could travel with any hope of reaching
their destination. A small mounted guard met the travellers
• See post. Bibliography, section B.
Route of the
FIRST JESUIT from
MISSION (1580)
Daman to Fathpm- Sikri
100 Miles
Note:- The mission proceeded from Goa to

Daman by sea, calling at Chaul. The little
riyer Parnera tothe south ofBul^rtfien
marked the boundary between Portuguese
and Mogul territory.
The marching distance of about
■650 miles fromSuratiM Fathpur SikrJ
nas .cofered
IS^mi/es ./o..f3 daysman average of
a day.
OSMaltinT
on the northern bank of the Taptl. They then marched
parallel to the river through Kukarmunda to Taloda in
Khandesh, a country town still in existence. There they
turned in a north-easterly direction, and, after passing
through Sultanpur, now desolate, advanced through the
difficult and perilous country of the Satpura hills, infested
by wild Bhils and other such tribes. After crossing the
Narbada they proceeded to Mandu and Ujjain. On
February 9 they reached Sarangpur, now in the Dewas
State, where the Fathers had the consolation of saying
Mass. Six days later they arrived at Sironj, now in Tonk,
and were met presently by a strong escort sent by Akbar.
From that point their road ran nearly due north, through
Narwar, Gwalior, and Dholpur to Fathpur-Sikrl, where
they arrived on February 28 (o. s.) after a journey from
Surat of a little over six weeks.^
Akbar's Akbar was so eager to meet his visitors that he had them
of'the'°" brought direct to his presence and kept them talking until
Fathers, two o'clock in the morning. He assumed Portuguese
costume, and offered them a large sum of money, but the
priests refused to accept anything beyond bare maintenance.
The interpreter, Dominic Perez, was instructed to attend
to their wants. On the following day Akbar again received
them in the private audience chamber (Diwan-i Khass), and,
' The stages of the journey of starting from Surat is as given

are detailed by Francisco de by De Sousa. Monserrate states
Sousa, S. J., Oriente Conquistado, it as January 24 ; but in his
i. d. ii, p. 159, as translated by account (p. 551 n.) there is some
Goldie, pp. 58-61. Sultanpur, confusion of old and new styles,
in the West Khandesh District, The new style was adopted by
Bombay Presidency, 21° 38' N., the Portuguese Government with
74° 35' E., was an important town effect from October 5/15, 1582
until the beginning of the nine- (Nicholas, Chronology of History
teenth century, when it was (1835), p. 32), and a year later in
ruined by Jaswant Rao Holkar, India. 'The change in England was
the Bhils, and famine. A petty made on September 3/14, 1752.
village now occupies part of the Thejourneytothe capital occupied
site, on which the buildings still 43 days. Monserrate, it should
stand. Sarangpur (23° 34' N., be observed, calls Gujarat ' Gedro-
76° 29' E.), a small town at sia'. He describes all the princi-
present, was an important and pal places. The Hindu temples
famous place in ancient times, everywhere had been destroyed
Further details will be found in by the Muhammadans (p. 559).
Monserrate,, pp. 551-9. The date
on March 3, was pleased to accept the gift of a magnificently

bound copy of the Royal Polyglot Bible of Plantyn, printed
in 1569-72 for Philip II of Spain.i At a later date (1595)
he gave back that work with the other European books to
the Fathers then at his court.* The emperor treated the
sacred text with the profoundest reverence, removing his
turban, placing each volume on his head, and kissing it
devoutly. He also commanded his artists to copy pictures
of Christ and the Virgin which the Fathers had with them,
and directed a gold reliquary to be made. Afterwards, he
visited, with every mark of respect, the chapel which the
Fathers were allowed to prepare in the palace, and made
over his second son, Sultan Murad, then aged ten years, to
Father Monserrate for instruction in the Portuguese language
and Christian morals. The Jesuits describe the young
prince as being very affectionate, of a good disposition, and
excellent abilities.* The priests were allowed full liberty
to preach and make conversions at the capital, and when
a Portuguese at court died his funeral was celebrated by
a procession marching through the town with crucifixes and
lighted candles.
The attitude of the missionaries was so uncompromising Attitude
and fanatical that nothing but the strong protection of the °^.t*>^
emperor could have preserved their lives. They made no sionaries.
pretence of sharing the sympathetic feeling for the religion
of the Prophet of Arabia commonly expressed in these days.
A letter dispatched on December 10, 1580, by Aquaviva to
the Rector of Goa expresses their sentiments and declares
that
' our ears hear nothing but that hideous and heinous name
of Mahomet. ... In a word, Mahomet is everything here.
Antichrist reigns. In honour of this infernal monster they
bend the knee, prostrate, lift up their hands, give alms,
1 Identified by Goldie, p. 63. included the Laws of Portugal,
Maolagan (p. 50 w.) erroneously the Commentaries of Albuquerque,
suggests other editions. See and sundry theological treatises.
Commentarius, p. 562. ' ' Molto aftettionato . . . dl
^ Pinheiro's letter of September molto buon naturale, & di grande
3, 1595 ; in Peruschi, pp. 60-71, ingegno ' (Peruschi, p. 8).
and Maclagan, p. 69. The books
and do all they do. And we cannot speak out the truth
lest, if we go too far, we endanger the life of the King.' ^
Although they could not utter everything that was in
their minds, they said much, and, as already mentioned,
Monserrate's freedom gave offence even to Akbar.
As a matter of fact, their presence at court, the marked
favour shown to them by the sovereign, and the licence of
their language, helped to inflame the discontent which
found expression in two formidable rebellions, undoubtedly
dangerous to both the throne and life of Akbar. During
the coiirse of the early disputations held in Akbar's apart-
ments, certain Muhammadans proposed that the rival
claims of Islam and Christianity shovdd be determined by
the ordeal of fire. They suggested that a champion of
Islam holding a Koran, and one of the priests holding the
Gospels, should enter a fire, and that whichever came out
unhurt should be regarded as the teacher of truth. Akbar
liked the notion, and intimated to the Fathers that he would
arrange for their safety, while one of the Mullas, whom he
much disliked, would be burnt. But Aquaviva denounced
the proposal as being impious and would not accept it.^
At Easter time Akbar suggested privately that he might
arrange to be baptized by travelUng to Goa on pretence of
preparing for pilgrimage to Mecca. We must now part
from the Fathers for a time, and deal with other matters,
including some of earlier date.
Akbar as At the end of June 1579 Akbar had introduced a starthng
preacher, innovation by displacing the regular preacher at the chief
mosque in Fathpur-Slkri and himself taking his place in
the pulpit on the first Friday in the fifth month of the
Muhammadan year. The address {khutbah) usually given
on a Friday is composed somewhat on the lines of the
' bidding prayer ' used in EngUsh universities, and always
includes a prayer for the reigning sovereign. Akbar, in
1 Goldie, pp. 77, 78. 6 tre volte), as Peruschi observes
" The story appears in various (p. 37). Monserrate gives a full
versions, and the challenge was account of the first occasion, early
offered two or three times (due, in 1580 (pp. 564-6).
DEBATES ON RELIGION m
order to emphasize the position of spiritual leader of the

nation {Imam-i-adil) to which he laid claim, availed himself
of certain alleged ancient precedents and resolved to recite
the Khutbahhimseli. Faizi, brother of Abu-1 Fazl and Poet
Laureate, produced a sort of Khuibah in verse, as follows,
which the emperor recited :
' In the name of Him who gave us sovereignty,

Who gave us a wise heart and a strong arm,
Who guided us in equity and justice,
Who put away from our heart aught but equity ;—
His praise is beyond the range of our thoughts,
Exalted
God!] be His Majesty — " Allahu Akbar ! " ' [Great is
To those eloquent lines he added some verses of the

Koran, expressing thanks for mercies and favours, and
having repeated the fatiha, or opening section of the Koran,
came down from the pulpit and said his prayers. According
to Badaoni, he lost his nerve and broke down, but the
other historians do not support that statement. He repeated
the experiment several times.^
Even Abu-1 Fazl admits that the innovation was un-
popular and aroused much uneasy feeling. Some people
said that the emperor wished to pose as the Prophet of
the incomparable Deity. Others hinted that he was not
unwilling to be regarded as himself sharing in the Divine
nature. The use of the ambiguous phrase Allahu Akbar
gave colour to the most extreme criticisms, and, in spite
of Akbar's disavowals, I am convinced that at times he
allowed himself to fancy that in his own person he had
bridged the gulf between the Finite and the Infinite. His
» A. N., iii, 396 ; Badaoni, il, the King of the day of judgment.
276 ; Tabakdt, in E. & D., v, 412. Thee do we worship, and of thee
The version quoted is that in we beg assistance. Direct us in
Lowe's tr. of Badaoni. The eon- the right way, in the way of
eluding words may be read as those to whom thou hast been
meaning that ' Akbar is God '. gracious ; not of those against
Some coins bear legends In the whom thou art incensed, nor of
form 'Akbar Allah', which dis- those who go astray' (Sale),
tinctly suggests his claim to Examples of Khutbah composition
divinity. The fatiha is this : are given in Hughes, Dictionary
' Praise be to God, the Lord of all of Islam.
creatures ; the most merciful,
1B45 I{
recorded sayings prove conclusively that he rated very
highly the kingly position.
' The very sight of kings ', he said, ' has been held to be
a part of divine worship. They have been styled conven-
tionally the Shadow of God ; and, indeed, to behold them
is a means of calling to mind the Creator, and suggests the
protection of the Almighty.' ^
His learned and skilful flatterers, Abu-1 Fazl, Faizi, and
the rest, were only too willing to fill his mind with such
notions, and he, after the manner of kings, swallowed
flattery with pleasure. Abu-1 Fazl vainly tries to deny the
patent fact that Akbar regarded with disfavour the Muham-
madan religion. Although the emperor did not wholly
cast aside the mask of conformity until 1582, his faith in
Islam had been completely shaken at least three' years
earlier. But he always held firmly to the great doctrine
of the unity of God.
Before he made up his mind definitely to renounce Islam,
he tried to follow a middle path, and to seek peace by
constituting himself the supreme judge of all differences
between the rival Muslim doctors. When he returned
triumphant from Gujarat at the turning-point of his career.
Shaikh Mubarak had gratified him by expressing the hope
that the emperor rnight become the spiritual as well as the
political head of his people. The hint given in 1573 had
never been forgotten by either its author or the sovereign.
Six years later, in 1579, the time was deemed to be ripe
for the proposed momentous innovation which should extend
the autocracy of Akbar from the temporal to the spiritual
side, and make him Pope as well as King.
'Infalli- Ultimately, at the beginning of September 1579, Shaikh
Decree Mubarak produced a formal document in his own hand-
ot Sept. writing, drafted in such a way as to settle that the emperor
must be accepted as the supreme arbiter in all causes,
whether ecclesiastical or civil. Probably it was suggested
' ' Happy Sayings ' in Aln, proud and arrogant that he is
vol. iii, p. 398. Guerreiro (Rela- willing to be worshipped as God ' ;
(am, Spanish tr., ch. iii, p. 16) ' es tan soberuio y arrogate, que
describes Akbar as being 'so consiete ser adorado como dios.'
DEBATES ON RELIGION ^79
by the information then becoming available concerning

the position of the Pope in Western Europe. We need not
trouble about the technical discussions which raged round
the interpretation of the legal terms, Mujtahid and Imdm-
i-Adil. It will suffice to say that Akbar was solemnly
recognized as being superior in his capacity of Imam-i-Adil
to any other interpreter [mujtahid) of Muslim law, and
practically was invested with the attribute of infallibility.
Both the rival party leaders, Makhdumu-1 Mulk and
Shaikh Abdu-n NabI, as well as other eminent doctors
learned in the law, were induced or compelled to set their
seals to a pronouncement which their souls abhorred. This
is the translation of the document, as preserved in the text
of both Nizamu-d din and Badaoni.
' Petition.
' Whereas Hindostan is now become the centre of security

and peace, and the land of justice and beneficence, a large
number of people, especially learned men and lawyers, have
immigrated and chosen this country for their home.
'Now we, the principal Ulama, who are not only well-
versed in the several departments of the Law and in the
principles of jurisprudence, and well acquainted with the
edicts which rest on reason or testimony, but are also known
for our piety and honest intentions, have duly considered
the deep meaning, first, of the verse of the Koran :—
' " Obey God, and obey the Prophet, and those who have
authority among you " ; and secondly, of the genuine
tradition :—
' " Surely the man who is dearest to God on the day of
judgment is the Imam-i-adil ; whosoever ob^ys the Amir,
obeys Thee ; and whosoever rebels against him, rebels
against Thee " ;
' And thirdly, of several other proofs based on reasoning or
testimony : and we have agreed that the rank of Sultan-i-
adil is higher in the eyes of God than the rank of a Mujtahid.
' Further, we declare that the King of the Islam, Amir of
the Faithful, Shadow of God in the world, AbQl-fath Jalal-
ud-din Muhammad Akbar, Padshah Ghazi (whose kingdom
God perpetuate !), is a most just, a most wise, and a most
God-fearing king.
'Should, therefore, in future a religious question come up,
.N2
Regarding which the opinions of the Mujtahids are at variance,
and His Majesty, in his penetrating understanding and clear
wisdom be inclined to adopt, for the benefit of the nation
and as a political expedient, any of the conflicting opinions
which exist on that point, and should issue a decree to that
effect —
on ' us
We and
do hereby agree that
on the whole such a decree shall be binding
nation.
' Further, we declare that should His Majesty think fit to
issue a new order, we and the nation shall hkewise be bound
by it ; Provided always, that such order be not only in
accordance with some verse of the Koran, but also of real
benefit to the nation ; and further, that any opposition on
the part of his subjects to such an order passed by His
Majesty shall involve damnation in the world to come and
loss of property and reUgious privileges in this.
' This document has been written with honest intentions,
for the glory of God and the propagation of the Islam, and
is signed by us, the principal Ulama and lawyers, in the month
of Rajab in the year nine hundred and eighty-seven (987).'^
Com- That document assured to Akbar, so far as any written
instrument could have such effect, the utmost power that
any man could claim to exercise within the limits of Islain.
The decree had no concern with any other religion. Although
it purported to have been devised for the propagation of
the Muslim faith, and to recognize the authority not only
of the Koran, but of the genuine traditions of the Prophet,
yet, as BadaonI truly observes, ' the superiority of the
intellect of the Imam was established, and opposition was
rendered impossible '.^
■ Badaoni, ii, 279. Rajab is attempt to put into execution the
the 7th month. The year 987 design he had long meditated
began on February 28, 1579. of making the interests of the
" The meaning and effect of indigenous princes the interests
the decree are absurdly misre- of the central authority at Agra,
presented by Malleson in the The document is, in fact, the
following passage : ' The signa- Magna Charta of his reign,
ture of this _ document was a ' The reader will, I am sure,
turning-point in the life and reign pardon me if I have dwelt at some
of Akbar. For the first time length on the manner in which
he was free. He could ^ve cur- it was obtained, for it is the key-
rency and force to his ideas of stone of the subsequent legislation
toleration and his respect for and action of the monarch, by
conscience. He could now bring it placed above the narrow
the Hindu, the Parsi, the Christian restrictions of Islam ' (p. 158).
into his councils. He could
It may be doubted if the House of Worship remained in

use for long after the promulgation of the decree. Wrangling
between the rival Muslim doctors became futile when the
infallible autocrat could solve any problem at issue by
a decisive word. Discussion, no doubt, still continued for
years, but it seems to have been conducted generally in the
private apartments of the palace, and not at the House of
Worship in the gardens. The field of debate was widened,
and representatives of all religions were henceforth welcomed.
The pretence or profession of a desire to define and
propagate the teaching of Islam was soon dropped, and in
the course of a year or two Akbar had definitely ceased tq
be a Muslim. As early as January 1580, when Aquaviva
and his companions were travelling from Surat to Gujarat
on their way to the capital, they had met the imperial
couriers, who told the escort that Akbar had forbidden
the use of the name of Muhammad in the public prayers.-'
Afterwards he went much farther, and definitely renounced
all faith in the Prophet, although he continued to perform
occasional acts of conformity for poUtical reasons.
In September 1579 Akbar, although no longer a sincere Akbar's
believer in the efficacy of the prayers of Muslim saints, hypo"
made a pilgrimage, as had been his annual custom, to the crisy.
shrine at Ajmer.^ The date, however, was not that of
Muinu-d din's anniversary on which he had been accustomed
to go. Abu-1 Fazl candidly states that he made this special
visit as * a means of calming the public and enhancing the
submission of the recalcitrants ', He never went again,
but in the year following (1580) sent Prince Daniyal as his
representative.
About this time Akbar, becoming alarmed at the wide-
spread resentment aroused by his innovations, adopted
a policy of calculated hypocrisy. When on his way back
from Ajmer he caused a lofty tent (bdrgdh) to be furnished
as a travelling mosque, in which he ostentatiously prayed
ed.' Lisbon,
'DeSousa,,OrienteConquistada,
1710, i, ch. ii, p. 160, marching
on the way.leisurely and hunting
He arrived at the
as cited by Goldie, p. 65 n. shrine about the middle of
^ He started early in September, October (A. N., lii, 405).
five times a day, as a pious Muslim should do. A little later,
apparently in 1580, he carried his hypocritical conformity
still farther. A certain Mir Abu Turab had returned from
Mecca, bringing with him a stone supposed to bear an
impression of the Prophet's foot. Akbar, knowing well
that ' the thing was not genuine ', commanded that the
pretended relic should be received with elaborate ceremonial.
He went out in person to meet it, and helped to carry the
heavy stone for some paces on his shoulder.
' All tliis honour was done out of abundant perceptive-
ness, respect and appreciation, and wide toleration, in order
that the reverence due to the simple-minded Saiyid might
not be spilt on the ground, and that jovial critics might
not break out into smiles. The vain thinkers and ill-con-
ditioned ones who had been agitated on account of the
inquiries into the proofs of prophecy, and the passing of
nights (in discussion), and the doubts of which books of
theology are full — ^were at once made infamous in the market
of ashamedness ',
and so on, according to Abu-1 Fazl. The make-believe,
however, was too obvious to impose on any intelligent
person. Indeed, Badaoni expressly states that when the
emperor took the trouble of walking five kos to the shrine
at Ajmer,
' sensible people smiled, and said :— " It was strange that
His Majesty should have such faith in the Khwajah, while
he rejected the foundation of everything — our prophet,
from whose skirt hundreds of thousands of saints of the
highest degree, Uke the Khwajah, had sprung." ' ^
We may be certain that the farcical reception of the
sham reHc must have excited still more outspoken ridicule.
The unworthy hypocrisy which Akbar condescended to
practise failed to effect its purpose, and he found himself
compelled to meet by force the violent opposition aroused
by his rash proceedings.
' For the mosque-tent see the date of the incident, which
A. N., iii, 407 n. The story of is placed later by Badaoni (ii, 320).
the stone is told, ibid., p. 411. For the remark that 'sensible
Beveridge discusses in his note people smiled ' see ibid., p. 280.
Early in 1580 he got rid of both Shaikh Abdu-n NabI, the

late Sadr, ,and his opponent Makhdumu-1 Mulk by sending
them into exile under the form of a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Both were allowed to return, but they did not survive long.
Makhdumu-1 Mulk died at Ahmadabad in 1582, leaving
great riches and valuable books, which were all confiscated.
His sons several times suffered torture, and were reduced
to abject poverty.^ Two years later , Abdu-n Nabi was
murdered,^ presumably in pursuance of secret orders from
the emperor. Akbar's hostility was terribly vindictive in
some cases.
' Badaoni, in E. & D., v, 536 ; rack of distress '. Inasmuch as

Lowe, p. 321. The words trans- the deceased had taken cunning
lated by Elliot as ' several times precautions to conceal his wealth,
underwent torture ' are taken by the use of torture is probable.
Lowe in a figurative sense to ^ Aln, vol. i, p. 273 ; Badaoni,
mean ' being some time on the ii, 32.
CHAPTER VII
REBELLION IN BENGAL AND BIHAR; THE KABUL
CAMPAIGN AND ITS RESULTS ; END OF THE FIRST
JESUIT MISSION ; REBELLION OF MUZAFFAR SHAH IN
GUJARAT, ETC.
Discon- Khan Jahan, governor of Bengal, died in December 1578,

tent in and after a short interval was replaced by Muzaffar Khan
Bengal. Turbati (March 1579).^ Various officers were appointed
to assist the new governor as Diwan (revenue depart-
ment), Bakhshi (paymaster, &c.), and Sadr (ecclesiastical
and grants department). The offences which at various
times had cost Muzaffar Khan his sovereign's favour were
blotted out, and he was now entrusted with one of the most
responsible posts in the empire. Instructions from the court
required the officials in Bihar and Bengal to enforce the
unpopular regulations concerning the branding of horses for
government service, and to secure the rights of the Crown
by investigating the titles to ja^lr lands and resuming
unauthorized holdings. At that time the imperial Diwan or
Finance Minister was Khwaja Shah Mansur, an expert in
treasury business, but over-fond of gain, and unsympathetic
in temperament. The strict and apparently over-strict
enforcement of the orders of the government by the local
officials produced violent discontent among the Muhammadan
chiefs in Bihar and Bengal. Special cases of severity to
individuals increased the ill feeling, and it is said that the
officials added fuel to the fire by their greed for money.
Particular exasperation was caused by an interference with
the local allowances payable to soldiers serving in the eastern
provinces. Akbar had directed that the pay of men serving
' Muzaffar Khan had been in According to Latif {Agra, p. 197),
Bairam Khan's service. For his that building was erected by
life see Aln, vol. 1, p. 348, No. 37. Mirza Muzaffar Husain, the grand-
Blochmann seems to be mistaken son of Shah Ismail of Persia.
in attributing to him the old The life of the Mirza is narrated
Jami or Kali mosque at Agra. in Am, vol, i, p. 313, No. 8.
KABUL CAMPAIGNS ; REBELLIONS 185
in Bengal should be raised by 100 per cent., and that of those

serving in Bihar by 50 per cent. Shah Mansur took it upon
himself to order that those allowances should be cut down to
50 and 20 per cent, respectively. The orders to that effect
led to irritating demands for the refund of excess payments.
In addition to all those material reasons for dissatisfaction,
the Musalmans of Bihar and Bengal were profoundly
alarmed by Akbar's vagaries in the matter of religion and
his manifest alienation from Islam. His policy, represented
in theory to be one of universal toleration {sulh-i-kul), was
resented as being in substance an attack upon the Muham-
madan religion. Subsequent proceedings proved that the
malcontents were fuUy justified in their interpretation of
the action taken by Akbar, who quickly developed a bitter
hatred for everything connected with the name or religion
of the Prophet, and allowed his ' universal toleration ' to
be perverted into a toleration of all religions except the
Muhammadan, on which he lavished insults and outrages.
At the time of the rebellion in the east he had not gone so
far as he did afterwards, but he had already manifested his
hostility to Islam, and the officers in Bihar and Bengal had
good reason for fearing that he would become a thorough-!
going apostate. They therefore began to look to Muhammad
Hakim, his younger half-brother at Kabul, as the orthodox
head of Indian Muslims, and to conspire for placing him on
Akbar's throne. The transparently insincere devices adopted
by the emperor to keep up appearances as a Muhammadan
could not deceive any person of ordinary intelligence. Early
in 1580 Mulla Muhammad Yazdl, a theologian who had
been in intimate converse with Akbar, ventured to issue
a formal ruling (fatwd), in his capacity as KazI of Jaunpur,
that rebellion against the innovating emperor was lawful.^
The reasons above enumerated, which might be amplified Re-
largely in detail, brought about a sudden revolt of infiuential
chiefs of Bengal in January 1580, when Wazir Jamil, Baba
» Mulla Muhammad Yazdi had the wall of the Fathpur-Sikri
shared with two Brahmans and palace in order to hold confidential
Shaikh Taju-d din the honour converse with Akbar (BadaonI,
of being drawn up to the top of ii, 265-7). He was a bitter Shia,
186 AKBAR THE GRPAT MOGUL
Khaii Kakshal, and other officers rebelled openly .^ Dissen-

sions among the imperial officials encouraged the rebels to
hope for success greater than their actual strength would
have justified them in expecting. Muzaffar Khan, the
governor, an arrogant man, was jealous of the Diwan and
other officers appointed to help him as subordinate colleagues,
some of whom were not men of high character.
In February 1580 Akbar received dispatches announcing
the rebellion. He promptly sent Raja Todar Mall and other
officers to suppress the disturbances, and attempted to
remove the causes of discontent by the issue of conciliatory
orders censuring the governor for indiscretion. They failed
to effect their purpose. The rebellion acquired added force
by the adhesion of Masum Khan of Kabul, jaglrdar of
Patna, commonly distinguished as 'the Rebel (Asi) ', a nick-
name given him by Akbar, and of his namesake known by
the cognomen of Farankhudi. Those officers were largely
influenced by the legal ruling given by Mulla Muhammad
Yazdi, the Kazi of Jaunpur, that the apostasy of Akbar
justified rebellion against him, as mentioned above. Masum
Khan of Kabul, who was in communication with Akbar's
brother, Mirza Muhammad Hakim, ruler of that province,
may be considered the chief leader of the revolt. The royal
arms in the early stages of the war were not successful.
In April 1580 Muzaffar Khan, who had retired to Tanda, an
indefensible place, was captured and killed, ' with all sorts
of tortures '. ^ The equipage and treasure of the royal army
fell into the hands of the rebels. Akbar dared not proceed
in person to conduct the campaign in the eastern provinces,
because he rightly felt that the really serious danger threaten-
ing him was that on the north-west, where his brother was
preparing an invasion in communication with the Bengal
insurgents for the purpose of winning for himself the throne
of Hindostan. A successful invasion from Kabul, resulting
in the occupation of Delhi and of Agra with its enormous
1 A. N., vol. iii, pp. 417, 428 ; Am, vol. i, p. 473, No. 200.
ch. 50, 51. For biography of ' Badaoni, ii, 290.
Wazir or Wazir Beg Jamil see
KlBUL CAMPAIGNS ; REBELLIONS ;ia7
store of treasure, would have meant the destruction of the
empire which Akbar had built up with so much labour and
skill. But if that invasion should fail, the rising in the east
might be safely regarded as a mere provincial trouble to be
adjusted sooner or later by the imperial officers.^ Events
proved the soundness of Akbar's judgement. The invasion
from the north-west was repelled, and the eastern insurrec-
tions were suppressed in due course.
Raja Todar Mall was besieged in Mungir (Monghyr) for Suppres-
.four months, until he was reheved by the gradual melting the"re-
away of the rebel contingents. The Teliagarhi Pass, the bellion.
' gate of Bengal ', was recovered by the imperialists, and the
back of the rebellion was broken.
Akbar appointed his foster-brother, Mirza Aziz Kokah,
to be governor of Beng'aL The Mirza, a man of an insubordii-
nate disposition, had been in disgrace and excluded from
court for a long time. He was now recalled to favour,
raised to the rank of a commander of 5,000, given the title
of Khan-i-Azam, and entrusted with the honourable task of
recovering the eastern provinces. Shahbaz Khan was recalled
from a campaign in Rajputana, and sent to help the governor.
It is evident that at this period Akbar was in a position of
imminent danger. He could not afford to leave a noble
so influential as Mirza Aziz Kokah sulking, nor could he
fritter away strength in minor enterprises.
In order to conciliate the rebels Shah MansQr was removed
for a short time from the office of Diwan or Finance Minister,
and replaced, as a temporary measure, by Wazir Khan.^
Shahbaz Khan inflicted a severe defeat on one section
of the insurgents between Ajodhya in Southern Oudh and
Jaunpur in January 1581.* It is unnecessary to follow the
further operations in detail. It may suffice to say that by
1584 the rebellion in both Bihar and Bengal had been
' A. N., iii, 434. ' Ibid., p. 486. The fight took
' For life of Wazir (Vazir) place near Sultanpur - Bilahri,
Khan see Atn, vol. i, p. 353, 25 kos from Ajodhya (Awadh).
No. 41. He was brother of Asaf The neighbouring city of Fyzabad
Khan I, and had been governor had not been built at that date.
of Gujarat.
generally suppressed. The partial subjugation of Orissa

was deferred to a later date. Akbar exhibited his usual
politic clemency in favour of several of the prominent rebel
leaders, who sometimes abused his leniency and renewed
their disloyal conduct.^
The Mullas, or religious teachers, who had instigated the
insurrection, were sternly punished in an irregular fashion,
without trial or public execution. Mulla Muhammad Yazdi,
the KazI of Jaunpur, who had dared to give the ruling that
rebeUion was lawful, was sent for, along with his colleague,
the KazI of Bengal. Their boat 'foundered ' in the river, and
sundry other Mullas suspected of disaffection were ' sent to
the closet of annihilation ', by one way or another.^ Akbar
never felt any scruple about ordering the private informal
execution or assassination of opponents who could not be
condemned and sentenced publicly without inconvenient
consequences. In such matters his action resembled that
of the contemporary Italian princes.
' Settle- In the early years of the reign, while Akbar's dominions
assess- were still comparatively small, the assessment of the land
mentof revenue, or government share of the produce, had been
revenue, made annually on the strength of a rough estimate which
was submitted to and passed by the sovereign.
In the fifteenth year of the reign (1570-1) Muzaffar
Khan Turbati, then Diwan, or Finance Minister, assisted
by Raja Todar Mall, at that time his subordinate, prepared
a revised assessment based on the returns made by the
provincial Kdnungos, and checked by ten chief Kanungos
at head-quarters.
In the 24th and 25th regnal years (1579-80), the incon-
veniences of annual ' settlements ' or assessments having
become apparent, Khwaja Shah Mansur introduced a system
of decennial or ten year's ' settlement ', the assessment being
based on the average of ten years, namely the 15th to the
' Masum Khan Farankhudi killed, probably in accordance

was pardoned thrice. Soon after with secret orders from Akbar
the last public exercise of clemency {Ain, vol. i, p. 443, No. 157).
he was waylaid when returning ' Badaoni, ii, 285.
from the palace at night and
KlBUL CAMPAIGNS ; REBELLIONS 189
24th regnal years inclusive, and fixed for a term of ten years.
Abu-l Fazl, who was not a revenue expert, is rather obscure
in his description, because he says that a tenth of the total
of ten years was fixed as the annual assessment, and then
proceeds to state that, as regards the last five years of the
period above named (i. e. 20th to 24th years), ' the best
crops were taken into account in each year, and the year
of the most abundant harvest accepted '.
If the best year was taken as the standard, the assessment
must have been severe ; but, if Abu-l Fazl may be believed,
' the people were thus made contented and their gratitude
was abundantly manifested'. Unfortunately little if any
definite evidence exists concerning the actual facts.
Raja Todar Mall was associated with the Khwaja in the
imperial commission, but when he was obliged to go east-
wards in order to suppress the Bengal rebellion which broke
out in January 1580, the whole burden of the work fell upon
Shah Mansur, a highly skilled accountant.^
About the same time, 1580, the enlarged empire was divided Twelve
into twelve provinces or viceroyalties, generally known as formed.
Subas, and a regular establishment of high officials was fixed
for each province. The original twelve Subas were : Alla-
habad, Agra, Oudh, Ajmer, Ahmadabad (Gujarat), Bihar,
Bengal, Delhi, Kabul, Lahore (Panjab), Multan, and Malwa.
When subsequent annexations took place, Kashmir was
included in Lahore, Sind in Multan, and Orissa in Bengal.
The conquests in the Deccan towards the close of the reign
added three new Subas, Berar, Khandesh, and Ahmadnagar,
bringing up the total to 15.^
The superior staff of each province comprised : the
Diwan (finance) ; Bakhshi (pay department, &c.) ; Mir Adal
(' doomster % to pronounce sentence on persons condemned
by a Kazi) ; Sadr (ecclesiastical and grants department) ;
Kotwal (police) ; Mir Bahr (shipping, ports, and ferries) ;
and Wakia-navis (record department).
« Aln, Book III, Ain 15, in Fazl in Ain, Book III, Ain 15,
vol. ii, p. 88 ; A. N., iii, 4ia. vol. ii, p. 115. See also A. iV.,
' The list is as given by Abu-l iii, 413.
The viceroy, who was usually known as Subadar in later

times, was called Sipahsalar or Commander-in-Chief in
Akbar's day.
The arrangements made by Shah Mansur formed the basis
of all subsequent Mogul administration, and have left some
trace even to this day.
The tragic fate of the Khwaja in the year following his,
reforms will be narrated presently.
A.D. 1581, The year 1581 may be regarded as the most critical time
vea". ^^ in the reign of Akbar, if his early struggles to consolidate his
power be not taken into account. When the year began he
was undisputed master of all the great fortresses in northern
India, and had extended his dominion east and west from,
the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal, and southwards as
far as the Tapti river. But the revolt in Bihar and Bengal
which had broken out at the beginning of 1580 was still
far from being completely crushed. In the course , of that
year the rebels began to aim at something more than a mere
j^rovincial insurrection. They sought for an orthodox
Muslim sovereign and plotted to replace the impious Akbar
by his half-brother, Mirza Muhammad Hakim, the ruler
of Kabul, who was practically independent, although
supposed to owe fealty to the emperor of Hindostan. They
were not troubled by the thought that the man whom they
desired to substitute for their gifted monarch was a drunken
sot, cowardly and irresolute, incapable of governing the
empire acquired and consolidated by the genius of Akbar.
It sufficed for them to know that Muhammad Hakim was
reputed to be sound in doctrine. Accordingly, the Masiims
and other rebel leaders in the eastern provinces conspired
with several influential personages at court to invite the
Kabul prince to invade India and wrest the throne from its
blasphemous occupant. They promised their nominee ample
support and a bloodless victory.
The Bengal rebels obviously were at a great disadvantage
in being separated from the territories of Muhammad Hakim
by many hundreds of miles of country strongly held by
Akbar and undei: his effective control. Their hopes of success
rested on two things only, namely, a vigorous offensive in

adequate force from Kabul threatening Delhi and Agra,
and the seduction of high officials capable of paralysing
the imperialist defence by reason of their position; If the
conspirators had had on their side a single man of commanding
ability they might have succeeded, because Akbar's conduct
had excited bitter hostility in the hearts of most Muhamma-
dans of influence, while his Hindu supporters might not
have been strong enough to maintain his authority. But
Muhammad Hakim was a contemptible creature, wholly
incapable of meeting his brother either in statecraft or in
the field, and the rebelhon in the east failed to produce any
leader of real eminence. The court oflRcials who felt inclined
to play the part of traitors were dominated by the craft
and genius of their master. They were powerless unless
the claimant to the throne could justify his pretensions by
decisive military success, and that he failed to attain.
Akbar learned at an early date the nature of the conspiracy,
and prepared to crush it by a combination of guile with
force. ^
1 The history of the Kabul principal matter of interest in it
campaign rests upon the testi- is the assertion that Shah Mansiir
mony of three authors, all of was hanged on the strength of
whom took part in the expedition ; evidence, partially forged. Ba-
namely (1) Father Monserrate ; daoni, in the main, copies from
("2) Abu-1 Fazl, in the Akbarnama ; the Tabakai, adding one or two
and (3) Nizamu-d din, in the details. The notice of the cam-'
Tabakat. Particulars of their paign in Firishta is slight and of
works will be found in the no independent value.
Bibliography (App. D). The Monserrate, Abu-1 Fazl, and
treatise by Monserrate is entitled Firishta agree in ignoring the
to be considered the primary story about the alleged forgery,
authority, as being by far the and in treating Shah Mansiir as
fullest account of the transactions, a traitor deservedly punished,
based on notes written up each Badaoni follows the lead given
evening while his recollection by Nizamu-d-din and amplifies
of the events was fresh by a his statement on the incident,
learned, able, and conscientious which will be discussed more
man. He gives numerous material fully in subsequent notes,
facts not mentioned by any other As usual the three contemporary
writer. The Akbarnama account, authorities do not always agree,
the next in value, is tolerably Mr. Beveridge has been good
detailed, but the narrative is enough to send me most of the
disfigured by the author's usual proof-sheets of volume iii of his
faults, and leaves obscure many translation of the Akbarnama, not
incidents clearly related by the yet published, which contains
Jesuit. Nizamu-d din's abstract the account of the Kabul expedi-'
of the events is meagre. The tion. The Latin text of Monser-
A.D. 1580. The leader of the conspiracy at court was Shah Mansur,
abf^con- *^^ Finance Minister, whom Akbar had raised from a humble
spiracy position as a clerk, in recognition of his exceptional skill
Akbar. ^^ dealing with accounts.^ Letters from him to Muhammad
Hakim were intercepted. Akbar placed the traitor under
surveillance for a month and suspended him from office,
replacing him temporarily by Shah Kuli Mahram. Steps
were taken to scatter the conspirators and prevent them from
combining. Akbar then reinstated Shah Mansiir, who,
however, renewed his communications with Kabul. His
correspondence was again seized. Shah Mansiir was then
finally removed from office and imprisoned.*
In December 1580 an officer of Muhammad Hakim named
Nuru-d din made a raid into the Panjab, which was repulsed,
as also was a second inroad under the command of Shadman,
who was killed. When his baggage was examined more
documents were found incriminating Shah Mansiir and
other high officials. Mirza Muhammad Hakim in person
then invaded the Panjab with 15,000 cavalry. He made
overtures to Yiisuf, commandant of the northern Rohtas,^
asking him to surrender the fortress, which were rejected
with indignation. The prince then advanced to Lahore,
and camped in a garden outside the city, hoping that the
gates would be opened to him. Man Singh, the governor,
however, was faithful to his charge and refused to commit
treason. Muhammad Hakim then retired to his own terri-
tory. He had been led on by the counsels of his maternal
uncle, Farldiin, who was convinced that the country would
rise in his favour. Notwithstanding the care taken by the
invaders to abstain from pillage, the expectations of Faridun
were completely falsified by the event, and not a man stirred
rate's treatise, edited by Father events do not seem to be recorded,
H. Hosten, S.J., in 1914, is still and there is some obscurity about
practically unknown to nearly the occasions. Shah Kuli Mah-
all students of Indian history, ram seems to have taken the place
It has been largely used in the of the Khwaja on one occasion
composition of this chapter. and Wazir Khan on another.
' ' Xamansurus (hoc enim erat » Now in the Jhelum (Jihlam)
nomen, conjuratorum duci) ' District, in 32° 55' N. and 73° 48'
(Commentarius, p. 576). E. The fortress was built by
" The exact dates of those Sher Shah.
ICABUL campaigns ; REBELLIONS 193
to help the Mirza, whose force by itself was obviously-

inadequate to withstand the might of Akbar. Speedy retreat
was imperative. Muhammad Hakim fled in such haste that
he lost 400 men who failed to swim across the Chinab.
Akbar, who had hoped to avoid war with his brother, The
was reluctantly compelled to decide that the time had come ^^hg*
to defend his throne by arms. He made his preparations army,
for an advance in overwhelming strength with the utmost
forethought and prudence,^ assembling a force of about
50,000 cavalry, at least 500 elephants, and an unnumbered
host of infantry. He advanced eight months' pay from the
imperial treasury.^ His army, which was at least three
times more numerous and ten times more powerful than
that of his brother,' was mustered near the capital.
On February 8, 1581,* Akbar marched. As a precaution
he took with him Shah Mansur, who had been released from
custody. The emperor was accompanied by his two elder
sons. Prince Sallm, then in his twelfth year, and Prince
Murad, who was about a year younger. Father Monserrate,
tutor to Murad, was in attendance, by Akbar's express
command. Suitable measures were taken for the adminis-
tration ofthe capital, the provinces, and chief cities of the
empire. A few ladies of the harem travelled with the
camp, which was arranged with well-ordered splendour.
The huge multitude, including innumerable camp followers
and dealers in every commodity, moved with admirable
precision along the great northern road through Mathura
(Muttra) and Delhi. Father Monserrate was astounded at
the low prices which prevailed, notwithstanding the immense
numbers of men and animals, more especially of elephants.'
• ' Bellum
magna Chabulicum
cum animi constantiaquod his camp
et the at Fathpur-Sikri
6th, waited on
there for two
miro consilio, Hachimo fugato days (biduo, p. 579) until every-
Zelaldinus [Jalalu-d din] confeeit ' thing was in order, and actually
(Commentarius, p. 535). marched on the 8th. That cir-
" Tabakat in E. & D., v, 421. cumstance explains the statement
' BartoH, p. 53. in A. N., iii, 495, that Akbar
* The date, according to Monser- ' set off ' on Monday, Muharram 2,
rate, was ' sext. Idus Feb.', which which undoubtedly was equivalent
his editor correctly interprets to February 6.
as February 8. Akbar formed ' The number of elephants
1B4S r.
He ascribes the extraordinary plenty to the care and fore-

sight of Akbar, who had personally seen to the collection
of supplies. The dealers employed for the commissariat
had been reheved from the payment of all dues or customs.^
When the camp was in the neighbourhood of Sonpat,
Malik Sani, a confidential servant of Muhammad Hakim,
arrived and offered his own services to the emperor. The
fact that the visitor accepted the hospitahty of Shah Mansur,
who was already so deeply compromised, was regarded as
additional evidence of the minister's treason. About the
same time letters purporting to have been sent by Muham-
mad Hakim to Shah MansQr were intercepted. This third
seizure of treasonable correspondence left Akbar in no
doubt concerning the guilt of Shah Mansur, who was again
arrested.
Feb. 27, The army then moved on through Panipat and Thanesar
1581.
Execu- to Shahabad, midway between Thanesar and Ambala
tion of
Khwaja (Umballa).^ Near Shahabad, Shah Mansur was solemnly
Shah
MansQr. hanged on a tree adjoining the sarai of Kot Kachhwaha.^
The story of this memorable execution is best told in the
words of Father Monserrate, who was with the camp, and
wrote up his notes each evening.
' The army ', he writes, ' arrived at Shahabad, where Shah
Mansur, by order of the King, was hanged on a tree, and so
paid the just penalty for his perfidy and treason. The thing
was done in this manner. The King commanded the officers
of the guards and of the executioners, as well as certain
chief nobles, to halt at that place with Shah Mansur. He
actually with the force was 500 ° Shahabad is now in the
(Monserrate, p. 582), not 5,000 as Karnal District (30° 10' N., 76°
Bartoli puts it (p. 53). The army 52' E.). The name is disguised
comprised people of many nation- as ' Baadum ' in Commeniarius,
alities. At that time the strength p. 590. The correct name is
of the Imperial Service troops, given in the Tabakat (E. & D.,
as distinguished from contingents, v, 422).
was 45,000 cavalry, 5,000 ele- ■ ' Ex arbore suspensus ', not
phants, and an unnumbered • crucified ' (lo fece subito mettere
host of men on foot. The expedi- in croce, & morire), as Peruschi
tionary force included part of (p. 23);Kotnor 'impaled', as in
the Imperial Service Troops, Beale. Kachhwaha is named
besides considerable contingents, in A. N. iii, 503. Beale gives the
making up the total stated in the date as Feb. 27 = 23 Muharram,
text. A. H. 989.
1 Commeniarius, p. 581.
directed Abu-1 Fazl to expound in the presence of those

witnesses the benefits which the King had conferred upon
the condemned man from his boyhood. The speaker was
further instructed to reproach him with his ingratitude, to
denounce his treason, and to prove that Shah Mansur,
convicted on the evidence of letters in his own handwriting
and in that of Muhammad Hakim, was rightly sentenced
to be hanged by order of the King. He was also commanded
to urge the criminal to undergo his punishment with a stout
heart, accepting it as only his due. He was further instructed
to convince those present that the King had planned no
injustice against Shah Mansiir, and to warn them to abide
by their duty.
' Abu-1 Fazl, as representing the King, performed the
above duty to a nicety.^ When the culprit was dead, they
returned to the camp, which was not far oft. The King
openly testified by the sadness of his countenance that he
grieved over the man's fate.
' But by his execution the whole conspiracy was extin-
guished, and the sword-point was withdrawn from the
throats of all who adhered to the King. Throughout the
whole camp, the punishment of the wicked man was approved
with rejoicing. No internal sedition being now to be feared,
Akbar anticipated the successful issue of the war, which he
accomplished by the favour of God. Muhammad Hakim,
when he heard of what had happened, repented his action
and thought of peace.'
The execution of Shah Mansiir has been denounced by Corn-
writers of authority as ' a judicial murder ', or 'a foul „„ ti,e
murder ', and attributed to the machinations of Raja Todar execu-
Mall. Neither Father Monserrate nor Abu-1 Fazl gives any
support to such charges. Both authors treat the punish-
ment as deserved and say that it was acclaimed by general
rejoicing.^ The belief that the execution was a judicial
murder rests upon the following passage in the Tahdkdt :
' When the Emperor was waited upon at Kabul by the
confidential servants of Mirza Muhammad Hakim, he made
• ' Quod Abdulfasillus, qui Regis quite so definite in his judgement

personam sustinebat, ad unguem as Father Monserrate, states as
perfecit ' (p. 591). Compare the one among the criminal's faults
case of Essex and Bacon, twenty that he lacked ' a little loyalty to
years later. the lord of the universe '.
* Abu-1 Fazl, although not
02
inquiry into the case of Khwaja Shah Mansur, and it appeared

that Karmu-lla, brother of Shahbaz, had colluded with
others to concoct letters, and that he had forged the last
letter on the evidence of which Khwaja Mansur was executed.
After this was discovered, the Emperor often regretted the
execution of the Khwaja.' ^
It will be observed that Nizamu-d din distinctly affirms
the forgery of only the last set of letters, those seized near
Sonpat towards the end of February 1581, which induced
Akbar to decide on the execution. Badaoni, whose work
was based on the Tabakdt, extends Nizamu-d din's statement
so as to cover all the letters, saying that Akbar
' found out that Karamu-Uah, brother of Shahbaz Khan,
together with other Amirs had concocted all this forgery
and deception, and that the last letter also, which had
been the cause of his being put to death, was a forgery
of the Amirs. So the Emperor was very much grieved
about the execution of Shah Mansur.' ^
After careful study of the various versions of the incident,
I am of opinion that in 1580 genuine correspondence passed
between the Mirza and the Khwaja. Monserrate's detailed
account shows that Akbar was unwilling to take strong
action on those documents, and that it was the third dis-
covery in 1581 which induced him to harden his heart and
order the execution. The Khwaja was extremely unpopular,
and the truth seems to be that his enemies, who were deter-
mined to compass his destruction, forged the last batch of
letters in order to force Akbar's hand. The documents
seized on earlier occasions were genuine. I believe that
1 E. & D., V, 426. Nizamu-d and encouragement. Kunwar

din evidently believed in the Man Singh sent these letters to
genuineness of the letters taken the Emperor, who ascertained
from Shadman's baggage. He the contents, but kept the fact
writes : ' When Kunwar Man concealed ' (ibid., p. 422). Ha-
Singh defeated Shadman, he klmu-l Mulk was sent to Mecca
obtained from Shadman's port- for life, as being a person ' not
folio three letters from Mirza to be trusted in matters of religion
Muhammad Hakim : one to and faith '. He refused to come
Hakimu-1 Mulk, one to Khwaja back when sent for (Badaoni,
Shah Mansur, and one to Muham- p. 293). He was a physician {Aln,
mad Kasim Khan Mir-bahr ; all vol. i, p. 542).
in answer to letters of invitation ' Badaoni, ii, 303.
Shah Mansur really had been guilty of sending letters of

invitation to Muhammad Hakim in 1580, and that he actually
was the head of the treasonable conspiracy, as stated by
Monserrate. The suggestion that Raja Todar Mall was
concerned in the alleged forgery plot does not seem to be
supported by any evidence of value.
Abu-1 Fazl suppresses the information about the unplea-
sant duty assigned to himself, which is known only from the
pages of Monserrate.
Akbar's grief appears to have been caused by annoyance
at the unnecessary loss of a skilled financier rather than by
remorse for a judicial murder. According to Abu-1 Fazl :
' The appreciative monarch often uttered with his pearling
tongue, " From that day the market of accounts was flat
and the thread of accounting dropped from the hand." '
Probably the emperor's unwillingness to punish the
traitor was due to his fear of losing the services of an irre-
placeable expert more than to anything else. In the course
of his long reign he was often obliged to accept the services
of men on whose loyalty he could not depend. For instance,
he continued to utilize Kasim Khan as being his best engineer,
although he, too, had sent an invitation to the Mirza. It
is evident that several of Akbar's officers tried to keep on
terms with both parties, as English statesmen did when
Jacobite plots were being arranged. Akbar relied on himself
alone, and was always confident that he could detect treason
and defeat it one way or another.
After the execution Akbar continued his march to Ambala Akbar's
and Sirhind. On reaching Pael (Payal), the next stage beyond ^^^ê
Sirhind,^ he heard the pleasant news that his brother had Indus,
withdrawn from the Panjab. The cloud of anxiety disap-
peared from his countenance, and he gave vent to his high
spirits by taking a drive in a two-horsed chariot. The news,
however, did not induce him to change his plans. He was
determined to pursue his fugitive opponent, and to dictate
terms of peace in Kabul.
He therefore marched on, crossing the Sutlaj and Bias by
■ Pael, a mahal of Sirhind (Ain, vol. ii, 295 ; iii, 69).
bridges of boats. He avoided the direct main road through

Lahore, in order that he might keep close to the base of
the hills.^ He camped at Kalanaur, in the extensive and
charming gardens which he had caused to be made in
honour of the scene of his accession to the throne. The Ravi
was crossed by a bridge of boats, but when the army reached
the Chinab boats were scarce, and the transit of the whole
force in such ferry-boats as were available occupied three
days. Yusuf, who had held Rohtas against the invader,
gave his sovereign a splendid banquet when the army
reached the fortress in his charge. After quitting Rohtas
Akbar pushed on towards the Indus.
The ardour of his passion for theological discussion is
illustrated by the curious anecdote that at this time Father
Monserrate thought it proper to present the emperor with
a treatise on the Passion, which excited a lively argument.
On arrival at the bank of the Indus Akbar was delayed
for fifty days. The construction of a bridge at that season
was impracticable, and the passage of the flooded stream
could have been easily prevented by a small force of resolute
men. The Mirza's reasons for allowing his brother to make
his arrangements for the transit undisturbed and to cross
without opposition are not recorded.
Advance The chief officers of the imperial army manifested a
" mutinous spirit while encamped on the bank of the Indus.
For one reason or another, all, or almost all, were unwilling
to cross the river, and urged their opinions at several councils
of war.^ Akbar amused his leisure with hunting. Monser-
rate, as a priest and man of peace, advised Akbar not to
press the quarrel with his brother to extremity. But the
emperor decided to go on. He sent Prince Murad, accom-
panied by experienced officers, across first with several
thousand cavalry and five hundred elephants. Two days
' Alexander the Great, when his life because his enemies
operating at the same rainy falsely accused him of supporting
season, did likewise. the malcontent officers (p. 527).
* A. N., ch. Ixi, vol. iii, p. 522. Akbar ordered a fort to be built
Abu-1 Fazl is more detailed than at Attock (Atak Benares) (ibid.,
Monserrate in his account of p. 601).
the councils. He was near losing
IClBUL CAMPAIGNS ; REBELLIONS 199
after he had dispatched his young son on his dangerous

duty, Akbar characteristically spent many hours of the night
discussing with Monserrate a variety of geographical and
theological problems. The report of the conversation occu-
pies several quarto pages.^
About July 12 Akbar himself crossed the Indus, and was
followed in due course by the army which was to accompany
him. A standing camp was left behind.^ Some alarm was
caused by the arrival of a messenger who reported a disaster
to Murad's force, but more accurate accounts received later
showed that the young prince had been saved from defeat by
the timely arrival of a reserve under the command of Man
Singh. Prince Murad, notwithstanding his extreme youth,
took part in the fight (August 1), and, jumping down from
his horse, seized a lance and declared that he would not
yield an inch of ground whatever might happen.*
Akbar encamped near the junction of the Kabul river
with the Indus and waited until all his troops had crossed
safely, an operation which consumed much time. He diverted
himself by labouring in the workshops, and by renewed
debates on Christian theology. He then marched to Pesha-
war, which had been evacuated and burnt by Muhammad
Hakim. While staying there he further gratified his ruling
passion by paying a visit to the Gor Katri Jogis, who occu-
pied the building now used as the offices of the tahsildar,
or sub-collector.*
Prince Salim entered the Khyber Pass in advance of his
father, halting at Ali Masjid, and reaching Jalalabad in
safety. Prince Murad entered the city of Kabul (August 3),
' Commentarius, pp. 604-8. ' Commentarius, p. 610. The

2 He left the main camp with date was August 1 {A. N., iii,
an immense quantity of baggage 536).
on the banks of the Indus, and * ' Eo quidem tempore, exustis
gave the command of that spot tectis, soli cineres videbantur '
to Kasim Khan, in order that {Commentarius, p. 612). For the
he might subdue the refractory ' Gorkhattri ' monastery see /. G.
spirits there and construct a (1908), xx, 125 ; A. N., iii, 528.
bridge ' (A. N., iii, 523). I under- The spelling Gor Katri is correct,
stand that the principal standing The site is not that of Kanishka's
camp was on the Indian side of stupa (Ann. Hep. A. S. India,
the river. 1908-9, p. 39 n.).
which was abandoned by Muhammad Hakim, who fled into
the hills.i
Akbar issued a proclamation reassuring the inhabitants,
and made his entry into his grandfather's capital on Friday,
Rajab 10, corresponding with August 9, 1581. He stayed
there only seven days, being anxious to return home, and
cherishing hopes that he might be able to manage an attack
on Kashmir as an interlude. He was obliged, for the time
being, to drop the proposed enterprise against the mountain
kingdom, because his army was weary and the season too
far advanced.^
Disposal The Muhammadan historians represent Akbar as having
Aklâr^"'' restored the government of the Kabul province to his
return brother directly. But the Mirza had never come in to make
personal submission to Akbar, and there can be no doubt
that Father Monserrate is correct in stating that the emperor
made over Kabul to his sister, the wife of Khwaja Hasan
of Badakhshan, when she came in to see him. Akbar informed
her that he had no concern with Muhammad Hakim, whose
name he did not wish to hear ; that he made over the pro-
vince to her ; that he would take it back when he pleased ;
that he did not care whether his brother resided at Kabul
or not ; and that she should warn Muhammad Hakim,
that in the event of his misbehaving again he must not
expect a repetition of the kindness and clemency now
shown to him.* The orders were recorded in writing.
Apparently the lady did not attempt to retain the country
in her own charge. She seems to have tacitly allowed the
Mirza to resume the government.
1 Murad's entry is recorded in a month of 32 days. For design
the Tabakat, E. & D., v, 424. on Kashmir see Commentarius,
The historian Nizamu-d din rode p. 620.
out to his camp, doing 75 kos ' Commentarius, p. 618. The
in a day and a night. See also lady was own sister of Muham-
A. N., iii, 538. mad Hakim, and half-sister of
^ ' Septem vero diebus Chabuli Akbar. Her name is variously
. . . constitit' {Commentarius, given as Najibu-n nisa, Fakhru-n
p. 618). ' A week ' (Badaoni, nisa, and Bakhtu-n nisa. The last
p. 303). ' Twenty days ' {Tabakat, form seems to be correct. The
in E. & D., v, 425). From variants probably are due to mis-
29 Amardad to 2 Shahriyiir {A.N., readings of bad writing (JahSngir,
iii, 540, 542). That would give R. & B., i. 144 n. ; Blochmann,
only 6 days, even if Amardad was Ain, vol. i, p. 322).
Akbar celebrated his victory by distributing alms to 3,000

poor people at Ali Masjid, and offering up thanksgivings
according to Muslim ritual at that place.
But he would not allow the white mosque tent to be pitched.
While he was on the outward march and the issue of his
enterprise was uncertain he had used it regularly. He
never hesitated to show outward conformity with the require-
ments of Musalman law when he could gain any political
advantage by complaisance. The emperor now was able to
cross the Indus near Attock by a bridge of boats, the work of
his clever chief engineer, Kasim Khan, the builder of the fort
at Agra.^ The other rivers were crossed in the same manner,
with the exception of the Ravi which proved to be fordable.
Kunwar Man Singh was placed in charge of the Indus
province,^
Akbar arrived at the capital on December 1, 1581, and
celebrated his achievements by magnificent public rejoicings.
The whole undertaking had been completed within ten
months. Although the actual fighting was on a small scale,
the results won by the expedition were of the highest value.
In February Akbar's life and throne seemed to be in Results
imminent danger. Subtle traitors surrounded his person ; g^* ^j.
rebels disputed his authority in the eastern provinces ; tion :
a hostile army, led by his half-brother, an apparently Dec!i58l.
formidable pretender to the crown, had invaded the Panjab,
threatening the safety of the imperial capital ; and no man
could tell what might be the result of the struggle between
the brothers. The extensive range of the preparations
made by the emperor, and the care with which he conducted
his advance, show that Akbar fully realized the magnitude
of the danger threatening him. The execution of Shah
Mansiir effectually cowed the conspirators at court ; the
imperial officers gradually curbed the rebellion in Bengal ;
the personal dread inspired by Akbar's name and character
held waverers to their duty ; the Hindu chiefs remained
loyal ; and the overwhelming numerical superiority and
equipment of the army employed rendered effective military
• Commentarius, p. 620. " A. N., iii, 545, 546.
opposition impossible. Thus, in December, Akbar could
feel that he had put all enemies under his feet, that his life
and throne were secure, and that he could do what he pleased
in religion and all other matters of internal administration.
The success of the Kabul expedition gave him an absolutely
free hand for the rest of his life, and may be regarded as the
climax of his career. His power was now established so
firmly that he was able to take extraordinary liberties with
his people and to defy criticism with absolute impunity.
Father Father Aquaviva, who had been left at Fathpur-Sikri
viva ; while the Kabul expedition was in progress, had spent his
°JJ*p^^y_ time in the practice of rigid austerities and unsparing
guese. mortilScation of the body. When Akbar had won the cam-
paign he sent for Aquaviva, who fell dangerously ill at
Sirhind. But he survived, and had a happy meeting with
the emperor and Father Monserrate at Lahore. When he
told Akbar that hostilities between his officers and the Portu-
guese of Daman were going on, the emperor professed to
be shocked at the news. Akbar's policy with regard to the
Portuguese at this time was tortuous and perfidious.
As early as February 1580, at the very moment when the
missionaries were approaching his court in response to the
friendly invitation addressed to the viceroy and other
authorities of Goa, he had organized an army ' to capture
the European ports ', under the command of one of his most
trusted officers, his foster-brother Kutbu-d din Khan, with
whom the imperial officials of Gujarat and Malwa were
directed to co-operate.^ We learn for the first time from
Monserrate how the war thus initiated had been caused,
and how, as he puts it, the ordinary obscure quarrels between
the Muhammadans and Portuguese developed into avowed
hostiUties. Quarrels never ceased, because the Portuguese
claimed to control the sea and refused to allow any imperial
ship to proceed to Mecca or elsewhere in safety unless pro-
vided with a pass. Such a position naturally was intensely
galling to the emperor and his officers, but their lack of a
» A. N., iii, 409, 410 n. The on the authority of Abu-1 Fazl,
fact, it should be observed, rests not on that of the missionaries.
sea-going fleet and of all knowledge of maritime affairs

precluded them from effective remedy .1
When Gulbadan Begam was going on pilgrimage in 1575,
she had bought the necessary pass by ceding to the Portu-
guese a village called Butsar, situated near Daman. After
her return, when she was no longer dependent on the hated
Christians, she directed the imperial officers to retake the
village. When they tried to do so they were repulsed with
loss. The Portuguese, in retaliation, detained a Mogul ship.
At that time the fleet commanded by Diogo Lopes Coutinho
was lying in the TaptI near Surat. A party of young men
who had landed in Mogul territory for sport, believing
themselves to be in friendly country, were attacked, and
nine of them taken prisoners. They were brought to Surat
and executed because they refused to apostatize. Their
stout-hearted leader, Duarte Pereyra de Lacerda, deserves
to be commemorated by name. The governor sent the
victims' heads to the capital as being a presumably accept-
able present to his master. The affair became generally
known, but Akbar pretended not to have seen the heads,
and professed regret that hostilities had broken out.
Kutbu-d din Khan, acting on the official imperial orders Kutbu-d
of 1580, assembled an army of 15,000 horse, and cruelly *îtî,„n
ravaged the Daman territory. On- April 15, 1582, when he Daman,
attacked Daman itself, he was gallantly repulsed by the jg^g.
garrison and navy under the command of Martin Alfonso
de Mello, Fernao de Castro and other officers. The Fathers,
having been informed of those events, complained to Akbar,
who falsely swore that he had no knowledge of the war,
alleging that Kutbu-d din Khan, as a senior official of high
rank, had acted on his own initiative. The emperor said that
he could not well censure his viceroy for acts done with the
intention of serving the public interest. Nevertheless, when
Akbar, yielding to the remonstrances of the Fathers, sent
orders recalling his troops from Daman, his commands
' Mr. Radhakumud Mookerji Shipping, Book II, ch. ii (Long-
makes the most he can of Akbar's mans, 1912), but the most is not
marine in his History of Indian much.
were obeyed instantly. About the same time a treacherous
attack on Diu was defeated by clever stratagem.
The Fathers were disgusted at the clear evidence of the
duplicity of Akbar, who pretended a desire for the friendship
of the King of Spain, to whom Portugal was then subject,
while actually ordering hostilities against the Portuguese.
Moreover, their Jesuit superiors had sent urgent letters
requiring the missionaries to return, as they did not seem
to have any prospect of success. The missionaries themselves
were eager to go, being wholly unable to accept Akbar's
denial of the facts about the war, and feeling conscious that
they were not in a position to do any good.
Projected
embassies
While still at Lahore the emperor had mentioned to Aqua-
to viva a project for sending an embassy to the King of Spain,
Europe. accompanied by one or other of the Fathers. He seems to
have been largely influenced by a desire to communicate
the news of his own conquests to the European powers.^
After his return to the capital he resumed the subject, and
proposed to invite the King of Portugal to join him in
a league against the Turks, and also intimated a desire to
send an envoy to the Pope. He exhibited much interest
in the Pontiff's position, and renewed his theological inquiries.
He avowed explicitly that he was not a Muhammadan, and
that he no longer paid any regard to the Muslim formula
of the faith {Kalima). His sons, he remarked, were at
Uberty to adopt whatever reUgion they might choose.
Ultimately it was arranged that Aquaviva should stay
and take over his colleague's duty as tutor to Prince Murad.^
The last Akbar now resumed for a short time the theological
of the
debates debates, which had been interrupted by the war. One night
on
he assembled in the private audience chamber the leaders of
religions.
both Muhammadans and Hindus as well as the Fathers,
' At Jalalabad he gladly re- names follow Father Hosten. ' Ad
ceived the congratulations of haec se non esse Agarenum [seil.
Father Monserrate, hoping that " descendant of Hagar "=Mus-
he would report to Spain the liml, professus est, nee Maha-
success of the campaign. ' Est meddis symbolo {scil., the kalima,
enim gloriae percupidus ' (Com- as on p. 630], quicquam tribuere.
mentarius, p. 619). . . . . Se similiter filiis integrum
^ Commeniarius, pp. 622^ 625-9. relinquere, ut quam malint legem
The spelling of the Portuguese accipiant ' (p. 628).
and renewed the old discussions about the relative values

of the Koran and the Bible. He said that he wished the
controversy to be continued on stated days in order to
discover which religion was the truer and sounder. The next
evening he held another meeting at which the two elder
princes and sundry vassal chiefs were present. But after
that occasion the attendance gradually dwindled, until the
Fathers alone came. They, too, soon found that it was not
worth their while to attend, Akbar being preoccupied with
his scheme for promulgating a new religion of his own.
In practice he inclined more and more to the observance
of Hindu rites and customs.^ Thus the debates on religions
which had begun in 1575 came to an end in 1582. They seem
to have been usually conducted in the House of Worship
for about four years, and afterwards in the private apart-
ments ofthe palace. In all probabihty, as has been suggested
above, the House of Worship had been pulled down before
the Kabul campaign.
Akbar arranged that his envoy to Europe should be Abortive
Sayyid Muzaffar, with Father Monserrate as his colleague, ^^''^^^y
and that Abdullah Khan, the Persian Shia who had fetched Europe ;
the Fathers from the coast, should not proceed farther than of Aqua-
Goa. After many delays the persons so selected started on v'^^-
their long and arduous journey in the summer of 1582.
The roads were everywhere infested with robbers, and
Monserrate was often in danger of death by reason of Muslim
hostility. It would take too much space to relate his adven-
tures in detail. He arrived safely at Surat on August 5,
1582, and learned the painful news that two Christian
young men had been executed there on the previous day.
The local authorities had rejected an offer of a thousand
gold pieces made by the Jain merchants as ransom for the
lives of the victims.
Sayyid Muzaffar, who had been forced into the expedition
against his will, deserted and concealed himself in the
1 ' Nam cum in dies magis et dignum esse existimarunt cui
magis, gentilibus faveret, et eorum Evangelicas margaritas, pedibus
postulatione bubulas carnes in obculcandas et proterendas tra-
macello vaenire prohiberet ; in- derent ' (ibid., p. 634).
Deccan. Abdullah Khan accompanied Monserrate to
Daman and Goa.
A suitable ship not being available that season, the
authorities at Goa decided that the embassy must wait
until the year following. Abdullah Khan, however, never
sailed, and ultimately returned to court.
Meantime, Aquaviva had remained at Fathpur-Sikri.
But he was thoroughly weary of the Protean changes
exhibited by Akbar,^ and had become sorrowfully convinced
that he could do no good by stajang on. He obtained his
release with much difficulty, and left the court early in
1583, arriving at Goa in May. Two months later he was
murdered by a Hindu mob, incensed at the fanatical destruc-
tion of their temples by the priests. Akbar was much
grieved when he heard the news. Aquaviva and his four
companions who perished with him are venerated by mem-
bers of the Roman Church as martyrs, and were solemnly
beatified by the Pope in 1893.
Aquaviva had steadfastly refused to accept from Akbar
wealth in any form, beyond the means barely sufficient for
meagre sustenance. When leaving he begged as a final boon
that he might be allowed to take with him a family of Russian
slaves — ^father, mother, two sons, and certain dependants —
who had been among Muhammadans so long as to be
Christians in name only. Notwithstanding the strong
opposition of the Queen-Mother, Akbar granted his friend's
request. ' Those souls ', Bartoli observes, ' were the only
treasure which he brought back from the Mogul realm to
Goa after an absence of three years and a half.' ^
Failure Thus ended the first Jesuit Mission. It was a failure.
mission Concerning which disappointment Father Monserrate wrote
to Akbar. in sadness of heart :
' It may be suspected that Jalalu-d din [Akbar] was

moved to summon the Christian priests, not by any divine
' ' At vero Rodolfus, turn Re^s the martyrdom is in many books,
inconstantiae pertaesus, qui se, in but is most conveniently read in
plures figuras quam Proteus ver- Goldie. Bartoli gives a list of old
tebat ' {Commentarius, p. 637). books dealing with the subject.
» Bartoli, p. 83. The story of
inspiration, but by a certain curiosity, and excessive eager-

ness to hear some new thing, or a design to devise something
novel for the destruction of souls. Because, if this work
had been of God, it could not have been hindered by any
inconveniences or obstacles. But, inasmuch as it was not
of God, it collapsed and melted away of itself, even against
the resistance of the King.' ^
Akbar, while on his return march, had been able to devote Revision
some attention to matters of internal administration. The j^^j j^^^î
importance
• of the office of Sadr-i sudur as it existed in the mcii'ts
depart-
time of Akbar's predecessors and in the early years of his
reign was explained in a former chapter. As time went
on and Akbar's alienation from Islam became more and more
accentuated, he watched with ever increasing jealousy
the grant of heritable revenue — ^free lands to Muhammadans,
reputed to be specially learned or pious. Such grants were
known by either the Turkl name of sayurghdl or the Persian
designation of madad-i madsh, meaning ' subsistence allow-
ance '. The bestowal of grants of that kind after due
investigation and on proper conditions was one of the most
important duties of the Sadr-Sudur. After the removal of
Shaikh Abdu-n NabI from office in 1578 (986), the post was
shorn of its ancient dignity. Now in November 1581, on
the day he crossed the Ravi, Akbar abolished it altogether,
substituting for the one central dignity six provincial
officers, as follow : (1) Delhi, Malwa, and Gujarat ; (2) Agra,
KalpI, and Kalanjar ; (3) Hajipur to the SarjG or Ghaghra
(Gogra) river ; (4) Bihar ; (5) Bengal ; (6) Panjab.
At the same time a head or principal Kazi was appointed
for each of the larger cities, to supervise the minor judicial
officers. The emperor hoped that these arrangements would
check delay, fraud, and bribery, and at the same time
benefit the exchequer.^
> Commentarius, p. 638. lands were heritable, and so
' A. N., Hi, 546. The account differed from fiefs for service
in Badaoni, p. 304, differs. On (j^gir or tuyul). But there was
the office of Sadr see Abu-1 Fazl, nothing to hinder the sovereign
Aln, Boole II, Ain 19, with from resuming at will a grant of
Blochmann's commentary in Ain, any kind, and Akbar freely exer
vol. i, pp. 268-74. Sayurghal cised his power in that respect.
Rebel- During the progress of the wars in Bengal and the expedi-
Muzaffar *i°^ *° Kabul, the province of Gujarat was much disturbed
Gujarat!, by the revolt of Muzaffar Shah, the ex-king of that country.
He had escaped from surveillance in 1578, and taken refuge
at Junagarh in Kathiawar until 1583, when he collected
discontented followers of Shihab Khan, the recalled viceroy,
and started a formidable rebellion, which lasted for about
eight years. When Itimad Khan was appointed viceroy
in 1583 he was lucky enough to be assisted by Nizamu-d
din Ahmad, the historian, in the capacity of bakhshi, who
proved himself to be a most energetic and efficient officer.
In September 1583 Muzaffar took Ahmadabad, and assumed
the title and state of king. In November he treacherously
killed Kutbu-d din, the distinguished imperial officer who
had surrendered to him, and he occupied Bharoch. The
alarming news from the west obliged Akbar to return from
Allahabad to the capital in January 1585. He had meantime
appointed Mirza Khan (Abdurrahim, Bairam Khan's son),
better known by his later title of Khan Khanan, to the
government of Gujarat. The pretender was severely
defeated by much inferior imperial forces at the battle of
Sarkhej near Ahmadabad in January 1584, and again at
Nadot or Nandod in Rajpipla. After many vicissitudes he
was driven into Cutch (Kachh), where he received support
from certain local chiefs. Nizamu-d din inflicted a terrible
punishment on their territory by destroying nearly 300
villages and ravaging two parganas. He was then recalled.
Muzaffar continued to give trouble in the wild regions of
Kathiawar and Cutch until 1591-2, when he was captured.
He committed suicide by cutting his throat, or any rate
was reported to have done so. Abdurrahim got his title
of Khan Khanan for his defeats of Muzaffar.
CHAPTER VIII
THE DiN ILAHI, 'DIVINE FAITH', OR 'DIVINE MONO-
THEISM;' FANTASTIC REGULATIONS ; FOUNDATION
OF ALLAHABAD ; BEGINNING OF INTERCOURSE WITH
ENGLAND, ETC.
Akbar's long-cherished project of establishing throughout Alau-d

his empire one universal religion, formulated and controlled KhHH's
by himself, was avowed pubUcly for the first time in 1582. projected
He was so well acquainted with history that it is possible religion,
that he may have been influenced by the example of Sultan
Alau-d din Khilji, who at the beginning of the fourteenth
century had allowed his vanity to be flattered by a similar
mad scheme. Although the Sultan contemplated the
enforcement of conformity by the power of the sword,
while Akbar trusted to the influence of persuasion aided by
bribery,^ the parallel between the two cases is sufficiently
close to warrant quotation of the historian's account of
Alau-d din's proposal.
' One of the two schemes which he used to debate about
he thus explained :— " God Almighty gave the blessed
Prophet four friends, through whose energy and power the
Law and Religion were established, and through this
establishment of law and religion the name of the Prophet
will endure to the day of judgement. Every man who knows
himself to be a Musalman, and calls himself by that name,
conceives himself to be of his religion and creed. God has
given me also four friends — Ulugh Khan, Zafar Khan,
Nusrat Khan, and Alp Khan — who, through my prosperity,
have attained to princely power and dignity. If I am so
' ' But His Majesty was at last his courtiers, and much more the
convinced that confidence in him vulgar, into his devilish nets '
as a leader was a matter of time (Badaoni, p. 323). At a later date,
and good counsel, and did not as will appear presently, he did
require the sword. And, indeed, spend some money on the pro-
if His Majesty, in setting up his paganda. He disliked expense,
claims and making his innova- except on certain personal whims,
tions, had spent a little money, if it could be avoided,
he would easily have got most of
1845 p
inclined, I can, with the help of these four friends, establish
a new religion and creed ; and my sword, and the swords
of my friends, will bring all men to adopt it. Through this
reUgion, my name and that of my friends will remain among
men to the last day like the names of the Prophet and his
friends." . . . Upon this subject he used to talk in his wine
parties, and also to consult privately with his nobles.'
Bold Alau-d din was more fortunate than Akbar in finding
PJ°*^®* among his councillors one man who had the courage and
Sultan's
Kotwal. sense to offer reasoned opposition to a proposition born of
overweening vanity, Alau-1 Mulk, Kotwal of Delhi, and
uncle of the historian who tells the story, promised to open
his mind freely if His Majesty would be pleased to order
the removal of the wine and the withdrawal of all listeners
save the chosen four. The Sultan, tyrant though he was,
had sufficient sense to accept the conditions and to allow
his faithful friend to say what he thought, as follows :
' " Religion, and law, and creeds ought never to be made
subjects of discussion by Your Majesty, for these are the
concerns of prophets, not the business of kings. Religion
and law spring from heavenly revelation ; they are never
established by the plans and designs of man. From the
days of Adam till now they have been the mission of Prophets
and Apostles, as rule and government have been the duty
of kings. The prophetic office has never appertained to
kings, and never will, so long as the world lasts, though
some prophets have discharged the functions of royalty.
My advice is that Your Majesty should never talk about
these matters. . . . Your Majesty knows what rivers of
blood Changiz Khan made to flow in Muhammadan cities,
but he never was able to establish the Mughal reUgion or
institutions among Muhammadans.^ Many Mughals have
turned Musalmans, but no Musalman has ever become
a Mughal."
' In the thirteenth century the incantations ' (Chambers's Ency-
State religion of the Mongol Khans clop. (1906), s. v. Shamanism).
was Shamanism, which is defined Monserrate, following Rodericus
as ' a name applied loosely to the Gonsalvius, believed that the
religion of the Turanian races of Mongol religion practised by
Siberia and north-eastern Asia, Timur in his youth, before his
based essentially on magic and conversion to Islam, consisted in
sorcery. . . . The Siberian Shaman the adoration of the sun, moon,
works his cures by magic, and stars, and fire (Cotmnentarius,
averts sickness and death by p. 669).
THE DIVINE FAITH ; ENGLISH VISITORS 211
' The Sultan listened, and hung down his head in thought.
His four friends heartily approved what Alau-1 Mulk had
said, and looked anxiously for the Sultan's answer. After
a while he said, ..." From henceforth no one shall ever
hear me speak such words. Blessings be on thee and thy
parents, for thou hast spoken the truth and hast been loyal
to thy duty." ' i
The incident is creditable alike to the councillor and to
the Sultan. Akbar had not one friend equally faithful,
unless the Jesuit Aquaviva be excepted, and he was not
allowed a voice in the matter. Nor did Akbar listen kindly
to unwelcome criticism of his claims to be the spiritual
guide of his people. Men who ventured to express opinions
contrary to his fancies in religious matters usually suffered
for their honesty, and sometimes even unto death.
The best account of the formal promulgation of Akbar's Council
political religion is that given by the Jesuit author, Bartoli, *or P™-
on the authority of his missionary brethren. He writes : tion of
' Akbar, after his return from Kabul, feeling himself official
freed from the great terror due to fears concerning the religion,
fidelity of his vassals and anxiety about the rebels in Gujarat,^
began to bring openly into operation the plan which he had
long secretly cherished in his mind. That was to make
himself the founder and head of a new religion, compounded
out of various elements, taken partly from the Koran of
Muhammad, partly from the scriptures of the Brahmans,
and to a certain extent, as far as suited his purpose, from
the Gospel of Christ.
' In order to do that he summoned a General Council,
and invited to it all the masters of learning and the military
commandants of the cities round about ; excluding only
Father Ridolfo, whom it was vain to expect to be other
than hostile to his sacrilegious purpose — a fact of which
more than enough proof had been given already.
' When he had them all assembled in front of him, he
spoke in a spirit of astute and knavish [malvagio] policy,
saying :—
' " For an empire ruled by one head it was a bad thing
to have the members divided among themselves and at
» Tarikh-i Flroz Shaht, in E. & Gujarat, where the trouble was of

D., iii, 168, 169. later date (1583).
' In Bengal, rather than in
r2
variance one with the other. That is to say, he referred to

the discord between the many kinds of [religious] laws
observed in the Mogul territory ; some being not only
different from, but hostile to others ; whence it came about
that there are as many factions as there are religions.
' " We ought, therefore, to bring them all into one, but
in such fashion that they should be both ' one ' and ' all ' ;
with the great advantage of not losing what is good in any
one religion, while gaining whatever is better in another.
In that way, honour would be rendered to God, peace
would be given to the peoples, and security to the empire.
' " Now, let those who are present express their considered
opinion ; because he would not move until they had spoken."
' Thus he spake ; and the men of note, especially the
commandants, who had no God other than the King, and
no law other than his will, all with one voice replied, " Yes ;
inasmuch as he who was nearer to heaven, both by reason
of his office and by reason of his lofty intellect, should
prescribe for the whole empire gods, ceremonies, sacrifices,
mysteries, rules, solemnities, and whatever else was required
to constitute one perfect and universal religion."
' The business being thus closed, the King sent one of
the Shaikhs, a most distinguished old man,^ to proclaim
in all quarters, that in a short time the [religious] law to
be professed throughout the Mogul empire would be sent
from the Court ; and that they should make themselves
ready to take it for the best, and accept it with reverence,
whatever it might be.'
Protest That account asserts that the resolution of the Council
Bhawwan ^^^ passed unanimously, but we learn from Badaoni, who
Das. probably was present, that one feeble dissentient voice was
heard, although the speaker failed to argue the matter out
in a manly way, as Alau-1 Mulk had done with the fierce
Sultan nearly three centuries earlier.
' At a council held for the renovating of the religion of
the empire. Rajah Bhagwan Das said :— " I would willingly
believe that Hindus and Musalmans have each a bad religion,
but only tell us what the new sect is, and what opinion they
hold, so that I may believe." His Majesty reflected a little,
and ceased to urge the Rajah. But the alteration of the
decisions of our glorious Faith was continued. And " the
• No doubt Abu-1 Fazl's father, Shaikh Mubarak, who hved until
1593. Bartoli, pp. 75-7.
innovation of heresy " (ihdds i bid' at) was found to give

the date.' ^
The interesting fact that a formal council was held to
sanction the promulgation of the proposed new religion is
known froin the testimony of Bartoli and BadaonI only,
and has escaped the notice of modern authors. We know
nothing about the missionary tour assigned to Shaikh
Mubarak and presumably undertaken by him. It is certain,
however, that the success attained by the propaganda was
very small.
Some years later, Kunwar Man Singh, adopted son of Protest
Raja Bhagwan Das, practically repeated his father's senti- ™^5n
ments. For the report of that incident also we are indebted Singh,
to BadaonI, who says, under date December 1, 1587, when
Man Singh had just been appointed to the government of
the eastern provinces of Bihar, Hajipur, and Patna, that
Akbar was sharing a ' cup of friendship ' with the Khan
Khanan and Man Singh.
' His Majesty brought up the subject of " Discipleship ",
and proceeded to test Man Singh. He said without any
ceremony :-^
' " If Discipleship means willingness to sacrifice one's life,
I have already carried my life in my hand : what need is
there of further proof ? If, however, the term has another
meaning and refers to Faith, I certainly am a Hindu. If
you order me to do so, I will become a Musalman, but
I know not of the existence of any other religion than these
two."
' At this point the matter stopped, and the Emperor did
not question him any further, but sent him to Bengal.' *
That anecdote shows that even four or five years after
the promulgation of the new religion so-called a good deal
of uncertainty as to its meaning still existed.
The truth is that Akbar's pretended ' religion ' consisted Assertion
macy.
essentially in the assertion of his personal supremacy over spiritual ^
things spiritual as well as things temporal. Its ' onely supre-
• Transl. by Blochmann, Ain, decessor -without mateiial change,
vol. i, p. 198; and by Lowe, " Badaoni,p.3r5. Lowe'sversion
p. 323. Lowe followed his pre- agrees with Blochmann's.
begetter' was Shaikh Mubarak, who, when Akbar came

home in 1573 after the victorious campaign in Gujarat, had
greeted his sovereign with the expression of the wish that
he should become the spiritual as well as the temporal guide
of his people. The idea germinated in Akbar's mind, but
its development was hindered by wars and other exigencies.
In September 1579 the emperor acted on Mubarak's hint,
and assumed the primacy of the MusUm faithful by means
of the ' infallibility decree '. At that time he kept pro-
fessedly within the limits of Islam, and gave at least lip-
service to the authority of the Koran and tradition. He
still went on pilgrimage, and was in many respects a con-
forming Musalman. But in his heart he had rejected
Islam, Prophet, Koran, tradition and all. As early as the
beginning of 1580, the Fathers, when on their way to the
capital, were told that the use of the name of Muhammad
in the public prayers had been prohibited ; and during the
course of that year
' the four degrees of devotion to His Majesty were defined.
The four degrees consisted in readiness to sacrifice to the
Emperor, Property, Life, Honour, and Religion. Whoever
had sacrificed these four things possessed the four degrees ;
and whoever had sacrificed one of these four possessed one
degree. All the courtiers now put down their names as
faithful disciples of the Throne.' ^
In a passage preceding the account of the ' infallibility
decree ' of September 1579, Badaoni states that
' in these days, when reproach began to spread upon the
doctrines of Islam, and all questions relating thereto . . .
base and low men of the higher and lower classes, having
accepted the coUar of spiritual obedience upon their necks,
professed themselves his disciples. They became his disciples
through the motives of hope and fear, and the word of truth
could not proceed out of their mouths.' *
Akbar Abu-1 Fazl and certain Muhammadan authors in modem
totally
rejected times have tried to make out that Akbar always continued
Islam.
• Badaoni, p. 299. The date is ' Ibid., p. 277 ; Blochmann, in
fixed by the following paragraph Ain, vol. i, p. 185, with some
which refers to Muharram 989 = variation, but nearly the same
February 1581. sense.
to be a Muslim, although it is admitted that he discarded

the ceremonial of the Prophet's rehgion. They regard his
' Divine Faith ' or ' Divine Monotheism ' (Din or Tauhld
Ildhl) as being a mere reformed sect of Islam.^ That opinion
is erroneous and opposed to a mass of evidence.
I see no reason whatever to disbeUeve Badaonl's state-
ment referring to a time about a. d. 1592, when he
says : ,,
' Ten or twelve years later things had come to such a pass
that abandoned wretches, such as Mirza Jam, Governor of,
Tattah, and other apostates, wrote their confession to the
following effect — ^this is the form :—
and' " with
I, whoshicere
am so predilection
and so, son and
of so inclination,
and so, do fvolwntarily,
vMerly and
entirely renounce and repudiate the religion of /s/amlwhich
I have seen and heard of my fathers, and do embrace the
' Divine Rehgion ' of Akbar Shah, and do accept the four
grades of entire devotion, viz., sacrifice of Property, Life,
Honour, and Religion.^'
'And these lines — ^than which there could be no better
passport to damnation — were handed over to the Mujtahid
[scil. Abu-1 Fazl] of the new rehgion, and became the source
of confidence and promotion.' ^
The Jesuit letters are full of emphatic expressions showing
that both at the time of the First Mission (1580-3) and
that of the Third Mission (1595 to end of reign) Akbar
was not a Muslim. He not only rejected the revelation
of Muhammad, but hated the very name of the Prophet.
While it would be tiresome to cite all the relevant passages,
two brief quotations from the Jesuit writers may be given.
Peruschi, writing on the basis of Aquaviva's or Monserrate's
letters of 1582, states roundly that ' the King is not a
Muhammadan ' ; * while Monserrate reports a conversa-
tion between himself and Akbar early in 1582, when the
emperor declared not only that he was not a Musalman,
» e. g. Mr. Yusuf Ali in J. of verbal, not affecting the sense.
E. I. Assoc, July 1916, p. 304. The italics are mine.
' Badaoni, p. 314. The differ- ' ' II R6 non fe Moro ' (Peruschi,
ences between Lowe's version as Rome ed., p. 30 ; and Maclagan,
quoted and Blochmann's, as in p. 52).
Aln, vol. i, p. 194, are merely
but that he did not pay any heed to the Muslim formula of
the faith.^ Similarly Badaoni observes that
' after the short space of five or six years [scil. from 1579],
not a trace of Muhammadan feeling was left in his heart.' "
Blochmann correctly states that the development of
Akbar's views led him to the ' total rejection ' of Islam,
and ' the gradual estabhshment of a new Faith combining
the principal features of Hinduism and the fire-worship of
the Parsis '.' There were other elements in it also, but for
the present purpose the points to be emphasized are that
Akbar totally rejected the fundamental doctrines of Islam,
excepting monotheism, and invented a new religion, hostile
to and irreconcilable with that of Muhammad. The demand
that a disciple should renounce his religion {din) was incon-
sistent with his continuing to be a Muhammadan.
Abu-1 The official account of the Divine Faith is given by
official Abu-1 Fazl in Ain No. 77 of the Ain-i Akbarl, which begins
account, ^th a preamble in a Sufic strain to the effect that all religions
have much in common, and that God and man are one
in a mystic sense. The author then, in pursuance of his
father's teaching, proceeds to expound the doctrine that
a people seeking guidance to truth
' will naturally look to their king, on account of the high
position which he occupies, and expect him to be their
spiritual leader as well ; for a king possesses, independent
of men, the ray of divine wisdom, which banishes from his
heart everything that is conflicting. A king will therefore
sometimes observe the harmony in a multitude of things,
or sometimes, reversely, a multitude of things in that which
is apparently one ; for he sits on the throne of distinction,
and is thus equally removed from joy or sorrow.'
In Akbar the peoples of India had been given a king of
the ideal kind.
1 ' Ad haec se non esse Agare- pp. 628, 630). Monserrate wrote
num, professus est : nee Maham- up his notes each evening,
medis symbolo, quicquam tri- ^ Blochmann, in Ain, vol. i,
buere.' The word symbolum p. 178 ; Lowe, p. 263, with verbal
means the kalima, ' there is no variation, but the same meaning.
God but Allah, and Muhammad ' Ain, vol. i, p. 209.
is his messenger ' (Commentarius,
' He now is the spiritual guide of the nation, and sees in

the performance of this duty a means of pleasing God. He
has now opened the gate that leads to the right path, and
satisfies the thirst of all that wander about panting for truth.
' But, whether he checks men in their desire for becoming
disciples, or admits them at other times, he guides them
in each case to the realm of bliss. Many sincere inquirers,
from the mere light of his wisdom, or his holy breath, obtain
a degree of awakening which other spiritual doctors could
not produce by repeated fasting and prayers for forty days.'
Abu-1 Fazl then goes on to give instances of Akbar's gifts
of healing and other miraculous powers.
The ceremony of initiation was performed personally by Initia-
Akbar in this manner : *"*"•
' When a novice bears on his forehead the sign of earnest-

ness of purpose, and he be daily inquiring more and more.
His Majesty accepts him, and admits him on a Sunday,
when the world-illuminating sun is in its highest splendour.
Notwithstanding every strictness and reluctance shown by
His Majesty in admitting novices, there are many thousands,
men of all classes, who have cast over their shoulders the
mantle of belief, and look upon their conversion to the
New Faith as the means of obtaining every blessing.
' At the above-mentioned time of everlasting auspicious-
ness, the novice with his turban in his hands, puts his head
on the feet of His Majesty. This is symbolical, and expresses
that the novice, guided by good fortune and the assistance
of his good star, has cast from his head conceit and selfish-
ness, the root of so many evils, offers his heart in worship,
and now comes to inquire as to the means of obtaining
everlasting life. His Majesty, the chosen one of God, then
stretches out the hand of favour, raises up the suppliant,
and replaces the turban on his head, meaning by these
symbolical actions that he has raised up a man of pure
intentions, who from seeming existence has now entered
into real life. His Majesty then gives the novice the Shast,
upon which is engraved " the Great Name ", and His
Majesty's
the novice symbolical
the truth motto,
that " Alldhu Akbar ". This teaches
" the pure Shast and the pure sight never err ". '
The exact nature of the shast taken is not recorded. At
the time of initiation members of the Divine Faith also
received a likeness of the emperor which they wore in their
turbans.^ The ' great name ' is one or other of the epithets
or names of God. Commentators differ concerning the
one which is to be regarded as pre-eminent. Which was
selected by Akbar does not appear. The giving of the shast
and the communication of the 'great name' seem to be
imitated from Hindu procedure. A guru, or spiritual
preceptor, always whispers into his pupil's ear a secret
mantra or formula. The ambiguity of the phrase Alldhu
Akbar, which may mean either ' God is great ', or ' Akbar
is God ', has been already noticed. Many people believed
that Akbar dared to regard himself as divine, and, although
he warmly repudiated the imputation, it was not without
foundation. His recorded sayings prove that he fully
shared the views expressed by Abu-1 Fazl concerning the
closeness of the relation between kings, in virtue of their
office, and the Deity.
Other Abu-1 Fazl concludes his notice of the Divine Faith by
cere- the following description of certain ordinances observed by
monial
members of the Order, which may be transcribed verbatim.
' The members of the Divine Faith, on seeing each other,
observe the following custom. One says, " Alldhu Akbar " ;
and the other responds, " Jalla Jaldluhu ".^ The motive
of His Majesty in laying down this mode of salutation is to
remind men to think of the origin of their existence, and to
keep the Deity in fresh, lively, and grateful remembrance.
' It is also ordered by His Majesty that, instead of the
dinner usually given in remembrance of a man after his
death, each member should prepare a dinner during his
lifetime, and thus gather provisions for his last journey.
' Each member is to give a party on the anniversary of
his birthday, and arrange a sumptuous feast. He is to
bestow alms, and thus prepare provisions for the long
journey.
' His Majesty has also ordered that members should
' Jahangir, R. B., i, 60; Badaoni, ' Jalalu-d din Akbar'. Jalla jalalu-
in Aln, vol. i, p. 203. The can- hu means in Arabic, ' glorious
didates used to be introduced by is his glory ', or ' resplendent is
Shaikh Ahmad, the Siifi of Lahore, his splendour'; an implied re-
whom Jahangir promoted. semblance between Akbar and
^ The words, of course, refer to the sun probably being hinted at.
the emperor's names or titles.
endeavour to abstain from eating flesh. They may allow

others to eat flesh, without touching it themselves ; but
during the month of their birth they are not even to approach
meat. Nor shall members go near anything that they have
themselves slain, nor eat of it. Neither shall they make
use of the same vessels with butchers, fishers, and bird-
catchers.
'Members should not cohabit Avith pregnant, old, and
barren women ; nor with girls under the age of puberty.' ^
A later passage gives a special rule about funerals, as
follows :
' If any of the darsaniyyah disciples died, whether man or

woman, they should hang some uncooked grains and a burnt
brick round the neck of the corpse, and throw it into the
river, and then they should take out the corpse, and bum
it at a place where no water was.
' But this order is based upon a fundamental rule which
His Majesty indicated, but which I cannot here mention.^
' People should be buried with their heads towards the
east, and their feet towards the west. His Majesty even
commenced to sleep in this position.' '
The last-quoted rule appears to have been prescribed for
general compliance. It had the double purpose of honouring
the rising sun and offering an insult to Muhammadans who
turn towards Mecca, which lies westwards from India.
A torrent of new regulations poured forth from the New
secretariat after the Council of 1582, many being issued tiras^
in 1583 and 1584. Fresh batches of fantastic orders appeared
during the years from 1588 to 1594, but at present only
a small number of the earlier proclamations can be noticed.
Members of the Divine Faith, as being disciples of His
Majesty, were expected to pay particular attention to every
edict. The organization of the adherents of the Din Ildhi
was that of an Order rather than of a church. The creed,
so far as there was one, inculcated monotheism with a tinge
of pantheism ; the practical deification of the emperor as
the viceregent of God, filled with special grace ; and the
adoration of the sun, with subsidiary veneration of fire and
' Ain, vol. 1, p. 166. Akbar on his throne. I do not
^ Ibid., p. 207. Darsaniyyah understand the symbolism,
refers to the darsan, or sight of ' Ibid., p. 206.
artificial lights. The partial prohibition of animal food was

due more especially to the Jain influence, already described.
It is impossible to mention all the siUy regulations that
were issued, and the exact chronological order of the issues
has not been recorded fully. A few samples must suffice.
No child was to be given the name of Muhammad, and
if he had already received it the name must be changed.
New mosques were not to be built, nor were old ones to
be repaired or restored. Later in the reign mosques were
levelled to the ground.
The slaughter of cows was forbidden, and made a capital
offence, as in a purely Hindu state. In 1583 (a. h. 991)
abstinence from meat on more than a hundred days in the
year was commanded. This order was extended over the
whole realm, and [capital] punishment was inflicted on every
one who acted against the command. Many a family
suffered ruin and confiscation of property.^ Those measures
amounted to a grave persecution of the large flesh-eating
Muslim population.
Ideas concerning the millennium and the expected appear-
ance of a Mahdl, or Saviour, being then in the air, and the
year 1000 of the Hijra approaching, arrangements were
made for the compilation of a history of the thousand years,
and for the use on coins of a millenary {alfi) era.
Beards were to be shaved.
Garlic and onions, as well as beef, were prohibited, in
accordance with Hindu prejudices.
The sijdah, or prostration, hitherto considered lawful
only in divine worship, was declared to be the due of the
emperor.
Gold and silk dresses, forbidden by Muhammadan rule,
were declared to be obligatory at the public prayers. Even
the prayers themselves, the fast of Ramazan, and the
pilgrimage to Mecca were prohibited.
The study of Arabic, of Muhammadan law, and of Koranic
'■ Badaoni, p. 331 ; Blochmann, comes from the corrections on

Aln, vol. i, p. 200. The clause p. xii of Lowe's translation,
about the confiscation of property
exegesis was discountenanced, the specially Arabic letters

of the alphabet were banned — ând so on.^
The whole gist of the regulations was to further the
adoption of Hindu, Jain, and Parsee practices, while dis-
couraging or positively prohibiting essential Muslim rites.
The policy of insult to and persecution of Islam, which was
carried to greater extremes subsequently, was actively pur-
sued even in the period from 1582 to 1585.
Notwithstanding the fine phrases about general tolera-
tion which occupy so large a space in the writings of Abu-1
Fazl and the sayings of Akbar, many acts of fierce intoler-
ance were committed.
In the year 1581-2 (a. h. 989) a large number of Shaikhs
and Fakirs, apparently those who resisted innovations, were
exiled, mostly to Kandahar, and exchanged for horses,
presumably being enslaved.^
A sect of Shaikhs, who had the impudence to call
themselves Disciples, like the followers of His Majesty, and
were generally known as Hahis, were sent to Sind and
Kandahar, and given to merchants in exchange for Turkish
colts.*
The number of adherents of the so-called Divine Faith, The
Akbar's political sham reUgion, was never considerable. ^^^^
Blochmann has collected from Abu-1 Fazl and BadaonI the IPIyine
names of eighteen prominent members, Raja Birbal being
the only Hindu in the list. The herd of unnamed and
unrecorded followers probably never numbered many
'
thousands. In order to complete the subject, it may be Faith
noted that in September 1595, Sadr Jahan, the Mufti of the
empire, with his two sons, took the shast, joined the Faith,
and was rewarded with a ' command of 1,000 '. At the
same time sundry other persons conformed and received
' commands ' ranging from 100 to 500. Father Pinheiro,
writing from Lahore on September 3, 1595, mentions that
in that city the royal sect had many adherents, but all for
the sake of the money paid to them.*
» See Bartoli, p. 78 ; Badaoni, ' Badaoni, p. 309.
pp. 310-16. ' ' Questo R6 fa lui da se una
' Badaoni, p. 308. setta, e si fa chiamai profeta.
No later contemporary account of the Din Ildhl has been
found.
The organization cannot well have survived the murder
of Abu-1 Fazl, its high priest, so to say, and, of course, it
ceased to exist with the death of Akbar.
The whole scheme was the outcome of ridiculous vanity,
a monstrous growth of unrestrained autocracy. Its igno-
minious failure illustrated the wisdom of the protest ad-
dressed by the Kotwal to the Sultan of Delhi some three
centuries earlier, and the folly of kings who seek to assume
the role of prophets.
The Divine Faith was a monument of Akbar's folly, not
of his wisdom. His actions throughout his reign exhibited
many illustrations of both qualities.
We now leave for a time the consideration of Akbar's
religious vagaries and proceed to narrate sundry political
events and certain minor incidents, some of which are
illustrative of the emperor's strangely compounded character.
Bursting
of ISikc 3it • An alarming accident occurred at Fathpur-Sikrl at some
Fathpur- îme in 1582. A great lake, six miles or more in length and
Sikri. t-vyo in breadth, had been constructed to the north of the
ridge for the purpose of supplying the town and palaces
with water, which was raised and conveyed by an elaborate
system of waterworks. An amphitheatre used as a polo
ground and arena for elephant fights was arranged on the
margin. In hot weather pleasure parties were glad to make
themselves comfortable by the edge of the broad sheet of
water. Such a party, consisting of the princes and their
friends, was assembled one day in 1582, engaged in playing
chess, cards, and other games, when suddenly the embank-
ment burst and everybody on the spot was in imminent
danger of being swept away by the torrent. But, although
many of the houses below the ridge were destroyed along
with their inhabitants, the members of the court with their
Ha di gia molta gente, che lo the Latin version ; I have used

seguita, ma tutto k per danari, the oiiginal ItaUan text, pub-
che gli da ' (Peruschi, p. 69 ; lished in 1597. For biography of
Maclagan, p. 70). Maclagan's less Miran Sadr (âdr) Jahan see Ain,
forcible English is translated from vol. i, p. 468, No. 194.
attendants were fortunate enough to escape, excepting only

one leopard keeper. In memory of that signal deliverance
Akbar expended vast sums in alms, and ordained that flesh
should not be brought to his table on that date.^
Akbar's successful demonstration of force against his Akbar's
brother had convinced him of his invincibility and encouraged ^^j*'*'""^
him to develop the projects of far-extended conquests
which had long occupied his ambitious soul. Akbar's lust
for dominion was never satisfied. He longed with intense
fervour to extend his rule over all the nations and kingdoms
lying within the possible range of his sword, and even
allowed himself to dream the mad dream that he might be
the spiritual as well as the temporal lord of a vast empire
with one religion, and that he might thus combine the
parts of emperor, pope, and prophet.
The drunken brother in Kabul, although much frightened,
had never made personal submission, and Akbar desired to
bring him definitely to heel. He also wished to annex the
turbulent hill region of Badakhshan, the scene of perpetual
conflicts between the princes of Kabul and the chiefs of the
Uzbegs. He hoped, when firmly established in Kabul and
Badakhshan, to win back the ancestral territories of Trans-
oxiana (Turan), from which his grandfather Babur had been
expelled early in life ; and lastly, he meditated the sub-
' Chalmers, MS. transl. of ^.iV., is a mistake somewhere. I cannot
ii, 289. He puts the accident find the passage in Mr. Beveridge's
shortly after the murder of Masiim proof-sheets. Latif {Agra, p. 159)
Khan Farankhudi, which occurred agrees that the lake burst in the
in the twenty-seventh regnal year 27th year, in A. D. 1582. He
(Blochmann, Ain, vol. i, 444). erroneously adds that no lives
That year began March 11, 1582 were lost. For description of the
(= Safar 15, a. h. 990), as stated lake and waterworks see E. W.
in E. & D., v, 246. Chalmers Smith, Faihpur-Sikri, part iii,
dates the death of Masiim on pp. 38-40. The breach in the
Safar 23 = March 19, and states dam must have been repaired,
that the embankment burst in because in 1619 Jahanglr held an
the hot season of the same year. entertainment on the bank of the
But he adds that, the accident lake, which was then seven kos,
having occurred on Akbar's birth- or nearly fourteen miles in circum-
day according to the solar calendar ference (Jahangir, R. B., ii, 66).
[sell. October 15 by official reckon- The bed of the lake was finally
ing], the custom of weighing the drained under the orders of Mr.
emperor on his solar as well as his James Thomson, Lieut.-Governor
lunar birthday was introduced. of the North- West Province from
October 15 cannot be reckoned in 1843 to 1853 (Latif, p. 160).
the hot season. Evidently there
jugation of Bijapur and the other kingdoms of the Deccan
plateau.^ There is no direct evidence that Akbar knew or
cared anything about the Dravidian kingdoms of the far
south, but he may have hoped to carry his arms to the
extremity of the peninsula.
The immense empire of Vijayanagar, occupying all the
southern parts of the peninsula, was shattered by the com-
bined forces of the Muhammadan Sultans of the Deccan at
the battle of Tahkota in 1565, while Akbar was fighting for
his crown and life against the rebel Uzbeg chiefs. No echo
of the crash of the mighty edifice of the Vijayanagar empire
seems to have reached the ears of the ruler of northern
India. After the revolution consequent on the battle of
Talikota, the considerable Hindu princes who continued to
rule at Chandragiri and elsewhere seem to have been unknown
to and ignorant of the northern empire and its ambitious
sovereign. The only trace of communication between Akbar
and the far south is a trivial anecdote that an envoy from
the Raja of Cochin once came to court and gave a magic
knife to the emperor, who professed to believe in its virtues.^
Founda- In pursuance of his ambitious plans, Akbar decided to
tion of
secure the important strategical position at the confluence
Alla-
habad,
Nov., of the Jumna with the Ganges. The spot from time im-
1583. memorial has been one of the most sacred places of pilgrimage
and known to Hindus as Prayag or Payag. It does not
appear to have been fortified.* In October 1583 Akbar
travelled from Agra to the confluence, proceeding most of
the way by river. He began the building of the fort, which
still exists, in November ; and, in accordance with his
regular practice, hurried on the work so that it was com-
pleted in a remarkably short time. A great city, the modern
Allahabad, grew up in the neighbourhood of the fortress.*
The rapidity of Akbar's building operations much impressed
1 A.N., iii, 616. ' Uahabas is the Hindu form
2 A. N., ii, 499. of the name, and still in common
use. Some writers assert that
' Jhusi, on the opposite side of
the Ganges, seems to have been Akbar gave that name, but it is
the old Hindu fortress. It was more probable that he employed
important in the fourth and fifth the Persian form Ilahabad.
centuries a.c.
AKBAR AND PRINCE SALIM
Father Monserrate, who cites instances of quick construction

at Fathpur-Sikri.^
The disturbances in Gujarat, already noticed, obliged the
emperor to return to the capital and forgo his intention of
visiting the eastern provinces.
The year 1584 was marked by two interesting domestic Domestic
events, the marriage of the emperor's eldest son, Prince rences.
occur™
Salim, and the birth of a daughter. The lady selected to
be the young prince's first consort was a daughter of Raja
Bhagwan Das of Jaipur and a sister by adoption of Kunwar
Man Singh. The wedding was celebrated in February
with exceptional magnificence. Many Hindu customs were
followed and the Raja gave the bride a dowry of im-
mense value, including a hundred elephants,* The name
of the princess was Man Bal, and her husband gave her
the title of Shah Begam. He was deeply attached to
her, and twenty years later records her death in touching
language :
' What shall I write of her excellences and goodness ?

She had perfect intelligence, and her devotion to me was
such that she would have sacrificed a thousand sons and
brothers for one hair of mine,'
She did her best to keep her son Khusru in order, and
when Madho Singh, one of her brothers, brought disgrace
on the family, the high Rajput spirit led her to end her life
by an overdose of opium. She Ues buried near her rebellious
son in the Khusru Bagh at Allahabad.'
The daughter, Aram Bano Begam, was born towards the
close of the year, and died unmarried forty years later in
the reign of Jahangir.*
' Commentarins, p. 642, ' Mira the forty-ninth regnal year,1604-5,

celeritate,plurimis adhibitis archi- and erroneously ascribes it to ' a
tectis, fabris, et operis exaedificat quarrel with one of her rivals '
et absolvit.' (E. & D., vi, 112). The authority
' /4.^.,lii,678; Badaoni,p.352. of Jahangir is better; he must
' Jahan^ (R. & B.), i, 55 ; have known the facts, although
Beveridge in J. R. A. S., 1907, pp. his text misdates the event. Her
599-607. She committed suicide name is given in /. G. (1908), xiv,
in May 1604, not in 1605. The 184.
Takmll describes her suicide under * Jahangir (R. & B.), i, 36.
Death The death of the famous artist Daswanth, which occurred

of Das-
wanth, at some time in the twenty-ninth regnal year, apparently
the in 1584, deserves notice as a tragic incident in itself, and as
painter.
being one of the few closely dated events in the history of
Indian art. Daswanth was the son of a Kahar, or palanquin-
bearer, but his lowly position could not conceal his innate
genius. He used to draw and paint figures even on walls, and
had devoted his whole Ufe to his art. Some accident brought
him to the notice of Akbar, who recognized his ability, and
had him taught by his own former drawing-master, Khwaja
Abdu-s samad. In a short time he excelled his teacher, and
became, in the judgement of many critics, the first master of
the age, a worthy rival of the best Persian and Chinese artists.
Unhappily his genius was clouded by insanity. One day he
stabbed himself with a dagger, and died two days later.^
A suttee A romantic adventure, characteristic of Akbar at his best,
vented. shows that even when he was past forty he retained the
pre-
activity and chivalroiis spirit of his youth. Jaimall, a cousin
of Raja Bhagwan Das, who had been sent on duty in the
Eastern Provinces, rode hard to comply with urgent orders,
and died near Chausa from the effects of the heat and over-
exertion. His widow, a daughter of Udai Singh, the Mota
or Fat Raja, refused to commit suttee, as demanded by the
custom of the family. Her son, also named Udai Singh,
and other relatives insisted that, willing or unwilling, she
must burn. Early one morning Akbar heard the 'news
while in the female apartments of the palace, and resolved
to prevent the sacrifice. Throughout his reign he insisted
on the principle that no widow should be forced to burn
against her will. He jumped on a swift horse and rode to
the spot, unattended, although some of his personal staff
galloped after him as soon as they learned of his disappear-
ance. He was in time, and his unexpected arrival stopped
the proceedings. At first he was disposed to execute the
guilty parties, but on consideration he granted them their
' A.N.,
lives and merely imprisoned them for a short period.*
• A. N., iii, 659 ; Am, vol. i, sion in K. iii, 595 ; abstract ver-
p. 108 ; H. F. A., pp. 455, 470. & D., vi, 69. For the
Direct intercourse between England and India began in Father T.

October 1579, when the Reverend Father Thomas Stevens the^ret
or Stephens, a Jesuit, born in Wiltshire and educated at Anglo-
Winchester and Oxford, landed at Goa. So far as is known 1579. '
he was the first Englishman to land and reside in India.
He remained at or near Goa for forty years, engaged in his
work as Christian priest and missionary. He made himself
thorough master of the local Konkani tongue, called Lingua
Canarim by the Portuguese, and composed a grammar of it,
which was printed at Gtoa in 1640, after the author's death.
That is the first grammar of an Indian language compiled
by a European author. Father Stevens also wrote in
the same language a huge poem, designed for the religious
instruction of converts, which contains more than 11,000
strophes, and is considered to possess high literary merit.
Shortly after his arrival at Goa he wrote to his father
a long letter, dated November 10, giving a detailed descrip-
tion of the incidents and sights of the voyage. That letter,
which was published by Hakluyt in 1589, seems to have
become known before it was printed, and to have stimulated
English interest in the mysterious land of India, which
obviously offered rich possibilities of commerce, abundantly
realized in the following century.^
In 1581 Queen Elizabeth granted a charter to a small Mission
company entitled the * Company of Merchants to the Newbery,
Levant ', the region of the eastern Mediterranean. Two ^^-y 1583.
years later the Company sent out John Newbery, a London
merchant, on the first British trading adventure in India.
Newbery, who took with him as assistants William Leedes,
a jeweller, and James Story, a painter, was accompanied
relationship of the RajpCits con- Nat. Biog., Supplement (1909),

cemed see Aln, vol. i, pp. 427-30. vol. xxii, p. 1227. The letter is
The exact locality and date of the printed in Hakluyt, Principal
incident are not stated. Abu-1 âutgafo'ons.ed. MacLehose.vol.vi,
Fazl's narrative, as usual, is lack- pp. 377-85, and also in Purchas.
ing in clearness and precision. It does not give any material
His meaning is, I think, correctly information about trade. Stevens
stated in the text. was about thirty years of age
' F. M. Mascarenhas, ' Father when he arrived in India, and
Thomas Estevao, S.J.' (Jnd. Ant., about seventy when he died in
vu (1878), pp. 117, 118); Diet. 1619.
Q2
228 AKBAR THE CHEAT MOGUL
by Ralph Fitch, another London merchant, who volunteered
because he desired to see the world.^ They sailed in the
Tyger for Tripoli in Syria, whence they journeyed to Aleppo,
and so overland through Bagdad to Ormuz, at the mouth
of the Persian Gulf. At Ormuz the Enghshmen were put
in prison by the Portuguese governor, and after a time were
shipped for Goa to be disposed of by the higher authorities
there. At Goa, too, they were imprisoned, and found much
difficulty in obtaining their release on bail through the
good offices of Father Stevens. James Story, who was
welcomed by the Jesuits as an artist capabjle of painting
their church, settled down in Goa, married a half-caste girl,
opened a shop, and gave up all thought of returning to
Europe. His three companions, finding themselves in
danger of being tortured as suspected heretics, forfeited
their bail and escaped secretly. They made their way into
the Deccan, visited Belgaum, Bijapur, Golkonda, Masuli-
patam, Burhanpur, and Mandu. No doubt they did some
trading during their wanderings, but nothing on that sub-
ject has been recorded. From Mandu they travelled across
Malwa and Rajputana, through Ujjain and Sironj, and so to
Agra, ' passing many rivers, which by reason of the rain were
so swollen that we waded and swam oftentimes for our lives '.
Fitch, the only member of the party who returned to
Europe, has recorded a brief description of Agra and Fathpur-
Slkri as he saw those cities in the rainy season of 1585,
which has been already quoted in Chapter IV.
Pate The narrative does not state the date on which the
of the adventurers
travellers. . , arrived at Fathpur-Sikri, but it must have
. ^ , .
been either in July or early in August, because Akbar
started on August 22 for the north, and he had taken
Leedes into his service before that day. Newbery and
Fitch stayed at the capital until September 28, when they
• Ralph Fitch, England's Pioneer illustrated work are given in
to India and Burma, his Com- modern spelling, except the quota-
panions and Contemporaries, with tlon from Queen Elizabeth's letter,
his remarkable Narrative told in his which is given in the old spelling,
own words, by J. Horton Ryley ; save that v and j are used instead
London, Unwin, 1899. The ex- of u and i,
tracts from that useful and well-
THE DIVINE FAITH; ENGLISH VISITORS 229
parted. Newbery took the road for Lahore, intending to

travel overland through Persia to either Aleppo or Constanti-
nople. As head of the expedition he direeted Fitch to pro-
ceed to Bengal and Pegu, holding out hopes that in the course
of two years he might find an English ship.
Fitch duly accomplished his travels in the eastern king-
doms, and arrived safely at home in 1591. Newbery was
never heard of again.
Fitch's meagre narrative, which is mainly concerned with
the obvious peculiarities of the country and people, as
noted in most books of travel, and possibly copied in part
from other authors, is chiefly of interest because of its early
date. He quitted India at Sunargaon, now an insignificant
village in the Dacca District, but at that time an important
port.
When the expedition left England early in 1583 Queen Queen
Elizabeth had given Newbery letters of recommendation ^'l^jj"
to both the Indian monarch and the emperor of China, letter to
She knew Akbar's name, and addressed him as ' the most ^^'
invincible and most mightie prince, lord Zelabdim Echebar
king of Cambaya '. She requested politely that the bearers
of her letter, as being her subjects, might be ' honestly
intreated and received '. She further asked that ' in respect
of the hard journey which they have undertaken to places
so far distant, it would please your Majesty with some libertie
and securitie of voiage to gratify it, with such privileges
as to you shall seem good ' ; and concluded by promising
that ' wee, according to our royall honour, wil recompence
the same with as many deserts as we can '.^
Although the grammar of the missive leaves something
to be desired, the meaning of the letter is plain enough.
The document is of high interest as being the earliest com-
munication between the governments of India and England,
and also as proving that Akbar's name and fame had
reached the isles of the west as early as 1583. Probably
' Fitch, p. 44. Elizabeth evi- had conquered ten years earlier,
dently knew of Akbar only as the Probably she had never heard of
sovereign of Gujarat, which he Agra or Fathpur-Sikri,
any slight knowledge of him that penetrated to the court

of Queen Elizabeth had been derived from the letters of
Father Stevens. Fitch renders no account whatever of the
reception of the party by Akbar, nor does he give any
important information concerning the emperor or his court.
The only really vivid descriptions of Akbar and his court
are those recorded by the Jesuits, who were skilled observers
and competent writers.
Adminis- Early in the thirtieth regnal year, which began on
measures ^^^^^ 1^> 1585, important administrative changes were
1585. made. Shihab Khan received the government of Malwa ;
Raja Bhagwan Das, Raja Todar Mall, Abu-1 Fazl, and other
officers were promoted.
Amir Fathullah of Shiraz, an intimate friend of the
emperor, and a man of great learning, who held office as
a Sadr, was given the title of AmInu-1 Mulk, and was directed,
with the assistance of Raja Todar Mall, to examine the old
revenue accounts, which had not been checked since the
time of Muzaffar Khan in 1574. The proceedings were
guided by an elaborate code of rules, approved by Akbar,
and set forth at length by Abu-1 Fazl. Those rules provided
for assessments on the average of a series of years, for an
equitable settlement of the arrears due from each ryot or
cultivator, and for the protection of collectors from unjust
demands and penalties.^
Badaoni expresses the official position of Amir Fathullah
by saying that he was associated with Raja Todar Mall in
the office of Vizier.
The The death of Mirza Muhammad Hakim of Kabul towards
tionof the end of July 1585, at the age of thirty-one, from the
Kabul, effects of chronic alcoholism, finally freed Akbar from
anxiety concerning rival claims to the throne, and enabled
him to incorporate Kabul definitely as a province of the
empire. No question of formal annexation arose, because
' A. N., iii, 687-93, in much him. He was a staunch Shia and
detail. For life of Amir Fathullah would not have anything to do
see Blochmann's note, Ain, vol. i, with the Divine Faith. He was
p. 33. Badaoni (pp. 325, 326) too useful to be persecuted for his
gives interesting anecdotes about independence.
THE DIVINE FAITH; ENGLISH VISITORS 231
the territory ruled by the Mirza, although in practice long

administered as an independent State, had been always
regarded in theory as a dependency of the crown of India.
The campaign of 1581 had rendered the dependence more
of a reality than it had been for many years. The decease
of Muhammad Hakim at an early age, leaving only minor
children, settled the question, and the province passed
quietly under the rule of imperial viceroys. Akbar, on
receiving the news of his brother's death, sent Man Singh
on in advance with some troops to maintain order until he
himself could arrive. He was, no doubt, prepared for what
had happened, as it was obvious that the Mirza's constitu-
tion could not long resist the violence done to it by his
vicious habits.^
The necessary arrangements were rapidly completed, so
that Akbar was able to march in the autumn,^ and to
proceed quickly along the northern road which he had
traversed four years earlier. He was not to see Agra or
Fathpur-Slkri again for thirteen years. The queen-mother
joined the camp in November, and early in December Akbar
pitched his tents at Rawalpindi. While he was staying there
Man Singh came in and reported the arrival of the Mirza's
sons, as well as of the turbulent Faridtin and many other
men of note, including Farrukh Beg, afterwards famous as
one of the best painters at Akbar's court. Faridun was
detained under surveillance, and ultimately sent to Mecca.^
Before the death of Muhammad Hakim, Abdullah Khan,
the Uzbeg chief, had made himself master of all Badakhshan.
The dread of an Uzbeg invasion was the principal reason
for Akbar's long-continued residence at Lahore.
» Akbar's prescience is indicated in service with the King Zelabdim
in 4. ^., iii, 702. Echebar in Fatepore '. Leedes
* A.N., iii, 705, ' 11 Shah- must have been accepted for
riyar ', the sixth month of year service prior to August 22, and
beginning 11 March. Beveridge have remained at Fathpur-Sikri
gives the equivalent date as on the imperial establishment
August 22, which is not necessarily after Akbar's departure,
inconsistent with the statement ' /4.JV.,vol.iii, ch.ilxxxiv,p. 713.
of Fitch (p. 99) that ' Here in For Farrukh, known as the Cal-
Fatepore we staid all three until muck (Kalmak), see H. F. A.,
the28. of September 1585[o.s.] p. 470.
I left William Leades the jeweller
Designs Akbar's pride was much offended by the conduct of

Kashmir. Yusuf Khan, the Sultan of Kashmir, who had always
evaded compliance with suggestions that he should come
to court and do personal homage to the emperor. At the
close of 1581 he had tried to compromise by sending Haidar,
his third son, to court, but that concession did not satisfy
Akbar, who demanded from the ruler himself the obedience
and submission of a vassal.^ The Sultan always hoped that
the difficulties of invading his country would save him from
the necessity of forfeiting his independence. In February
1585, while still trying to escape the painful humiliation
of personal vassalage, he had sent his elder son Yakub
to Fathpur-Sikri,^ but even that act of complaisance did
not suffice. Akbar, who was resolved to put an end to
the pretensions of the Sultan of Kashmir to pose as
an independent sovereign, directed the assemblage of an
ariny for the purpose of coercing him.'
' ' H. M. asks nothing from the vol. iii, eh. Ixv, p. 550).
princes of the age beyond obedi- ' Ibid., eh. Ixxix, p. 676.
ence, and when they render this ' Ibid.,ch.lxxxv, p. 715. Abu-1
he does not exert the might of Fazl offers his usual sophistry in
sovereignty against them ' {A. N., defence of the aggression.
CHAPTER IX
WARS ON NORTH-WESTERN FRONTIER; ANNEXATION
OP KASHMIR AND SIND ; SECOND JESUIT MISSION ;
REGULATIONS ; ANNEXATION OF BALOCHISTAN AND
KANDAHAR, ETC.
Akbar moved from Rawalpindi to Attock (Atak-Benares), Defeat

so that he might occupy a position favourable for the jjh^"
control of the operations against Kashmir and also against and Raja
the Afghans of the Yusufzl and Mandar tribes, who had by the
been very troublesome. Zain Khan Kokaltash, who was Yusufzi,
commissiohed to chastise the tribesmen, began by entering
the Bajaur territory to the westward, while other officers
were sent into the Samah plateau — the home of the Mandar
tribe — flying between Peshawar and the Suwat (Swat,
Suwad) river. Zain Khan having asked for reinforcements.
Raja Birbal was sent up with orders to march through the
Samah and enter the Suwat country. Hakim Abu-1 Fath
was also directed to enter the same region in the neighbour-
hood of the Karakar Pass further east. Ultimately, all the
three commanders united their forces at Chakdara, just
inside the Suwat boundary, and on the north side of the
Suwat river. Violent disputes then broke out between the
generals. Raja Birbal being unwilling to recognize Zain
Khan as his superior. Zain Khan, the only one of the
three who had any knowledge of the military art, advised
that Chakdara should be held in strength while the tribes-
men were being reduced by punitive expeditions. The Raja
and the Hakim, on the other hand, agreed that they were
not required to occupy the country, and that they should
make their way back to Akbar at Attock. The advice
given by Zain Khan that the withdrawal should be effected
through the Malakhand Pass was ignored, and his colleagues
resolved to retire through the Karakar and Malandarai
defiles.
î
3i Sketch Afep to illustrate the
campaiga against the YusufzL
m 1585-1586
10 Miles
J Cha Ji(
i»^ Suvr ^ w^'
al ^|^
HoU
Naushalira
PESHA\V?VR , CNowshera) U
9^ O
Note:- The disaster to the

imperialists occurred
in the Malandarai Pass.
I KSMamn.,
WARS AND ANNEXATIONS 235
They soon found reason to regret their rash decision.

The retirement through the Karakar Pass, which had been
ill managed, was grievously harassed by the tribesmen ;
but after passing the crest of the Malandarai Pass further
south the retirement became a rout. Nearly 8,000 of the
imperiahsts, something like half of the force, perished, and
only a shattered remnant rejoined Akbar at Attock in the
middle of February 1586.
Both Zain Khan and the Hakim survived. Raja Birbal
was killed. He seems to have frankly run away in a vain
attempt to save his life.^ Akbar grieved bitterly over the
loss of his old friend, and was particularly distressed because
his body could not be found and cremated according to the
rites of Hinduism and the ' Divine Faith ', of which the
Raja was a disciple. The accident that the Raja's body
was never recovered gave rise to stories that he had escaped
alive, which Akbar was inclined to believe for a time. There
is, however, no doubt that Birbal was killed. The disaster
appears to have been due in large part to his folly and
inexperience. Akbar made a serious mistake in sending
such people as Birbal and the Hakim to command military
forces operating in difficult country against a formidable
enemy. Neither possessed the knowledge or ability qualify-
ing them for the task committed to them. When Birbal
was appointed, Abu-1 Fad had claimed the command.
Akbar decided the rival claims of his favourites by drawing
lots. Abu-1 Fazl at that time was no better equipped with
military experience than the Raja was, but his subsequent
proceedings in the Deccan wars suggest that, if the lot had
happened to fall upon him, he might have done better
than the Hindu jester.* Akbar censured Zain Khan and the
' ' Nearly eight thousand men during his lifetime ' (Badaoni, tr.
were killed, and Raja Birbal, who Blochmann, in Ain, vol. i, p. 204 ;
fled for his life, was slain ' tr. Lowe, p. 361, with same pur-
{Tabakat, in E. & D., v, 451). port). The statements as to the
' Bir Bar
fear also,life,
of his whowashad slain,
fled from
and number
discrepantof (^.iV.,
casualties are ».).
iii, 732 widely
entered the row of the dogs in ' The best account of the
hell, and thus got something for Yusufzi campaign is that by
the abominable deeds he had done Raverty, Notes on Afghanistan
Hakim, but rather for their failure to recover Birbal's body

than for their defeat.- So far as appears Zain Khan was not
to blame. If he had been free to act on his own judgement,
it is probable that he would have avoided disaster.
The defeat was avenged to some extent by Raja Todar
Mall, who ' entered the mountain region with great caution.
Here and there he built forts and harried and plundered
continually, so that he reduced the Afghans to great straits.'
Man Singh subsequently fought a battle in the Khyber Pass
against other tribes, winning what is described as ' a great
victory '.^ But the imperial government never thoroughly
subdued any section of the tribesmen, who, even now, are
imperfectly controlled.
Raja Raja Birbal, who thus perished ingloriously, was a member
Birbal.
of Akbar's innermost circle of friends, rivalling in intimacy
Abu-1 Fazl, whom the Jesuits called the emperor's Jonathan.
Indeed, it is said that Birbal possessed the uncanny power
of divining his master's secrets, a dangerous gift to which
Abu-1 Fazl did not pretend. Akbar loved to have Birbal
by his side, that he might enjoy his witty conversation.
Birbal, originally a poor Brahman named Mahesh Das,
Was born at Kalpi about 1528, and consequently was
fourteen years older than Akbar. He was at first in the
service of Raja Bhagwan Das, who sent him to Akbar
early in the reign. His gifts as musician, poet, story-teller,
and conversationalist soon gained him high favour, with
(1888), pp. 259-65. The leading assert that the disaster occurred
contemporary authority is A. N., in the Shahlcot Pass, but they
iii, 719 seqq. The Karakar and seem to be mistaken (Raverty,
Malandarai (Malandri) Passes, not op. cit., p. 262 n.). Abu-1 Fazl
marked on all maps, are shown on has written much insincere non-
Stanford's Sketch Map of the sense about the defeat (^.JV., iii,
North-Western Frontier (1908). 735). Yiisufzi, not Yusufzai, is
The order of the passes from east the correct form,
to west is Karakar, Shahkot, ' Tabakat, in E. & D., v, 451.
Malakhand. The Malandarai Pass Nizamu-d din does not give the
lies to the south of the Karakar. date of the victory gained by
Elphinstone did not know the Man Singh, who did not succeed
position of the passes (5th ed., his adoptive father Bhagwan Das
p. 519 n.). The Afghans of Suwat as Raja until November 1589.
(Swat) deny that the imperialists Elphinstone gives 1587 as the
ever succeeded in crossing to the year in which Jalala was defeated
north of the Suwat River, and by Man Singh (5th ed., p. 520).
the title of Kabi Rai, or Hindu poet laureate. He is some-

times described in English books as a ' minister ' or even
as ' prime minister ', but erroneously. He is not recorded
as having held any important office, although he was
occasionally employed on special missions, and enjoyed the
rank and pay of a ' commander of 2,000 '. The proximity
of his beautiful house in the palace of Fathpur-Sikri to the
stables has suggested the hypothesis that he may have been
Master of the Horse. At one time, in the eighteenth year
of the reign, Nagarkot or Kangra had been assigned to him
as his jdglr or fief, but he does not seem ever to have
obtained possession of it. He then received the title of
Raja Birbal. He actually enjoyed the jdglr of Kalanjar in
Bundelkhand later in his hfe.^
He was devoted to the cult of the sun, and his influence
supported that of the Parsees in inducing Akbar to give
much prominence in practice to solar worship. He took
an active part in the discussions about religions, and is
the only Hindu named as having become a member of the
Divine Faith order. No complete work by Birbal is known
to exist. Tradition credits him with numerous verses and
witty sayings stiU quoted. A collection of facetious tales,
in which he and Akbar figure as the principal personages,
is commonly sold in the bazaars of Bihar.
He was hostile to the Sikhs, whom he considered to be
heretics. They consequently regard his miserable death
as the just penalty for his threats of violence to Arjun Singh,
their revered Guru.^ Akbar did not agree with Birbal con-
cerning the merits of the Sikh religion, the doctrines of which
seemed to the emperor deserving of high commendation.'
' ' The castle of Kalanjar, Grierson, The Modern Vernacular
which had been in that dog's Literature of Hindustan, Calcutta,
jagir' (Badaoni, p. 369). 1889, being a Special Number of
' Mahesh Das was the personal J.A.S.B., part i, 1888, No. 106,
name of the Raja. Badaoni (ii, p. 35 ; and Blochmann in Aln,
164 and Errata) calls him Brahma vol. i, No. 85, p. 404. The story-
Das, probably because when he concerning Birbal and Guru Arjun
was in the Jaipur service he used Singh, too long to quote, is in
to sign his compositions as Brahm Macauhffe, The Sikh Religion,
Kabi. His title Birbal is often Oxford, 1909, vol. iii, pp. 15-17.
written Birbar or Birbar. See " Macauliffe relates interesting
The exqmsite structure at Fathpur-Sikri known as Raja

Birbal's House was erected in 1571 or 1572 (S. 1629), and,
according to tradition, was intended for his daughter's
residence. The beauty and lavishness of the decoration
testify to the intensity of Akbar's affection for the Raja.^
The troubles on the frontier had
' originated in a fanatical spirit, which had sprung up,

many years before, among this portion of the Afghans.
A person named Bayazid had then assumed the character
of a prophet ; had set aside the Koran, and taught that
nothing existed except God, who filled all space and was the
substance of all forms. The Divinity despised all worship
and rejected all mortifications ; but he exacted implicit
obedience to his prophet, who was the most perfect mani-
festation ofhimself. The beUevers were authorized to seize
on the lands and property of infidels, and were promised in
time the dominion of the whole earth.'
The They called themselves Roshanlyya (Roshani), or ' Illu-

niyya
' Illu- or niinati '. That attractive creed, which should have met
minati with Akbar's approval on its merits, captivated the tribes-
sect. men of the Sulaiman hills and Khyber Pass. The Yusufzi,
who adhered to its tenets for a time, had renounced them
when they fought Zain Khan and Blrbal. Bayazid, the
founder of the sect, who died in a. d. 1585, had been succeeded
by a son named Jalala, a boy of fourteen. Notwithstand-
ing his youth the new prophet proved to be a most trouble-
some enemy. He kept up the fight with the imperialists
for years, and in 1600 captured Ghazni. He was killed soon
afterwards, but the religious war was continued by his
successors during the reigns of Jahangir and Shahjahan.
When the sectarian fervour died out the vigorous tribal
spirit enabled the clans to maintain their independence,
which they still enjoy to a large extent.^
anecdotes concerning the transac- 21 ; BadaonI, p. 360, as corrected
tions between Akbar and the
on p. xii. The word ' Tajik '
Guru (op. cit., pp. 81— i). given by Elphinstone on p. 521,
1 E. W. Smith, Fathpur-Slkrl, n. 1, as a synonym for Roshaniyya
part ii, pp. 1—15, with numerous is a misreading for Tarlhl, ' here-
plates ; part iii, p. 5. tics ' ; see Raverty, p. 598.
' Elphinstone, ed. 5, pp. 517-
The campaign against Kashmir proceeded concurrently Annexa-

with the operations against the tribesmen. The command Kashmir,
of the force intended for the subjugation of the mountain i^se.
kingdom was entrusted to Kasim Khan, Raja Bhagwan
Das, and certain other officers. Early in 1586 Sultan
Yusuf Khan, distrusting his ability to make effectual
resistance, had met and conferred with the imperial generals,
but Akbar ordered the advance to continue. Yusuf Khan
then blocked the Buliyas Pass on the Baramula route, to
the west of the capital, a position from which it was not
easy to dislodge him.^ Rain and snow fell, supplies ran
short, and the invading force was confronted with difficulties
so great that the commanders decided to patch up a peace
and retire. They granted easy terms, stipidating that the
name of the emperor should be recited in the Khutba and
stam{>ed on the coins ; the mint, saffron cultivation, shawl
manufacture,^ and game laws being placed under the control
of imperial officers designated for the charge of those depart-
ments of the administration. Akbar, while disapproving of
the treaty, which had been negotiated under the influence
of the news concerning the defeat of Zain Khan and Raja
Birbal, did not formally withhold his consent.
The Sultan and his son, Yakub Khan, came into his camp
and surreiidered. The Sultan was imprisoned. His Ufe is
said to have been guaranteed by Raja Bhagwan Das, who
about this time stabbed himself with a dagger, though not
fatally. He recovered quickly under the care of the court
surgeons.* The official explanation of the incident is that
the Raja committed the act in a fit of insanity. BadaonI,
> ' I believe, therefore, that the (1900), vol. li, p. 403). The name
Vitasta Valley below Varahamula of the pass is given nearly cor-
[Baramula] was held as an out- rectly as ' Bhuhyas ' in Tabakat,
lying frontier tract as far as the E. & D., v, 452 ; and wrongly as
present Buliasa [Sanskrit, Bolya- ' PhQlbas ' in Badaoni, tr. Lowe,
saka]. It is exactly a few miles p. 363. The reading depends on
below this place that ascending the dots and the vowel-points,
the valley the first serious diffi- Buliyas is about forty miles by
culties are encountered on the road westward from Baramula.
road. An advanced frontier-post " Ab-resham seems to mean
could scarcely have occupied a shawls, rather than silk,
strategically more advantageous " A. iV., iii, 745 ; Blochmann^
position ' (Stein, tr. Bdjatarangim Am, vol. i, p. 333.
on the contrary, asserts that, Akbar having intended to
violate the safe-conduct and execute the Sultan, the Raja,
on hearing of the perfidious design, stabbed himself in order
to vindicate his Rajput honour. That charge, so discredit-
able to Akbar, is not to be lightly believed, and may, I think*
be safely rejected as untrue, because the historian who'
makes it certainly was misinformed concerning the fate of
the Sultan and his son, as will be shown presently. Badaoni
evidently sympathized with the Kashmir princes, and was
willing to believe that they had received from Akbar treat-
ment even more harsh than that which they actually
endured.
Meantime, Yakub Khan, who had been granted a R|tty
stipend of thirty or forty rupees a month, became alarmed,
and finding that Akbar, in practical disregard of the treaty,
was preparing for a fresh invasion of his country, fled from
the imperial camp and prepared to resist. Muhammad
Kasim Khan, the engineer-in-chief, who was now appointed
to command the attack, advanced from the south through
Bhimbhar, and across the Pir Panjal (Pantsal) range.'- The
efforts of Yakub Khan not being vigorously supported by
his people, the imperialists were able to enter Srinagar, the
capital, without encountering serious opposition. Further
attempts at resistance had no better success, and Yakiib
Khan, who had regarded himself as the lawful successor of
his captive fatherj was compelled to surrender.
Kashmir was then definitely annexed, organized, under
imperial officers, and attached as a Sarkar to the SGba or
province of Kabul. It remained under that form of adminis-
tration until the disintegration of the empire in the middle
of the eighteenth century.
Yiisuf Khan and his son were exiled to Bihar, where they
were imprisoned under the charge of Man Singh, the governor.
A year or so later Yusuf Khan was released from confinement
and appointed to a ' command of 500 ', a rank carrying
' He realined the road, which Bhimbhar is at the foot of the
became the regularly used im- hills,
perial highway into Kashmir.
14
RAJA MAN SINGH
^
a salary ranging from 2,100 to 2,500 rupees a month, and

inadequate to the dignity of a deposed sovereign. He
served in that capacity under Man Singh for several years.
The time and manner of his death do not appear to be
recorded. His son paid his respects to Akbar when the
emperor visited Kashmir. Badaoni undoubtedly is in error
when he asserts that both father and son perished miserably
in a Bihar prison.^ The treatment of the ex-rulers of Kashmir
cannot be described as being generous, but it was not quite
so bad as Badaoni represents it.
In 1587 2 Man Singh's sister bore to Prince Sallm a boy. Prince
Prince Khusru,. destined to a miserable hfe and a secret Kajas
5?"^''"'
death. Man Singh, who was relieved as governor of Kabul Man
by Zain Khan, was appointed to the government of Bihar, Das. ^nd^**
Hajipur, and Patna. A little later, after his reputed father's Bhagwan
deathi the great province of Bengal was added to his charge.
Man Singh, who succeeded Bhagwan Das as Raja in 1589,
and held the high rank of ' commander of 5,000 ', which
was raised subsequently, and contrary to precedent, to that
of ' commander of 7,000 ', remained in charge of Bengal,
with little interruption, until the closing days of Akbar's
life, but resided for a considerable time at Ajmer, leaving
the provincial administration in the hands of deputies.
' From this point the proofs of 1st issue, p. 200 ; 2nd issue,
Mr. Beveridge's translation of p. 192). Lethbridge translates :—
volume iii of the Akbarnamah are ' The king was taken ahve, but
no longer available. For the life was pardoned by Akbar. He
of Sultan Yiisuf Khan see Ain, received a pension, as did his
vol. i, p. 478, No. 228. Abu-1 father; but not sufficient to
Fazl states that ' YOsuf was re- maintain his dignity ' (Calcutta
leased from prison, and received Review, 1873, p. 193). Badaoni
a jaglr, so that he might learn alleges that the Kashmir princes
better manners, and appreciate the 'were both of them imprisoned
kind treatment he had received ' in the cell of affliction, and by the
(A. N., text, iii, 549 ; cited in sickness of melancholy and spleen
E. & D., V, 454 n.). His state- they were released from the
ment is supported by the Dutch prison of the body ' (Lowe, pp.
author, van den Broecke, whose 364, 365). Clearly that statement
Fragmentum Historiae Indicae was is untrue. The error, presumably,
based on a ' genuine chronicle '. was due to incorrect information
He says that :— ■' Rex [soil. Yakub rather than to wilful perversion
Khan, • the son] vivus in pote- of the truth.
statem venit, sed venia ab Acha- ' Khafi Khan dates the birth
bare impetrata, annuum stipen- of the prince two years later in
dium una cum Parente, baud satis a.h. 997 (Blochmann, Ain, vol. i,
pro dignitate, accepit ' (De Laet, p. 310).
1845 R
He established his official capital at Akmahal or Akbamagar,
the modem Rajmahal. His bviildings are now in ruins, and
lie buried in jungle. He is reported to have ruled his exten-
sive dominions, in which he was practically almost inde-
pendent,with
' great prudence and justice '.^ He died in
the ninth year of Jahangir's reign,
Man Singh's father, or more accurately ' adoptive father ',
Raja Bhagwan Das of Amber or Jaipur, had done the
emperor good service from an early time in the reign, and
had fought bravely by his sovereign's side in the hotly
contested skirmish of Samal. When he died in November
1589, at Lahore, he was a " commander of 5,000 ', and bore
the lofty title of Amiru-l umara, or Premier Noble.
Raja j^yg days before the death of Raja Bhagwan Das, Akbar
Mall. lost another valued friend in the person of Raja Todar
Mall, who had risen, by reason of his virtues and abilities,
from the humble position of a clerk to the highest official
rank in the empire, that of Vakil. He was an old man and
faiUng when he died. He was born in Oudh at a small
town or village named Laharpur, and, after serving in
subordinate offices, received his first important commission
by being entrusted with the revenue assessment of Gujarat
in the eighteenth year of the reign (1573-4). He proved
himself to be a good and valiant soldier when serving in
Bengal with old Munim Khan, into whom he infused some
of his own superabundant energy. When in Gujarat for
the second time he vigorously attacked Sultan Muzaffar,
and in 1577-8 received his reward by being appointed
Vizier. During the Bengal rebellion of 1580 he held Mungir
(Monghyr) gallantly against the insurgents, and in 1582-3
* Stewart, History of Bengal as the son of Bhagwan Das, and
(1813), p. 189. Man Singh was, certainly was his successor, he
strictly speaking, the brother's must have been adopted by him
son, not the son of Bhagwan Das, as a son. I do not know of any
who had three brothers, namely, actual record of the supposed
Slirat Singh, Madho Singh, and adoption, except that Tod (loc.
Jagat Singh. Man Singh was the eit.) calls him the ' adopted son '
son of the last named (Tod, of his predecessor. Tod says that
' Annals of Amber ', chap, i ; in abundant materials for the life of
Annals of Rajasihan, popular ed., Man Singh existed at Jaipur. See
vol. ii, p. 286 «.). Inasmuch as Blochmann, Ain, vol. i, pp. 339-
Man Singh is ordinarily regarded 41, No. 30.
was appointed Dlwan. He is specially remembered for his

share in the assessment of the land revenue which he under-
took in that capacity. He compelled Hindus to learn
Persian by requiring that the revenue accounts should be
prepared in that language and character, and so qualified
his countrymen for more responsible employment under
a Muhammadan government. In 1589, when Akbar paid
a hurried visit to Kashmir, Todar Mall was left in charge
of Lahore, at that time the capital, where he died in
November.
Abu-1 Fazl, who did not altogether like him, and censured
him for religious bigotry and a vindictive disposition,
declares that he was incomparable in courage, administra-
tive skill, and freedom from avarice. ' There was no cupidity
in his administration.' ^ On the whole, he was, perhaps, the
ablest officer in Akbar's service.
Akbar seized an early opportunity for a hasty visit to Akbar in
the fascinating valley of Kashmir, which he had coveted a„d
for so long, and now described as his ' private garden '. Kabul,
The emperor, starting from Lahore on April 22, 1589,
arrived at Srinagar about the end of May. He entered the
hUl country from Bhimbhar and crossed the Pir Panjal
(Pantsal) range by the improved though still bad road
which his engineer-in-chief had constructed, and then spent
a few days in the valley. Prince Murad and the ladies,
who had been left at Bhimbhar at the foot of the hills,
were directed to meet the emperor at Rohtas near Jhelum.
Akbar travelled by the Baramula route and through the
Hazara District, then known as Pakhll, to Attock. In
compliance with amended instructions his family met him
there instead of at Rohtas. Thence the emperor proceeded
to Kabul, where he spent two pleasant months, often visit-
ing the gardens and places of interest. While there he
received the news of the deaths of Rajas Bhagwan Das and
Todar Mall. On November 7 he started for India, leaving
Kabul in charge of Muhammad Kasim, the engineer.*
» A. N., iii, 223. For biography » Tabakat, in E. & D., v, 457.
of Todar Mall see Blochmann in Pakhli was the name of the
Ain, vol. i, pp. 351, 620, No. 39. R2 Sarkar or District lying between
Akbar's Akbar — in pursuance of his deliberate policy directed to

on^^nd ^^^ object of bringing every province of northern India
under his sway, as a necessary foundation for still more
ambitious enterprises — ^now took steps for the subjugation
of southern Sind, the independence of which was an offence
in his eyes. Multan, lying to the north, and at present
under the government of the Pan jab, but naturally and
historically belonging to upper Sind, had been regarded as
an integral part of the empire of Hindostan since the time
of Babur. The original province or Suba of Multan included
three Sarkars or Districts, namely, Multan, Debalpur, and
Bakhar.i The strong island fortress of Bakhar had been
surrendered to Keshu Khan, an officer of Akbar's, in 1574,
and had remained since then under imperial control.^
The emperor now desired to extend his dominion over
southern Sind, or the principality of Thathah, as far as
the mouths of the Indus, and so bring under his power the
last remaining independent State of northern India.*
Conquest The Conquest of Sind and Balochistan being regarded as
] rm"*^' ^ necessary prelude to the long meditated recovery of Kan-
dahar, Akbar attached great importance to the operations,
and chose one of his best officers to conduct them. He
took no personal share in the campaign, and never visited
any part of either Sind or Balochistan after his infancy.*
the Kashmir frontier and Attock ^ The correct name of the officer
(Am, book ii, vol. ii, p. 390), appears to be Keshu Khan, as in
equivalent to the ancient king- /. G. (1908), s. v. Bukkur. It is
dom of Uraâ (Stein, tr. Raja- sometimes written Gesu, Gisu, or
tarangini, vol. ii, p. 434), or the Kisu. See Tdrikh-i Mâsumi in
modem Hazara District. On the E. & D., 1, 240 ; Raverty, Notes,
passes over the Pir Pantsal range p. 595.
see Ibid., pp. 392^00. ' Thathah (Raverty), Tatta
» Atn (transl. Jarrett), vol. Ii, (J. G!), Nagar Thato, &c. ; situated
pp. 325-36. Debalpur is com- In 24° 45' N. and 67° 58' E., and
monly, though incorrectly, written now Included in the Karachi
Dipalpur. It is now a large (Kurrachee) District. The town,
village in the Montgomery Dls- at present small and unhealthy,
trict, situated in 30° 40' N. and was a populous and busy mart in
73° 32' E. Bakhar Is the Bukkur Akbar's time and throughout the
of I. G. The name is sometimes seventeenth century. It decayed
written Bhakhar or Bhakkar. during the latter half of the
The fortress stands on a rocky eighteenth century,
island in the Indus between Sak- * The story that In 1591 he
har (Sukkur) and Rohri (Rurhi), revisited Umarkot, his birth-
and is situated in 27° 43' N. and place, which has found Its way
68° 56' E. into the latest editiwi of the
The officer selected to effect the conquest was Bairam

Khan's son, Abdurrahim, who had received the title of
Khan Khanan for his suppression of Sultan Muzaffar and
the final reduction of Gujarat. In 1590 he was appointed
Subadar of Multan, and directed to annex the principality
of Thathah, then under the government of Mirza Jani the
Tarkhan, who, like the ruler of Kashmir, had omitted to
offer homage to his all-powerful neighbour and had committed
the unpardonable sin of pretending to independence. The
Mirza attempted to defend his country and fought two
engagements, in which flotillas of boats {ghurdbs) on the
Indus took part. He lost both fights and was obliged to
surrender, giving up both Thathah and the fortress of
Sihwan (1591). He was treated without harshness, and
after his appearance at court was granted his former
dominions as a fief of the crown. He was appointed a ' com-
mander of 3,000 ', and joined the ranks of the adherents of
the Divine Faith, making a formal renunciation of Islam.
Jani Beg accompanied Akbar in the expedition to the Deccan,
and after the fall of Aslrgarh in January 1601 died of de-
lirium tremens, like so many of his notable contemporaries.^
Imperial Gazetteer and many other to be a mistake. The ancestor
modern publications, is baseless referred to (according to him)
fiction, ' as every history that was not Arghun Khan of the
has ever been written shows '. hneage of the great Khan, but a
Raverty, Notes, p. 601 ; /. G. person named Amir Arghun, who
(1908), s. V. Umarkot. died about a. d. 1275 (Notes,
1 The fullest and best account p. 580 n.). Sihwan (Sehwan of
of the conquest of Sind is that in I. G.), a town and fortress of
the Tarikh-i M'asuml or Tankhu-s immense antiquity, is situated in
Sind by Mir who
of Baldiar, Muhammad
took an M'asum
active 26°
now 26'included
N. and 67° 54' E.,
in the and is
Larkanah
part in the operations. The (Larkana of I. G.) District of Sind.
author resembled Nizarau-d din It stood on the bank of the Indus
in being and
mander both an a gallant com-
accomplished in Akbar's time,
withdrawn. The but
towntheis generally
river has
writer (E. & D., i, pp. 247-52). called Siwistan in the Persian
Raverty also tells the story from histories, and has been often con-
the original authorities (Notes, fused by English writers with the
p. 601). For the life of Mirza totally different place, Siwi or
Jani Beg, of the Arghjin clan, Sibi, in Balochistan to the SE. of
with the title of Tarkhan, see Quetta, situated in about 29° 30'
Blochmann, .iin, vol. i, pp. 361-5. N. and 68° E. (See Raverty,
Blochmann traces his descent Notes, esp. pp. 556, 602, and
through
690=A. D.Arghiin Khan to (d.
1291) back A. h.
Chingiz India
SihwanOffice map of 32"
or Siwistan to mile).
belonged to
Khan, but Raverty declares that the Thathah province. Siwi or
Designs Akbar, who had always cherished the hope of being able
on and
missio gome
ns dayj to brinsro
under his swayj the Sultanates of the
to the Deecan, which had been formed out of the fragments of
Deccan. ^j^^ Bahmani empire, now began to see his way towards
the accomplishment of his ambitious design. The whole
of northern India, including Balochistan, Afghanistan, and
Kashmir, had either been subdued or was on the point of
being reduced to obedience. The emperor felt that he was
sufficiently secure in the north to justify an adventurous
policy in the south. If fortune should favour him and his
life should be prolonged he might afterwards undertake
the conquest of Turan, the regions in Transoxiana where
his ancestors had ruled long ago. But the Uzbegs were
strong in that direction, and that project must wait, whereas
the Sultanates of the Deccan were comparatively weak
and always at variance one with the other.
Akbar resolved as a preliminary measure to send missions
to the rulers of the Deccan, in order to ascertain whether or
not they would be willing to accept his suzerainty without
putting him to the trouble of fighting and defeating them.
Accordingly, in August 1591, he dispatched four missions,
severally directed to Khandesh, Ahmadnagar, Bijapur, and
Golkonda. The emperor's first objective was Khandesh,
the small kingdom in the valley of the Tapti, then ruled
by a prince of the Faruki dynasty, named Raja Ali Khan,
who is described as ' a man of great talent, just, wise,
prudent, and brave '.^ He recognized the superiority of the
Mogul power, and showed indications of willingness to
acknowledge Akbar's suzerainty. His capital was Bur-
hanpur,^ which still survives as a considerable town, possess-
Sibi was a dependency of Kan- and plate ; Yule and Burnell,
dahar, and was annexed on Glossary, s. v. Grab. The tonnage
Akbar's behalf by Mir Muhammad ran from about 150 to 300 tons.
M'asum in February 1595. It Ghurab means a ' raven ' ; com-
thus became part of the Kabul pare ' corvette '.
Suba. The Thathah province, in- ' Bombay Ga2eHeer(1880),Khan-
cluding Sihwan, was added to desh, p. 247.
the old Multan Siiba. ^ The name is written as
For the two-, or sometimes Brampour or in other corrupt
three-masted ships called ghurabs forms by the older European
(' grabs '), see R. Mookerji, Indian writers.
Shipping, Longmans, 1912, p. 251
ing a valuable trade in cotton, with wire-drawing and

silk-weaving industries. The chief importance of Raja All
Khan's territory lay in the fact that it included the mighty
fortress of Asirgarh, commanding the main road to the
Deccan, and justly regarded as one of the strongest and
best equipped fortresses in Europe or Asia.^ Shaikh Faizi,
Abu-1 Fazl's brother, the most notable of the four envoys,
accordingly was sent to Burhanpur, with instructions to
proceed later to the court of Burhan Shah, or Burhanu-I
Mulk, king of Ahmadnagar, to whom a special ambassador
was also sent. Ahmadnagar, after Khandesh, was the most
accessible of the Deccan sultanates. Akbar, as will appear
subsequently, never advanced farther.
In August 1592 Akbar started on a hunting expedition Akbar's
along the banks of the Chinab, intending to pay a second ^^^°I^^
visit to Kashmir. While on his way he received news that Kashmir,
a nephew of his governor in the valley had rebelled and set o°orissa*
up as Sultan on his own account. A little later the emperor 1592.
was greeted by a pleasanter dispatch announcing the victories
of the Khan Khanan in Sind, and he accepted the information
as a good omen of the speedy suppression of the Kashmir
rebellion. He was not disappointed in his expectations,
and before he entered the hills from Bhimbhar had the
satisfaction of inspecting the rebel's head which his officers
had sent in. He stayed only eight days in the valley,
amusing himself with sport, and then departed, as on the
previous occasion, by the Baramula Pass, and on through
the Hazara District (Pakhli) to Rohtas. He thence returned
to Lahore, where intelligence reached him that Raja Man
Singh had defeated the Afghan chiefs in Orissa and annexed
that country. The new province, although imperfectly
subdued, was attached to the Suba of Bengal, and con-
tinued to be part of the empire until 1751, when AUahvardi
' Asirgaih is written Asirgad in sometimes disguises names which
the Bornhay Gazetteer. Educated are familiar in literature in their
Hindus in the Deccan and on the northern form. ' Raja ' seems to
Bombay side pronounce as d or dh have been part of the name of
the cerebral letters which are pro- the king of Khandesh, not a
nounced as r or rh in northern Hindu title.
India. The difference of spelling
(Alivardi) Khan was compelled to surrender it to the

Marathas.
Akbar's arms were thus successful on all sides, and he
was able to contemplate with the assurance of victory
further adventures in the Deccan.
Death of In 1593 the campaign in Gujarat was ended by the
Shaikh
Mubarak; suicide of Muzaffar Shah, as already mentioned. In August
Azam
Khan, the emperor's old friend, Shaikh Mubarak, father of Abu-1
1593. Fazl and Faizi, and the real founder of the Divine Faith,
died at an advanced age. He was a man of profound
learning after the Asiatic manner, and so much of a philo-
sopher that he had changed his theological views several
times.
Azam Khan, Aziz Koka, governor of Gujarat, who had
never been on cordial terms with Akbar since innovations
in religion had been introduced, disobeyed a summons to
come to court, left his province, and departed for Mecca
without permission. Strange to say, when he returned to
India in the autumn of 1594, he not only became reconciled
with the emperor, but actually enrolled himself as a disciple
of the Divine Faith. It is said that he was fleeced so shame-
lessly by the harpies of the Mecca shrines that he found
orthodoxy too expensive. One of his daughters was married
to Prince Murad, who succeeded him as governor of Gujarat.
Another daughter was married later to Prince Khusru. The
subsequent life of Aziz was marked by various vicissitudes.
He died in his bed, in the nineteenth year of Jahaiiglr's
War in reign.'^
At or about the close of 1593 the envoys to the Sultans
the
Deccan of the Deccan returned with reports unsatisfactory to
decided
Akbar, who was disappointed to learn that Burhanu-1 Mulk,
on ; Ni-
zamu-d the ruler of Ahmadnagar, had not sent suitable tribute, his
din
Ahmad, gifts being limited to some fifteen elephants, with certain
1593.
textiles, and a few jewels. The paucity of his offerings was
understood to imply that he desired to maintain his inde-
pendence. Akbar regarded the assertion of independence
' Blochmann gives a full bio- No. 21. His title is sometimes
graphy, Aln, vol. i, pp. 325-7, written as Khan-i 'Azam.
by any ruling priijce within the reach of his arm as a personal

affront to be expiated by ruthless conquest.^
War was decreed in consequence, and at first Prince
Daniyal was nominated for the supreme command of the
invading army, which included 70,000 horse. On second
thoughts, after holding a Council, Akbar revoked the com-
mission tohis son, and appointed the Khan Khanan (Abdur-
rahim) as commander-in-chief of the expedition.
At this point the historical narrative (Tahdkat-i Akbari) of
Nizamu-d din Ahmad, BakhshI of the empire, ends abruptly.
The accomplished author had hopes of continuing the story,
but at the end of October 1594 he died, aged forty- five,
after a short illness. His friend Badaonl has recorded
a touching tribute to his memory, and avers that in the
city of Lahore there was scarcely any one, whether of high
or low degree, who did not recall his gracious qualities and
lament his premature decease.* Certaiidy he was one of the
most estimable of Akbar's officers.
Before completing the history of Akbar's extensive
annexations in the north-west, we must revert to the subject
of his relations with Christianity and his orders concerning
religious matters.
After the departure of Father Aquaviva in the spring Renewed
of 1583 nothing more is heard of dealings with Christian intw- course
priests until 1590, when a Greek sub-deacon, named Leo withGoa
Grimon, on his way back to his native country, returning l^™"^
from we know not where, happened to appear at the imperial Grimon.
court in the Panjab, and so gave an opportunity for renewal
of the intercourse with Goa, of which Akbar gladly took
advantage.
The emperor issued fresh invitations to the authorities
at Goa asking them again to send him teachers of the
Christian faith, and using language far stronger than that
which he had employed in 1579. His words, no doubt
dictated by himself, seem to indicate that in 1590 he may
have had some thoughts of becoming a Christian. Every-
•■ Terry compares the Great neighbours ' (ed. 1777, p. 148).
Mogul to ' a huge pike in a great ' Badaoni, p. 411.
pond, that preys upon all his
thing known about the invitation, ' che reply made by the
civil and ecclesiastical officials of Goa, and the complete
failure of the mission sent has been recorded by Du Jarric
and reproduced in English by Maclagan.i The documents
are so full of personal interest and throw so much light on
the puzzling character of Akbar that they must be tran-
scribed almost in full. Certain phrases especially striking
are printed in italics, and Maclagan's notes, so far as they
have been utilized, are distinguished by his initials.
Pass The pass or parwdna granted to the sub-deacon was as
granted
to the follows :
sub-
deacon, ' Order of His Highness, Muhammad, great King and
Leo
Grimon. Lord of the Fosliera (sic),'^ to all the Captains, Viceroys,
Gk)vernors, rulers, and other officers of my realm :—
' " I would have you know that I have shown much
honour and favour to Dom Leo Grimon, willing thereby
that you should do likewise, inasmuch as I hope to obtain
by his means certain other learned P'athers from Goa, by
whom I trust to be restored from death unto life through their
holy doctrine, even as their Master Jesus Christ, coming from
Heaven to Earth, raised many from the dead and gave them life.
' " On this occasion I am summoning the most learned
and virtuous of the Fathers, by whom I would be taught
many things concerning the faith of the Christians and of the
royal highway whereon they travel to God's presence. Where-
fore I order my officers aforesaid to bestow great honour
and favour both on Dom Leo Grimon and on the Fathers
for whom I am sending, in all the towns of my realm through
which they shall pass, granting them an escort to conduct
them safely from town to town, providing them with all
that is necessary for themselves and their beasts, and all
• pp. 60-4. The letters were later in the year 1591 ; but on
first pubhshed by Father Spitilli account of various happenings
in Italian at Rome in 1592. they came back and were unable
Guzman (1601) and Du Jarric to gain any result.' The story of
(1608) copied from him. I have the mission is told by Du Jarric
in book ii, chap, xii ; Latin ver-
not seen Spitilli's rare tract.
Peruschi (Roma, 1597, p. 4) dis- sion, vol. ii, pp. 524-9.
misses the Second Mission in a '^ The superscription evidently
few words :— ' E similmente alcuni has been imperfectly copied.
altri [Padri] ne furno mandati poi Akbar never called himself simply
neir anno 1591 ; ma per diverse Muhammad. The word ' Fos-
occasioni se ne ritornorno, e non lierain
' the French, and ' Domini
si potfe fare effetto alcuno ' ; or Follierii ' in the Latin text of Du
Jarric is obscure. E. D. M. (p. 60)
in
otherEnglish,
Jesuit 'And likewise
Fathers were some
sent suggests ' Fasli era ', but qu.?
else they need, at my charges : and you shall be responsible

for their safe arrival and shall take heed that they lose
nothing which they have with them.
' " I order also my Captain Khankhanan {man Capitaine
Canchena)^ to forward them safely to my Captain Raizza (?),
who with the other Captains shall do likewise until they
reach my court. I enjoin also Giabiblica (?), the Captain of
Cambay, to furnish whatsoever they need in going o:^
coming.^ I also forbid my customs officers to take anything
from the said Fathers, whose baggages they shall let pass
without toll : and the aforesaid shall pay heed to my com-
mandment, troubling the said Fathers neither in their
persons nor in their property. If they make any complaint
you shall be severely punished, even to the danger of your
heads. Moreover I desire that this my order be carried out
in respect both of their persons and of their goods, that
they may pass freely through my towns without paying
tax or toll and be well guarded on their road.
' " They shall be conducted from Cambay to Ahmadabad,
and thence to Paian (Pattan), and thence to Gelu (? Jalor),
from Gelu to Guipar (?), and from Guipar to Bikanir,*
whence they shall go to Bitasser (? Jalasir), from Bitasser *
to Multan, and from Multan to Lahore where we reside.
For this is the route by which I would have the Fathers
come. Whom I hope by God's aid to see shortly at this
Court, when they shall be received by me and mine as their
worth deserveth." '
Letter from Akbar to the Fathers of the Society at Goa.
' In the name of God.
' The exalted and invincible Akbar to those that are in
God's grace and have tasted of his Holy Spirit, and to those
that are obedient to the spirit of the Messiah and conduct
men to God. I say to you, learned Fathers, whose words
» ' Mirza 'Abdu-r rahim Khan, [E. D. M.]. The Kaja was killed
son of Bairam Khan and com- in 1596.
mander in Gujarat ' (E. D. M.). * Gelu=? Jalotra on meridian
Maclagan used the French original 72° nearly due N. of Patau,
of Du Jarric. I have chiefly con- ' Guipar ' might be Kharopar,
suited the Latin version in the further N. I doubt if the party
India Office Library. The book is went round to the east by Jalor
of extreme rarity in either form. and Jodhpur. They may have
2 ' Raizza ' is ' perhaps Rai travelled due N. through Po-
Singh of Bikanir' (Blochmann, kharan.
Am, i, 357). I am unable to * Bitasser '=? Kalasar, N. of
identify ' Giabibhca ', unless he Bikaner. The names are hope-
be Raja ' All Khan of Khan- lessly corrupted apparently,
desh (Blochmann, Am, i, 327).'
are heeded as those of men retired from the world, who

have left the pomps and honour of earth : Fathers who
walk by the true way : I would have your Reverences
know that / have knowledge of all the faiths of the world,
both of various kinds of heathen and of the Muhammadans,'^
save only that of Jesus Christ which is the faith of God and as
such recognized and followed by many. Now, in that I feel
great inclination to the friendship of the Fathers, I desire
that by them I may be taught this faith.
' There has recently come to our Court and royal Palace
one Dom Leo Grimon, a person of great merit and good
discourse, whom I have questioned on sundry matters and
who has answered well to the satisfaction of myself and my
doctors. He has assured me that there are in India [scil.
Goa] several Fathers of great prudence and learning, and
if this be so Your Reverences will be able immediately, on
receiving my letter, to send some of them to my Court
with all confidence, so that in disputations with my doctors
I may compare their several learning and character, and
see the superiority of the Fathers over my doctors ; whom
we call Qazis,^ and whom by this means they can teach the
truth.
' If they will remain in my Court, I shall build them such
lodging that they may live as nobly as any Father now in
this country ,3 and when they wish to leave, I shall let them
depart with all honour. You should, therefore, do as I ask,
and the more willingly because I beg of you the same, in
this letter written at the commencement of the moon of June.'
When perusing this letter we should remember that it
is translated from the French of Du Jarric, who probably
used either a Portuguese or an Italian version of the Persian
original. It reads as if the sub-deacon had had a hand in
some parts of the phrasing.
Anyhow it, or something very like it, reached, the persons
to whom it was addressed.
" Compare Abu-1 Fazl on him- a mulla, a Muhammadan doctor
self :— ' Without dishonourable or priest ' (Beveridge, in J. and
curiosity I became acquainted Proc. A. S. B., 1910, p. 456 n.).
with the tenets of all creeds, and In the Latin version of Du Jarric
my spirit was weary of their (vol. i, p. 211) the form used is
multitude ' (Am, vol. iii, p. 446). ' Cacizes '.
^ ' Qazis ' is an error. The ' ' In this country ' may mean
word is written ' Cassises ' by Goa. In Akbar's dominions there
Botelho, and is " not qazl = a may or may not have been one
Muhammadan judge, but from the or two priests in Bengal at that
Persian hashish, in Arabic qasls — date, but there were no others.
The Provincial, in- his report dated November of the The Pro-
same year, recites 'how nearly nine years had elapsed since ^p"^' ^
the Great Mogul Akbar had sent a similar request, and Nov., 1590.
states that the sub-deacon had brought with him hberal
gifts for the poor of Goa which the donor had desired to be
still more lavish than Grimon would accept.
The reporter goes on to say :
' And from what the sub-deacon tells us at Goa, it appears
that this excellent emperor is most anxious to establish
the fundamental truths of Christianity, and has induced
the Prince his son, and his chief general to hold the same
views. 1
' On the day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
[August 15], he held a festival,^ setting forth in an elevated
situation the picture of the Virgin which Father Rodolfi
and his companions had given him, and called on his rela-
tions and courtiers to kiss the picture with due reverence*
They had asked that the Prince his son should do so and
he consented with the greatest alacrity.
' The Emperar turned all the mosques of the city where
he lived into stables for elephants or horses, on the pretence
of preparation for war.' Soon, however, he destroyed the
Alcorans (whith are the turrets from which the priests call
with loud voices on Muhammad),* saying that if the mosques
could no longer be used for prayer there was no need for
the turrets : and this he did in his hatred for the Muham-
madan sect and in his affection for the Gospel. The sub-
• The ' Prince ' means Salim suoi paesi, e ne h^ fatto stalle,
(Jahan^r), then about twenty-one e luoghi di vilissimi essercitii.'
years of age. The ' chief general ' The fact of the desecration of
would seem to indicate the Khan mosques, amply proved by the
Khanan, but I am not certain Jesuit testimony, is confirmed
that he is intended. independently by Badaoni, who
^ The festival of the Assump- states that ' mosques and prayer-
tion, instituted by the Byzantine rooms were changed into store-
Emperor Maurice in A. D. 582, is rooms, or given to Hindii chau-
celebrated on August 15 {Encycl. ktddrs [watchmen] ' (Blochmann,
Brit., latest ed., s.v. Assumption). Atn, vol. i, p. 200 ; Lowe, p. 332.
Sir Harris Nicolas gives the date ' Hindii guard-rooms '). The de-
as August 25 in his Alphabetical struction came later. I cannot
Calendar of Saints' Days (The find any specific instances of
ChTonologi/ofHistory,lSSS,p.l27). minarets demolished by Akbar.
The same author, in the Roman * ' An error for Manors. Other
and Church Calendar (ibid., p. 106). writers of the period make the
gives the date as the 15th, which same mistake ' (E. D. M.). The
is correct. spellings mandr and minar are
' See Peruschi,
rovinarti tutte lep. moschee
27. ' Ha fatto
delli both in use.
deacon also said that the name of Muhammad was as hated

at the Mughal's court as in Christendom, and that the
Emperor had restricted himself to one wife, turning out the
rest and distributing them among his courtiers. Moreover,
that he had passed a law that no Muhammadan was to
circumcise his son before the fifteenth year of his age, and
that the sons should be at Kberty on attaining years of
discretion to embrace what religion they chose.'
The Pro- The Provincial, continuing his report in the year foUow-
re"ort'^^ ing, under date November 1591, informs his superior that
Nov., the mission, consisting of two Portuguese Fathers, Edward
' ^^' Leioton (Leitanus) and Christopher di Vega,^ with an assis-
tant, had been dispatched from Goa and received at Lahore
in 1591 :
' This embassy induced many, not only of the Fathers,
but also of the students, to apply to be sent on the mission,
and there were chosen for the purpose two Fathers and
a Companion who reached the Emperor's Court in 1591,
and were received with great kindness. ^ Every kind of
favour was shown to them, a house was given to them in
the palace itself, necessaries were supplied, and a school
was started in which the sons of nobles and the Emperor's
own sons and grandson were taught to read and write
Portuguese.*
' But when the Fathers saw that the Emperor had not
decided, as they expected, to embrace the Christian Faith,
they proposed to return to Goa, but were bidden by me
not to do so : Father Edward Leioton (who is one of the
Fathers that remained there) being expressly ordered not
to return, but to remain where he was. Father Christopher
di Vega, who returned with Father Leioton's consent, was
sent back by me, as he was a great favourite with the
Emperor, and was told not to come away except it were
under an oath that he would return. And since the hearts
• ' Leitam or Leitao is distinctly established for political rather

a Portuguese name. He may than for religious purposes. The
have joined the Society in India, grandson was Khusru, then about
for his name is not on Franco's four years of age. The sons,
list ' (Hosten, Jesuit Missionaries namely, Prince Murad, aged 21,
in Northern India, pamphlet, and Prince Daniyal, aged 19,
Catholic Orphan Press, Calcutta, were not likely to pay much
1907, p. 8). attention to lessons. The atten-
' The name of the lay com- dance of the princes, evidently,
panion is not known (ibid.). was merely formal.
' The school probably was
of Kings are in God's hand we have decided with much

inward waiting and firm hope of God's goodness to continue
this mission. And now our priests are occupied, as above
noticed, in teaching the youths to read and write Portuguese
and in other such duties, awaiting a convenient opportunity
for speaking more freely with the Emperor on rehgious
subjects ; a matter hitherto rendered difficult by the opposi-
tion of the generals who are with him and in whose absence
no audience is usually granted. And as the conversion of
the Emperor to the Catholic Faith is a matter of the greatest
moment, it is necessary to proceed skilfully and gently in
the matter.'
No printed record explains how, why, or exactly when Failure
the mission came to an abrupt conclusion. Its members Mission
were recalled and returned to Goa, at some time in 1592.
It is known that their precipitate return was disapproved
in Rome,^ and it is probable that manuscripts may exist
there which contain full explanations. The suspicion seems
justifiable that the Fathers selected were not in all respects
the right persons for the task entrusted to them, and that
they may have been somewhat faint-hearted. The emperor,
who was at the time deeply engaged in wars in Sind and
on the frontier, seems to have temporarily lost interest in
religious problems, and to have feared that he might endanger
the success of his military operations if he went too far in
complaisance to the foreigners whom his generals distrusted
and disliked. Probably Akbar was never perfectly sincere
when he used expressions implying belief in the Christian
religion. It may be true that he preferred it, on the whole,
to any other religion, but it may be doubted if he ever
seriously intended to accept baptism and openly profess
himself a follower of Christ.^ His interest lay chiefly in the
study of the subject now called 'Comparative Religion',
' Catrou, Histoire ginirale de states :— ' His Majesty firmly be-
V Empire du Mogol, quarto ed., lieved in the truth of the Christian
Paris, 1715, p. 108. The book is religion, and wishing to spread
rare. I have used the India Office the doctrines of Jesus, ordered
copy. Du Jarric (vol. ii, p. 529) Prince Murad to take a few lessons
expressly states that the Fathers in Christianity by way of auspi-
were recalled :— ' Omnes Goam, ciousness, and charged Abu-1 Fazl
re infecta, revocati, redierunt.' to translate the Gospel ' (Lowe,
' Referring to the time of the p. 267 ; Blochmann, Ain, vol. i,
First Mission (1580-2), Badaoni p. 182).
256 AKBAR THE GREAT- xMOGUL
and was prompted by intellectual curiosity rather than by

an awakened conscience. Grimon's statement that Akbar
had confined himself to one wife, and distributed his other
consorts among the courtiers is not directly confirmed from
other sources. It is unlikely that the assertion should have
been wholly baseless, because the other statements of fact
attributed to Grimon are supported more or less by inde-
pendent testimony. Prdbably Akbar really did repudiate
some of the hundreds of women in his harem and distribute
them among his nobles. His record renders it improbable
that he should have gone so far as to restrict himself to one
wife, when he was still under fifty years of age. He may
have promised to do so or even asserted that he had made
the sacrifice, but it does not follow that he actually kept
such a promise or told the exact truth about a matter
incapable of verification.^
A. H. 1000 ; The imagination of Akbar and of many of his contem-
Mahdist
hopes ; poraries was much impressed by the thought that a com-
novel plete millennium of lunar years since the Hijra or Flight
regula-
tions. of the Prophet from Mecca to Medina was about to be
completed. The year 1000 of the Hijri Era corresponded
with the period running from October 9, 1591 to Septem-
ber 27, 1592. For several years before the final year of the
millennial period speculation had been rife concerning the
changes which might be expected when the cycle of one
thousand years should be ended. Some people, Akbar
included, thought that Islam would no longer survive, and
that :
' The following quotation from
the ' Happy Sayings ', recorded ' No one was to marry more
at some time late in the reign than one wife, except in cases of
between 1576 and 1600, bears on barrenness ; but in all other cases
the subject : the rule was — " One God, and
' To seek more than one wife is one wife " ' (Badaoni, in Bloch-
to work mann, Ain, vol. i, p. 205). Lowe
case she one's own undoing.
were barren In
or bore no renders, ' In any other case, the
son, it might then be expedient. rule should be one man, and one
' Had I been wise earlier, I woman
would have taken no woman be the ' correct
(p. 367),version.
which seems to
Akbar
from my own kingdom into my could hardly avoid taking some
seraglio, for my subjects are to personal action in order to justify
me in the place of children ' {Ain, such a public act of legislation, so
vol. iii, p. 398). manifestly inconsistent with his
In A. D. 1587, the beginning of earlier practice.
A. H. 995, Akbar had proclaimed
many looked for the appearance of a Mahdi or Guide, who

should be the Saviour of mankind, and supersede the teach-
ing of the ancient prophets. Even the fanatically orthodox
Badaoni yielded to the allurements of Mahdist expecta-
tions. Akbar directed the compilation of a comprehensive
work, to be entitled the Tdrikh-i Alfi, the History of the
Thousand Years.i In March 1592, when the thirty-seventh
regnal year began, he marked the occasion by issuing
special coins. People who desired the emperor's favour
diligently shaved their beards. The next year (a. h. 1001)
witnessed the issue of other new-fangled regulations, the
particulars of which are not recorded ; and in a. h. 1002,
the thirty-ninth regnal year, equivalent to 1593-4, many
more enactments of a novel kind appeared, not having any
obvious connexion with the close of the millennial period.
Among the more important were the following :
' If a Hindu, when a child or otherwise, had been made
a Musalman against his will, he was to be allowed, if he
pleased, to go back to the religion of his fathers.
' No man should be interfered with on account of his
religion, and any one was to be allowed to go over to any
religion he pleased.
' If a Hindu woman fell in love with a Musalman, and
entered the Muslim religion, she should be taken by force
from her husband, and restored to her family.
' If any of the infidels chose to build a church, or syna-
gogue, oridol-temple, or Parsee " tower of silence ", no one
was to hinder him.' ^
The reader will not fail to observe the inconsistency
between the second and third of the regulations quoted.
The general principle of toleration admirably expressed in
the second, while actually put in practice concerning religions
other than Islam, was not acted on in matters concerning
Muhammadan faith and practice. Akbar showed bitter
hostility to the faith of his fathers and his own youth, and
actually perpetrated a persecution of Islam.
About the same time multitudinous orders appeared
dealing with every department of civil and military adminis-
> Badaoni, p. 327. ' Ibid., pp. 392, 393.
1845 s
tration, as well as with the details of social life. ' To recount

them all ', Badaoni exclaims, ' would take a lifetime of
more than the human span.' Many of the orders then
issued may be read in the Ain-i-Akbari, but that book
does not usually specify the chronological sequence of the
regulations cited, and it is not always possible to identify
in it the legislation promulgated in any particular year.
Annexa- The year 1595 saw the completion of the conquests and
g°?.°^ annexations in the north-west effected by the arms of
chistan Akbar's officers or through diplomacy based on the terror
I^nda- °^ ^^^ name. In February of that year Mir Masum, the
har. historian, who wielded the sword and the pen with equal
facility, attacked the fort of SiwI to the south-east of Quetta
(ante, p. 245), which was held by the Parni Afghans. The
tribesmen, who mustered in force to defend their stronghold,
were defeated in battle, and after consideration surrendered
the place, with the result that all Balochistan, as far as
the frontiers of the Kandahar province, and including
Makran, the region near the coast, passed under the imperial
sceptre.
A little later, in April, Kandahar itself came into Akbar's
possession without bloodshed. As already mentioned, the
Khan Khanan's campaign in Sind was intended as a prelude
to an attack on Kandahar. But no attack was needed.
The Persian governor, Muzaffar Husain Mirza, being involved
in quarrels with relatives and in danger from the Uzbegs,
asked Akbar to depute an officer to take over charge. The
emperor, of course, complied gladly, and sent Shah Beg,
who had been in the service of his brother at Kabul. The
city thus peacefully acquired remained under the Indian
government until 1622, when Jahangir lost it. Shahjahan
regained it and held it from 1638 to 1649, when it was
finally separated from the empire.^
' Raverty, Notes, pp. 600-3, from original authorities.
CHAPTER X
THE THIRD JESUIT MISSION (1595) ; FAMINE (1595-8) ;
WARS IN THE DECCAN ; FALL OF AHMADNAGAR AND
ASIRGARH ; LAST EMBASSY TO GOA (1601) ; THE JESUIT
FATHERS ; FOUNDATION OF THE ENGLISH AND DUTCH
EAST INDIA COMPANIES.
Once again, for the third and last time, in 1594, Akbar The
renewed his entreaties for instruction in the Christian jgûit
religion, and begged the Viceroy at Goa to send him learned Mission
priests. The Viceroy was eager to accept the invitation. ;„ ig94_
The Provincial of the Jesuits, remembering previous failures,
was disposed to decline it, but ultimately yielded to Vice-
regal solicitation and consented to choose missionaries.
The best men who could be procured were chosen, namely
Jerome Xavier, grand-nephew of St. Francis Xavier ;
Emmanuel Pinheiro, a Portuguese ; and Brother Benedict
a (of) Goes.i The Armenian who had been in attendance
on Aquaviva at the time of the First Mission was again sent
with them as interpreter. Father Jerome Xavier had already
done evangelistic work for many years in India. He now
gave himself up with unstinting ardour to his new duties,
and stayed for twenty-three years at the Mogul court, con-
tinuing his labours long- after Akbar had passed away.
Father Pinheiro, whose fate it was to reside mostly at
Lahore, was less in personal touch with the emperor than
Jerome Xavier was. He devoted himself specially to the
task of gathering a congregation of converts among ordinary
people. The letters from' him which have been preserved
are rich mines of information for the historian. The third
missionary, Benedict a Goes, who kept away from the
court as much as possible, remained in India for eight years.
In January 1603 he was sent to Tibet by his superiors,
who believed that he would find there a more promising
' Goes is a town in Central Jerome Xavier was the grandson
Portugal, to the east of Coimbra. S2 of a sister of the saint.
field for his labours. He penetrated to the confines of
China, where he died in 1607.^
Value of The Persian histories fail us to a large extent as sources
reports, ^^r the history of the last ten years of Akbar's life. Nizamu-d
din's work closes in 1593, Badaoni's ends in August 1595,
and the Akbarndma of Abu-1 Fazl, which is obscure and
sketchy in the later chapters, comes down to the beginning
of 1602, the year of the author's death, which occurred
more than three years prior to the decease of his sovereign.
The minor authors who treat of the closing years of the
reign supply only a meagre record. The reports of the
Jesuits, which extend into the reign of Jahangir, conse-
quently have special value as authorities for secular history,
in addition to their extraordinary interest as records of the
personal relations between Akbar and his Christian teachers.
As statements of fact they are eminently deserving of credit.
The mis- The missionary party which left Goa on December 3,
sioTi Aries'
journey. 1594) did not reach Lahore until five months later, on May 5,
1595. The journey should not have occupied ordinarily
more than two months, but the roads were extremely
unsafe, and the Fathers were obliged to travel under the
protection of a large and slowly-moving caravan. They
passed, like the members of the Second Mission, through
Ahmadabad and Patan, and thence crossed the desert of
Rajputana, probably following the route laid down by
imperial order for their predecessors. They describe most
of the country between Cambay and Lahore as being sandy
and desolate, offering great hindrances to travel ; and they
did not reach prosperous, fertile regions until they were
within sixty leagues of Lahore. The heat and dust during
the greater part of the journey were extremely trying.
They had with them 400 camels, a hundred wagons, as many
horses, and a huge multitude of poor folk on foot. Water
was scarce and brackish, being often nearly as saline as
sea-water, and supplies were inadequate. Akbar seems to
have taken little pains on this occasion to arrange for the
safe and commodious transit of his guests.
* His adventures are related by Du Jarric, vol. iii, chaps, xxiv, xxv.
JESUITS ; DECCAN AFFAIRS 261
The travellers found in the extreme kindness of their Kind
reception compensation for the miseries of a long and of*ffe'°"
dangerous journey in the height of the hot season. Akbar Mission.^
sent for them at. the earliest possible moment, and was
careful to assign to them a pleasant residence near the river,
where they should not be disturbed by the noise of the
city or the curiosity of unbidden visitors. He paid the
Fathers extraordinary personal honour, such as he did not
render even to ruling sovereigns, permitting the Jesuits
not only to be seated in his presence, but to occupy part of
the cushion on which he himself and the heir to the throne
sat. They were not required to perform the ceremony
of prostration, which was rigorously exacted even from
feudatory princes.
It was impossible for the missionaries not to feel some
confidence that the conversion of Akbar was imminent
when they witnessed his reverential treatment of their
sacred images and his devout participation in their services.
He used to embrace images of Our Lord and the Blessed
Virgin, and keep them a long time in his arms in spite of
their heavy weight. One day he attended a Litany service,
on bended knees and with clasped hands, like a Christian
prince. On the festival of the Assumption of the Virgin,
celebrated on August 15, he not only lent his own images
— which were of the best kind procurable from Europe —
but sent costly silken and golden hangings for the adorn-
ment of the chapel. Both Akbar and Prince Salim exhibited
special devotion to the Virgin Mary. A Portuguese artist
who had come with the Fathers was directed to copy a por-
trait of her which they possessed. Images of the infant
Jesus and a crucifix were likewise copied by the court
craftsmen.
The prince undertook to obtain from his father a suitable
site for a church, and promised to provide the necessary
funds for its erection.
Xavier and Pinheiro, writing from Lahore in August and Akbar's
September 1595, respectively, fully confirm the statements towards
made four or five years earlier by Leo Grimon and the Is'am-
members of the Second Mission, as well as by Badaoni,
concerning Akbar's hostility to Islam, and his religious
attitude generally.
' The King ', Xavier tells us, ' has utterly banished
Muhammad from his thoughts [sbandito da se k fatto
Mahometto]. He is inclined towards Hinduism [gentilita],
worships God and the Sun, and poses as a prophet, wishing
it to be understood that he works miracles through healing
the sick by means of the water in which he washes his
feet. Many women make vows to him for the restoration
of health to their children, or for the blessing of bearing
sons, and if it happens that they regain health, they
bring their offerings to him, which he receives with much
pleasure, and in public, however small they may be. The
Hindus are in favour just now, and I do not know how
the Muhammadans put up with it. The Prince, too, mocks
at Muhammad.' ^
Pinheiro, having mentioned that an excellent site for
a church close to the palace had been granted, proceeds
to say :
' This King has destroyed the false sect of Muhammad,

and wholly discredited it. In this city there is neither
a mosque nor a Koran — the book of their law ; and the
mosques that were there have been made stables for
horses and store-houses ; and for the greater shame of the
Muhammadans, every Friday it is arranged that forty or
fifty boars are brought to fight before the King ; and he
takes their tusks and has them mounted in gold.
' This King has made a sect of his own, and makes himself
out to be a prophet. He has already many people who
follow him, but it is all for money which he gives them.
He adores God, and the Sun, and is a Hindu [Gentile] :
he follows the sect of the Jains [Vertei].'
• Compare Badaoni, as trans- the Hindustanis nor the Moghuls
lated by Blochmann :— ' The real can point to such grand lords as
object of those who became dis- the Hindus have among them-
ciples was to get into office ; and selves. But if other than Hindus
though His Majesty did every- came, and wished to become
thing to get this out of their disciples at any sacrifice, His
heads, he acted very differently Majesty reproved or punished
in the case of Hindus, of whom he them. For their honour and zeal
could not get enough ; for the he did not care, nor did he notice
Hindus, of course, are indispens- whether they fell in with his
able ; to them belongs half the views or not ' (Aln, vol. i, p. 204 ;
army and half the land. Neither Lowe's version is not as good).
.JESUITS ; DECCAN AFFAIRS 263
Then follows a brief account of Jain tenets and practices.

The writer goes on :
' We keep school here, attended by some sons of officers
[capitani] of very high rank, and three sons of a King,
who is in the service of the aforesaid Akbar. Two of those
pupils desire to be Christians, and ask for permission. The
third is so far moved that he seems to be one of our devout
pupils and to ask for the faith.'
The Father proceeds to give anecdotes of the pupils'
behaviour, and concludes by begging for some relies to
stimulate devotion, and by imploring the blessing of the
General of the Order.^
Akbar, although he really took keen interest in comparing Akbar's
the merits of rival religions and apparently felt a genuine ^^^'^t
admiration for Christian doctrine, was not influenced merely the
by intellectual curiosity and religious sentiment when he guese.
bestowed unprecedented personal favours on the reverend
Fathers accredited to his Court. He was a crafty and
tortuous politician as well as an attentive student of com-
parative religion. He regarded the existence of all the
Portuguese settlements on the western coast, and especially
that of Diu and Daman in his province of Gujarat, as an
offence, and always cherished hopes of destroying the
Portuguese dominion. He did not in the least realize the
value of naval power, and so made no serious attempt to
dispute the Portuguese command of the Arabian Sea. He
erroneously believed it possible to capture the foreign settle-
ments by land operations alone, and during the last thirty
years of his reign never abandoned the hope of success in
that project, until the rebellion of his eldest son and the
deaths of the younger princes put a stop to all his ambitions.
While petting the Fathers, whom he liked personally, and
keeping up friendly communications with the authorities
at Goa, his real intentions towards the Portuguese were
' These passages are translated First Mission and from Xavier and
directly from the Italian of Pinheiro for the Third. The king
Peruschi (1397), which is more referred to as being in the service
authoritative than the later Latin of Akbar probably was a prince
version used by Maclagan. Peru- of Badakhshan, as pointed out by
schi's statements are derived Maclagan.
mostly from Monserrate for the
hostile. He had tried in vain to conceal those intentions

from Aquaviva and Monserrate in 1582, but in 1601, nearly
twenty years later, he openly avowed his designs in con-
versation with his intimates. His friendly missions, sent
avowedly with the innocent objects of acquiring religious
instruction and purchasing European curiosities, had a
sinister political purpose also, and were utilized as means
of espionage. On the other hand, the Fathers, especially
the members of the Third Mission, while thoroughly con-
vinced believers in and enthusiastic missionaries of the
faith, were not without guile. They sought to serve the
interests of their country, as well as those of the Christian
religion, and certainly were regarded by their astute superiors
as being in some degree political agents for Portugal and
Spain. His early direct attacks on the foreign settlements
having failed, Akbar perceived that the subjugation of the
Sultanates of the Deccan plateau was the necessary pre-
liminary to a systematic assault in force on the European
possessions along the coast.
He desired the subjugation of the Sultanates also for its
own sake, because, as already observed, the mere existence
of any independent power in territories accessible to his
armies was an offence to him, and he loved the wealth and
power acquired by his victorious arms. But at the back of
his mind he always had the further plan of driving his
Christian friends into the sea, and there can be little doubt
that his gushing courtesies to the Jesuit missionaries were
in part designed to lull suspicion and divert attention from
his ambitious projects. His son. Prince Sallm, who became
tired of waiting for the crown many years before his father
was ready to lay it down,i was still more extravagant in his
attentions to the reverend gentlemen ; his object being to
obtain Portuguese support in his intended fight for the
throne. No person acquainted with the history and character
of Salim, whether as prince under that name, or as emperor,
' As early as 1591, when Akbar second son, Murad, also cherished
was suffering tor a time from hopes of succeeding his father,
stomach-ache and colic, he ex- and was watched by his brother's
pressed suspicions that his eldest confidential servants (Badaoni, ii,
son had poisoned him. The 390).
265
JESUITS; DECCAN AFFAIRS
under the title of Jahangir, can contemplate his pro-
Christian antics without a smile. Sir Thomas Roe, who
associated intimately with him for about three years (1616-
18), roundly declared him to be 'an atheist '.^ That judge-
ment, perhaps, may be too harsh, but Sallm certainly never
had any real inclination to lead a Christian life, or the
slightest intention of accepting baptism.
Akbar, accordingly, entered upon his wars in the Deccan
with a fixed resolve to use his expected conquests on the
plateau as a foothold for a further advance to the coast and
the consequent subjugation of the European settlements.^
Akbar's preparations for the conquest of the Deccan had Dissen-
' Ed. Foster (Hakluyt Soc), came to the coast, he would
p. 313. inquire what wares and what
' ' But that powerful king was forces they brought.'
intensely covetous (maadmopere Abu-1 Fazl observes in the
inhiabat) of Goa and the Portu- course of his description of
guese dominions in India, with Gujarat that ' through the negli-
the regions adjoining, and hence gence of the ministers of state
often discussed the matter in and the commanders of the
conversation with his intimate frontier provinces, many of these
friends. On a certain occasion, Sarkdrs are in the possession of
when talking of these things with European nations, such as Daman,
the nobles, he said with great Sanjan, Tarapiir, Mahim, and
confidence and presumption, that Base (Bassein), that are both
when the expedition against the cities and ports ' (Am, vol. ii,
kingdom of the Deccan [scil. p. 243). So Akbar, in his letter
Khandesh and Ahmadnagar] was dated August 23, 1586, to Ab-
finished, Adil Khan [of Bijapur] dullah Uzbeg of Turan, writes
would submit readily, and that he explicitly :— ' I have kept before
would then in continuance of the my mind the idea that ... I
same operations {eadem opera) should undertake the destruction
invade Goa and the whole Portu- of the Feringhi infidels who have
come to the islands of the ocean.
guese dominion.'follows of a Portu-
An anecdote . . . They have become a great
guese deserter who overheard the number and are stumbling-blocks
conversation and intervened by to the pilgrims and traders. We
permission, speaking Persian. He thought of going in person and
quoted a proverb equivalent to cleansing that road from thorns
the English saying that it is un- and
wise to count chickens before they was weeds
between' {A. the N., iii, and
First 757).Second
That
are hatched (Du Jarric, iii, 52). Jesuit Missions.
The author goes on (p. 53) to say : Maclagan (pp. 108-10) gives
' He [Akbar] always had this ample proof that the Jesuits acted
one design, namely, how he should as political agents for the Portu-
defeat (debellarei) the Portuguese ; guese authorities, and holds that
and, therefore, often sent some of ' it is even possible (see Noer, i,
his people to Goa on pretence of 489=1, 331 of Beveridge's transl.)
an embassy, in order that they that the Third Mission was under-
might ascertain what the Portu- taken mainly on political grounds,
guese were doing and what forces and that the Jesuit superiors had
they had. Especially at the from the beginning little belief in
season when Portuguese ships the conversion of the Emperor '.
begun, as related in the last preceding chapter, by the

dispatch of four missions designed to ascertain whether or
not the Sultans would acknowledge his supremacy without
fighting to maintain their independence. When those
missions failed to win a diplomatic victory war was resolved
on, and in 1593 the Khan Khanan (Abdurrahim) was com-
missioned to obtain by force the results which peaceful
negotiation had failed to achieve. Meantime the Deccan
powers continued to fight among themselves, as they had
been accustomed to do. Burhanu-1 Mulk, king of Ahmad-
nagar, had been succeeded by his son Ibrahim, who was
defeated in 1595 by the army of Bijapur.
The operations of the Khan Khanan and of Prince Murad,
who was associated with him in the command, were equally
hampered by dissensions. The prince, who was governor
of Gujarat, desired that the main advance should be made
from that province, whereas his colleague recommended
an invasion from Malwa. Ultimately, the two generals met
at Chand, a fort thirty kos distant from Ahmadnagar, but
the meeting was not cordial, and ' when the army moved,
there was no unity of feeling '.
Defence The generals, however, managed to invest Ahmadnagar,
Ahmad- where the defence was encouraged by the obvious discord
nagar_ in the beleaguering force. A gallant lady, Chand Bibi,
Bib!. queen-dowager of Bijapur and sister of Burhanu-1 Mulk of
Ahmadnagar, undertook as regent to defend the city, and
did so in heroic fashion with such effect that the imperialist
generals agreed to accept terms, denounced by Abu-1 Fazl
as ' unworthy '.
It was agreed that a child named Bahadur, a grandson
of Burhanu-1 Mulk, should be recognized as King or Sultan
of Ahmadnagar, under the suzerainty of the emperor, that
jewels, elephants, and other valuables should be handed
over, and that the province of Berar (Birar) should be
ceded. Although the fortifications of the capital had been
badly breached and there was reason to believe that a deter-
mined assault could have carried them, the imperialists
consented to the treaty, which was signed (Isfandarmuz 17)
early in 1596.1 Thus ended the first stage in the Deccan

war.
At this time the whole of Hindostan or Northern India Famine
suffered from a terrible famine, which lasted continuously pesti-
for three or four years, beginning in 1595-6 (a. h. 1004). J^^^f^^j,
A contemporary historian records that : 1595-8.
' A kind of plague also added to the horrors of this period,

and depopulated whole houses and cities, to say nothing
of hamlets and villages. In consequence of the dearth of
grain and the necessities of ravenous hunger, men ate their
own kind. The streets and roads were blocked up with
dead bodies, and no assistance could be rendered for their
removal.' ^
Relief measures were attempted under the control of
a great noble, Shaikh Farid Bokhari, known later as Murtaza
IChan, a man renowned for his personal generosity. But
his efforts were of little avail, and the mortality must have
been appalling. Unfortunately, Asiatic historians never
take the trouble to ascertain or relate in detail the economic
effects of grievous famines, or to trace their influence on
the land revenue assessments and the financial administra-
tion generally. Firishta, whose well-known work is con-
sidered the best Persian summary of Indian history, does
not even mention this famine, which accordingly is ignored
by Elphinstone, who relied chiefly on Firishta. A famine
so intense and prolonged as that which lasted from 1595 to
1598 or 1599 must have been intrinsically one of the most
important events of the reign, and productive of far-reaching
effects ; but, if a minor historian had not happened to
' E. & D., vj, 92—4. experienced officers in every diree-
" Niiru-1 Hakk, ibid., p. 193. tion, to supply food every day to
Abu-1 Fazl characteristically the poor and destitute. So, under
glozes over the calamity in the Imperial orders, the necessi-
language which gives no notion tons received daily assistance to
whatever of the severity of the their satisfaction, and every class
visitation. ' Forty-first year of of the indigent was entrusted to
the reign [scil. 1596-7] Famine.' the care of those who were able
[Text, vol. iii, p. 744.] ' In this to care for them ' (E. & D., vi, 94).
year there was little rain, and the That statement is substantially
price of rice rose high. Celestial false. The opportunity for offer-
infiuences were unpropitious, and ing one more morsel of flattery to
those learned in the stars an- his master appealed to Abu-1 Fazl
nounced dearth and scarcity. far more strongly than the suffer-
The kind-hearted Emperor sent ings of nameless millions.
write the few lines quoted above, even the bare fact that
such a calamity had occurred would not be on record.
The Jesuit reports of 1597 note that in that year Lahore
suffered from a great pestilence which gave the Fathers
the opportunity and intense satisfaction of baptizing many
infants who had been abandoned.^ Such a visitation is the
usual concomitant of a severe famine.
Fire at On Easter Day (March 27, o.S.) of 1597, while Akbar
Akbar* ' ^^* °^ *^^ terrace of his palace at Lahore celebrating the
in Kash- festival of the sun, fire came down from heaven and con-
""'■ sumed a large part of the palace, which was built of timber,
destroying a vast quantity of rich carpets, plate, jewellery,
and other valuables, to such an extent that it is alleged
that molten gold and silver ran down the streets like water.^
In order to allow time for the necessary rebuilding of his
palace, Akbar resolved to spend the summer in his ' private
garden ' of Kashmir, to which he had already twice paid
hurried visits.
He brought with him to the valley Fathers Jerome
Xavier and Benedict of Goes, leaving Pinheiro in Lahore to
superintend the building of a church and to look after his
congregation. The emperor was absent from Lahore for
exactly six months, returning in November. Father Jerome
soon afterwards wrote a long letter describing his experiences
and giving some account of the charms of the valley. The
famine did not spare it, and hard necessity compelled
mothers to expose their nfants, many of whom the priests
picked up and baptized wholesale, in the full assurance
that by so doing they secured instant salvation and eternal
bliss for the souls of the little ones.*
A severe illness which prostrated Xavier for two months
■ Maclagan, p. 71. The Jesuits of 1599, is printed in full by
firmly believed that the souls of Oranus. English abstracts and
children so baptized went straight extracts will be found in Maclagan,
to heaven. pp. 72-9 ; and Beveridge, 'Father
' Ibid., and A. N. in E. & D., Jerome Xavier ', J. A. S. B.,
vi, 132, but the passage is not part i (1888), p. 36. A Latin
translated at length ; Du Jarric, summary is in Du Jarric, ii, 558-
ii, 558. 60. Maclagan's extracts include
' Xavier's letter, along with all the valuable matter.
Pinheiro's less important epistle
gave the opportunity to Akbar of showing him the utmost

kindness and personal attention. When the Father recovered,
Akbar himself fell ill, and in his turn was nursed by his
friend, who was allowed to enter his bedroom, a privilege
not conceded to the greatest viceroys in the empire. The
mountain roads, even after Kasim Khan's improvements,
were in such bad condition that many elephants, horses,
and servants perished during the return journey of the
court. Prince Salim was nearly killed in an encounter with
a lioness. Like most members of his family he was fearless
and always ready to imperil his life in combat with wild
beasts. The pious Fathers attributed his deliverance from
the jaws of the lioness to the devotion which he had shown
to the Blessed Virgin and the emblems of the Christian
faith. While Akbar was in Kashmir the new church at
Lahore was consecrated with imposing ceremony on
September 7, when the friendly Muhammadan viceroy
honoured the occasion by his presence. The Fathers cele-
brated Christmas with great pomp, and got up an effective
show of the Nativity scene, which attracted immense crowds,
especially of Hindus. Prince Salim professed intense devo-
tion to the Blessed Virgin and placed pictures of her and
her Son in his bedroom.
In the meantime the military operations in the Deccan Feeble
had not progressed in a satisfactory manner. The jealous "P^""*"
hostility which marked the relations of Prince Murad with the
the Khan Khanan continued to exist undiminished. The ^'"'^'*
prince, a drunken scamp, was filled with overweening pride
and arrogance. Badaoni, in his accustomed ill-natured way,
observes that His Highness in these faults ' imitated his
illustrious father ', and vaunted himself as being ' a ripe
grape, when he was not yet even an unripe grape '.^ Murad,
following the ordinary practice of Asiatic princes, indulged
himself in hopes of being able to supplant his elder brother
and secure the succession to the throne. Some people even
supposed that Akbar accorded him his preference. If
Murad had lived he would undoubtedly have made a fight
» Badaoni, ii, 391.
for the succession. A man intent on such schemes was not
an easy person to work with in the conduct of a campaign
for his father's benefit. The Khan Khanan, who belonged
to a Shia family, but professed outward conformity with
the SunnI ritual, was more than suspected of continuing
to be at heart a follower of the Imams, and to be a secret
supporter of the Shia Deccan Sultans, whom he was
expected to destroy.^ It was impossible that Akbar's affairs
in the south should prosper while they were controlled by
commanders at variance one with the other and both half-
hearted inthe execution of their duty.
Battle of The respite gained for Ahmadnagar by the heroism of
Chand BibI did not last long. Her authority was overthrown
by intriguers, who violated the treaty and sought to recover
Berar. War with the Moguls soon broke out again, and
the total defeat of the small Deccan State was delayed
only by the wilful inefficiency of the imperialist commanders.
About the beginning of 1597 the Khan Khanan fought
a hardly-contested engagement near Siipa on the Godavari
with Suhail Khan, who was in command of the Ahmadnagar
forces supported by a contingent from Bijapur. The Khan
Khanan claimed a victory because he retained occupation
of the battle-field, but his losses were heavy, and he was
unable to pursue the enemy. Raja All Khan, the ruler of
Khandesh, who had fought bravely on the imperialist side,
was killed in the battle, and was succeeded by a son named
Miran Bahadur, a man alleged to be of no personal merit.
Akbar now superseded both Prince Murad and the Khan
Khanan, appointing Mirza Shahrukh, one of the refugee
princes who had been expelled from Badakshan by the
Uzbegs, to be commander-in-chief. Abu-1 Fazl was directed
to send Prince Murad to court.
Death of Akbar's prolonged residence in the Panjab, extending
Khan ^ * ^^^^ thirteen years, had been largely due to his fears of an
Uzbeg ; Uzbeg invasion.^ Abdullah Khan Uzbeg, who had come
of Akbar to the throne of Bokhara (a kingdom also called Turan,
' Blochmann, J[ire, vol.i, p.338. and detailed. He was an accom-
The biography of the Khan plished man, but untrustworthy.
Khanan given in pp. 334-9 is full ^ Firlshta, ii, 276.
Mawaranu-n nahr, or Transoxiana) in 1556, the year of from
Akbar's accession, had greatly extended the limits of his * °^^'
dominion by the annexation of Badakhshan, Herat, and
Mashhad.i His formidable power not only rendered vain all
Akbar's hopes of recovering the possessions of his ancestors
in Central Asia, but constituted a standing menace to the
Indian empire. Akbar was especially vexed by the loss of
Badakhshan, which was regarded as an appanage of his
family, and he made a point of showing all possible honour
to the local princes driven into exile by the Uzbegs. The
news of Abdullah Khan's death received in 1598 freed the
emperor from all fear of a Tartar invasion, and left him
at liberty to supervise the doings of his sons and to take
measures for the effective prosecution of the campaign in
the Deccan, which obviously needed the master's eye.
Akbar accordingly decided to proceed to the south in
person. He left Lahore late in 1598 for Agra, which he
now treated as his capital. He was obliged to stay there
for several months in order to deal with the difficulties
caused by the insubordinate conduct of his sons. In July
1599 (beginning of a. h. 1008) he felt himself at liberty to
resume his progress southwards. He placed Prince Salim
in charge of the capital and the Ajmer province, with orders
to complete the subjugation of the Rana of Mewar ; but
the prince had other things to think of and took no effective
steps to fulfil his father's commands.
In May 1599 Prince Murad died of delirium tremens at Death of
a town in the Deccan, and so ceased to trouble anybody. ^",1^ .
About the middle of the same year Akbar crossed the
' Sir Chailes Bliot and Prince in 1555, but placed his father
Kropotkin, art.' Bokhara ', Encycl. Sikandar (Iskender) on the throne,
Brit., 11th ed. Beale gives the while he occupied himself for
date of Abdullah Khan's acces- many years in recovering the
sion as 1583. The discrepancy is former possessions of his family,
accounted for (subject to differ- His father survived until 1583.
ences of a year or two) by the Abdullah Khan died early in 1598
history of Abdullah Khan as (January 29 or 30) (Rajab 2,
given by Vamb^ry, History of 1006). Before his death he had
Bokhara, H. S. King & Co., 1873, lost to the Persians Mashhad,
chap, xiv, pp. 282-94. That Merv, Herat, and most of Trans-
author states that Abdullah took oxiana.
possession of the town of Bokhara
storm of Narbada and occupied Burhanpur Avithout opposition. His
nasar. third son, Prince Daniyal, and the Khan Khanan were
charged with the duty of taking Ahmadnagar. Internal
dissensions precluded the effective defence of the city, and
Chand Bibi, the only capable leader, was either murdered
or constrained to take poison.^ The town was stormed
without much difficulty in August 1600, and about fifteen
hundred of the garrison were put to the sword. The young
king and his family paid the penalty for their crime of
independence by lifelong imprisonment in the fortress of
Gwalior. But the whole territory of Ahmadnagar did not
pass under the dominion of the Mogul, and the larger part
of it continued to be governed by a local prince named
Murtaza.
Khan- In Khandesh, of which Burhanpur was the capital, Raja
Asirgarh. ^^ Khan's successor, being unwilling to endure the imperial
yoke, trusted to the strength of his mighty fortress Asirgarh
to enable him to defy the Mogul power. Akbar, therefore,
determined to reduce the stronghold which commanded the
main road to the Deccan. When marching to Burhanpur
he had passed by Asirgarh, leaving it at the distance of a few
miles from his line of advance, but he could not venture to
permit such a fortress to remain permanently in his rear
unsubdued.
Descrip- The hill on which Asirgarh is built is a spur of the Satpura
Asirgarh range, with an elevation of about 2,300 feet above the sea,
and nearly 900 feet above the plain. It commands the
obligatory pass through the hills, which must always have
been the main road of access to the Deccan from Hindostan.
The railway now traverses it, and the ancient stronghold
has lost all military importance. In the sixteenth century
Asirgarh was reckoned to be one of the wonders of the
world. Travellers who had roamed over Persia, Tartary,
Turkey, and Europe, we are assured, had never seen its
' ' Tziand-bebie veneno hausto Blochmann notes that the alleged
sibi mortem jam ante consciverat ' murderer was a eunuch, whose
(van den Broecke in de Laet, name may be also read as Jitah
P- Iff)- According to Firishta or Chitah Khan (Aln, vol. i,
(iii, 312) she was murdered by p. 336 n.).
a mob headed by Hamld Khan.
JESUITS ; DECCAN AFFAIRS
273
equal. ' It was impossible ', says the chronicler, ' to con-
ceive a stronger fortress, or one more amply supplied with
artillery, warlike stores, and provisions.' The summit of
the hill, a space about sixty acres in extent, was amply
provided with water from numerous reservoirs and ponds,
and the air of the place was salubrious. Except at two
points, access to the top was barred by inaccessible cliffs,
from eighty to a hundred and twenty feet high. The natural
strength of the position had been enhanced by three
concentric and cunningly-devised lines of fortifications,
supplemented by a massive outwork at the western end.
Generations of princes had made it their pleasure and pride
to store this ideal stronghold with every form of ordnance
and munitions then known, and to accumulate provisions
enough to maintain a full garrison for ten years.
When the place surrendered to Akbar, his officers found
in it 1,300 guns, small and great, and multitudes of huge
mortars, with vast stocks of powder, ammunition, and
supplies of all kinds.^
The preliminaries to regular investment operations were prelimi-
begun
" about the end of February•' 1600, under the direction contra-
"^"es ;
of Shaikh Farid of Bokhara (Murtaza Khan) and Abu-1
dictory
auth<
ties.
Fazl. The emperor, who was insufficiently supplied with ^"*"o"-
' Asirgarh (or Aslrgad, accord- the residence of the Mogul Siiba-
ing to the western pronunciation dar of Khandesh. Plans of the
fort will be found in the Bombay
and spelling) is situated in 21° Gazetteer for Khandesh (vol. xii,
28' N. and 76° 18' E., about
twelve miles nearly due north of part ii, 1880) ; and in Cunning-
Burhanpur. It is now included ham, A.S.R., vol. ix (1879),
in the Nimar District of the PI. xix. The purport of the
Central Provinces, a modern inscription is given by Cunning-
administrative aggregation of ham, and also by Bloch in Annual
regions with little natural con- Rep. of A. S., Eastern Circle,
nexion. The present capital of 1907-8, pp. 26, 27. The text does
that district is the ancient town not seem to have been published.
of Khandwa. In Akbar's time The most detailed contemporary
Asirgarh was the stronghold of the description of the place as it was
small kingdom of Khandesh situ- in Akbar's days is thatIllahdad
in the
ated on the lower course of the AKbarndma of Shaikh
Tapti, of which Burhanpur was Faizi of Sirhind (E. & D., vi, 138-
the capital. The greater part of 41). The author was in the
that kingdom now forms the service of Shaikh Faiid of Bo-
Khandesh District under the khara (Murtaza Khan), who formed
government of Bombay. After the plan for the siege, and super-
the surrender Asirgarh became intended the operations.
1845
heavy breaching artillery, soon found that the task of

taking the fort by storm was beyond his powers. The
nature of the ground prevented the besiegers from using
mines or constructing covered ways {sabots). The siege,
therefore, became little more than a blockade, and mere
blockading operations directed against a fortress so amply
supplied with food, water, and munitions offered little
prospect of success within a reasonable time. Two divergent
and irreconcilable accounts of the manner in which Akbar
ultimately attained his purpose are on record. The official
historians aver that the surrender of Asirgarh was due to
an outbreak of deadly pestilence. The Jesuit version, based
on unpublished letters from Jerome Xavier, who was in
attendance on Akbar, state that possession of the fortress
was gained by wholesale bribery of the officers of the garrison,
and that earlier in the proceedings Miran Bahadur, the
king, was lured into Akbar's camp and made prisoner by
an act of shameful perfidy. After careful analysis of the
evidence I feel no hesitation in believing the Jesuit story
as printed by Du Jarric and in discrediting the tale of the
alleged fatal pestilence, which seems to be a pure invention.
The following narrative, therefore, is mainly based upon
Du Jarric ; but certain incidents in the earlier stages of
the siege, which appear to be truthfully narrated by the
Muhammadan historians, have been accepted as facts on
their authority.
Before active measures . had been taken to invest the interview
fortress, that is to say, probably at some time in February d^*]!^^"
1600, Bahadur Shah arranged to come out and meet Shaikh and
Farid. Both sides being represented in considerable force ip^l^
were distrustful one of another, but ultimately Bahadur
Shah ventured out and had a talk with the Shaikh. Every
argument was used to induce the king to submit to the
emperor, but he would give no answer, and merely shook
his head. He then returned to his fortress, trusting to its
impregnability. The historian observes that ' some men
have maintained that the Shaikh ought to have made him
prisoner at this meeting ; butT2resort to subterfuge and want
of faith and truth never prove successful '. The real value
of that expression of moral sentiment is naively exposed
by the following sentence : ' Besides this, Bahadur had
with him a force sufficient to resist the weak army of the
Shaikh.' 1 We shall see presently that a little later Akbar
did not disdain to use the weapons of subterfuge and want
of faith.
Close All expectation of Bahadur's submission being now given
ment*" of ^P'
arrival arrangements were
all communication madethetofortress
between close the
and roads and cut
the outer oft
world.
Akbar, whose mind was intent on attaining success in his
difficult undertaking, occupied Burhanpur without opposi-
tion on March 31, 1600,^ and took up his abode in the palace
of the old rulers. On April 9 he arrived under the walls
and directed the allotment of the trenches to different
commanders. The nature of the ground, as already observed,
forbade the construction of either mines or covered ways.
A heavy fire was kept up night and day by the besiegers
and endured by the garrison without flinching.
Progress In May Bahadur sent out his mother and son with sixty-
siese^to ^^^^ elephants, and asked for terms, but Akbar insisted on
Aug.
1600. 21, unconditional submission, for which the king was not pre-
pared. In June an unsuccessful sortie resulted in the
capture by the besiegers of an outlying hill which partially
commanded the main fortress.
So far the official account appears to be perfectly accurate
and truthful, but from this point the divergence between
the authorities begins.
The detailed story told by the Jesuit author, which must
be based on the letters of Jerome Xavier, is in my judge-
ment literally true, and deserving of acceptance as being
the only authentic history of the events which led to
the capitulation of Asirgarh. The official account, which
appears in more shapes than one, can be proved to be false.
The following narrative, therefore, follows Du Jarric, and
is to a large extent translated from his text. The news of
• Sirhindi, in E. & D., vi, 142. =Ramazan 25, A. H. 1008 ; both

' Farwardin 21, Ilahi year, 45 dates work out correctly for o.s.
JESUITS; DECCAN AFFAIRS 277
the fall of Ahmadnagar on August 19 {= Safar 18, a. h. 1009),
which arrived at Aslrgarh three days later, on August 22,
must have had a considerable effect on the minds of Bahadur
Shah and his oflBlcers. The date on which he was treacherously
captured is not clearly stated, but several circumstances
indicate that the event occurred late in August, and that it
was brought about by the receipt of the news concerning
the storming of Ahmadnagar, which naturally suggested
to the garrison a renewal of negotiations. The siege of
Aslrgarh had not made any progress towards success since
the capture of the outwork in June. In August Prince
Salim was in open rebellion, and it was essential for Akbar's
safety that he should free himself at the earliest possible
moment from his entanglement in the Deccan. Both
parties, therefore, had adequate motives for re-opening the
discussion of terms in the days immediately following
August 22.1
The strange tale told by Du Jarric, an author whose The
general trustworthiness is abundantly proved, and whose nn^gom-
narrative in this case rests upon unquestionable authority, mandant.
will now be related as follows : ^
' The Fragmentum in de Laet (London, printed by the author,

(p. JfJ) places the surrender of 1673, folio), being the fifth volume
Bahadur Shah about six months of his English Atlas, containing
(post semestre spaiium) after the the latest and most accurate
beginning of the siege. The description of Persia and India.
author erroneously supposed that I have acquired a copy of this
the captivity of the king synchro- rare and magnificently illustrated
nized with the capitulation of the work, which is not in either the
fortress. Other authors make the Bodleian or the India Office
same or nearly the same mistake. Library. Both of those institu-
* Xavier, on whose unpublished tions have the Second Part only.
letters Du Jarric's account (vol. Ogilby's version is quoted at
iii, Latin tr., pp. 43-9) is based, length in the Bombay Gazetteer
was with Akbar at the time, and (1880), vol. xii, part ii, Khandesh,
in all probability was present pp. 580-2). The compiler of the
when Bahadur Shah was kid- Gazetteer, who was not acquainted
napped. His close relations with with Du Jarric's rare book, rightly
the Portuguese captives enabled guessed that Ogilby must have
him to ascertain accurately every- copied from some Jesuit author.
thing that had happened inside
the fortress before the capitula- Ogilby,
rick ' asinone fact,
of refers to ' Jar-
his authorities
tion. Du Jarric's narrative is (p. 236). He describes Asirgarh
given in abstract by Purchas, and twice on the same page, first as
almost in full (with some errors ' Hosser ', and secondly as ' Sye ',
of translation) by Ogilby on a misprint for Syr ; not knowing
p. 237 of the First Part of Asia that both corrupt forms referred
The custom of Khandesh ordained that the seven princes
of the royal family standing nearest in succession to the
throne should reside in the fortress and never leave it until
one of them should be called to assume the crown.^ Such
had been the fate of Bahadur Shah himself, and at the
time of the siege seven such princes (reguli) were within
the walls. The commandant was an unnamed Abyssinian,
and, under his supreme control, the defence was entrusted
to seven renegade Portuguese officers {duces), employed
presumably on account of their skill as artillerists. They
had made all proper dispositions to maintain their charge
intact against Akbar's huge host, estimated to number
200,000 men.2
Kid- When the emperor found that it was impossible to break
of Bahf - down the defence either by gun-fire or by storm, he exchanged
durend
at Shah
of^j^g lion's for the fox's skin, and resolved to rely on those
j i j>
August, arts of intrigue and guile in which he excelled. He therefore
invited King Miran (Bahadur) to come out for an inter-
view, swearing on his own royal head that the visitor would
be allowed to return in peace.* The invitation was accepted,
contrary to the advice of the Portuguese officers. The king,
accordingly, came out, wearing round his neck a sort of
scarf arranged in a particular fashion which was understood
to signify submission. Akbar, sitting motionless as a statue,
received him in full court.
The king, advancing humbly, thrice did reverence.
Suddenly one of the Mogul officers caught him by the head
to the same place. I first read ^ Even it the gross total were
the narrative in the Gazetteer, and as large as stated, the effective
was not acquainted with it when fighting force probably would
the fifth edition of my Oxford not have exceeded 50,000 men.
Student's History of India was Mogul armies always included a
published in 1915. Like other majority of men who were really
people, I had overlooked the mere ' followers '.
passage in Purchas {Pilgrimes, ' The form of oath was Persian,
chap, iv, sec. 2 ; reprinted in ' They have no more obliging
Wheeler, Early Travels in India Test, than Seir Pedeshaw [soil, ha
(1864), p. 27). Du Jarrie's nar- sir-i padishah], " By the Em-
rative is now for the first time peror's Head " ' (Fryer, A New
subjected to critical examination. Account of East India and Persia,
' The existence of the custom ed. Crooke, Hakluyt Soc, 1915,
is confirmed by Sirhindi (E. & D., vol. iii, p. 41).
vi, 134).
JESUITS; DECCAN AFFAlllS 279
and threw him down on the ground {in terrain projedt) in

order to force him to perform complete prostration {sijda),
a ceremony on which the emperor laid much stress. Akbar
contented himself with making a perfunctory protest against
the use of such violence. He then addressed the king in
polite language, and desired him to send orders in writing
to the defenders of the outer wall commanding them to
surrender. When Bahadur Shah failed to comply with the
demand, and solicited permission to return, he was detained
by force, in violation of Akbar's solemn oath.
The Abyssinian commandant, on hearing the news, sent Suicide
his son, who seems to have been named Mukarrib Khan,i com-^
to make a remonstrance against the shameless breach of mandant.
faith. Akbar questioned the envoy concerning the willing-
ness of his father to surrender. The young man replied that
his father was not a man to think of surrender or even of
parley, and added that if King Miran should, not return
successors were ready to take his place, and that whatever
might happen the fortress would not be surrendered, Akbar,
stung by that spirited reply, instantly ordered the youth
to be stabbed (confodi imperat). The Abyssinian thereupon
sent a message to Akbar expressing the prayer that he
might never behold the face of a king so faithless. Then
taking a scarf in his hand, he addressed the officers and
garrison in these, terms :
' Comrades ! winter is now coming on, which will oblige

the Mogul to raise the siege, and return home, for fear of
the destruction of his host.^ No mortal man will storm
this fortress — ît may be taken by Gtod, or if the defenders
should betray it. Truly, better and by far more honourable
is the fate of those who observe the laws of fair dealing
{aequUatis) ; wherefore, let you defend the place with
spirit. I, indeed, overcome by weariness, gladly have done
' The name occurs in Sirhindi's mandant spoke, but violent storms
garbled version. See Appendix A. might be expected in September.
^ 'Winter 'here means the rains. The cold season at Asirgarh,
Many of the older writers (e. g. which modern people would call
Fitch and v. Linschoten) use the 'winter ', is favourable to military
word in that sense with reference operations. The degree of cold is
to Western India. The rainy slight,
season had begun when the com-
with life, so that I may not be forced to endure the sight of
a king so depraved.'
' Having thus spoken, he tightened the knot of the scarf,
and strangled himself.' ^
Attempt The historian, having interposed certain observations
siege-™'^^
train concerning the ethics of suicide, proceeds
from ' After the death of the Abyssinian, the garrison, con-
the Por- tinuing to defend the place for some time {ad aliquot dies),
tuguese. caused great difficulties to the Mogul, who desired to shatter
the works by engines of all kinds. But since he had none
fit for the purpose to hand, he sent for Xavier and his
colleague (Benedict of Goes), who were in. attendance on
the camp, and desired them to write an indent for the same
addressed to the Portuguese dwelling at Chaul, a mart
distant a hundred leagues from the camp and under Portu-
guese jurisdiction.^ He further said that he would add
separate letters of his own asking for battering engines as
well as other munitions, and that if the Portuguese wished
to gain his friendship, they should send both with all
speed.
' Xavier, a shrewd politician, artfully replied that the
emperor's orders required him to perform a task which
could not be lawful for him on any account, inasmuch as
the Christian religion forbade him either to seek such things
from the Portuguese or to arrange for their being sought
by others.
' I believe (Du Jarric justly observes) that Xavier so acted
for no other reason than that the Portuguese had concluded
a treaty of peace with King Miran a short time before. The
free speech of Xavier irritated the barbarian (barbaro) to
such a degree that he foamed with rage, and gave orders
for the exclusion of the Fathers from the imperial residence
(regia) and their instant return to Goa. Xavier, accom-
panied byhis colleagues, immediately withdrew into honour-
able retirement {abitum adornans). But one of the nobles
gave them friendly advice to the effect that they should
not quit the locality, lest Akbar shoxild order them to be
intercepted and killed when they had gone a few leagues.
He recommended them, accordingly, to wait at Idome,
' Similar suicides after the antiquity, now a small town in
death of a near relative used to the Kolaba District, Bombay. It
be common in India, especially in was occupied by the Portuguese
the south. in 1522 and fortified in 1531
' Chaul, situated in 18° 34' N. (Burgess,1918).
India, The Chronology of Modern
and 72° 55' E., is a place of great
until the emperor's wrath should subside. When they

followed his advice they found Akbar to be as peaceably
and kindly disposed as ever.' ^
The date of the incidents described, although not indicated
on the face of the narrative, may be determined approxi-
mately. Reason has been shown for believing that the
perfidious detention of Bahadur Shah occurred near the end
of August. The transport of heavy siege guns from the
coast would have been impracticable during the rains, and
could not have been undertaken before October. Akbar
evidently was confident that the kidnapping of the king
in August would lead to the immediate surrender of the
fortress. When he found that his perfidy had been useless,
he would not have waited long before making his request
to Xavier so that the desired ordnance might be sent as
soon as possible after the close of the rainy season in October.
We may therefore assume with confidence that the demand
was made to and refused by Xavier in September.
Akbar was then in a difScult position. He had incurred Akbar's
the odium of breaking faith to no purpose, and had no chance t^
whatever of procuring an adequate siege-train to effect the bribery,
reduction of the fortress against which his own artillery
was powerless. The siege necessarily went on, and appa-
rently there was no reason why it should not go on for years.
But Akbar could neither abandon the undertaking nor
spend years in accomplishing it. What could he do ?
Time was precious, because his elder son was then in active
rebellion, reigning at Allahabad as an independent king,
and it was essential that the emperor should return to his
capital. He was thus forced to use his only remaining
weapon, bribery. The pecuniary negotiations, which must
have occupied a considerable time, may be assumed to have
begun in December. The officers of the garrison were
^ Quite in accordance with the palace at Burhanpur, which
Akbar's character. ' He seldom town itself, as the temporary-
gets angry, but then violently ; capital, also might be termed
yet he cools down quickly, for he regia. Akbar seems to have spent
is naturally kind ' (Monserrate, no more than a short time under
' Relafam do Equebar ' (J. <& the walls of the fortress, early in
Proe. A. S. B., 1912, p. 192). The the operations,
regia, or imperial residence, was
bought over by heavy payments of gold and silver, so that
the seven princes found it impossible to place any one of
their number on the throne, and a capitulation was arranged
which took effect on January 17, 1601,^ about ten and a half
months after the preliminary operations for the siege had
begun. When the gates were opened the population was
found to be like that of a city, and the inhabitants were so
numerous that there was a continuous throng of people
coming out for a week.^ Some of them had suffered from
weakness of sight and paralysis of the lower extremities,
disorders of which neither is fatal.* The assertion of Abu-1
Fazl that 25,000 persons perished in a pestilence is now
seen to be an undoubted lie.* Such a mortality in a space
of sixty acres would have converted the place into a charnel
house, and the throng of people coming out for a week
could not have existed. Firishta expressly states that
sufficient men for the defence remained at the time of the
capitulation. Everybody admits that water, provisions,
and munitions abounded and were enough to last for years. ^
The story of the deadly pestilence is an invention intended
to conceal the discreditable means adopted by Akbar to
gain possession of the greatest fort in India, which had
been proved to be impregnable to his arms.*
' Inscription on front wall of causes which brought about the
the Jami Masjid in the fort, dated surrender of the fortress ', but
Bahman 6, Ilah! year 45, and knows nothing of any serious
Rajab 22, A. H. 1009. {Ann. Rep. mortality. The disease in the
A. S., Eastern Circle, Calcutta, legs was ascribed to worms
1907-8, pp. 26, 27.) Most books (Ogilby, ut supra, p. 237.
give the date wrongly; e.g. ■■ 4.^., as cited in E. & D., vi.
Burgess in The Chronology of 145 n. Before I had made a
Modern India, 1913, puts it in special investigation of the sub-
A. D. 1599. Count von Noer, who jeet, I accepted Abu-1 Fazl's
states the date as January 14, statement, as other people had
1601, was nearly right. The done {Oxford Students Hist, of
small gold medal struck to com- India, ed. 5, 1915).
memorate the fall of the fortress ' Firishta, ii, 278.
is dated in Isfandarmuz, the last • Guerreiro, who gives no details,
month of the year 43=February confirms DuJarric's[sei/.Xavier's]
1601 (B. A/. Cata/., 1892, No. 166 ; statement that the capitulation
Cunningham, A.S.R., ix, 118, was obtained by bribery or, as
PI. xix). he puts it, by ' much cash and
^ Sirhindi, in E. & D., vi, 140. corruption ' {mucho dinero, y
' Ibid., p. 143. The author sobomos ; Relagam, Spanish ver-
mentions the existence of these sion, Valladolid, 1604, chap, ii,
ailments as being ' among the p. 24. The rare volume is in All
The confused statements made by Faizi Sirhindi, un-

intelligible and contradictory as they stand, become clearer
when read in the light of Du Jarric's plain narrative. It
then becomes apparent that the official author's stories give
a purposely muddled travesty of the facts. The murder of
the commandant's son is represented as a suicide, and other
clearly false statements are made which it would be tedious
to specify here. They are discussed in Appendix A.
The lives of all members of the garrison were spared, Treat-
The captive king, accompanied by his family, was confined ™\h*e
in the fort of Gwalior, with a subsistence allowance of 4,000 king and
gold pieces yearly .1 The seven princes were distributed ^ ^" °' '
among other fortresses, each receiving an allowance of half
that amount. When the seven Portuguese officers were
brought before the emperor, he was angry because they
admitted that they had become Muhammadans. He declared
them worthy of death, inasmuch as being Christians by birth
they had apostatized and embraced the false Muhammadan
religion (Saracenorum impietatem).^ Probably he would
have executed them had not Xavier begged that they
might be made over to his care. The request was graciously
granted, and in a short time all had become good Christians
again. The activity of the Fathers did not stop at that
success. Many other Portuguese of both sexes were placed
at their disposal and ultimately brought back to Gtoa.
Xavier, while with Akbar's camp, baptized seventy or more
persons, some being infants at the point of death.
The comparison of the official version in its different Corn-
varieties with Xavier's account of the events leading to the ^f "h""
capitulation of Aslrgarh is of extraordinary interest on official
account of the light it throws both on the credibility of our Jesuit
authorities and on the character of Akbar. All the three versions,
leading authorities, namely, Abu-1 Fazl and Faizi Sirhindi
Souls Library, Oxford). He does edition).
not say a word about pestilence. ' Ogilby erroneously says 'three
Similarly, Purchas, who used Du thousand '.
Jarric, observes that the fortress ' This remark adds one more
was taken chap,
(Pilgrimes, by iv,
'golden shot' to
in Wheeler, had thedefinitely
many proofs that 'Akbar
renounced the
Early Travels in India, Calcutta, Muhammadan religion.
1864, p. 27 ; or in MacLehose's
on one side, and Xavier on the other, were present at the

siege, and so in positions to be equally well informed. It
is impossible to reconcile the official statement that the final
capitulation was brought about by the voluntary surrender
of Bahadur Shah with Xavier's statement that he had
been kidnapped several months earlier, and that during his
captivity the fort was surrendered by his officers. Equally
irreconcilable are Abu-1 Fazl's allegation that the surrender
was due to a pestilence which killed 25,000 people, and
Xavier's detailed story of the manner in which the fortress
was gained by bribery. The numerous other differences
between the two narratives need not be examined in detail.
Either one party or the other must be lying ; honest mistake
is out of the question.
Truth Xavier had no conceivable motive for concocting a false
Jesuit story. His version was contained in confidential letters
version, addressed, through Goa, to his superiors in Europe, who did
not care whether Akbar broke his oath or not, and it was
absolutely unknown to any person in Akbar's dominions.
The description of Akbar's perfidy and military failure is
inextricably mixed up with obviously truthful accounts of
affairs in which Xavier was personally concerned. Nor had
the Jesuit any personal bias against Akbar. On the contrary,
notwithstanding a momentary quarrel, he and the emperor
continued to be the best of friends until Akbar's death.
The character of Akbar, as painted by Du Jarric from the
materials supplied by the letters of Xavier and the earlier
missionaries, is on the whole a noble and generous panegyric.
It is quite impossible that the author should have permitted
himself to libel Akbar.
The conclusions necessarily follow that Akbar was guilty
of perfidious violation of his solemn oath, that Asirgarh fell
because the officers of the garrison were bribed, not because
25,000 people died of pestilence, and that the contrary
statements of the official chroniclers are deliberate false-
hoods.
Falsity Even in an Asiatic country in the year 1600 perfidy such
■^ ' as Akbar practised was felt to be discreditable, a deed not
to be described in plain language by courtly historians, official

So too the failure of that perfidy to accomplish its purpose
and the consequent inglorious resort to bribery were not
things to be proud of, or fit to be inserted in the official
record of an ever-victorious sovereign. Nothing could be done
except to tamper with the history, which accordingly was
falsified. Abu-1 Fazl and Faizi Sirhindi neither knew nor
cared what story the Jesuit Father might send to Europe.
Their business was to supply matter suitable for Indian
readers. Although they were not careful enough to agree in
all details, they agree in hiding their master's treachery,
in ascribing the capitulation wholly or in part to pestilence,
in ignoring the request for a Portuguese siege-train, and in
concealing the final recourse to bribery. They also omit to
mention the important fact that the defence was maintained
by seven Portuguese officers.
The resulting story, which is not well composed, exhibits
many inconsistencies and absurdities, with some travestied
hints at the real facts. The justice of those criticisms will
appear from perusal of Appendix A, considered in connexion
with Xavier's plain and consistent narrative, as summarized
by Du Jarric.
If surprise should be felt that a man so great, and in Akbar's
many respects so good as Akbar, should have demeaned ^°^ "" '
himself bythe commission of an act of base personal treachery,
such surprise would indicate imperfect acquaintance with
his history and with the prevailing practice of statecraft in
India and elsewhere. On many occasions Akbar showed
himself to be crafty and insincere when dealing with affairs
of state. Even in modern Europe, which is professedly
Christian, most governments draw a sharp line of distinc-
tion between public and private morality. Acts which
would be universally condemned, if committed in private
life, are justified or applauded when committed in the sup-
posed interest of the State. It is unnecessary to dwell upon
the enunciation and practice of that doctrine by Germany
and her pupils.
In the case of Asirgarh the temptation to Akbar was
strong. His military reputation was staked upon the

capture of the fortress, while owing to his age and the rebel-
lion of his elder son he could not wait indefinitely for its
fall. Almost universal Indian experience justified the belief
that the captivity of the king would result in the immediate
surrender of the garrison. The disappointment of that
reasonable expectation, probably due to the presence of
foreign officers, as well as the manifest impossibility of
breaking down the defences, forced Akbar to rely on bribery
when treachery had failed. His breach of faith, which
cannot be justified on sound principles, need not cause
surprise. Many rulers, ancient and modern, would have
felt no hesitation in committing acts of perfidy quite as
Three gross.
new The newly-acquired territories were organized as three
Subas Subas or provinces, namely, Ahmadnagar, Berar (Birar),
and Khandesh, all three, along with Malwa and Gujarat,
being placed under the supreme command of Prince Daniyal,
whose appointment as Viceroy of the Deccan is com-
memorated in an inscription at Asirgarh dated April 20,
1601. The land revenue assessment of the Khandesh Suba
was summarily enhanced by 50 per cent.^ In compliment to
the prince the name of Khandesh was changed to Dandesh,
as stated in the well-known inscription on the Buland
Darwaza, or Lofty Portal, of the Great Mosque at Fathpur-
Sikri, which records Akbar's triumphant return to his former
capital in the forty-sixth year of his reign (a. h. 1010). The
famous passage, ' So said Jesus, on whom be peace ! The
world is a bridge ; pass over it, but build no house upon
it ', occurs near the close of the eastern section of the
document.^
The grant of an exceptionally wide jurisdiction to the
younger prince probably was intended as a counterpoise
to the growing power of the elder. Prince Salim, then in
open rebellion. Possibly Akbar may have thought of
dividing the empire, as Aurangzeb proposed to do a century
' Aln, vol. ii, p. 224. the saying attributed to Jesus has
' Latif, p. 147. The source of not been discovered.
later, and of securing his younger son in possession of the

southern and western provinces.
However that may be, the attitude of Prince Salim Return
rendered absolutely necessary the return of the emperor toAsra.'
to his capital if he wished to retain his crown, treasures,
and life, which were all threatened by the ungrateful and
undutiful conduct of his first-born son, the well-beloved
Shaikhu Baba, the child of many prayers. Akbar accord-
ingly made all possible speed in the task of organizing the
conquered provinces, and marched in April for Agra, where
he soon arrived, probably early in May 1601.
Asirgarh was the last of the long list of Akbar's con- close of
quests, whichf -whad 1
been practically continuous for forty- Carreer
Akbar's01
five years. Hardly ever ', observes the Jesuit historian, conquest,
' did he undertake anything which he failed to bring to
a successful issue ; so that his good fortune is celebrated
throughout the east by the current saying, " As fortunate
as Akbar ".'
But the perfidy which failed to win and the ignoble
corruption which won Asirgarh marked the waning of
Akbar's fortunate star. His remaining years were few and
evil. He was no longer ' the terror of the East ', and was
forced to lay aside for ever his grandiose projects of winning
back the Central Asian realms lost by his grandfather,'^ of
annexing the kingdoms of Golkonda and Bijapur, of carry-
ing his victorious arms to the extremity of the Peninsula,
and of driving into the sea the hated Portuguese whose
ships and forts mocked at his power.^ For the rest of his
time all his failing energy was required to hold what he
possessed and to save himself from ignominious supersession
' Abu-1 Fazl begins his descrip- as a power. His personal liking
tion of the provinces of the and friendship for individual
empire as in 1595 with the words : Portuguese priests seem to have
' I propose to begin with Bengal, been sincere. Furchas, a careful
which is at one extremity of student of his authorities, believed
Hindustan, and to proceed to that Akbar ' longed to adde the
Zabulistan [=the Kabul terri- rest of India, whatsoever is be-
tory], and I hope that Iran twixt Indus and Ganges even
[Persia] and Turan [Transoxiana], to the Cape Comori, to his
and other countries may be added Dominion ' (Pilgrimes, chap, iv ;
to the count ' {Ain, vol. ii, p. 115). Wheeler, Early Travels in India,
' Akbar hated the Portuguese p. 28).
by his rebellious son. The city of Fathpur-Sikri, on which

he had lavished so much thought and so many millions of
rupees, lay desolate and deserted, a monument of shattered
beliefs and the vanity of human wishes. He had reason to
take to heart the words which form part of the inscription
already quoted : ' Worldly pleasures are but momentary ;
spend, then, thy life in devotion, and remember that what
remains of it is valueless.'
Akbar's The story of Prince Salim's prolonged rebellion, of Prince
with the Damyal's death, and other events which saddened the
Jesuits, closing years of Akbar's glorious life will be told in the next
chapter. Before those subjects are discussed it will be
fitting to notice the interesting and little known details
of the Jesuit dealings with both Akbar and Salim, as well
as of the final embassy sent to Goa in 1601 ; and to mark
the beginnings of commercial intercourse between England
and the Mogul empire.
Father Pinheiro, having been relieved at Lahore by
Father Corsi, joined the imperial camp apparently soon
after the capitulation of Asirgarh, and experienced intense
pleasure at meeting Jerome Xavier, from whom he had been
parted for about three years. He offered pictures of the
Virgin to Akbar, which were received with gratitude and
indications of profound reverence. The emperor made many
inquiries concerning the Pope, and was particularly interested
in the ceremony of kissing the foot of His Holiness. The
Father explained that a cross was marked on the Pontiff's
shoe in order to show that the homage was really offered
to Christ through his Vicar, and not to the Pope personally.
Akbar also made the Jesuit explain the proper method of mak-
ing the sign of the cross. When the emperor marched to Agra
in April 1601 he brought both Xavier and Pinheiro with him.
Embassy Early in 1601 Akbar resolved to send an embassy to
1601. ' Cloa. The ambassador selected was a wealthy and influential
nobleman of Gujarat, whose name is disguised as Cogetquius
Sultanus Hama, meaning seemingly, Khwaja Sultan Hamid,
or something like that.^ Father Benedict of Goes was
' My efforts to identify this person have failed.
directed to accompany the envoy as his colleague. Akbar's

letter, of which translations have been preserved, was
addressed to the Viceroy, Ayres de Saldanha, and bore the
date March 20, 1601, equivalent to Farwardin 9, Ilahi or
regnal year 46.i The mission arrived safely at Goa towards
the end of May, bringing as presents a valuable horse,
a trained hunting leopard, and other choice gifts. Father
Benedict felt extreme gratification that he was allowed to
carry with him a number of Portuguese prisoners of both
sexes who had been taken at Burhanpur and Asirgarh.
Those poor people had been long among Muhammadans
and had not been even baptized. The good Father repaired
the omission, and also took the trouble to convert and
baptize an old Portuguese Jew aged ninety.
Akbar no longer asked for instructors in Christian doctrine
to be sent. The requests expressed in his letter were of
a purely secular nature, and it is clear that his main purpose
was to obtain Portuguese support in the coming struggle
with his eldest son. The emperor laid stress upon the warm
interest taken by him in trade, expressed his desire for
perpetual amity between the two governments, asked that
skilled artificers might be sent to him who should be assured
of generous treatment and full liberty of return ; and
requested that his envoy might be permitted to buy gems,
cloths, and other valuable goods. So much was committed
to writing, but the Khwaja was also furnished with verbal
and doubtless more important instructions, the nature of
which the Viceroy was requested to ascertain. Probably
they related to the supply of munitions.
The Portuguese authorities received the mission with due
honour, and proved their understanding of its real purpose
by exhibiting to the ambassador all their munitions of war,
and firing a deafening salvo of the whole of their great
1 Ayres de Saldanha, the seven- p. 91). In the Latin version of
teenth viceroy, came out to India Du Jarric the Viceroy's name
on December 25, 1600, and appears as Ariande Saldagna. In
governed Portuguese India xmtil the Spanish translation of Guer-
the middle of January 1605 reiro, where the letter also is
(Fonseca, Sketch of the City of Goa, printed (chap, iii, p. 33), the name
Bombay, Thacker & Co., 1878, is written Airfes de Saldaiia.
1845 U
ordnance. Du Jarric drily remarks that the ambassador
must have appreciated the meaning of that ' martial sym-
phony '. Nothing more appears to be on record concerning
the results of the mission, which evidently failed in securing
active Portuguese support.^
Sealed While at Goa Father Benedict of Goes received orders
orders fj-om his superiors to proceed to Tibet, which was supposed
ting the to offer a field favourable to the spread of the Christian
sionôf faith. Father Machado was sent with him to Agra in order
Musal-
mans. to take his place at Akbar's court. The emperor, as we
have seen, had marched from Burhanpur late in April 1601,
and must have arrived at Agra in May. He was there
when Benedict and Machado came from Goa. Father
Pinheiro went out some leagues to meet them on the road.
Akbar graciously gave Pinheiro, who was a favourite of
his, permission to return to Lahore, where the newly-
appointed Viceroy, Kulij Khan, had shown hostility to the
Christians.
The Fathers made the bold demand that the emperor
might be pleased to issue written orders under his seal
expressly permitting such of his subjects as desired it to
embrace Christianity without let or hindrance. Akbar,
after satisfying himself that the Christians at Lahore had
been hardly used, agreed to the Father's request. Up to
that time the liberty to convert Musalmans to the Christian
faith had depended on verbal instructions only. The notion
that such liberty should be confirmed by signed and sealed
orders was regarded by the court officials as destructive of
the Muslim religion. The officials also feared that the issue
of orders in the sense desired by the Fathers would be dis-
pleasing inthe highest degree to Kulij Khan, the Viceroy
at Lahore, at that time the most powerful and influential
supporter of the throne, whose hostility was not to be
provoked lightly. The eunuch in charge of the department "
consequently hesitated to carry out his master's instructions,
' Du Jarric, iii, 53-6. queens had the custody of the
' The employment of a eunuch seal,
was necessary because one of the
and respectfully suggested reconsideration. The difficulties
placed in the way of issue of the written orders were so
great that the Fathers almost despaired of success. IJlti»
mately they obtained the good offices of a young man who
had been Pinheiro's pupil, and had opportunities of private
access to the emperor. The young man was able to overcome
even the powerful opposition of Aziz Koka, who was at that
time the great officer charged with the sealing of imperial
commands. The desired document was made out in due
form and handed to the Fathers. Akbar's determined
action convinced the Muhammadans that he could no longer
be considered a Muslim.
Pinheiro, having won a success so notable, was allowed
to return to Lahore, and was given a horse for the journey.
Before he left he had the pleasure of laying before Akbar
a work by Jerome Xavier, entitled the ' Mirror of Holiness '
(Mirdtu-l-Kvds), or alternatively, ' The Life of the Messiah '
(Ddstdn-i-Masth), which had been composed in Portuguese
and translated into Persian by Xavier with expert help,
Akbar was delighted with the treatise, and insisted on
Aziz Koka reading it aloud to him. That nobleman, who
must have hated the task, made the best of a bad business,
and asked that a second copy might be prepared for his
own use. The actual manuscript presented to Akbar in
1602 is said to be that now in the Bodleian Library.^
Prince Sallm showed anxiety as great as that of his father Prince
to secure Portuguese support, and through it command of oye™Mes

European ordnance. In the year 1602, while in open to the
rebellion, he cultivated
Fathers, and did his bestassiduously the them
to persuade friendship of was
that he the guese."
sincerely devoted to the Christian religion and especially
1 The MS. is No. 364 in Cata- words, with the addition of the
logue Persian MSS. = Fraser, 206. Ilahi year 47. All the incidents
It contains 200 folios of 15 lines mentioned in the text, except
each, written in a clear and legi- the reference to the Bodleian
ble nastallk hand, and measures copy, will be found in Maclagan,
9i by 6^ inches. An illuminated p. 86, with other details. The
cross is inserted on folio l*". The same author gives a nearly com-
eolophon states that the book was plete account of Jerome Xavier's
finished to Akbar's order in 1602, works (pp. 110-13).
the date being written in Persian U2
to the cult of the Virgin Mary. He even sent an envoy to

Goa asking that priests might be accredited to his rival
court at Allahabad. But the Provincial cautiously declined
to entangle himself in such a dangerous affair and returned
a polite refusal. The prince also entered into private
correspondence with Xavier, who was as cautious as his
superiors, and showed the prince's letters to Akbar. Salim
tried to secure the Father's goodwill by presenting him
with a black cloak which he had worn himself. He also
sent for the use of the church a heavy silver image of the
infant Jesus, and round his neck wore a locket containing
portraits of Jesus and the Virgin. He subscribed his letters
with the sign of the cross.
After the final reconciliation with his father in November
1604, the prince, while staying at Agra, continued his flatter-
ing attentions to Xavier. He employed skilled artists to
reproduce sacred Christian images, and had a crucifix
engraved on a large emerald which he wore suspended
by a chain from his neck. He also contributed consider-
able sums for the erection of a suitable church at Agra,
and professed the deepest interest in Xavier's theological
writings. The obvious insincerity of his proceedings needs
no comment.
Adven- The strange adventures and proceedings of John Milden-
John b^ll oi" Midnall are known from his two letters printed by
Milden- Purchas combined with certain information collected by
Orme and Foster from the East India Company's records.
Mildenhall, a merchant, was employed in 1600, while the
establishment of the company was under adjustment, to
bear a letter from Queen Elizabeth to Akbar requesting
liberty to trade in his dominions on terms as good as those
enjoyed by the Portuguese. The text of the letter does
not seem to be recorded. Mildenhall sailed from London
for the coast of Syria on February 12, 1599, and arrived
overland at Aleppo on May 24 of that year. More than
a year later, July 7, 1600, he left Aleppo, travelling with
a great caravan, and so journeyed through Mesopotamia
and Persia to Kandahar on the frontier of Akbar's empire.
JESUITS; DEGCAN AFFAIRS 293
His further proceedings are related in a long letter addressed
to Mr. Richard Staper, dated from Kaswin (Casbin) in Persia
on October 3, 1606, nearly a year after Akbar's death.
From Kandahar he had made his way to Lahore early hall Milden-
at
in 1603, and on arrival there had reported himself by letter Akbar's
to Akbar, who directed him to proceed to Agra. He com- court,
plied, and, after a journey of twenty-one days, was well
received at court. He must have been amply supplied
with cash, because he states that at his audience he pre-
sented the emperor with twenty-nine good horses, some of
which cost £50 or £60 each. He was then summoned to
state his business before the council of ministers. He replied
that the Queen of England sought the friendship of Akbar
and trading privileges in his empire equal to those of the
Portuguese. He further asked the emperor not to take
offence if the English should capture Portuguese ships or
ports on his coasts.
Some days later Akbar presented Mildenhall with gifts
worth £500 and flattered him with fair words. But the
situation changed when the emperor consulted his Jesuit
friends at Agra and Lahore, who were ' in an exceeding
great rage ', and denounced Englishmen generally as thieves
and spies. The Jesuits gained over the councillors, so that
Mildenhall, failing to obtain any satisfaction, absented
himself from court. Akbar then soothed him by more fair
words and presents of rich garments. Six months thus
passed, during which the Jesuits bought over Akbar's two
principal ministers with bribes of at least £500 each, and
enticed away the Armenian interpreter of the envoy, who
was obliged to work hard studying Persian for six months
in order to be able to speak for himself. He then resumed
attendance at court and requested permission to depart
because he felt unable to withstand the Jesuits. He also
asked Akbar to hear a statement of his grievances. Audience
was granted on a Wednesday, evidently some time in 1605.
The Sunday following was appointed for hearing the state-
ment of Mildenhall, who explained the advantages to be
derived by the emperor from friendship and commerce
with England, on terms similar to those arranged by the

queen with Turkey. Prince Salim stood forward and
expressed his agreement with Mildenhall, who had argued
that intercourse with the Jesuits for ten or twelve years
had not resulted either in the arrival of an embassy or in
the receipt of valuable presents. Mildenhall promised that
Akbar should get from England both the embassy and the
presents. Akbar then laughed at the Jesuits and directed
his chief minister, called the Viceroy by the writer, and
evidently the Khan-i Azam (Aziz Koka), to make out and
seal formal documents granting Mildenhall's requests in
full. Within thirty days the papers were actually completed,
and, as an extra precaution, confirmed by the prince. When
Mildenhall was writing on October 3, 1606, he had them
with him in Persia.^ According to Orme, he actually
obtained the farmdn, after Akbar's death, from Jahangir.
The discomfiture of the Jesuits, therefore, must have taken
place in August or September 1605, after the reconciliation
with Salim and shortly before Akbar's fatal illness, which
began late in September.
The chief motive which influenced Akbar and his son in
granting the requests of the English envoy evidently was
the expected gratification of their vanity and cupidity.
An embassy from a country so distant as England would
be regarded and represented as a mission bearing tribute
to the foot of the throne, while the accompanying presents
would be interesting as curiosities in addition to being
welcome for their intrinsic value.
The Mildenhall's letter is of special value as giving a lively
picture of the corrupt intrigue prevalent at the Mogul
court, and as affording conclusive proof of the activity of
the Jesuit missionaries in their capacity as political and
commercial agents. They appear to have been somewhat
unscrupulous when so acting, and were gravely suspected
of using poison more than once to attain their ends. Orme
relates that Canning, a factor of Surat, who was sent to
Agra in 1613, ' continued in daily dread of poison from the
' Purchas, vol. ii, pp. 297-303.
Portuguese Jesuits ; and died on the 29th of May, which

confirmed the suspicion ', and he adds that ' Andrew
Starkey was poisoned somewhere on the way by two friars '.^
Mildenhall himself was reputed to have used the same
secret weapon, and to have perished by it.
' The rest of his story ', Orme observes, ' is very obscure.
He returned to Persia, if not before, in 1610, with some
commission, in which two others, young men, were joined ;
whom it is said he poisoned, in order to embezzle the effects
committed to their common charge, with which he re-
paired to Agra, where he turned Roman Catholic, and
died himself of poison, leaving all he possessed to a French-
man, whose daughter he intended to marry. Mr. Kerridge
was at that time the resident at Agra ; but being constantly
occupied in attendance on the court, sent for Wittington
to collect the effects left by Mildenhall; of which to the
amount of 20,000 dollars were recovered.' ^
It is, of course, impossible now to judge how far such
suspicions of poisonings on all sides were justified. Probably
they were quite unfounded in many cases, if not in all.
Mildenhall's negotiations seem to have formed the basis of
the decision taken a few years later to send Sir Thomas Roe
as the duly accredited ambassador of King James I.
Mildenhall's informal mission was, as we have seen. First
connected with the proposed formation of a chartered com- charter
pany for trade in the east. That project took shape on the East
last day of 1600, when Queen Elizabeth granted her charter comnan
to 'the Governor and Company of Merchants of London Dec. 31,
trading with the East Indies ', and so founded the famous
East India Company.^ The results of that Company's
• Orme, Historical Fragments, curious reader will fiind further
4to, 1805, p. 333. Jerome Xavier, details about Mildenhall (Midnall)
in his letter dated September 6 and Canning in Letters received by
(N.S.), 1604, published by Mac- the East India Company from its
lagan only (pp. 89, 93), accuses Servants in the East, vol. ii, 1613-
the ' English heretic ' [scil. Milden- IS, ed. Foster, Sampson, Low
hall] of contriving a ' diabolical & Co., 1897. Mildenhall seems to
plot', and giving lavish bribes. have been a rogue. That volume
Xavier was of opinion that the does not support the poisoning
Englishman would never obtain hypothesis, so far as Canning was
the concessions asked for. No concerned.
doubt both sides bribed as "A copy of the charter will be
heavily as their resources per- found in Purchas, ed. MacLehose,
mitted. vol. ii, pp. 366-91.
2 Orme, op. cit., p. 342. The
proceedings are known in substance to everybody. They do

not, however, concern the biography of Akbar, who may
never have heard of the newly founded institution. Milden-
hall, one of the three or four Enghshmen known personally
to him, may or may not have informed him on the subject.
No important consequences resulted from the entry of the
Company into Indian trade until after Akbar's death. But
no account of his reign could be considered complete which
should fail to notice the remarkable fact that the power
which became the heir of the Moguls was born during the
life and reign of the real founder of the Mogul empire.
Akbar's The merchants of London, who incorporated themselves
with by virtue of Elizabeth's charter, aimed primarily at annex-
Euro- iug a share of the profitable Dutch trade with the Spice
Islands. The subsequent development of the trade in India
proper was in large measure an afterthought consequent
on the failure of the attempt to oust the Dutch from the
Indian Archipelago, which failure was made definitive by
the massacre of Amboyna in 1623.
The Dutch had already entered into possession of a valuable
trade in the eastern seas when their East India Company
was incorporated on March 20 ,1602. They did not come
into contact with Akbar. The establishment of English
' factories ', or trading stations, on the coast of the Bay
of Bengal in 1610-11 marks the effective beginning of Anglo-
Indian commerce, five or six years after Akbar's death.
The first English ship to arrive at an Indian port was the
Hector, commanded by Captain William Hawkins, which
called at Surat in August 1608, and, after doing a little trade
with much diflficulty, went on to Bantam. The few English-
men who visited India during Akbar's lifetime were merely
pioneers surveying the ground for the operations of future
generations. The first Englishman to reside in India, as
already mentioned, was the Jesuit, the Rev. Thomas
Stephens or Stevens, who came out in 1579 and laboured
for forty years as a zealous priest and missioner in Gioa
and the neighbourhood, taking no part in politics. So far
as appears Akbar never heard of his existence. The emperor
must have had some communication with John Newbery

and Ralph Fitch when they were at Agra and Fathpur-
Sikri in 1585, as otherwise he could not have taken their
companion, William Leedes, the jeweller, into his service,
but Fitch makes no mention of any audience being granted
to his party. The only other British subject known to have
conversed with Akbar is John Mildenhall, whose story has
been related. The notions about England which Akbar
can have picked up from those trading visitors must have
been fragmentary and confused, and in all probability he
formed a poor opinion of their country. Mildenhall was not
a creditable representative.
The only European power concerning which Akbar
possessed any substantial knowledge was the Portuguese,
and his interest in Portuguese affairs was mainly aroused
by his intense desire to destroy the settlements of the
intrusive foreigners who dared to trespass on the coast of
one of his richest provinces, and to humble him by requiring
his ships to sail under cover of passports granted by Portu-
guese authority.
APPENDIX A
Official account of the Ctipitulation of Aslrgarh

Professor Dowson, the translator of the extracts quoted below,
certifies that, with certain exceptions, the Akbarnama of Faizi
Sirhindi is ' nothing more than a compilation from the TahakOi-i
Akbari and the Akbar-ndma of Abu-1 Fazl. It ends with the
latter work in 1010 h. (1602 a. d.) ' (E. & D., vi, 116). The
extracts, therefore, save where difference is noted, are equivalent
to
now passages
be cited.from Abu-1 Fazl's book. The relevant parts will
' On the 21st Safar [sell. a. h. 1009] news arrived of the capture
of Ahmadnagar on the 18th ' (p. 144). That date is equivalent
to August 19, 1600 (O.S.).
The author then gives a brief account of the fall of Ahmadnagar,
followed by a gap in the translation marked. . . .
He continues (p. 145) :
' A few days after, Bahadur sent Sadat Khan and Shaikh Pir
Muhammad Husain, two of his chief men, to the Emperor, with ten
elephants and an entreaty for forgiveness. Two days afterwards.
298 AKBAR THE GREAT MOGUI-
Shaikh Pir Muhammad was sent back into the fortress, and Sadat
Khan was Itept as the guest of Shaikh Farid. The escort which had
come out with him was ordered to return with Pir Muhammad ; but
the men, about a hundred in number, declared that they would not
return into the fortress and become prisoners (aSlr) in Asirgarh. Per-
mission to remain was given to those who could give some bail that
they wouldIn thenotendrunsome they were to be put in
away, otherwiserequired confine-
ment. found the bail, and some went back
into the fortress.'
That passage as it stands by itself is absurd and incredible.
But when read in the light of Du Jarric's straightforward narra-
tive, it is seen to be a garbled account of the kidnapping of
Bahadur with his escort about the end of August. The writer
is careful to make no mention of the king. The extraordinary
phrase that ' Sadat Khan was kept as the guest of Shaikh Farid '
is merely a polite way of saying that he was made prisoner.
Although Du Jarric does not happen to mention Pir Muhammad
and Sadat Khan by name, there is no difficulty about believing
that they were kidnapped along with their king, and that negotia-
tions for capitulation were conducted through Pir Muhammad.
The statement that a hundred of the escort made a pun in order
to excuse their refusal to rejoin the garrison is ridiculous. We
are then told that some were allowed out on bail, some were
imprisoned, and some allowed to return to the fortress. Why ?
The author continues without a break :
' Among the causes which brought about the surrender of the fortress
was the impurity of the atmosphere, which engendered two diseases.'
One was paralysis of the lower extremities, from the waist downwards,
which deprived the sufferer of the powers of motion ; the other was
weakness of sight. These maladies greatly distressed and discouraged
the men of the garrison, so that men of all ranks and degrees were
of one mind and voice in urging Bahadur to capitulate. At their
instance he wrote to the Emperor offering to surrender.'
It will be observed that the author states that a corrupted
atmosphere, manifested by two non-fatal disorders, was merely
among the causes leading to the capitulation. That statement
is wholly inconsistent with Abu-1 Fazl's allegation of mortality
on a gigantic scale. The kidnapping of the king having been
concealed, the author necessarily pretends that Bahadur remained
within the walls to the end.
He continues without interruption :
' When Bahadur came out, the Emperor held a grand darbdr, at
which all the great men were present, and Bahadur was amazed at the
splendour and state. Mukarrib Khan, and several other of Bahadur's
nobles, were sent into the fortress, in advance of Shaikh Abu-1 Fazl,
to inform the garrison of the surrender, and to require the giving up
of the keys. When they approached, Mukarrib Khan's father mounted
the top of the fort, and reviled him for having thrown his master into
bonds and surrendered the fort. Unable to endure his abuse, the son
' Dowson's note. — ' Abu-1 Fazl 100,000 animals in the fortress,
says that the pestilence arose and that 25,000 human beings
from the penning up of more than died from it.'
stabbed himself two or three times in the abdomen, and a few days
afterwards he died. On the 17th Safar the royal forces were admitted,
and the keys were given up. . . . Khan Khanan, who had come from
Ahmadnagar, went into the fortress, and placed the royal seal on the
treasure and warlike stores, which were then placed in charge of
responsible officers. Just at this time Mirza Jani Beg of Tatta died.
' On the 8th Sha'ban the Emperor bestowed great honours on Shaikh
Abu-1 Fazl, etc. . . . The Emperor went in and inspected the fortress.
All the treasures and effects of Bahadur Khan, which had been collected
by his ancestors during two himdred years, were brought out, and the
wives and women of Bahadur, two hundred in number, were presented.
The Emperor stayed in the place three days, and then proceeded to
Burhanpur. ... On the 28th Shawwal all the country of the Dakhin,
Birar, Khandesh, Mahwa and Gujarat were placed under the rule of
Prince Daniyal.'
That passage contains statements even more absurd than
those in the first extract, which it resembles by including veiled
references to the kidnapping which had occurred at the end of
August.
The ' grand darbar ' placed by Sirhindl in January 1601,
■when, as we know from the mosque inscription, the fortress
really surrendered, is the one held at the end of August 1600,
when Akbar ' sat like a statue ', forced Bahadur to prostrate
himself, and then kidnapped him. The success of the bribery
operations in January did not offer occasion for a solemn court
function. The author had just told us that Bahadur, in deference
to the wishes of all ranks of the garrison, had written offering
to capitulate. He now states that information had to be sent
to the garrison that the capitulation had taken place. The king,
too, is represented as being 'in bonds'. Mukarrib Khan, who
is said to have stabbed himself because of his father's abuse,
clearly is the plain-spoken youth murdered by order of Akbar.
His father must be the unnamed Abyssinian commandant of
Du Jarric, whose reproaches, alleged to have been hurled at his
son, were really directed against the perfidious emperor. If
Bahadur had come out to surrender in accordance with the
urgent entreaties of the whole garrison, why should Mukarrib
Khan be blamed for his sovereign's captivity ?
The dates are impossible. Ahmadnagar fell on Safar 18, the
news reaching Aslrgarh on the 21st. We are now told that ' on
the 17th Safar the royal forces were admitted [to Aslrgarh], and
the keys were given up ', which is absurd.
A. H. 1009 began on July 3 (o.s.), 1600. Consequently the
18th of Safar, the second month (29 days July + 19 of August=
48 days) was August 19 (Muharram, first month, 30 days + 18
of second month =48 days). The fortress of Aslrgarh was
surrendered in January 1601, not in August 1600, and long after
the fall of Ahmadnagar, not before it, as stated by the author.
The capitulation took place on the 22nd of Rajab, the seventh
month of a. h. 1009= January 17, 1601, and not in Safar the
second month. The conferment of honours in Sha'ban, the
eighth month, is therefore correctly stated. The dating of
Prince Daniyal's appointment in Shawwal, the tenth month =
April 1601, also is correct.
The chronology is muddled in many books, but so much
exposition must suffice. It would be too tedious to examine in
detail the errors of various writers. One of the worst is that in
Burgess, The Chronology of Modem India, 1913, where the fall
of AsTrgarh is placed in 1599.
CHAPTER XI
REBELLION OF PRINCE SALIM ; DEATH OF PRINCE
DANIYAL and of AKBAR'S MOTHER; SUBMISSION
AND ARREST OF PRINCE SALIM ; LAST ILLNESS AND
DEATH OF AKBAR (OCTOBER 1605) ; DESECRATION OF
HIS TOMB (1691),
As early as 1591, when the emperor suffered from an Prince

attack of colic, he expressed his suspicion that Prince Salim prgMrei
had caused poison to be administered to him.^ It is impos- to rebel
sible to say whether or not the suspicion was then justified ;
but it is certain that in 1600 Salim had become utterly
weary of waiting for the long-deferred and ardently desired
succession. The prince, who was then thirty-one years of
age, felt aggrieved because the reign of his father had already
lasted more than forty years, and Akbar's strong con-
stitution seemed to postpone indefinitely the close of his
life. Salim, therefore, following many evil precedents in
Asiatic history, resolved to anticipate the course of nature,
and occupy the imperial throne by force, whatever might
be the consequence to his father. The prince was then
residing at Ajmer.
Shahbaz Khan KambG, who had been appointed to assist
Salim in the administration of the Ajmer province, died in
1600, probably about the middle of the year.*
The deceased nobleman, although renowned for generosity
and lavish expenditure, left behind him immense wealth,
which Salim promptly appropriated, thus providing himself
with cash for the execution of his meditated treason.*
Raja Man Singh, governor of Bengal and Bihar, who Raja
Singh ;
disliked the Bengal climate, usually resided at Ajmer, ^^",
' Badaoni, ii, 390. must have occurred towards the
^ The precise date of the death close of a. h. 1008.
of Shahbaz Khan is not recorded. ' The treasure seized is said to
He died in a. h. 1008, which have exceeded ten millions of
ended in July 1600. The course rupees, a ' crore ' (de Laet, p. ^|).
of events indicates that his decease
revolt in leaving the administration of his provinces in the hands of
Beng^' deputies. About this time (a. d. 1600) an Afghan chief
named Usman Khan rebelled, defeated the imperial officers,
and occupied the greater part of Bengal. Raja Man Singh
was obliged to take the field in person. He acted with
vigour and defeated the rebels decisively at Sherpur Atai,
a small town, now apparently in the Murshidabad District.^
The Raja, after his victory, returned to court, and was raised,
contrary to precedent, to the exalted rank of ' commander
of 7,000 ', reserved up to that time for members of the
imperial family.
Man Singh remained in Bengal until A. H. 1013 (a. d.
1604-5), when he resigned the government and proceeded
to Agra. His offering of 900 elephants greatly pleased
Akbar.2 He was, consequently, at the capital when Akbar
became ill in September 1605.
Open Sallm had been advised by his brother-in-law, Raja Man
'^f'^''-"'" Singh, to proceed on service against the Bengal rebels, and,
Salim, according to one authority, the Raja went so far as to
■*^"° ■ counsel the prince to take possession of the eastern pro-
vinces. If Man Singh really gave that counsel, it would
have been offered for the purpose of keeping Salim out of
the way, and opening up Khusru's path to the throne.
Salim, however, who was not inclined to endanger his own
prospects by absence in remote regions, decided to retire
no farther than Allahabad, where he had partisans. He
had hoped to obtain possession of Agra, the capital and chief
treasure city of the empire, which at that time probably
had not less than fifteen million pounds sterling of cash
stored in the vaults of the fort. Kulij Khan, the governor
of Agra, visited the prince, who was advised by some of his
adherents to seize the visitor, but Salim shrank from that
' It was in the Sharifabad " Stewart, Hist, of Bengal (ed.
Sarkar (Am, vol. ii, p. 140), 1813), p. 190. Abu-1 Fazl, after
which, according to Blochmann, his manner, minimizes the extent
extended ' from Bardwan to Fath of the success gained by the
Singh, south of Murshidabad ' rebellious chief. ' The province ',
(ibid., vol. i, p. 341). Thornton he says, ' was not lost ; but the
(Gazetteer) mentions ' Seerpore ', rebels got possession of some
18 miles
abad. W. by S. from Murshid- places ' (A. N., in E. & D., vi, 98).
PRINCE SALIM; DEATH OF AKBAR 303
dangerous treachery, and finding that Kulij Khan would

not betray his trust passed on eastwards. In July he crossed
the Jumna a few miles from the city, and carefully avoided
an interview with his grandmother, who desired to dissuade
him from his purpose of rebellion and had come out to meet
him. The old lady, who loved him ardently, was deeply
pained by his behaviour. SalTm, on arrival at Allahabad,
appropriated the revenue of Bihar, a treasure exceeding
three million pounds sterling (30 lakhs of rupees), seized
many provinces and districts extending from KalpI to
Hajipur, and assigned them to his leading supporters as
jaglrs. Kutbu-d din Kokaltash obtained Bihar ; Allah Beg
was appointed to Jaunpur ; and so on. Those acts amounted
to avowed rebellion.^
Akbar, having left the Deccan in April, as related in the Salim
last preceding chapter, must have arrived at Agra in May. j™"™^^
Some time after his return, the exact date not being recorded, title,
he received reports that Sallm was coming to court at the
head of 80,000 cavalry, and that he had actually advanced
as far as Etawah (Itawa), only seventy-three miles distant
from the capital. The emperor dispatched an urgent letter
filled with remonstrances and threats, directing his son to
return to Allahabad. He followed up that communication
by a second conferring on the prince the government of
Bengal and Orissa. Salim took no notice of his appoint-
ment to the eastern provinces, but submitted to the necessity
of returning to Allahabad, where he openly assumed the
royal style and set up as an independent king. He was
good enough to designate his father, by way of distinction,
as the Great King.^
' Salim crossed the Jumna on seized by Salim are given by
Amaidad 1, Ilahi year 45 (March de Laet in corrupt forms. At
1600-March 1601) as stated by Akbar's death in 1605 the cash
A. N. in E. & D., vi, 99 ; that is in Agra fort exceeded 20,000,000
to say, albout July 10, 1600. pounds sterUng. It can hardly
Gladwin (i. e. Ma'asir-i J.) asserts have been less than 15,000,000 in
that Man Singh advised the seizure 1600.
of the eastern provinces. For the ^ Gladwin, p. vi. ' Princeps
life of Kulij (Qulij) Khan see quippe se etiam regem, etsi
Blochmann, Aln, vol. i, pp. 34 n., Patrem magnum diceret regem '
354. The names of the provinces (Du Jarric, iii, 118).
Negotia- Either late in 1601 or early in 1602 Sallm sent his adherent.
tions ;
Dost Muhammad of Kabul, generally designated by his later
Salim's
deiiance.
title of Khwaja Jahan, as his envoy to negotiate with Akbar.
The envoy remained at Agra for six months, but the prince's
insincere protestations of regret for his conduct were coupled
with conditions which the emperor could not possibly
accept. Salim required that he should be permitted to
visit his father at the head of 70,000 men, that all his grants
to his officers should be confirmed, and that his adherents
should not be regarded as rebels. The negotiations for
definite reconciliation consequently failed. At that time
Akbar could not make up his mind to fight his son, for
whom he had undoubtedly felt warm affection. How far
he was influenced by parental love, and how far by fear of
Salim's considerable power, cannot be determined. Prob-
ably his hesitation was caused by both motives. Throughout
the year 1602 the prince continued to hold his court at
Allahabad and to maintain royal state as king of the pro-
vinces which he had usurped. He emphasized his claim to
royalty by striking both gold and copper money, specimens
of which he had the impudence to send to his father. That
insult moved Akbar to action.'^
Murder
The emperor wrote a full account of the misdeeds and
of Abu-
Fazl. insolence of the prince to Abu-1 Fazl, who was in charge of
' For Dost Muhammad of as Lethbridge (p. 198) wrongly
Kabul, or Khwaja Jahan, see translates (de Laet, p. |gf). No
Blochmann, Aln, vol. i, pp. 424, specimen is recorded of those
477. He was highly favoured by coins, which presumably were
Jahangir, who married his daugh- few in number and soon called in.
ter and appointed him to the The have
silverbeen ' Salimi rupees ' seem
important office of Bakhshi. He to struck after the
is frequently mentioned in Jahan- prince's accession, before he had
dies ready with his new title of
gir's
Index.Memoirs ; seeof Beveridge's
The account his mission Jahangir (Taylor, J. A. S. B.,
to Akbar is from van den Broecke 1904, Num. Suppl., pp. 5-10).
in de Laet, p. igf . The Takmil Certain Allahabad coins of the
names Mir Sadr Jahan as the 44th and 45th years (1599-1601)
agent employed in these early have been supposed to be coins
negotiations, and he, too, may struck during the prince's rebel-
have been utilized. The money lion. But they are silver and do
was gold and copper (auream not bear Salim's name, so they do
atque aeneam monetam suo no- not agree with the description in
mine non modo cudi fecit, sed de Laet (Rodgers, J. A. S. B.,
et ad pattern misit ut animum ejus part i, vol. Ivii (1888), p. 18 ;
magis irritaret), not gold and silver, B. M. Caua., pp. Ixviii, 48).
the imperial interests in the Deccan. His dispatch may be

dated in June 1602, or early in July. Abu-1 Fazl saw the
necessity for strong action, and replied saying that he would
bring the prince bound to court. Salim fully understood
the danger to himself which would ensue on the acceptance
of Abu-1 Fazl's advice, and resolved to intercept and kill
his father's dearest surviving friend.^ The story of the
murder is related in detail by Asad Beg, who made special
inquiry into the circumstances. He was in the suite of the
returning minister as far as Sironj, now in the Tonk State,
and begged to be allowed to escort him to Gwalior, because
treachery was feared. But Abu-1 Fazl refused to pay any
heed to warnings, and proceeded on the way towards Agra
with an inadequate escort. When he arrived at Sarai
Barar, ten or twelve miles from Narwar, he was again
warned of the intended attack by a religious mendicant, but
deliberately abstained from taking the most obvious pre-
cautions, and even dismissed the guards offered to him by
friends.
Early in the morning of August 12, 1602, the minister
was attacked, as he was about to make the day's march,
by Bir Singh, the Bundela chieftain of Orchha, whom
Sallm had hired for the purpose. The bandit chief's force
of five hundred mailed horsemen soon overpowered the
resistance of the traveller's small retinue. Abu-1 Fazl was
transfixed by a lance and promptly decapitated. His head
was sent to Allahabad, where Salim received it with unholy
joy and treated it with shameful insult.^
• Du Jarric (iii, 114) gives the et patrem non parum irritavit, et
following brief account of the regiam omnem consternavit.' The
murder, without naming the Takmil represents the summons
victim. I do not know why he of Abu-1 Fazl to court as a recall
should describe Abu-1 Fazl as an due to Akbar's displeasure at the
adherent of Salim. ' Pater enim tone of his reports concerning
cum primarium quemdam ducem Prince Salim (E. & D., vi, 107).
& judicii singularis virum, qui I do not believe that version,
filio adhaerebat, quemque ille ob The text follows the Fragmentum
insignem prudentiam & robur in de Laet, p. |§f .
magni faciebat, vocasset ; Alius, '^ Asad Beg in E. & D., vi,
quantum consiho hujus k re patris 156-60. ' Caput principi missum,
futura essent, praesagiens, per ingenti gaudio ipsum perfudit '
insidias ilium in via interfici curat, (de Laet, p. f^). ' Salim ... it
caputque ad se deferri. Quo facto is said, had it thrown into " an
1846 X
The prince felt no remorse for the crime. On the contrary,
he gloried in it, and was graceless enough to place on record
the following account.
Salira's
account ' I promoted Raja Bir Singh Deo, a Bundela Rajput, who
of the had obtained my favour, and who excels his equals and rela-
crime. tives in valour, personal goodness, and simple-heartedness,
to the rank of 3,000. The reason for his advancement and
for the regard shown to him was that near the end of my
revered father's time, Shaikh Abu-1 Fazl, who excelled the
Shaikhzadas of Hindustan in wisdom and learning, had
adorned himself outwardly with the jewel of sincerity, and
sold it to my father at a heavy price. He had been sum-
moned from the Deecan, and since his feelings towards me
were not honest, he both publicly and privately spoke
against me. At this period, when, through strife-mongering
intriguers, the august feelings of my revered father were
entirely embittered against me, it was certain that if he
obtained the honour of waiting on him (Akbar) it would be
the "cause of more confusion, and would preclude me from
the favour of union with him (my father). It became
necessary to prevent him from coming to court.
' As BIr Singh Deo's country was exactly on the route
and he was then a rebel, I sent him a message that if he
would stop that sedition-monger and kill him he would
receive every kindness from me. By God's grace, when
Shaikh Abu-1 Fazl was passing through Bir Singh Deo's
country, the Raja blocked his road, and after a little contest
scattered his men and killed him. He sent his head to me
in Allahabad. Although this event was a cause of anger in
the mind of the late King (Akbar), in the end it enabled
me to proceed without disturbance of mind to kiss the
threshold of my father's palace, and by degrees the resent-
ment of the King was cleared away.' ^
The cynical effrontery of that passage would be difficult
to beat. The blasphemous ascription of success in the
treacherous murder to the grace of God is particularly dis-
gusting, while the avowed indifference to Akbar's feelings
unworthy place ", where it lay The explanations offered in the
for a long time ' (Blochmann, Am, Ma'asir-i Jahangir, E. & D., vi,
vol. i, p. xxv). Probably the 4A%-4!, agree with those given by
quotation is from the Ma'asiru-l Jahangir, but are expressed at a
TJmara. Elphinstone and some little more length. The author
other authors erroneously write seems to deny that Salim struck
coins in his own name.
' Nar Singh ' for ' Bir Singh '.
» Jahangir, R. B., i, 24, 25.
ABU-L FAZL
PRINCE SALiM; DEATH OF AKBAR 307
proves the insincerity of the writer's frequent references to

his ' revered father '.
The crime made Akbar furious with rage and distracted Escape
with grief. For three days he abstained from appearing in sin<'h,the
public audience, a dangerous omission in a country where murderer,
the non-appearance of the sovereign for a single day might
be the signal for a revolution. Urgent orders were sent out
to hunt down and slay the chief who had presumed to kill
the emperor's friend. Akbar fell into the greatest con-
ceivable passion when he learned that Bir Singh had escaped
through the territories of the Raja of Gwalior, and he was
much puzzled by conflicting reports which cast the blame
for the failure of the pursuit now on one person, and now
on another. At last, about three months after the murder,
he called for Asad Beg (November, 1602) and put him on
special duty to ascertain who was guilty. In due course,
presumably towards the end of 1602, Asad Beg returned
from his mission and judiciously reported that nobody had
erred intentionally, although there had been gross neglect,
a fault shared by all concerned. Akbar accepted the excuse,
and did not prosecute his researches further.^ Bir Singh,
although hotly pursued and wounded on one occasion,
evaded capture, and lived to enjoy the favour of Jahangir,
as already related.^
The murder was effectual for two years in stopping Akbar
from taking strong measures to coerce his rebellious son.
Abu-1 Fazl, who thus met his death in the fifty-second Abu-1
year of his age, was the second son of Shaikh Mubarak, the
learned unorthodox theologian who had been the first to
suggest to Akbar the idea of assuming the spiritual as well
as the temporal guidance of his people. Faizi, the Shaikh's
elder son, who had entered Akbar's service in 1567, was not
ambitious of high official rank, and devoted himself mainly
to literary pursuits. He was content with a modest pro-
vision as ' commander of 400 ', and died in 1595, two years
after his father, who had attained a great age. Abu-1 Fazl,
> Asad Beg, in E. & D., vi, 162. made in December 1602.
Asad Beg's report must have been X2 ^ Takmil, in E. & D., vi, 114.
who had shown extraordinary precocity and had spent
a studious youth, succeeded in 1574, by means of a Koranic
commentary, in attracting the attention of the emperor.
Having once entered on the road to advancement he took
good care to secure his continual progress, and in due
course attained the lofty and lucrative dignity of ' com-
mander of 4,000 '. His favour at court became so marked
that the Jesuits speak of him as ' the King's Jonathan '.
He appears to have possessed more influence over Akbar
than that enjoyed by any other person. It was not neces-
sary to appoint him to any of the highest offices. He
occupied an informal position as Secretary of State and
Private Secretary, which secured him in practice greater
power than if he had been Vakil or Vizier. He was largely
concerned in developing his father's ideas, especially those
of universal toleration and the spiritual headship of the
emperor. It is not clear how far he advised or supported
his master's unworthy insults to Islam which obviously
violated the principle of toleration. He suppresses mention
of them, our knowledge of the facts being derived from
Badaoni and the Jesuits.
The brilUant official success of Abu-1 Fazl was due partly
to his exceptional intellectual gifts and partly to his adroit-
ness as a courtier. He resembled Francis Bacon in com-
bining extraordinary mental powers and capacity for work
with the servility of an ambitious courtier. Father
Monserrate, who knew him intimately, had no hesitation
in declaring that Abu-1 Fazl easily surpassed all his con-
temporaries in acuteness of intellect.^ The observation,
undoubtedly true, is supported by the verdict of later ages
and the testimony of the successful minister's writings.
When Badaoni describes Abu-1 Fazl as being ' officious,
time-serving, openly faithless, continually studying the
emperor's whims, a flatterer beyond all bounds ',^ the
language may be censured for its obvious malice, but I do
not think it is far from the truth. Notwithstanding Bloch-
1 ' Qui acumine ingenii facile p. 639).
omnes superabat ' {Commentarius, ' Badaoni, ii, 202.
mann's opinion to the contrary, the author of the Akbarndma

and Aln-i Akbarl actually was a consummate and shameless
flatterer. Both works were conceived and executed as
monuments to the glory of their writer's master. Almost
all matters considered detrimental to Akbar's renown are
suppressed, glossed over, or occasionally even falsified.
Abu-1 Fazl, when not influenced by his resolve to magnify
Akbar at all costs, was more conscientious in the collection
of facts than most Asiatic historians, and was especially
careful about the details of chronology. But his books are
one-sided panegyrics, and must be treated as such by
a critical historian. Their merits as literature will be con-
sidered in the fifteenth chapter.
Abu-1 Fazl availed himself of the liberty allowed by his
religion in his relations with women. He had at least the
canonical four wives.^ His private life, when judged by
a Muslim standard, was considered to be blameless. He
had a prodigious appetite, rivalling that of Sultan Mahmud
Blgarha of Gujarat, and is reputed to have consumed daily
nearly thirty pounds of food.*
His sincerity in adopting and managing Akbar's ridiculous
eclectic religion may be doubted or even denied, with good
reason. Badaoni relates a conversation which he had with
him about 1576, when Badaoni inquired, ' Who will have a
greater passion for all the notorious heresies than yourself? '
The reply was, ' I wish to wander for a few days in the
vale of infidelity for sport.'* The obvious inference of
insincerity to be drawn from that reply is supported by
the anecdote of Prince Salim's malicious delight in finding
forty scribes copying Korans at the Secretary's house when
the prince paid a surprise visit.* Abu-1 Fazl, who had been
» Ain, vol. iii, p. 449. He Hist, of Gujarat, p. 162. The
married Hindu, Persian, and ' maund ' of Akbar, containing
Kashmiri wives, in addition to 40 ' seers ', was equivalent to
a lady of an honourable house 55| pounds. Abu-1 Fazl is said
and a family distinguished for to have eaten 22 ' seers ' daily,
learning. He says that the extra ' Badaoni, ii, 270.
consorts were ' occasions of great * Bloehmann, in Ain, vol. i,
joy' to him, and so was more p.xvi; the authority is not stated,
fortunate than many polygamists. but probably is the Ma'asiru-l
' For the Sultan see Bayley Vmara.
brought up as a learned Muslim theologian with Sufi or
mystical tendencies, appears never to have heartily renounced
his unorthodox form of Islam. He was far too clever and
deeply read to believe in Akbar as the prophet of a new
religion. This work being a biography of Akbar himself,
and not a detailed account of his contemporaries, it is
impossible to discuss more fully in this place the interesting
life-story of Abu-1 Fazl which would furnish material for
a separate volume. His son Abdu-r rahman attained con-
siderable distinction in an official career.^
Recon- Sultan Salima Begam, Bairam Khan's widow, and Prince
ciliation
by
effected Murad's mother, whom Akbar had espoused in his youth,
Salima had always occupied a position of great influence in the
Begam, imperial household. Being resolved to bring father and
1603.
son together, and to ward off the horrors of civil war, if
by any means peace could be arranged, she journeyed to
Allahabad either late in 1602 or early in 1603, under instruc-
tions from the emperor, in order to persuade the prince to
submit. She succeeded so far that Salim was induced to
march towards Agra. In or about April 1603 (beginning
of 48th regnal year), Akbar received the welcome news that
his son had passed Etawah and would shortly present him-
self at court. Salima Begam returned with the prince and
asked Akbar's mother, Maryam Makani, to accord him her
personal protection. That aged lady consented, and went
out a day's journey to meet the rebel, whom she brought
to her own residence. She arranged an interview between
Salim and his father, who received him courteously, even
advancing several steps to meet him. The prince gave
tangible evidence of his submission by presenting to his
sovereign 12,000 gold mohurs, and no less than 770 elephants,
out of which 354 were accepted and placed in the imperial
stables, the remainder being returned to the giver. He
knew that his father had a passion for collecting fine
' Blochmann, in Ain, vol. i, on the same subject. He had a
p. XXV. Abu-1 Fazl's autobio- good conceit of himself, as appears
graphy will be found in the same from the concluding paragraphs
work, vol. iii, pp. 417-51. His of the autobiography.
writings contain other passages
PRINCE SALIM; DEATH OF AKBAR Sll
elephants and that no gift more acceptable could be imagined.

In return he begged for the best elephant in his father's
possession, a request which was graciously conceded. After
a short interval Akbar, taking off his own turban, placed
it on the head of his son, thus publicly recognizing him as
heir to the throne. The reconciliation was complete to
all appearance, and Salima Begam must have felt proud
at the success of her intervention.^
The reconciliation, however, was not sincere. It is
impossible to believe that Akbar can have forgiven heartily
the atrocious murder of his dearest friend, and it is certain
that Salim, who felt a grudge against his father for living
so long, continued to cherish rebellious thoughts. Akbar
desired that his now acknowledged heir should devote him-
self in earnest to the destruction of the Rana of Mewar,
Amar Singh, who carried on with unquenchable spirit the
unequal contest so long waged by his gallant father, Partap,
who had died in 1597. The comparative quiet enjoyed by
Amar Singh during the last eight years of Akbar's life was
not due, as Tod supposed, to any softening of the emperor's
heart, under the influence of admiration for a brave adver-
sary. The evidence proves with certainty that Akbar
never forgave either of the Ranas for their unflinching
assertion of independence. Partap had actually succeeded
before his death in recovering possession of the greater part
of Mewar, and the emperor earnestly desired to break the
resistance of his successor. But Akbar's son and officers
disliked warfare in the Rajputana hills, where little plunder
was to be gained, while there was always the risk of a
humiliating disaster. Amar Singh, therefore, though strong
enough to defend himself, was not put to the necessity of
serious fighting on a large scale, and found leisure to remodel
the institutions of his country.
Salim, who had withdrawn to Fathpur-Sikri, evaded Salim
compliance with his father's orders by making extravagant ô Allah-
demands for increased forces and supplies of treasure, abad,
' Takmil, tr. Chalmers, in von in E. & D., vi, 108 ; Gladwin,
Noer, ii, 411, 412 ; and less fully p. vii.
312 AKBAR THE GREAT MOGUI-
Nov.,which he knew would certainly be refused. He intimated

1603.^jj^^ j£ jjjg proposals should not be considered acceptable,
he desired the favour of another interview and permission
to return to Allahabad.
Akbar decided that another interview would be in-
expedient, and gave his son the desired permission to
return to Allahabad, adding that he should be at liberty
to come again to court after a time. Salim marched on
November 10, 1603, crossed the Jumna near Mathura,
and on arrival at Allahabad celebrated the reconciliation
with his father, imperfect though it was, by brilliant
festivities. Apparently he resumed a position of practical
independence.
Death About this time the prince suffered a grievous personal
Shsh^ loss by the death of his first and much-loved wife, the Shah
Begam. Begam, adoptive sister of Raja Man Singh, and mother of
Prince Khusrii. She was deeply distressed by the unfilial
attitude of her son towards his father, as well as by some
misconduct of a brother of her own, named Madho Singh,
and being a passionate woman, liable to fits of mental
derangement, committed suicide by taking a large dose of
opium, as already mentioned. ' In consequence of her
death,' Jahangir tells us, ' from the attachment I had for
her, I passed some days without any kind of pleasure in
life or existence, and for four days, which amount to thirty-
two watches, I took nothing in the shape of food or drink.' ^
Few bereaved husbands would exhibit such abstinence.
Jahangir, a strange ' mixture of opposites ', was equally
capable of intense love and devilish cruelty. Akbar sent a
warmly sympathetic letter of condolence accompanied by
gifts of a robe of honour and the turban from his own head,
thus confirming his previous nomination of Salim as heir-
apparent.
' Jahangir, R. B., i, 55 ; ante, A. H. 1012 = A. D. 1603^. Ja-
chap. viii. The Takmil (E. & D., hangar, apparently by a clerical
vi, 112) erroneously ascribes the error, places it at the end of 1013,
lady's suicide to ' a quarrel with on May 6, 1605. The true date is
one of her rivals'. As usual the May 16, 1604 (J.R.A.S., 1907,
authorities differ about the date p. 604).
of her death. The correct year is
The fall of Ahmadnagar in August 1600, and the capitula- Marriage

tion of Asirgarh in the January following, had naturally "aj^^h
alarmed the Sultans of Bijapur and Golkonda, who felt that Bijapur
they must be the next victims sought by imperial ambitions.
Embassies intended to placate Akbar were sent to him by
both governments, and a marriage was arranged between
Prince Daniyal and a princess of Bijapur. Early in 1604,
shortly before the bridegroom's death, the bride was fetched
from her home by Mir Jamalu-d din Husain and Firishta
the historian, and made over to the prince, who espoused
her at Paithan on the Godavari.^
An interesting gold medal, apparently unique, may or
may not commemorate the event.^
The elder prince, when safely established with his court Salim's
at Allahabad, far removed from parental supervision, <>ruelty.
abandoned himself without restraint to his favourite vices,
consuming opium and strong drink to such an extent that
hjs naturally fierce temper became ungovernable. The
most fearful penalties were inflicted for trivial offences ;
' pardon was never thought of, and his adherents were
struck dumb with terror '. Although public opinion in the
• ' He [scil. the Mir] delivered but he died before the marriage
the young Sooltana to Daniel was consummated' (Ain, vol. i,
upon the banks of the Godavery, p. 309). That statement cannot
near Peitun, where the nuptials be accepted as against the evi-
were celebrated with great magni- dence of Firishta. Daniyal died at
ficence.' Burhanpur.
Note ofby thisBriggs. — ' Ferishta, ' B. M. Catal., No. 172, from
author work, attended the
the the Prinsep Collection. The ob-
Princess to Peitun, and was after- verse exhibits the bridegroom (?)
wards invited by the Prince Daniel wearing a crown with three cusps,
to accompany them to Boorhan- and carrjdng a sheaf of arrows
poor, where he spent some time and a strung bow ; with the
with the royal pair ' (Firishta, ii, bride (?) following him, drawing
279, 280). Again :— ' On the a long veil back from her face.
Prince's return from Ahmud- The reverse simply gives the date,
nuggur, with his bride, he en- ' 50 Ilahi, Farwardin ', scil. the
camped at the town of Peitun, first month, March-April. The
on the banks of the Godavery, name of the mint is not on the
and remained there some days in piece. If the medal concerns
order to celebrate the marriage ; Daniyal's marriage it is difficult
after which he proceeded to to understand the date, because
Boorhanpoor ' (ibid., iii, 318). it seems clear (see Appendix B)
Blochmann gives no authority that Daniyal died in April 1604,
for his statement that Daniyal which fell within the year 49, not
was ' betrothed to a daughter of March The 50. latter year began on
11, 1605 (o.s.).
Ibrahim 'Adilshah of Bijapur ;
314 AKEAR THE GREAT MOGUL
sixteenth century did not disapprove of death with torture
as the punishment for political crime, Akbar was shocked
when he learned that a news-writer convicted of a plot
against the prince's life had been flayed alive while Salim
calmly watched his long-drawn agony.^ It is recorded that
the criminal had tried to escape to Prince Daniyal in the
Deccan, a detail which suggests that the plotters may have
tried to substitute that prince for his elder brother as
successor to the throne. The incident must have occurred
previous to Daniyal's death in April 1604.
Salim at Certain curious passages from a letter written by Father
Sikri. Jerome Xavier at Agra, and dated September 6, 1604 (n. s.,
= August 27, o. s.), may be cited in this place.
The Father had had occasion to go and see certain
Armenians living at some unnamed locality distant about
thirty miles from Agra.
' On the way ', he writes, ' there is a city which used to
be the court of the Emperor Akbar when Father Rodolfi
was here, which is called Fatehpur ; we might say " Here
stood Troy ", for it is totally demolished ; but a few edifices
made by the Emperor still stand firm. The Prince was
there at the time and I went to see him. He was much
pleased at my visit and entertained me very well ; and
when his second son [Parviz], who was with him, took no
notice of my salutation, he said to him, " Ho there ! the
Father is saluting you ", and the young man then obeyed
him.'
The Father, when returning to Agra, called again, and
found his Royal Highness busily engaged in superintending
the extraction of copper from peacocks' tails, to be used as an
antidote against poison. Salim, who still hoped to find sup-
port from the Jesuit influence as exercised both at court and
at Goa, exhibited most edifying devotion, carrying a crucifix,
and bestowing five hundred rupees on the Jesuits for build-
ing their church. A little later he pursued his journey to
Allahabad, declining ' to return to Agra where his father
was, so as not to fall into the snare again '.
E. ' &Gladwin, p. ix ; Elphinstone, 5th ed., p. 628 n. ; Takmll, in

D., vi, 112.
After he had been living two or three months in Allahabad,

he sent a private letter to Xavier, written and conveyed by
an Italian servant named Jacopo Filippo [James Philip],
who brought a supplementary donation of another five
hundred rupees for the church.^ The messenger was pre-
sently followed by Salim in person, marching with troops.^
The interesting reference to the ruined state of Fathpur-
Sikri need not be discussed at present, but the letter raises
two difficult questions, namely, when did Xavier see Salim
at Fathpur-Sikri, and what was ' the snare ' from which
the prince had escaped ?
Xavier does not specify the date of his visit. The context
suggests that it took place after Easter, 1604, but the
difficulty in that interpretation is that Salim is not recorded
to have come to the neighbourhood of Agra between his
departure on November 10, 1603, already described, and his
arrival exactly a year later, on November 9, 1604, after
his grandmother's death. Perhaps, therefore, the Easter
described in the letter should be interpreted as being that of
1603, and the visit should be assumed to have taken place
in the autumn of that year. It is, however, possible that
Salim may have paid an unrecorded visit to Fathpur-Sikri
in May 1604, after receiving news of his brother Daniyal's
death early in April that year. Nothing in the books
explains the allusion to ' the snare ', and it is useless to
conjecture what had happened. Akbar certainly caught
his son in a carefully baited snare in November 1604, but
nothing beyond Xavier's allusion is known concerning any
similar incident at an earlier date. The original Jesuit
letters between 1600 and 1604 are missing at present. If
they were accessible they would no doubt solve the diffi-
culties which are now insoluble.
Akbar's intention that his third son. Prince Daniyal, Death of
should have both the honour of conquering the Deccan and nan"'^-!
» Maclagan, pp. 89-92. The petiit, eiii ipse, Patres adiret et
letter is not printed elsewhere. munera simul et obsequium qu^m
' ' Cum copiis instructus Agram humanissimfe deferret, injunxit '
ad Parentem properaret, Italus (Du Jarric, iii, 116).
praecuiiendi ab illo facultatem
April the privilege of governing the territory annexed was frus-

1604.
trated by the young man's incurable vice of inebriety.
During the southern campaign he was never fit to be any-
thing more than a figure-head, and his habits disqualified
him for serious business. Like most confirmed drunkards
he could not either observe solemn pledges of abstinence or
pay any heed to the most earnest remonstrances. Akbar
did his best to reclaim him, and at last was obliged to send
Abu-1 Fazl's brother to devise means for recalling to court
the prince, who was much afraid of his brother Salim, and
with good reason. The Khan Khanan (Abdurrahim), to
whose daughter Daniyal was married, also did his best to
restrain his son-in-law, but all efforts were in vain. The
guards posted to prevent him from obtaining liquor were
corrupted, and the poison was brought in secretly, some-
times in the barrels of muskets, sometimes in phials hidden
in men's turbans. At last the prince was seized with delirium
tremens, and after nearly six weeks' acute illness died at
Burhanpur, early in April 1604. The news reached Akbar
about a month later (beginning of a. h. 1013), and caused
him intense distress, which affected his health. At first the
emperor was exceedingly angry with the Khan Khanan
for failing to prevent the catastrophe, but when more fully
informed of the facts restored him to favour.
The prince is described as a handsome man, fond of horses
and elephants, and clever in the composition of Hindi verses.^
Akbar's The accounts of Salim's conduct continuing to be unsatis-
frus- factory, Akbar resolved at some time in the summer of 1604
trated
expedi-
tion ; to proceed in person to Allahabad, and if necessary to use
death force in order to reduce his son to complete submission.
of the
Salim, on his part, heard reports that preparations were
queen-
mother,
1604. being made with Akbar's approval to nominate Prince
Khusru as heir to the throne, and was impelled by fears for
his life, liberty, and prospects to defend himself. It seemed
as if nothing could avert a battle between father and son.
* Blochmann, Ain, vol. i, p. de Laet, p. ffj ; Jahanglr, R. B.,

309 ; Takmll, in E. & D., vi, 107, i, 35. See Appendix B for dis-
111, 114 ; van den Broecke in cussion of the chronology.
In August Akbar assembled an army and sent it into camp

on the other side of the Jumna, six miles from Agra, giving
out publicly that he proposed to proceed to Bengal. When
the camp had been formed he embarked one night on a barge
unattended, intending to join the camp, but his vessel stuck
on a bank and he was unable to proceed. Then, the season
being in the height of the rains, a deluge of rain flooded the
camp, laying low all the tents except the imperial pavilion.
Those accidents, which the astrologers regarded as of evil
omen, were sufficient to delay the expedition, although not
enough to induce Akbar to change his plans. His aged
mother, then about seventy-seven, who loved Salim dearly,
anticipated that if the quarrel should come to the arbitra-
ment of battle her grandson would have little chance of
escaping destruction when pitted against her son, a veteran
general with an unbroken record of victories. She, there-
fore, used every argument that she could think of to dissuade
Akbar from marching against the rebel. When her entreaties
fell upon deaf ears, the disappointment at the failure of her
intervention brought on a serious illness which rapidly
became critical. Akbar, on receiving reports of her con-
dition, felt bound to return to Agra and attend on her
bedside.^ When he arrived she had already lost the power
of speech. Five days later, on or about August 29 (o.s. =
September 8, n.s.), she passed away.
Her body was conveyed with all speed, borne on the
shoulders of relays of nobles, to Delhi, and there laid by
the side of her husband, whom she had outlived for forty-
eight years.2
The deceased left in her house a large treasure and a will
directing that it should be divided among her male descend-
' Gladwin, p. x ; Xavier in Shahriwar, the 6th month of the

Maclagan, p. 96 ; Takmll, tr. 49th Ilahi or regnal year, which
Chalmers, in von Noer, ii, 414. began on March 11, 1604. Her
The Queen-Mother was not in her death occurred apparently two
ninetieth year, as stated by Du days after September 6 (n.s.),
Jarric, fifteen
about iii, 118. yearsShe older
was than
only the datepossible
is not of Xavier's letter, but
to convert Ilahiit
her son. dates with absolute precision.
* Hamida Band Begam, alias Many authors confound her with
Maryam Makani, died on the 20th Haji Begam.
ants. Akbar, notwithstanding his genuine affection for his
mother, was too fond of money to withstand the temptation
of annexing her wealth, the whole of which he appropriated,
without regard to the terms of the will.^
Sub- Akbar did not care to proceed with his hostile expedition
mission ^j^gj. ^j^g death of his mother. The opportunity was seized
arrest of for the renewal of negotiations, which were entrusted to
the management of Mir or Miran Sadr Jahan, the emperor's
agent at the court of the prince, and a favourite of Salim,
who regarded the Sadr as his spiritual preceptor. The
negotiator employed all his diplomatic skill in favour of
the prince, and did his best to bring about a final reconcilia-
tion. He was instructed to point out that Sallm was now
the only surviving son of the emperor, and that he had no
reason to fear any opposition to his succession. If the
prince would come before his father as a suppliant, he might
feel assured that full pardon and oblivion of all his offences
would be granted. We are told that the Mir also conveyed
secret orders, the nature of which has not been recorded.
Presumably they were purely oral and not committed to
writing. It may well be that they held out the threat of
the public recognition of Khusrti, in the event of Salim
proving obstinate.
The envoy, somehow or other, persuaded Salim that it
was worth his while to submit. In October the prince
marched from Allahabad escorted by troops towards Agra,
with the ostensible purpose of offering condolences for the
death of his grandmother. He arrived at the capital on
November 9, 1604, apparently leaving his troops encamped
at a considerable distance from the city. He entered Agra,
accompanied by his second son Parviz, then a boy about
fourteen years of age, and by all his principal adherents.
He was introduced to the presence by Murtaza Khan
(Shaikh Farid of Bokhara). The prince did not come empty
handed. He offered for his father's acceptance 200 gold
• Du Jarric, iii, ] 18. Accord- Agra. Such small discrepancies
ing to de Laet (p. fff ) she died in the authorities are innumer-
able.
two days after Akbar's return to
mohurs, a diamond worth a lakh of rupees, and 400

elephants.
He was received publicly in a certain gallery or verandah
with every appearance of cordiality and affection. Suddenly,
as he prostrated himself reverently, Akbar seized him by the
hand and drew him into an inner apartment. The emperor,
inflamed by intense passion, then administered several
violent slaps on his son's face, showering upon him bitter
reproaches for his unfilial conduct, and mocking him because,
when he had 70,000 horsemen at call, he had been fool
and coward enough to cast himself at his father's feet as
a suppliant. After that scene Akbar, who professed to
regard the prince as a patient requiring medical treatment,
directed to cure his vitiated tastes, ordered that he should
be kept in close custody in a bath-room under the charge
of Raja Salivahan, a physician, and two servants named
Rup Khawass and Arjun Hajjam (barber). ^ At the same
time Sallm's principal adherents were arrested and imprisoned
in chains. One only escaped. Raja Basu of Mau near
Kangra, an insurgent chief, who received timely warning
of the intended treachery, and succeeded in getting away.
The prince was subjected to the misery of deprivation of
his accustomed dose of opium for twenty-four hours, but at
the expiration of that time his father brought him a supply
with his own hands. ^ A day later Akbar, yielding to the
entreaties of his wives pardoned the prince, and assigned
to him a residence and suite commensurate with his
rank.
Salim had been mastered. He humbly accepted the
government of the western provinces which had been
held by his deceased brother Daniyal, and continued to
live at Agra in apparent amity with his father until
Akbar died on October |^, 1605. During all that time,
more than eleven months, the prince continued to lavish
' The Raja seems to have been But Gladwin, on the authority
a physician (Elphinstone, ed. of the Ma'asir-i Jahangir, states
Cowell, p. 529 ; presumably on that Salim was deprived of both
authority of Khafi Khan). liquor and opium for ten days.
2 Thus, according to de Laet.
favours upon the Jesuits, whose influence he was eager to

secure.
At first Salim used to come to court with a large retinue,
but when that procedure aroused Akbar's suspicions orders
were issued that he should be admitted with four attendants
only. No further act of overt rebellion was attempted, and
we do not hear what became of Sallm's army of 70,000
horsemen, who presumably dispersed and went to their
homes. Intrigue in the palace continued, and a powerful
party, led by Aziz Koka and Raja Man Singh, desired that
Sallm should be set aside in favour of his son Khusru.
Sallm's rebellion, with intervals of insincere reconciliation,
had lasted for more than four years, from about the middle
of 1600 until November 1604. The authors who state that
it continued for only a few months are in error. Jahan^r
lied freely on the subject in his Memoirs, and pretended
that he had resisted the temptation offered by evil counsellors
who had prompted him to rebel.^
Akbar's The fatal illness of Akbar, apparently some kind of
fatal
illness. diarrhoea or dysentery, began on Monday, September 21.^
' The texts concerning Sallm's an original authority {Hist, of

arrest are given in Appendix B. India, vol. iv, part i, p. 192 n.).
They prove conclusively that For Mir or Miran Sadr (âdr)
Daniyal was then dead, and that Jahan see Jahangir, R. B., i, 22 ;
the arrest followed the decease Blochmann, Ain, vol. i, p. 468.
of the Queen-Mother at no great Mr. G. P. Taylor supports a sound
Interval. It is impossible to numismatic argument by the
accept the statements which erroneous assertion that Salim's
place Daniyal's death in 1605. disaffection was ' shortlived, and
The detailed story of Akbar's apparently was confined to the
passionate violence, which is Allahabad District ' (J. A. S. B.,
found in de Laet's book only, is 1904, Num. Suppl., p. 6). Jahan-
thoroughly in accordance with glr's false statement (Jahangir,
Akbar's character, and in my R. B., i, 65, 68) has been quoted
already.
judgement should be accepted as
true. It is supported by the state- ' Blochmann, using Persian
ment of Gladwin (from the Ma'a- authorities, gives the fullest in-
sir-i Jahdnglr) that Akbar ' gave formation on the subject. ' It is
full vent to his rage '. The story said that the Emperor died of
as told by de Laet was copied dysentery or acute diarrhoea,
with some embellishment by Sir which no remedies could stop.
Thomas Herbert in the editions All had at last recourse to a most
of his book from 1638 (ed. 1677, powerful astringent, and when the
p. 72). Talboys Wheeler, who dysentery was stopped costive
quotes the anecdote from the 1638 fever and strangury ensued. He
edition, was under the erroneous therefore administered purgatives,
impression that Herbert ranked as which brought back the diarrhoea.
His physician, Hakim Ali, a practitioner of high repute,

refrained for eight days from administering medicine, pre-
ferring to trust to nature and the patient's strong con-
stitution. But after the week's experiment no improvement
being apparent, drugs were exhibited, presumably strong
astringents. An unlucky quarrel between the servants of
Prince Sallm and those of his son Prince Khusril, concern-
ing an elephant fight, caused the emperor much annoyance,
and increased his disorder.
A report had long been current, and apparently not Plot to
without reason, that Akbar desired to be succeeded by his prfnce
grandson rather than by his rebellious son, and it is certain Salim.
that the Khan-i Azam (Aziz Koka) and Raja Man Singh
were most anxious to exclude Salim and place his son on
the throne. Salim's conduct at Allahabad had been so
cruel and tyrannical, and his intemperate habits were so
notorious, that opposition to his succession would have
been justifiable on public grounds. The two great nobles
named also had private reasons, because Prince Khusru's
only wife was a daughter of the Khan-i Azam,i while Raja
Man Singh was the brother by adoption of the young prince's
mother, a daughter of Raja Bhagwan Das.
When it became apparent that the emperor's disease was
likely to prove mortal, Aziz and Man Singh resolved to
seize Prince Salim on a day when he was coming to pay his
respects to his dying father.^ The prince's boat had reached
'the foot of the fort tower, and he was about to step on
of which Akbar died. The first sence and fine carriage, so exceed-
attack was caused, it is said, by ingly beloved of the common
worry and excitement on account people. . . . He was a man who
of the behaviour of Prince Khusrau contented himself with one wife,
at an elephant fight. . . . Akbar which with all love and care
withdrew, and sent next morning accompanied him in all his
for Ali, to whom he said that the streights, and therefore he would
vexation caused by Khusrau's never take any wife but herself,
bad behaviour had made him ill ' though the liberty of his religion
(Ain, vol. i, p. 467). Gladwin did admit of pluraUty ' (ed. 1777,
describes the illness as ' a fever '- p. 411).
The Hijri date was 20 Jumada I, " According to Asad Beg, this
1014. Gladwin (p. xii) wrongly incident happened the day after
gives August 3 as the equivalent, the elephant fight (E. & D., vi,
» Terry, who met Prince Khusru 169). But it may have occurred
more than once, describes him as later.
' a gentleman of very lovely pre-
1845 Y
shore, when he received warning of his danger, and was
enabled to retire in safety.
Failure While Akbar still lived Aziz and Man Singh convened
the nobles and endeavoured to persuade them

plot.^ that Salim ofshould
a meeting be set aside as unworthy in favour of his
son. The proposal was stoutly resisted by several members
of the assembly, who maintained that it was contrary both
to natural justice and to the laws of the Chagatai nation
to which the royal family belonged. The meeting broke
up without coming to a definite decision, but the business
was settled by the action of Raja Ram Das Kachhwaha,
who posted an adequate guard of faithful Rajputs over the
treasury to hold it in the interests of Prince Salim. At
the same time Shaikh Farid (afterwards known as Murtaza
Khan) raUied the brave Sayyids of Barha, who declared for
the legitimate heir. The conspirators then perceived that
their plan could not be carried out, and Raja Man Singh
prepared to retire to his province of Bengal, taking Prince
Khusru with him.^
Con- Prince Salim so far had not visited Akbar during his
Salim's iUness, and it is possible that he may have been excluded
recogni- by imperial order, but fears for his own safety sufficiently
explain his abstention.^ He suffered from intense anxiety,
and when his father lay at the point of death spent a night
wandering about restlessly. His adherents exacted from
him two solemn oaths, binding him in the first place to
defend the Muhammadan religion, and in the second place
to refrain from inflicting any penalty or injury on the
persons who had supported the cause of Khusru. Salim
gladly accepted both conditions and took the required
oaths.* He kept them honourably.*
' Asad Beg (E. & D., vi, 170). [' Patres ver6 quasi antfe nutn-
^ Du Jarric, iii, 132 ; de Laet, quam vidisset, neglexit '] (Du
p. Iff. Jarric, iii, 138). But later he
' Du Jarric, iii, 133. renewed his intimate friendship
* The promise to defend Islam with the reverend gentlemen, and
involved a show of coldness made use of Pinheiro as a diplo-
towards the Jesuit Fathers for matist. In 1614 the Jesuits were
a time. After his accession he again out of favour (Orme, Frag-
neglected them temporarily, as if ments, p. 341).
he had never seen them before
On Saturday, October 22,i Father Jerome Xavier and Visit of

his colleagues called at the palace and were admitted to Jesuits to
the presence of the royal patient. They had expected to Akbar.
find him at the point of death, and hoped to address to him
solemn warnings about the salvation of his soul. But they
found him surrounded by his courtiers and in such a gay
and cheerful mood [' hilarum et laetum '] that they judged
admonition inopportune, and withdrew. On Monday,"
learning that His Majesty was in a critical condition and
that his life was despaired of, they again sought admission,
but, in spite of repeated requests, were refused entrance.
Consequently, they were not present at the final scene.
They were, however, well informed concerning the course
of events, and their statement, which is supported by two
apparently independent testimonies, may be accepted with
confidence. The following brief narrative rests on those
three authorities.
Sallm, when he had taken the oaths mentioned and was Akbar
assured of the support of the nobles, ventured into his lafj^âg
father's presence. Akbar then could not speak, although successor,
he retained consciousness and understanding. When Salim
had prostrated himself and risen, the dying emperor made
a sign that he should put on the imperial turban and gird
himself with the sword of Humayun which hung at the foot
of the bed. His silent commands having been obeyed,
another sign directed the prince to leave the room. He
complied gladly, and was received outside with the applause
of the crowd.
Akbar expired soon afterwards in the presence of only Death of
a few faithful friends, who would not desert him. They q?^
constantly reminded him of the Prophet, and sought with- 1605.
out success to obtain some indication of assent, They
understood that he tried several times to utter the name of
God. Thus he died as he had lived — a man whose religion
nobody could name — ând he passed away without the
benefit of the prayers of any church or sect.^ The assertion
•' ' Die Sabbathi.' extremis esse passim dicebatur.'
• ■ At post biduum rex in • Du Jarric, iii, 133 ; Asad Beg
y2
of some authors that he made formal profession of the
Muslim faith when on his death-bed seems to be untrue.^
He died soon after midnight, early in the morning of
Thursday, October 27, new style (October 17, old style), or,
according to the Muhammadan reckoning, on Wednesday
night.2 ^
Prince Suspicions that the emperor's mortal illness was due to
suspected poison administered either by the direction of Prince Salim,
of poison- or by other people acting in his interest, were current even
ing >m. |jg£Qj,g jjjg (Jeath, and the accusation was widely believed
after the event. The symptoms, so far as recorded, appear
not to be inconsistent with the presence of an irritant poison,
and the motive for bringing Akbar's long reign to a close
was potent. It is certain that Salim ardently desired his
father's demise, and the step from entertaining such a desire
to taking active measures for its realization was not a long
one in an Asiatic court. The fact that Salim, after his acces-
sion as Jahangir, invariably refers to his ' revered father '
in terms of warm affection and profound respect is far from
being conclusive. His affection and respect were not
sufficiently strong to deter him from prolonged rebellion,
which, if successful, would have involved the destruction of
his parent. His rebellion, including an interval of insincere
reconciliation, lasted for about four and a half years. Even
(E. &D., vi, 171); deLaet,p.|f|. the date is October 17. Irvine
The short account given in the calculated it as October 15. The
Provincial's report dated Decern- Takmil gives the a. h. date as
ber 20, 1607 (Maclagan, p. 107) 12 Jumada II, Wednesday. But
agrees substantially with Du as the Muhammadan day begins
Jarric. at sunset, while ours begins at
' e.g. Sir Thomas Roe, ' and midnight, any hour after mid-
so he dyed in the formal profes- night falls in Thursday, according
sion of his sect ' (ed. Foster, to the European tables. Thurs-
p. 312) ; and Father Botelho, day is right according to both
'and at the last, died as he was Cnnmngha.m's Book of Indian Eras
born, a Muhammedan ' (Maclagan, and Sir Harris Nicolas, The Chrono-
p. 107). See Blochmann's dis- logy of History (1833). See Bloch-
cussion of the subject, Ain, vol. i, mann, Ain, vol. i, 212 n. The
p. 212. definite date, October 27, twice
" The date, October 27, new given by Du Jarric, supersedes all
style, is fixed conclusively by Du calculation. The correct date is
Jarric, ii, 495 ; iii, 131. The in Purchas {Pilgrimes, chap, iv ;
Fathers used the new style, which Wheeler, Early Travels in India,
was introduced into Spain and p. 29). But nobody took notice
Portugal in 1582. In old style, of the statement.
PRINCE SALiM ; DEATH OF AKBAR 325
when the final reconciliation had been effected in November
1604, after the death of Prince Daniyal, Salim must have
continued to feel impatient for the long-deferred inheritance.
In his Memoirs he had, as already noted, the audacity to
pretend that he had virtuously resisted the counsels of
rebellion given by evil advisers.^ His proved readiness to^
place on record such an obvious lie precludes his readers
from placing any confidence in his protestations of intense
filial affection. My conclusion is that, while no definite
proof exists that Jahangir, as Prince Sallm, hastened his
father's end by the use of slow poison, he was capable of
the crime, and it is possible that he may have committed it.
Another possibility is that poison may have been adminis-
tered by somebody else in the interest of Prince Khusru.
The strange story that Akbar poisoned himself by mistake, Story
his intention being to destroy one of his great nobles, was ^kbar
widely accepted , .
within,,..,.
a few years of his death.
1 .
It assumes
.
poisoned
himself
two forms, the intended victim being named in one version by mis-
as Raja Man Singh, and in the other as Mirza Ghazi Beg, *^''^-
the chief of Thathah (Tatta) in Sind.
The Man Singh variation is found in the ' Annals of
Bundi (Boondee) ', which Tod considered to be ' well
worthy of belief, as diaries of events were kept by her
princes ', who were personages of high importance during
the reigns of Akbar and his successors!
The emperor, we are told,
' had designed to take off the great Raja Man by means of
a poisoned confection formed into pills. To throw the
Raja off his guard, he had prepared other pills which were
innocuous ; but, in his agitation, he unwittingly gave these
to the Raja, and swallowed those which were poisoned.' ^
The Ghazi Beg variation is best told by President van den
Broecke (1628), as follows :
' At length, the King, being angry with Mirza Ghazi, son
of Jani, and ruler of Sind and Thathah, on account of an
arrogant expression which had fallen from him, decided to
• Memoirs, R. B., i, 65, 68. i, 279. There is no good reason
' Tod, ii, 385. The story is for supposing that Akbar had a
given in the ' Annals of Mewar ', grudge against Man Singh.
remove him by poison. With that purpose, he ordered his
physician to prepare two pills, alike in shape and mass,
and to poison one of them. He had intended to give that
one to Ghazi, and to take the wholesome one himself ; but,
by a notable mistake, the affair turned out contrariwise,
for, while the King was rolling the pills in his hand for some
time, he gave Ghazi the harmless pill, and took the poisoned
one himself. Later, when the mistake was discovered, and
the strength of the poison had spread through his veins,
antidotes were administered without success.' ^
The next paragraph gives the true account of the death-
bed nomination of Prince Salim as heir to the throne.
Manucci recounts the tale of the pills without naming
the intended victim, and denounces Akbar as a practised
poisoner,^ a view which Talboys Wheeler rashly adopted.*
I do not believe a word of the story about the alleged
accidental self-poisoning in any of its forms, although it
is true that Akbar, like many European princes of his time,
did remove several of his enemies by secret assassination,
probably using poison in certain cases. On the whole, while
it is perhaps most probable that Akbar died a natural
death, the general belief that he was poisoned in some
fashion by somebody may have been well-founded.* The
materials do not warrant a definitive judgement.
• De Laet, p. fs§. The text ^ Manucci, vol. i, pp. 149, 150 ;
is : 'Tandem Rex, Mjnrzae Gaziae, and Irvine's note, vol. iv, p. 420.
Zianii filio, qui Sindae et Tattae Irvine was mistaken in reckoning
imperaverat, ob arrogans verbum Herbert as an independent autho-
quod ipsi forte exciderat, iratus, rity. He simply copied de Laet,
eiuu veneno fe medio toUere adding some blunders of his own.
decrevit : & in eum finem medico ' Hist, of India, vol. iv, part i,
sue mandavit, ut binas ejusdem pp. 174, 188. Wheeler believed in
formae et molis pillulas pararet. Sir Thomas Herbert, and did not
& earum alteram veneno inficeret : know that he was a mere com-
hanc Gaziae dare proposuerat, piler of Indian history in his later
medicam ipse sumere : sed in- editions, as already observed,
signi errore res in eontrarium Herbert was only a short time in
vertit, nam Rex quum pillulas India as a young man, and while
manu aliquandiu versasset, Gaziae there remained at Surat or in the
quidem innoxiam pillulam dedit, neighbourhood,
venenatam vero ipsemet sumsit : * The general belief is expressed
Seriusque errore aniraadverso, positively by Bartoli (p. 79) in the
quum jam veneni vis venas words :— ' fin che mori di veleno
pervasisset, antidota frustra ad- TOttobre del 1605 ' ; ' until he
hibita fuerunt.' For the life of died of poison in October 1605.'
Mirza Ghazi Beg, who was a But Botelho (1660) treats the
dissolute scamp, see Blochmann, poison story merely as a matter
Am, vol. i, p. 363. of rumour (Maclagan, p. 107). Du
OBSEQUIES OF AKBAR 327
The obsequies of the dead lion were hurried and per- Akbar's
functory. A gap was made in the wall of the fort, accord-
ing to custom,! and the body, having been carried out
through it on the shoulders of Akbar's son and grandson,
was interred in the sepulchre at Sikandara, three miles
distant, where the deceased emperor had begun to build
his own monument. The members of the funeral proces-
sion were few in number. Nobody wore mourning except
the heir to the throne and certain other persons, who all
resumed their ordinary garb at sunset.
' Thus ', sadly observes the Jesuit historian, ' does the
world treat those from whom it expects no good and fears
no evil. That was the end of the life and reign of King
Akbar.' «
Jahangir professed the most profound reverence for the Akbar's
memory of his father once he was safely dead and buried, jg™_
and there is no reason to doubt that he sincerely admired crated.
Akbar's great qualities. His admiration, however, had
not been strong enough to restrain him from persistent
rebellion, which, if successful, must have resulted in his
parent's death. Akbar was not the man to submit to
Jarric (iii, 182) mentions that who was away in the Deccan
some people suspected the prince when Akbar died, believed that the
of having poisoned his father, but obsequies were conducted ' with
he abstains from expressing any all the ceremonies due to his rank '
opinion on the subject. (E. & D., vi, 172). Similarly,
1 The custom is widespread in Gladwin, following the Afo'osir-i
many countries. Mr. Croolce has Jahangir, avers that Akbar was
favoured me with the following ' interred with great pomp * (p.
Indian references :— Crooke, In- xii). The Takmil (E. & D., vi, 115)
iTod. to Popular Religion and states with more detail that ' on
Folklore ofN. India (1894), p. 219 ; the following day his sacred re-
Popular Religion, &c. (1896), mains were borne by men of all
vol. ii, p. 56 ; Dubois, Hindu ranks, in stately and becoming
Manners, &c., third ed. (Beau- pomp,
champ), 1906, p. 499 ; Jataka, known toabout the grave '. Nothing
the author of theis
transl. Rouse and Cowell (1895), Takmil, except that he was named
vol. ii, p. 55. Inayatu-Uah, alias Muhammad
' Du Jarric, iii, 137. Xavier Salih. He seems to have written
presumably attended the funeral. by order of Jahangir, and, con-
Du Jarric's account is founded sequently, would have been care-
on his letters ; the text of those ful to please his master. The
written at the time in question Jesuits had no motive to mis-
not being at present available. , represent the facts, and their
The authority is better than that account is the most authoritative.
of any other version. Asad Beg,
328 AKBAR THJ: GREAT MOGUL
inglorious supersession and seclusion, as Shahjahan did
later. Jahangir took much interest in rebuilding from its
foundations the mausoleum at Sikandara, for which he
caused fresh designs to be prepared, and he willingly expended
large sums on its construction and decoration.^ The
noble monument received high honour from Jahangir and
his successors for many years. Aurangzeb was painfully
affronted, when in 1691, during his prolonged campaign in
the Deccan against the Marathas, he received a report that
certain turbulent Jat villagers had desecrated the tomb and
scattered his ancestor's bones. They pillaged the mausoleum,
breaking in the great bronze gates, tearing away the orna-
ments of gold, silver, and precious stones, and destroying
wantonly what they could not carry off. Their impious
fury led them on to outrage still more shocking. ' Dragging
out the bones of Akbar, they threw them angrily into the
fire and burnt them.' The pilgrim to Akbar's tomb visits,
although he does not know it, an empty grave.^
APPENDIX B
The Arrest of Prince Sallm and connected events

Chrono- The contradictions of various authorities concerning the
J?^"^^ chronology of the closing years of Akbar's life caused me much
culties. perplexity until I discovered where the principal error lay.
Careful readers may be puzzled by the conclusions adopted in the
narrative of the text, unless full explanations are provided.
' Jahangir, R. B., i, 152. The teenth and eighteenth centuries
cost was 1,500,000 rupees (15 often speak of the Marathas as
lakhs). ' Sevajee ', as he himself points
i" Manucci, i, 142, ii, 320 n. out in the preceding note. The
The date is given in both words desecration of the mausoleum, as
and figures, and there is no reason Irvine states, is described by
to doubt it. Irvine erroneously Ishar Das Nagar in the FatUhai-i
refused to accept the date given by Alamgin (B. M. Add. MS., No.
Manucci because that author states 23884, fol. 131 a). The burning
that the desecration happened of Akbar's bones is mentioned
' during the time that Aurangzeb only by Manucci, but there is no
was actively at war with Shiva reason to doubt the accuracy of
Ji ', observing that Shiva Ji had his statement. Although he was
died in 1681 [really, 1680], ten living at Madras in 1691, he had
years earlier. The learned editor good information about contem*
forgot for the moment that porary facts.
European authors of the seven-
ARREST OF PRINCE SALIM 329
I have, therefore, prepared this appendix in order to justify the

text by detailed proofs.
It will be convenient to begin by setting forth the equations
of the IlahJ or regnal, the Hijri, and the Christian years con-
cerned. The Ilahl year is taken to begin on March 11 (o.s.)
(see B. & D., v, 246). The year is solar, consisting of twelve
months normally of 30 days each, but sometimes containing
31 or 32 days. Cunningham's account of the Ilahi era is inaccurate.
The equation of, the lunar Hijrl years is from Cunningham,
Book of Indian Eras, 1883 ; the dates a.d. being in o.s., and
apparently accurate. In Great Britain the ' new style ' took
effect from 1753 ; but in Portugal and Spain and certain other
countries it came into use from 1582 or 1583. Akbar's Jesuit
guests of the Third Mission dated their letters n.s., whereas
Mildenhall and other Englishmen dated theirs in o.s. The a. d.
dates in E. & D. are, I think, all o.s.
Ilahi (regnal) year 48th = March 11, 1603— March 10, 1604.
Ilahl (regnal) year 49th = March 11, 1604— March 10, 1605.
Ilahl (regnal) year 50th = March 11, 1605— — —
Akbar died on October 17, 1605, o.s. Xavier's letter in Maclagan,
pp. 89-95, is dated September 6 (n.s.), 1604 = August 27 (o.S.).
A. H. 1012 = June 1, 1603— May 19, 1604.
A. H. 1013 = May 20, 1604— May 8, 1605.
A. H. 1014 = May 9, 1605— April 28, 1606.
Those A.D. dates are aU o.s. The corresponding n.s. dates
would be ten days later, e. g. May 19 (o.s.) = May 29 (n.s.).
The four texts which chiefly concern me will now be given
verbatim.
The text of the Fragtnentum in de Laet, pp. ^5|, is as Van den
foUows : Broecke
in de
' Justis autem matri persolutis, ablegavit Rex ad filium Miratsedderan Laet.
ipsius quondam paedagogum, cum literis ; quibus primo acerrime
filium objurgabat, dein ob oculos ponebat, ipsum jam solum superesse,
neque quemquam esse qui regnum ipsi posset praeripere ; mode sibi
supplex fleret, facile antecedentium delictorum veniam, & antiquam
gratiam recuperaturum, addidit & secreta mandata, cum qviibus
Miratseddera ad principem profectus, tandem ipsum permovit, ut ad
Patrem supplex venlret. Xa-Selimus igltur cum filio sue Sultano
Perwees, ex Elhabasse anno Mahumetano 1013, nostro ciD lO cm,
profectus cum exercitu trajecit Semenam, & biduo post (die auspicato,
ut harusplces illius obnunciaverant) cum omnibus suis Ommerauwis
venit ad arcem Agrensem, ubi k, Mortosa Chano ad Patrem fuit intro-
ductus ; quumque se more gentis ad thronum Parentis inclinasset,
Rex manu illius prehensa ipsum in Mahael, id est, interius cubiculum
attraxit, & ingenti furore percitus, ipsi aliquot colaphos in os inffixit,
amare exprobans quaecunqute improbe in patrem admisisset, pusill-
animatemque ridens, quod Lxx millibus equitum stipatus, tamen
supplex ad pedes sues accidisset, quibus factis dictisque ilium in aliud
atrimn deduci et custodiri jussit. Ommerauwi quoque principis,
excepto Radzia Batso (qui mature fuga se subduxerat) fuerunt prehensi,
et catenis onusti in carceres conditi. Xa-Selimus qui quotidie opio uti
consueverat, viginti quatuor horis eo abstinuit, sed postero die Rex
ad ipsum ingressus id ipsi propria manu exhibuit ; tertio autem
die omnes regiae concubinae Regem adierunt, et veniam principi
impetrarunt : atque ita ad proprias aedes fuit dimissus, h quibus
quotidie prodiens cum magno eomitatu Patrem more gentis venera-
batur ; sed quum Regis familiares suspiciosi senis animum metu
implessent, filium ipsi exitium meditari, cum quatuor tantum ministris
imposterum fuit admissus.'
A formal translation is unnecessary, the substance being given
in the text.
Du
Jarr c. Du Jarric's version (iii, 119) of the incident is as follows :-t-
Having described the obsequies of the Queen-Mother, he con-
tinues :
' Tum nuntiis & litteris aliorum operS, filium permovit, ut ad patrem
ultro sine copiis accederet. Agrae ilium [scil. Salim] insigni cum
amore & benevolentia quadam in porticu excepit, dein ab aliis secietum
in locum deducit ; huic laudis ilium verbis includit sed post triduum
in libertatem asseruit, et domum & comites pro dignitate addidit.
Denique ita se erga ilium habuit, quasi nulla umquam inter eos exsti-
tisset contentio. Princeps vicissim Cambaiano vel Guzzaratensi
[Guzzaxatensi in text] regno, quod pater assignarat, contentus fuit,
donee post menses aliquot per patris interitum, quem tantopere
desiderabat ' . . .
In English :
' Then by messengers and letters and with the help of other people,
he induced the son to approach his father voluntarily without troops.
At Agra [Akbar] received him [Salim] with distinguished love and
kindness in a certain gallery : then he withdrew him from the others
into a private place : in tliis he shut him up, using words of praise
[? is text right], but three days later he restored him to liberty, and in
addition gave him a house and suite in accordance with his rank.
Ultimately he behaved towards him as if there had never been any
strife between them. . . . The Prince was content with the government
of Cambay and Gujarat, as assigned to him by his father, until some
months later, through the death of his father which he desired so
eagerly.' . . .
Anfau-l A third version is given in the Anfau-l Akhbar (E. & D., vi, 247),
Akhbar. where it is stated that :
' In the year 1012 a. h. Prince Sultan Salim was imprisoned in a bath
[leg. " bath-room "], on the very day on which his Royal Highness,
repenting of his evil actions, presented himself to the King, availing
himself of the opportvmity which the death of his grandmother, Mariam
Makani, afforded him of offering his condolences to His Majesty. He
was, however, after a space of twelve days, released. This year is
also marked by the arrival from the Dakhin of the news of the death
of Sultan Daniyal. In the year 1013 A. H. the King [Akbar] was
taken ill.'
Takmil-i The fourth version is that of the Takmil (transl. Chalmers, in
Akbar- von Noer, ii, 415), as foUows :
nama.
' Salim, learning the grief and distress of His Majesty, left behind
him Sharif, who had been the chief author of the death of Abu-1 Fazl,
and on 14th November [scU. 1604 ; 4th Azur, the 9th month of the
49th Ilahi or regnal year, which began March 11, 1604 ; November 9
seems to be correct] arrived at the presence, and presented a diamond
worth a lakh of rupees and 200 mohurs as an offering and 400 elephants
as a tribute. The young prince was for ten days placed under the
ARREST OF PRINCE SALIM 331
charge of Rup Khawass, Arjun Hajjam, and Raja Salivahan. Each
or his followers was in the same manner made over to one of the imperial
attendants, and Basfl (the Raja of Mau), the instigator of the prince's
faults, who had remained on the other side of the river, was ordered
to be pursued, but contrived to gain intelligence and escaped. At
the end of ten days, however, the prince's loyalty and integrity became
resplendent, and he was remanded with joy and gladness to his own
residence. After which all his attendants were allowed to rejoin him
at his own request.'
All the authorities agree in stating that the submission and Criticism
arrest of Salim occurred soon after the death of Akbar's mother, of the
which took place in August (o.s.) or September (n.s.) 1604. authori-
I do not see any reason to doubt the precise statement of the '^^"
Takmil that Salim presented himself before his father on the
4th day of Azur, the 9th month of the 49th Ilahi year. E. & D.
give the corresponding a. d. date (o.s.) as November 14. I make
it out to be November 9 (the 244th day of the year), but exact
conversion of Ilahi dates is impracticable.
The Anfau is clearly wrong in placing the arrest in a. h. 1012,
and Akbar's death in 1013. The latter event undoubtedly
occurred in 1014. The arrest was effected in 1013.
The narrative of van den Broecke in de Laet proves that
Daniyal was dead before Salim made his submission.
But the Takmil (E. & D., vi, 114) places the death of Daniyal
in the 50th Ilahi year, and consequently in a. d. 1605. That
statement, which has been generally accepted, as it was by
myself (Oxford Studenfs History of India, 5th ed., 1915, p. 178),
being inconsistent with de Laet, caused me great perplexity,
until I saw that it must be wrong, and that the death of the
younger prince must be placed in the 49th Ilahi or regnal year,
at the close of 1012, and not in the 50th regnal year, at the close
of 1013.
The clue was obtained from Beale (ed. Keene, s. v. Danial
Mirza, Sultan), who gives the date of the prince's decease as
AprU 8, 1605=Za-hijja 1, a. h. 1013; but at the end of the
entry writes :
' From the chronogram it would seem that the Prince Danial
died in the year a. h. 1012, or a, d. 1604, a year and six months
before his father.'
Chronograms are not conclusive in themselves, and require to
be supported by other evidence. Turning to Jahangir's genuine
Memoirs (not Price's version, which should not be cited), Daniyal
is said to have been born on 10 Jumada I, a. h. 979 >• ; that is
to say, September 30, 1572 ; and it is stated that when he died
he was ' in the 33rd year of his age ' (Jahangir, R. B., i, 34).
Inasmuch as he was born in September 1572, and died in April
1604, he was in his 32nd year by solar reckoning, and in his
' 979 is an error for 980, which 1572. See A. N., 543, in 17th
began on Wednesday, May 14, regnal year.
33rd year by lunar reckoning (5th month, Jumada I, to 12th
month, Zil-hijja ; 980 + 32 = 1012). Jahangir's words could not
be made applicable to 1013, when Daniyal would have attained
33 lunar years complete. Therefore, the chronogram of Daniyal's
death is right, and the year a. h. 1013 (or a. d. 1604) is correct
for the arrest of SaUm.
The Takmil (von Noer, ii, 415, and less fully E. & D., vi, 113)
correctly gives the date of the death of the Queen-Mother as the
20th of Shahriwar, the 6th month of the 49th regnal year,
A. D. 1604-5=about August 29 (o.s.), September 8 (n.s.). That
date, if correctly converted, falls two days after Xavier had
dispatched his letter, and in a. h. 1013.
Beale (s.v. Hamida Bano Begam), after a series of other
blunders mixing up Akbar's mother with Hajl Begam, erroneously
states that Hamida ' died at Agra on Monday the 29th August,
A. D. 1603, 17th Shahriwar, a. h. 1012'. She certainly died in
A. D. 1604, a. h. 1013.
The student, therefore, will perceive that it has not been easy
to work out the real order of events. I trust that he may be
satisfied that the correct result has been embodied in the text.
The case is an excellent illustration of the difficulties which
constantly beset the critical historian of the Mogul period. It
is hardly worth while to notice that the term of Salim's detention
is variously stated as three, ten, or twelve days. I accept the
statement in de Laet, who seems to give the whole story truth-
fully.
INDIA IN 1605
The Sabas (see p. 189, ante)

(1) Kabul ; (2) Lahore (Panjab), including Kashmir ; (3)
Multan, including Sind ; (4) Delhi ; (5) Agra ; (6) Awadh
(Oudh) ; (7) Allahabad ; (8) Ajmer ; (9) Ahmadabad (Gujarat) ;
(10) Malwa; (11) Bihar; (12) Bengal, including Orissa ; (13)
Khandesh ; (14) Berar (Birar) ; (15) Ahmadnagar.
6S 'O _'^
CHAPTER XII
AKBAR
Akbak, as seen in middle life, was a man of moderate Personal
stature, perhaps five feet seven inches in height, strongly tio„_
built, neither too slight nor too stout, broad-chested, narrow-
waisted, and long-armed. His legs were somewhat bowed
inwards from the effect of much riding in boyhood, and
when walking he slightly dragged the left leg, as if he were
lame, although the limb was sound. His head drooped
a little towards the right shoidder. His forehead was broad
and open. The nose was of moderate size, rather short,
with a bony prominence in the middle, and nostrils dilated
as if with anger. A small wart about half the size of a pea
which connected the left nostril with the upper lip was
considered to be a lucky mark. His black eyebrows were
thin, and the Mongolian strain of blood in his veins was
indicated by the narrow eyes characteristic of the Tartar,
Chinese, and Japanese races. The eyes sparkled brightly
and were ' vibrant like the sea in sunshine '.^ His complexion,
sometimes described by the Indian term ' wheat-coloured ',
was dark rather than fair. His face was clean shaven,
except for a small, closely trimmed moustache worn in the
fashion adopted by young Turks on the verge of manhood.
His hair was allowed to grow, not being clipped close in the
ancestral manner. His very loud voice was credited with
' a peculiar richness '.
His whole mien was in such perfect accord with the
ideal of kingly dignity that ' anybody, even at the first
glance, would recognize him as a king '. His son declares
that Akbar * in his actions and movements was not like the
people of the world, and the glory of God maaifested itself
' ' Micantibus oculis, et qui vibrare videantur ' (CowmewtanMS,
quasi mare, cum a sole collucet, p. 640).
in him '. When he turned an angry look upon an offender,

his appearance was strangely terrible.
Dress. His outer garment was a surcoat or tunic of the kind
called cabaya, reaching a little below the knees, but not
coming down to the ankles like the long robes commonly
worn by Muslims. It was made ordinarily of thin material
interwoven with gold thread, decorated with embroidered
patterns of flowers and foliage, and fastened by a large
clasp. On his head Akbar wore a small tightly rolled turban,
made so as to combine Hindu with Musalman modes. The
head-dress was enriched by pearls and other gems of inestim-
able value. His trousers, made of the finest sarcenet,
extended down to his heels, where they were tucked in and
held by a knot of pearls. His shoes were made in a peculiar
style after a design of his own. He liked European clothes,
and when in private often wore a Portuguese suit of black
silk or velvet. He invariably kept a dagger in his girdle,
and if at any moment he did not happen to be wearing
a sword one always lay ready to his hand. Whenever he
appeared in public a score of pages and guards were in atten-
dance ready to place a variety of weapons at his disposal.^
Manners. AH observers agree that Akbar 's manners were charming.
He is described as being ' pleasant-mannered, intimate, and
kindly, while still preserving his gravity and sternness '.^
Father Jerome Xavier, who, as Bartoli says,
' was an eye-witness of his conduct for many years, gives
him the praise so rarely due to a Prince engaged in high
affairs of state, by remarking that " in truth he was great
with the great, and lowly with the lowly ".^ Du Jarric
varies the observation by stating that " to his own family
he was most dear ; to the great he was terrible ; to the
lowly, kind and affable ".'
• Mostly from Monserrate, Com- i, 384.
mentarius, p. 640, and Relaxant, ' ' E faceto, domestico, & amo-
with special reference to the years revole, & insieme tiene la sua
1580-2. Some , particulars are gravity, & severity,' (Peruschi,
taken from Peruschi, Bartoli, and p. 20).
Jahangir, R. B;, i, 33, without ' ' Veramente egli era grande
reference to any particular date. co' grandi, e co' piccoli piccolo '
For cabaya see Yule and Burnell, (Bartoli, p. 5).
Glossary, s.v., and Jahangir, R. B.,
PERSONAL 335
The same author goes on to say that

' with small and common people he was so sympathetic and
indulgent, that he always found time gladly to hear their
cases, and to respond graciously to their requests. Their
little offerings, too, he used to accept with such a pleased
look, handling them and putting them in his bosom, as
he did not do with the most lavish gifts of the nobles,
which, with discreet pretence, he often seemed not even to
glance at.'^
Akbar was extremely moderate in his diet, taking but Diet,
one substantial meal in the day, which was served when-
ever he called for it, not at any fixed hour. The variety of
dishes placed at his disposal was of course great, and they
were presented with appropriate magnificence and elaborate
precautions against poison. He cared little for flesh food,
and gave up the use of it almost entirely in the later years
of his life, when he came under Jain influence.^
The following sayings of his deal with the subject :
' Men are so accustomed to eating meat that, were it not
for the pain, they would undoubtedly fall on to them-
selves.
' Would that my body were so vigorous as to be of service
to eaters of meat who would thus forgo other animal life,
or that, as I cut off a piece for their nourishment, it might
be replaced by another.
' Would that it were lawful to eat an elephant, so that
one animal might avail for many.
' Were it not for the thought of the difficulty of sustenance,
I would prohibit men from eating meat. The reason why
I do not altogether abandon it myself is that many others
might willingly forgo it likewise and .be thus cast into
despondency.
' From my earliest years, whenever I ordered animal food
to be cooked for me, I found it rather tasteless and cared
little for it. I took this feeling to indicate the necessity for
protecting animals, and I refrained from animal food.
' Men should annually refrain from eating meat on the
anniversary of the month of my accession as a thanksgiving
to the Almighty, in order that the year may pass in pros-
perity.
• Du Jarric, iii, 133.
' See Am, book i, Ain 26 ; vol. i, p. 61.
' Butchers, fishermen, and the like who have no other

occupation but taking life should have a separate quarter
and their association with others should be prohibited by
fine.
' It is not right that a man should make his stomach the
grave of animals.' ^
Akbar had a great liking for fruit, especially grapes,
melons, and pomegranates, and was in the habit of eating
it whenever he indulged in either wine or opium.^ He took
much pains to improve the supply, both home-grown and
imported.
Use of .He followed
liquor . the.,-
practice of his family
1 ■ 1 for ^many ■ genera-
and tions m consuming both strong drink and various pre-
opium. parations of opium, sometimes to excess. His drinking
bouts, naturally, were more frequent while he was young
than they were in his more mature years, but it is certain
that tolerably often he was ' in his cups ', as his son puts
it. When he had drunk more than was good for him he
performed various mad freaks, as when at Agra he galloped
the elephant Hawal across the bridge of boats, and at Surat
tried to fight his sword.
He seems to have drunk usually country liquors of sorts,
rather than imported wines. In 1580 he specially fancied
a very heady toddy, arrack, or palm-wine. As an alter-
native at that period he used to take a spiced infusion of
opium (postd), and when he had had too much of either or
both would sometimes drop off asleep while the Fathers
were discoursing. When Monserrate, on his way to court
in 1580, halted at Gwalior he took note of a sect of opium
drinkers, followers of one Baba Kapur, and was told that
Akbar himself was then reputed to be a member of the
fraternity. A little later the same author observes that
Akbar rarely drank wine, preferring the soporific infusion
of opium. The cultivation of the poppy seems to have
been encouraged.*
» 'Happy Sayings,' Ain, vol. ' For Akbar's use of intoxi-
iii, pp. 394, 395. cants see ante, chap, iv ; Jahan-
^ Jahangir, R. B., i, 270, 350; gir, R. B., i, 2 ; Bartoli, p. 64 ;
Am,
pp. 64,book
65. i, Ain 28 ; vol. i, che
' lo troppo
6 un uso hor dell' vino
fumosissimo Orraca,di
PERSONAL 337
He took special delight in the practice of mechanical arts Practice

■with his own hands. We ard told that ' there is nothing ghanical
that he does not know how to do, whether matters of war, arts,
or of administration, or of any mechanical art. Wherefore
he takes particular pleasure in making guns and in founding
and modelling cannon '.^ Workshops were maintained on
a large scale within the palace enclosure, and were frequently
visited by him. He was credited with many inventions and
improvements.* That side of his character suggests a com-
parison with Peter the Great.
We have seen how idle he was as a boy, so that he never Formal
learned even the elements of reading and writing. The but^^de
principal loss involved in his boyish truancy was the lack know-
of discipline in his training. He was far from being an
ignorant man, but his multifarious knowledge was picked
up in a haphazard way without system or co-ordination.
He possessed a memory of almost superhuman power, which !
enabled him to remember accurately the contents of books
read to him, the details of departmental business, and even
the names of hundreds of individual birds, horses, and
elephants. In the business of government he had the rare
faculty of combining a firm grasp on principles with minute
attention to details.* His mastery of detail was well exem-
plified in his conduct of the expedition to Kabul in 1581,
the most elaborately organized of his military operations.
Father Monserrate, who accompanied him as far as Jalalabad
on the Kabul river, was filled with admiration for the
prudent care exercised by the emperor personally in all the
arrangements for the campaign. His formal illiteracy does
palma, hor del Posto, che ft una cosa, che non sappia fare,' &c.
tal confettione d' Oppio, rin- " Aln, book i, Ain 35, &c.
tuzzato [diluted], e dome [modi- ' ' His Majesty looks upon the
fied] con varie correttioni d' aro- smallest details as mirrors capable
mati ' ; and Commentarius, pp. of reflecting a comprehensive out-
558, 642. For ' arrack ', variously line ' (Ain, book i, Ain 73 ; vol. i,
spelt, see Yule and Burnell, p. 157) ; and ' True greatness, in
matters,
Glossary,s.v. The article ' Opium ' spiritual and worldly minutiae
may also be consulted. Land does not shrink from the
under poppy paid a high cash of business, but regards their
revenue rate. See Airi, book iii, performance as an act of Divine
Ain 14 ; vol. ii. worship ' (ibid., Ain 1 ; vol. i,
> Peruschi, p. 20. ' Non vi 6 p. 11).
1845 Z
not seem to have caused the slightest practical inconvenience.
Indian rulers have always been accustomed to dictate orders
and to leave most of the actual writing to subordinate pro-
fessional secretaries and clerks.
Akbar was intimately acquainted with the works of
many Muhammadan historians and theologians, as well as
with a considerable amount of general Asiatic literature,
especially the writings of the Sufi or mystic poets. He
acquired from the Jesuit missionaries a fairly complete
knowledge of the Gospel story and the main outlines of the
Christian faith, while at the same time learning from the
most accredited teachers the principles of Hinduism, Jainism,
and Zoroastrianism ; but he never found an opportunity
to study Buddhism. As a boy he took some drawing lessons,
and he retained all his life an active interest in various
forms of art. The architecture of the reign unmistakably
bears the impress of his personal good taste. A man so
variously accomplished cannot be considered illiterate in
reality. He simply preferred to learn the contents of books
through the ear rather than the eye, and was able to trust
his prodigious memory, which was never enfeebled by the use
of written memoranda. Anybody who heard him arguing
with acuteness and lucidity on a subject of debate would
have credited him with wide literary knowledge and profound
erudition, and never would have suspected him of illiteracy.^
Akbar was not ashamed of his inability to read and write,
which he shared with many eminent princes both before
and after his time.^ His sayings include the maxim :
' The prophets were all illiterate. Believers should there-
fore retain one of their sons in that condition.' *
' ' Non mediocriter, in multarum eum doctissimum, eruditissimum-

rerum cognitione, et scientia pro- que esse judicet ' (Commentarius,
gressus est ; quo litterarum igno- p. 643).
rationem (est enim legendi, scri- ' e.g. Timur, Haidai Ali,
bendique prorsus ignarus) non Ranjit Singh,
compensat solum, verum etiam, ' ' Happy Sayings,' Ain, vol.
res difficiles adeo plane, ac iii, p. 385 ; with allusion to ' the
dilucide exponit : et de quavis apostle, the illiterate prophet ' in
re proposita, acute, arguteque Koran, Siira 7 ; and ' /< is he
respondet ; ut nemo qui nescierit, who hath raised up amidst the
ipsum literarum esse ignarum, non illiterate Arabians an apostle
PERSONAL 339
The intelligent imperial patronage of literature and art

will be noticed in the concluding chapter.
Akbar suffered from some form of epilepsy, which in no Melan-
way impaired his vast bodily strength, but probably was tempera-
a cause of the ' melancholy and oppression of heart ' which "»ent ;
afiBicted him continually and drove him to seek diversions and other
of all sorts even when engaged o o in important
r business.^ diver-
sions.
From early boyhood he was devoted to every form of sport,
and learned in everything concerning horses, camels,
elephants, and dogs. He was a perfect horseman, and had
the faculty of exercising absolute control over the rnost
ferocious elephants. He was a splendid shot, and took
much delight in all kinds of hunting. It was his practice
to organize a great hunt as a preliminary to a campaign,
and so to give his cavalry exercise in informal manoeuvres.
He kept many falcons, but did not care much for hawking.
He took great pleasure in chasing antelopes with specially
trained leopards (cheetahs). He was ready to encounter
any beast, however fierce, tiger, lion, or other, and was
prepared to undergo any amount of fatigue in order to run
down the game. On the only occasion that he saw wild
asses, which happened in the desert of Bikaner, he was so
keen in the pursuit that he became separated from his
attendants, and nearly perished of thirst. He was absolutely
fearless, and, like Alexander of Macedon, was always ready
to risk his life, regardless of political consequences.
When residing at his capital or in a standing camp he
provided himself with amusements of many kinds. He
kept immense flocks of choice pigeons, and loved to watch
their antics. He was a keen polo player, and insisted on his
courtiers keeping up the game with spirit. Like most
princes in Lidia he enjoyed watching animal combats, of
elephants, buffaloes, rams, and other beasts and birds.
from among themselves ', ibid., revelation. Abu-1 Fazl applies

Sura 62. See Sale, Preliminary that argument to the case of
Discourse, see, ii. Muhammadans Akbar.
glory in their prophet's illiteracy * ' Natura erat melancholicus,
as a of
and proof
the ofauthenticity
his divine mission
of hisZ2 et
(Du epileptico
Jarric, ii, p.subjectus
498). morbo '
The elephant fights, which frequently resulted in the death
of the riders, are often depicted by the artists of the age.
The feelings of most modern Europeans are hurt by exhibi-
tions in which beasts alone suffer, but Akbar did not shrink
from witnessing also the deadly conflicts of gladiators after
the Roman manner.^ When the two parties of fakirs at
Hardwar came to blows Akbar ' greatly enjoyed the sight ',
and even sent some of his own troops to join in the fray
until about a thousand men were engaged. The resultant
bloodshed, which was on a considerable scale, costing about
twenty lives,^ did not trouble him in the least. The kindli-
ness of his disposition moderated, without eradicating, the
taste for bloody exhibitions which he inherited from his
ferocious Turk and Mongol ancestors.
His more peaceful amusements were as varied as those
of a strenuous kind. He took extreme pleasure in music
and song, and was reputed to be a skilled drummer. He
loved to watch clowns and jugglers, and had a strange
habit of disposing of serious business while looking at shows
with, so to speak, the corner of his eye. Witty conversa-
tion and lively story-telling would keep him awake all
night. He slept little and lightly, seldom more than three
hours in the night time. The hours which he kept must
have been dreadfully trying to the court.
Out- Akbar had a naturally quick temper which occasionally
of'wrath carried him away in a gust of passion. Such outbreaks of
wrath at times caused him to execute substantial although
irregular acts of summary justice, as when he punished
his uncle Muazzam and his foster-brother Adham Khan
for cruel murders. On one recorded occasion a sudden fit
of anger caused him to commit a shocking act, when he
caused the negligent lamplighter to be hurled from the
battlements of the palace and dashed to pieces as a punish-
' Aquaviva and Monserrate to the ' gladiatorii ludi ' in
boldly denounced to him such Akbar's time. They were con-
entertainments as being wicked tinued by Jahangir and Shah-
(scelus nefarium), and refused his jahan.
invitation to witness them {Com- " Tarikh-i Khandan TlmUriya
meniarius, p. 574). I have not in Oriental Public Library, Banki-
noticed elsewhere any reference pore.
PERSONAL 341
ment for a trivial transgression. Peruschi justly sums up

this side of the emperor's character by observing that
' the Prince rarely loses his temper, but if he should fall
into a passion, it is impossible to say how great his wrath
naay be ; the good thing about it is that he presently regains
his calmness, and that his wrath is short-lived, quickly
passing from him ; for, in truth, he is naturally humane,
gentle, and kind.'
His conduct to Jerome Xavier and his colleague at
Burhanpur offered a conspicuous example both of his
liability to sudden anger, and of his readiness to forget
and forgive. For a few hours their lives were in danger,
but when those hours had passed their favour was undi-
minished and nothing more was said about the offence
which they had given.
As a rule he had perfect self-control. Bartoli expresses
the truth neatly by the remark that
' whether by training or innate power, he was so completely
master of his emotions that he could hardly ever be seen
otherwise than as perfectly pleasant and serene.'
Akin to his habitual control over a naturally violent Artful-
temper was the artfulness with which he was wont to °^^^"
conceal his thoughts and real purposes.
' He never ', says Bartoli, ' gave anybody the chance to
understand rightly his inmost sentiments or to know what
faith or religion he held by ; but, in whatever way he could
best serve his own interests, he used to feed one party or
the other with the hope of gaining him to itself, humouring
each side with fair words, and protesting that he had no
other object with his doubts than to seek and find out by
the guidance of their wise answers the simple truth till then
hidden from him. The answers given, however, never
sufficed to satisfy him ; the disputes, and with them the
hopes and vexations of the disputants, never came to an
end, because each day they began again at the beginning,
' And in all business this was the characteristic manner
of King Akbar — a. man apparently free from mystery and
guile, as honest and candid as could be imagined — ^but in
reality so close and self-contained, with twists of words
and deeds so divergent one from the other, and most times
so contradictory that even by much seeking one could not
find the clue to his thoughts. Thus it often happened that
a person, comparing him to-day with what he was yester-
day, could find no resemblance ; and even an attentive
observer, after long and familiar intercourse with him,
knew no more of him on the last day than he had known
on the first. Details to be given presently [by Bartoh] will
enable us to understand better the action of that peculiar
mind of his, concerning which no man can divine whether
it was the work of nature or the result of studied training.' ^
Duplicity That admirably worded description of Akbar's peculiar
craft^ ' mind helps the historical student to understand to some
extent the tortuous diplomacy and perfidious action, which
on several occasions marked the emperor's political pro-
ceedings. The occurrence of such incidents should not
excite surprise or draw excessive censure. Experience
proves that in practice it is impossible for any person
engaged in high affairs of State to be invariably quite
straightforward. A certain amount of finesse is recognized
to be inevitable in diplomacy and politics. The incredulity,
more or less polite, with which official explanations or
denials of awkward facts are received in all countries is an
expression of the well-founded conviction that statesmen
must often practise at least an economy of truth. In the
sixteenth century statesmen certainly were not more candid
or scrupulous than they are now, and it would not be reason-
able to expect an Asiatic potentate like Akbar to be in
advance of his European contemporaries in respect of
straight dealing. As a matter of fact, his policy does not
seem to have been more tortuous than that of the European
princes of his time. Whatever may be the amount of
Akbar's moral guilt in comparison with that of other
sovereigns, it is certain that at times he said one thing
when he meant another, and that on one occasion he shame-
lessly broke a most solemn oath. At the time of the first
Jesuit mission, while he was writing letters of the most
friendly and affectionate kind to the authorities at Gioa, he
was secretly engaged in plotting the capture of their ports,
Diu and Daman. When his governor sent him the heads
1 Bartoli, p. 6,
Personal 843
of certain young Portuguese captives he pretended never

to have seen the ghastly offering ; and yet to the end of
his life one of his most ardent desires was to drive the
Portuguese into the sea. The government at Goa under-
stood the realities of the situation perfectly, and knew well
how to utilize the Jesuit missionaries as unofficial political
agents. The tortuous policy was not all on one side. Akbar's
gross breach of faith to the King of Khandesh at Asirgarh
was disgraceful, and the pains taken by his official historians
to conceal the truth prove that the sentiment of the age
condemned the imperial treachery. Akbar's hypocrisy in
performing certain outward acts of conformity with the
Muslim religion, long after he had lost all faith in the mission
of the Prophet of Arabia, is frankly admitted by Abu-1 Fazl
in more than one passage.'-
In connexion with this subject mention may be made of
the undoubted fact that Akbar on many occasions got rid
of people whom he considered dangerous by means of
assassination, or secret execution, to use a milder expres-
sion. In some cases the issue of orders by the emperor is
only suspected, but the instances in which no reasonable
doubt can be entertained are sufficiently numerous to justify
the assertion that. Akbar felt no scruples about removing his
enemies by assassination whenever a public condemnation
would have been inconvenient.^
> ' Ardently feeling after God, ... all this honour was done out
and searching for truth, His of abundant perceptiveness, re-
Majesty exercises upon himself spect and appreciation, and wide
both inward and outward austeri- toleration, in order that the
ties, though he occasionally joins reverence due to that simple-
public worship, in order to hush minded Saiyid might not be spilt
the slandering tongues of the on the ground, and that jovial
bigots of the present age ' (Aln, critics might not break out into
book i. Am 72 ; vol. i, p. 134). smiles ' (ibid., pp. 411, 412).
He paid his final visit to the ^ As it is possible that the
shrine at Ajmer as ' a means of assertion in the text may be dis-
calming the public ' in September puted, and the reader may find
1579 (A.N., iii, 403). The sham a difficulty in remembering the
devotion which he showed in cases mentioned in the course of
welcoming the stone supposed to the narrative, it is desirable to
bear the impress of the Prophet's bring the principal incidents to-
foot is cynically explained by the gether. (1) Secret execution of
remarksthat 'although the Asylum Akbar's cousin, the son of Kam-
of the Faith (Dinpanah) knew ran, in 1665 at Gwalior ; (2) the
that the thing was not genuine highly suspicious deaths of Makh-
Justice. ' If I were guilty of an unjust act ', Akbar said, ' I would
rise in judgement against myself.' ^ The saying was not
merely a copy-book maxim. He honestly tried to do justice
according to his lights in the summary fashion of his age
and country. Peruschi, following the authority of Mon-
serrate, declares that
' as to the administration of justice, he is most zealous and
watchful. ... In inflicting punishment he is deliberate, and
after he has made over the guilty person to the hands of the
judge and court to suffer either the extreme penalty or the
mutilation of some limb, he requires that he should be
three times reminded by messages before the sentence is
carried out.'
The sentences on convicts were of the appalling kind then
customary in India and Asia generally. The modes of
execution included impalement, trampling by elephants,
crucifixion, beheading, hanging, and others. Akbar drew
dumu-1 Mulk and Shaikh Abdu-n scientious objections to the use of
Nabi after their return from poison, but no well-authenticated
Mecca. The Ikbalnamah expressly- case of his employment of that
states that the latter was put to secret weapon seems to be re-
death by Abu-1 Fazl in pursuance corded. He deliberately, rejected
of Akbar's orders (A.N., iii, 406, advice to remove his brother by
note by Beveridge, see Badaoni, assassination, though his refusal
ii, 321) ; (3) the equally suspicious was not based on any high moral
death of Masiini Farankhudi
(Blochmann, in Ain, vol. i, p. 444);
(4) execution of Mir Muizzu-1 Mulk grounds.*
* ' Happy Sayings,' Ain, vol.
and another by their boat 'foun- iii,
dering' (ibid., p. 382) ; (5) ' One by askedp. permission
383. ' Some to liebold spirits
in ambush
one he sent all the MuUas against and put an end to that rebel.
whom he had any suspicions of I could not consent, thinking it
dissatisfaction to the abode of remote from what was fitting in
annihilation ' (Badaoni, ii, 285) ; his regard. Thus both that dis-
(6) mysterious death of Haji tinguished memorial of majesty
Ibrahim in the fortress of Ran- [sal. of Humayun] escaped from
thambhor (ibid., pp. 286, 322). harm, and my devoted friends
Those cases amply support the were shielded from peril.' The
proposition formulated in the author of the Khazdnaiu-l Anbiya
text. But Wheeler's assertion — asserts that Akbar caused Makh-
that Akbar ' had another way of dumu-1 Mulk to be poisoned, but
getting rid of his enemies which Blochmann disbelieved the asser-
is revolting to civilization. He tion because Badaoni, a friend of
kept a poisoner in his pay ' — îs the deceased, is silent on the
not supported by good evidence. subject (Ain, vol. i. Biography of
It rests only on the contradictory Abu-1 Fazl, p. vii), a reason by no
gossip about the supposed cause means conclusive.
of Akbar's death, which does not
deserve any credit. I do not '387.
' Happy Sayings,' Ain, vol. iii,
suppose that Akbar had any con-
PERSONAL 345
the line at the old Mongol practice of flaying alive, and was
disgusted when his son inflicted that horrible punishment.
Babur had ordered it without scruple. As minor penalties
mutilation and whipping of great severity were commonly
ordered. The emperor occasionally called up civil suits of
importance to his own tribunal. No records of proceedings,
civil or criminal, were kept, everything being done verbally ;
and no sort of code existed, except in so far as the persons
acting as judges thought fit to follow Koranic rules. Akbar
and Abu-1 Fazl made small account of witnesses and oaths.
The governor of a province was instructed that
' in judicial investigations he should not be satisfied with
witnesses and oaths, but pursue them by manifold inquiries,
by the study of physiognomy and the exercise of foresight ;
nor, laying the burden of it on others, live absolved from
solicitude.' ^
Akbar encouraged the use of trial by ordeal in the Hindu
fashion. He possessed an intellect so acute and knowledge
of human nature so profound that when he undertook
judicial duties in person his efforts to do substantial justice
in a summary fashion probably met with considerable
success.
The horrors of an execution ground are realistically
depicted in one of the contemporary illustrations to the
Akharndma at South Kensington. Although Akbar was free
from the love of cruelty for its own sake, and did not enjoy
watching the death-agonies of convicts, as his son and
grandson did, he could display a considerable degree of
ferocity when his anger was roused by obstinate resistance
to his ambition. He showed such severity in his treatment
of the garrison of Chitor and in the tortures inflicted on the
followers of the Mirzas. He regarded prolonged opposition
to his will as a heinous crime, no matter how chivalrous his
opponent might be ; and when the opposition had been
crushed by superior force he was not always merciful.
It is probable that his clemency, when shown, often was
dictated by policy rather than by sentiment.
• Aln, book i, Ain 1 ; vol. ii, p. 37. See also p. 41.
Ambi- The ruling passion of Akbar was ambition. His whole

reign was dedicated to conquest. His aggressions, made
without the slightest regard to moral considerations, were
not determined in any instance by desire to better the
condition of the people in the kingdom attacked. He would
have laughed at the canting apology for his action tendered
by a modern, uncritical panegyrist, who was rash enough
to write :
' Akbar did not conquer in Rajputana to rule in Raj-

putana. He conquered that all the Rajpiit princes, each
in his own dominions, might enjoy that peace and prosperity
which his predominance, never felt aggressively, secured for
the whole empire.' ^
Similar untrue nonsense will be found in von Noer's book
and elsewhere. In reality a more aggressive king never
existed.^ His attacks on Gondwana, Kashmir, Sind, and
the Deccan kingdoms were aimed avowedly at destroying
the independence of every State on his borders, and of
securing the material gains of conquest. There is no evidence
that his administration in fact caused more happiness than
that produced by most of the governments which he over-
threw so ruthlessly. We may be tolerably certain, on the
contrary, that the people of Gondwana were happier under
Rani DurgavatI than they were under Asaf Khan, and that
they must have felt bitterly the humiliation endured by the
family who had ruled them for so many generations.
Akbar himself did not cant on the subject. He would
not have quarrelled with Terry's comparison of him with
a great pike in a pond.
' A monarch ', he said, ' should be ever intent on con-
quest, otherwise his neighbours rise in arms against him.
The army should be exercised in warfare, lest from want
of training they become self-indulgent.' ^ Accordingly he
continued to be intent on conquest all his life and to keep
his army in constant training. He never attained more
than a part of the objective of his ambition, which in-
» Malleson, Akbar, p. 184. ' 'Happy Sayings,' în, vol. iii,
' ' Est enim gloriae percupidus ' p. 399.
(Commeniarius, p. 619).
PERSONAL 347
eluded the conquest of every part of India besides Central

Asia.
In Rajputana he pursued the successive Ranas of Mewar
with unrelenting hostility, and whenever he was strong
enough he annexed the territory of the clans.^
Akbar was much attracted by the prospect of the booty
to be gained by a successful campaign, in which he valued
especially elephants and jewels. He took the best care
possible that his generals should not defraud him. He
loved riches and the accumulation of wealth, being, as
Monserrate says, * rather penurious and retentive of money '.^
Although at times he would lavish prodigious sums on
pet hobbies, as at Fathpur-Sikri, he was generally disposed
to economize. The Agra fort was paid for by a special
tax, and it is not improbable that the cost of his freak at
Fathpur may have been defrayed in the same way. He
accumulated a gigantic treasure and became the richest
king in the world. An exact inventory of the possessions
left by him in the fort at Agra in 1605 showed a cash hoard
of more than twenty millions sterling. Similar hoards on
a smaller scale were preserved in six other treasure cities,
the aggregate of which cannot well have been less in amount
than the Agra treasure. It is legitimate, therefore, to
assume that Akbar left behind him fully forty million
pounds sterling in coined money, equivalent in purchasing
power to at least two hundred millions now. Such a hoard
could not have been accumulated except by a man fond
of money. When Khandesh was annexed Prince Daniyal
raised the assessment 50 per cent, by a stroke of the
The systematic assessment of the empire for which Akbar Fiscal

pen.*
and Todar Mall are given so much credit was primarily P^'^'y-
intended to increase the imperial revenue. Improvement in
the condition of the people was quite a secondary considera-
tion. Akbar was a hard-headed man of business, not
» The portions annexed formed simus omnium regum est ' (Com-
the Suba of Ajmer. mentarins, p. 646).
' ' Et cum parcior sit, et in ' Am, vol. ii, p. 224.
retinenda pecxmia tenacior, ditis-
a sentimental philanthropist, and his whole policy was
directed principally to the acquisition of power and riches. '
All the arrangements about jaglrs, branding, &c., were
devised for the one purpose, namely, the enhancement of
the power, glory, and riches of the crown. We do not
know anything substantial about the actual effect of his
administrative measures on the welfare and happiness of
the common people. Certainly they did not prevent the
occurrence of one of the most terrible famines on record
which desolated Northern India late in the reign, from
1595 to 1598. The enormous hoard described above then lay
idle in the treasure vaults. No important works designed for
the public benefit, as distinct from buildings and roads
intended to promote the imperial comfort and magnificence,
stand to the credit of Akbar's account.
Three The Subject of Akbar's opinions on religion has attracted
refigious much attention from many of the authors who have dealt
develop- with his life and history. It occupies a large space in the
works of Badaoni, Abu-1 Fazl, and the Jesuit writers, and
obtains great prominence in the books of the few modern
European historians who have discussed the events of the
reign at any considerable length. His attitude towards the
problems of religion changed completely and more than
once during his lifetime. For many years he was a zealous,
tolerably orthodox, Sunni Musalman, willing to execute
Shias and other heretics. He next passed through a stage
(1574-82), in which he may be described as a sceptical,
rationalizing Muslim ; and finally, rejecting Islam utterly,
he evolved an eclectic religion of his own, with himself as
its prophet (1582-1605).
Mysti- His religious speculations and vagaries rested primarily on
cism. ^j^g £g^^^ that he was born with the mystic temperament.
Even in the early years of his reign, when he was a zealous
pilgrim to the shrines of the saints, a generous builder of
mosques, and a willing persecutor of unorthodox theo-
logians, his orthodoxy was modified by a strain of mysti-
cism based chiefly on the writings of the Persian Sufi
poets. Later in life he came more under the influence of
PERSONAL ; 349
Hindu pantheistic doctrine, which has close affinities with

Sufi teaching. Throughout all phases he seems always to
have cherished the mystic's ideal of close and direct com-
munion with God, , unobscured by priestly intervention or
disputable dogmas. An able writer has observed that
mystics often are ' intensely practical '.^ Akbar was, as we
have seen, one of the most ambitious of men, with a lust
for power, a love of money, and infinite capacity for hard
work, the most practical of characteristics. Yet he remained
a mystic to the end.
In the discussion of the strange experience through
which Akbar passed in 1578, at the time when he was on
the point of renouncing the religion of Muhammad, certain
other incidents which throw some light on that obscure
event have been cited. To them may be added one of his
sayings :
' One riight my heart was weary of the burden of life,
when suddenly, between sleeping and waking, a strange
vision appeared to me, and my spirit was somewhat com-
forted.' 2
Such visions come to the mystics only. The epileptic
disease from which Akbar suffered probably induced the
visions.
Akbar, whatever may have been the extent of his failings Akbar
in rpractice,' religious man, constitutionallyJ sincerely
was a sincerelyJO' religious.
devout. Jahangir declares that his father * never for one
moment forgot God '.^ That testimony is corroborated by
Abu-1 Fazl, who avers that his sovereign ' passes every
moment of his life in self-examination or in adoration of
God '. He performed private devotions four times a day
at sunrise, noon, sunset, and midnight, spending a con-
siderable time over them. In his latter days those devotions
consisted largely of acts of reverence to the sun, fire, and
light. In earlier years he had observed strictly the five
' Literary Supplement of The which he visited in 1573, appa-
Times, January 13, 1916, p. 20. rently in the interval between the
2 ' Happy Sayings,' .(fin, vol. iii, two Gujarat expeditions (Growse,
p. 388. According to Hindu Maihurd, 3rd ed., p. 241).
tradition he beheld ' a marvellous " Jahangir, R. B., i, 37.
vision ' at the Brindaban temples.
Muhammadan canonical times for prayer.^ Apart from

formal religious exercises, his whole course of life testified
to the extreme interest taken by him in the problem of the
relations between God and man, and many of his sayings
express his views on the subject.
' There is no need ', he observed, ' to discuss the point
that a vacuum in nature is impossible. God is omni-
present.
' There exists a bond between the Creator and the creature
which is not expressible in language.
' That which is without form cannot be seen whether in
sleeping or waking, but it is apprehensible by force of imagina-
tion. To behold God in vision is, in fact, to be understood
in this sense.
' Each person according to his condition gives the Supreme
Being a name, but in reality to name the Unknowable is
vain.
' Who can sever the attachment of the rational soul to
the Supreme Being ?
' Although I am the master of so vast a kingdom, and all
the appliances of government are at my hand, yet since
true greatness consists in doing the will of God, my mind
is not at ease in this diversity of sects and creeds ; and
apart from this outward pomp of circumstances, with what
satisfaction, in my despondency, can I undertake the sway
of empire ? I await the coming of some discreet man of
principle who will resolve the difficulties of my conscience.' ^
He awaited him in vain. The quotations might be largely
multiplied, but so much may suffice.
The Nuru-1 Hakk, a contemporary author, is right, I think,
search ^^ affirming that at the time of the first Jesuit mission
for truth. (1580-2), when lively religious discussions were going on,
Akbar's ' mind was solely bent upon ascertaining the
truth '.* His restless, rationalizing spirit never could find a
satisfying answer to that old, old question, ' What is Truth ? ',
and he died a baffled, disappointed man. At one time he
nearly attained a firm conviction that the creed of Aquaviva
was the best religion in the world on its merits. But he
• Until A. D. 1578 (a. h. 986 ; Note the allusion to his ' de-
Nuru-1 Hakk, in E. & D., vi, 189). spondency ', the ' melancholy ' of
'^ ' Happy Sayings,' various pas- the Jesuit observers,
sages. Am, vol. iii, pp. 380-6. ' E. & D., vi, 190.
PERSONAL 351
could not accept its claims to absolutely exclusive allegiance ;

his intellect revolted against the doctrine of the Trinity,
and practical difficulties forbade him to admit the necessity
of monogamy. In practice he found imperfect solace from
adoration of, or reverence for, the sun,i fire, and light after
the Zoroastrian manner, and in following Jain precepts con-
cerning the sanctity of animal life. He played with Christian
ritual, but nothing could induce him to submit to the mind
of the Church.
In 1582 he resolved to attempt the impossible task of ' Divine
providing all sects in his empire with one universal eclectic ^"j^^ .
religion to which he gave the name of Divine Monotheism.
He persuaded himself that he was the vicegerent of the
Almighty, empowered to rule the spiritual as well as the
temporal concerns of his subjects. That audacious attempt
was an utter failure, but Akbar never formally admitted the
fact, and to the end of his life he persisted in maintaining
the farce of the new religion. From the time he proclaimed
that creed he was not a Muslim. The formula of initiation
required the categorical apostasy from Islam of the person
initiated.
His attitude towards religion expressed the queer mixture
in his mind of mysticism, rationalism, superstition, and
a profound belief in his own God-given powers. His actions
at times gave substantial grounds for the reproach that he
was not unwilling to be regarded as a God on earth.^
He avowedly held extreme beliefs, such as were current Divinity
of kings.
• Compare
wards the sun Akbar's
with theattitude to- lated
utterance write by
: Blochmann, ventured to
of the modern mystic and theo- ' The old-fashioned prostration
sophist :— ' An enormously elabo- is of no advantage to thee ; see
rate and magnificent hierarchy of Akbar, and you see God ' {Ain,
Spiritual Beings, beyond whom, vol. i, p. 561). But the words of
in dazzling and (as yet) impene- the second clause,
trable mystery, there exists an ' Akbar ba shinds id Khuda ba
incomprehensible sublime Power, sfdnasi ',
of whom the Sun may be thought mean rather
of as the physical symbol ' (A. P. ' Acknowledge ' or ' take know-
Sinnett, in Nineteenth Century, ledge of Akbar, so that you may
March 1916, p. 595). Some notion take knowledge of (Jod ',
of that sort seems to have been at through his representative on
the back of Akbar's mind. earth.
' His flatterer Faizi, as trans-
in Persia, concerning the ' divinity that doth hedge a king ',
and often gave utterance to his views on the subject. Some
of his sayings are :
' The very sight of kings has been held to be a part of
divine worship. They have been styled conventionally the
shadow of God, and indeed to behold them is a means of
calling to mind the Creator, and suggests the protection of
the Almighty.
' What is said of monarchs, that their coming brings
security and peace, has the stamp of truth. When minerals
and vegetables have their peculiar virtues, what wonder if
the actions of a specially chosen man should operate for the
security of his fellows ?
' The anger of a monarch, like his bounty, is the source
of national prosperity.
' Divine worship in monarchs consists in their justice and
, good administration.
' A his
with kingcourtiers.
should not be familiar in mirth and amusement
' He who does not speak of monarchs for their virtues will
assuredly fall to reproof or scandal in their regard.
' The words of kings resemble pearls. They are not fit
pendants to every ear.' ^
Like most autocrats he enjoyed flattery and received
with pleasure adulation of the most fulsome kind.
Force of The practical ability displayed by Akbar as soldier,
personal
cha- general, administrator, diplomatist, and supreme ruler has
racter.
been shown abundantly by his whole history, and does not
need further exposition. The personal force of his character,
discernible even now with sufficient clearness, was over-
powering to his contemporaries. He was truly, as the
Jesuit author calls him, ' the terror of the East '. In the
later years of his reign, when all his old friends had dis-
appeared, and he had been spoiled to a certain extent by
and his master took their doctrine
1 ' Happy Sayings,' in Am, from the Persians, who, we are
vol. iii, pp. 398-400. The sayings
may be compared with Abu-1 told, " esteem their Emperors not
Fazl's declaration :— ' Royalty is only as Lords Paramount, but
a light emanating from God and reverence them as Sons of the
a ray from the sun, the illuminator Prophets, whose Dominion there-
of the universe, the argument of fore is grounded more on Hier-
the book of perfection, the recep- archy than bare Monarchy'
tacle of all virtues ' (Ain, vol. i, (Fryer, A New Account, &c., ed.
Preface, p. iii). Both Abu-1 Fazl Crooke, vol. iii, p. 40).
PERSONAL 353
more than four decades of autocracy, it is probable that he

was feared rather than loved. The dread of him, even at
an earlier time, was so potent that he felt himself free to
flout and insult the most sacred feelings of his Muhammadan
subjects and to continue in that course of conduct for more
than twenty years. As early as 1582 Monserrate noted
with surprise that Akbar had not been killed by the Musal-
mans.i It is true that his innovations provoked rebellions,
but we never hear of their resulting in direct attempts on
his life. His grand personal qualities seem to have shielded
him from the violence of the assassin. We read of only one
attempt to murder him, and that occurred when he was
twenty-one years of age, and was still a zealous Muslim,
but had given deep offence by invading the honour of
families.
After his return from Kabul at the end of 1581 his personal
ascendancy was established so firmly that he could venture
to do what he pleased. He used the liberty to do some
outrageous things. While we deplore and condemn certain
of his actions, we cannot but marvel at the commanding
force of character which guaranteed him impunity.
He was a born king of men, with a rightful claim to rank
as one of the greatest sovereigns known to history. That
claim rests securely on the basis of his extraordinary natural
gifts, his original ideas, and his magnificent achievements.
It is weakened, rather than strengthened, by the adulation
of uncritical admirers.
» ' A nemine est interemptus ' faithful subject ' (Pinheiro, in
(Commentaritis, p. 641). In Maclagan, p. 99. The letter
August 1605, shortly before the quoted is not available elsewhere
emperbi's death, Kulij Khan, the in print. It is in Marsden MS.
viceroy at Lahore, publicly de- No. 9854 in the British Museum).
claied himself to be Akbar's ' only
1845
Aa
CHAPTER XIII
INSTITUTIONS, MILITARY AND CIVIL
Akbar's Akbar, a brilliant soldier and pre-eminently successful

genius
for general after the Asiatic manner against Asiatic foes, was
organiza- endowed with a genius for organization rare among eastern
tion.
potentates and not common in any part of the world. His
mind, capable of grasping broad and original principles of
government essential to the consolidation and stability of
an extensive empire won by aggressive conquest, had also
an extraordinary capacity for laborious attention to detail,
which enabled him to check and control the laxity in
administration natural and habitual to his officers. He had
no conception of any form of government other than auto-
cracy of the most absolute possible kind, nor was any other
form practicable in the India of the sixteenth century. No
materials existed in the country from which a system of
administration could be evolved on lines of organic develop-
ment. His institutions consequently depended for their
success on the personal ability of the autocrat working
them, and necessarily lost much of their efficacy when their
author died.^
Partial All the three sovereigns, his son, grandson, and great-
survival
of grandson, who succeeded Akbar for a century, had sufficient
Akbar's intelligence to recognize the value of many of the institu-
institu-
tions. tions of their brilliant ancestor, and to maintain in working
order to a certain extent the machine which he had con-
structed and set in motion. His son Jahangir made little
change. The alterations effected by Shahjahan, the grand-
son, and Aurangzeb, the great-grandson, were for the worse.
world-nest of hornets be silenced
for' such
' Therea world
is, in sooth, no remedy
of confusion but save by the authority of a vice-
in autocracy, and this panacea in gerent of Almighty power ? '
administration is attainable only (Abu-1 Fazl in Ain, book ii, Ain 7 ;
in the majesty of just monarclis vol. ii, p. 51).
. . . how can the tumult of this
INSTITUTIONS 355
In 1707, when Aurangzeb's unduly prolonged reign came

to an end, the machine, which had been out of gear for
many years, fell to pieces, and almost all traces of Akbar's
elaborate organization seemed to have disappeared. But,
from the time of Warren Hastings in the last quarter of
the eighteenth century, the newly constituted Anglo-Indian
authorities began to grope their way back to the institutions
of Akbar. They gradually adopted the principal features
of his system in the important department concerned with
the assessment of the land revenue, or crown share of
agricultural produce, known in Indian official language as
the Settlement Department. In several provinces of the
existing Indian empire the principles and practice of the
Settlement Department are essentially the same as those
worked out by Akbar and his ministers. The structure of A
the bureaucratic framework of government also still shows i
many traces -of his handiwork. His institutions, therefore, 1
are not merely of historical and antiquarian interest, but
are in some degree the foundation of the system of administra- !
tion now in operation.
The principles of government laid down by Akbar, and Origin-
the administrative system described in the Am differed Akbar.
essentially from the principles and system of the Sultans
of Delhi. The brief and disturbed Indian reigns of his
grandfather, Babur, and his father, Humayun, need not be
considered in this connexion. Neither of those sovereigns
had either the inclination or the opportunity to elaborate
an improved form of government. The credit for the novel
principles and improved practice is due to Akbar himself.
His remark that
' it was the effect of the grace of God that I found no
capable minister, otherwise people would have considered
that my measures had been devised by him,'
which has been already quoted, is true in the sense that
none of his ministers could either have conceived his original
ideas or given them practical effect. The ministers were
usually his pupils rather than his teachers. Some, not
many, of them rendered excellent service, but Akbar, from
Aa2
the age of twenty-one, was master of both his household

and his kingdom, and able to impress his personal stamp
on the policy of his government in all departments.
His After the fall of Bairam Khan, the Protector, in 1560,
con-''^ Akbar continued for a short time to rule in the spirit of the
trasted old Sultans as the chief of a small body of foreign military
of the adventurers, alien in language and manners, and hostile in
Sultan-
ate. religion to the mass of the inhabitants of India. Those
adventurers derived a certain amount of support from the
colonies composed of descendants of similar adventurers
who had been settled in northern and western India at
various times during the five preceding centuries. But such
support was extremely intermittent and often replaced by
active enmity. The Sultans had considered India to be
a Musalman country, and had taken credit to themselves
whenever they graciously allowed the Hindu majority to
purchase their lives by the payment of a special tax. Public
exercise of the Hindu religion was illegal, and frequently
was treated as a capital offence.^
Akbar at an early age saw the unsoundness of that
position, and realized that a stable empire could not be
established on the basis of the principles of the Sultanate.
The most original of his ideas consisted in his recognition
and practical acknowledgement of the principles that Hindus
as well as Muhammadans should be considered eligible for
the highest offices in the State, civil or military, and that
the adherents of every creed should have complete liberty
to worship God after their own fashions. Throughout his
life, after the first few years of his reign, he maintained the
theoretical validity of those two principles, although in his
later years he actually infringed the second, and was guilty
of a persecution of Islam.
Military The military character impressed on the government of
character ^^^^j. ^y jjjg ancestry and the circumstances of his
early
' Firoz Shah Tughlak burned a who had erected a new temple ' in
Brahman alive for publicly per- a Musalman country '. He bought
forming the worship of idols at multitudes of ' converts ' by pro-
his house, and prided himself on raising exemption from the jizya
having executed certain Hindus tax (E. & D., iii, 365, 381 386)
INSTITUTIONS 857
life continued to the end. The primary object of his policy of the
was conquest, directed to the estabhshment of his sovereignty men™
over the whole or nearly the whole of India and to the re-
conquest of the Central Asian kingdoms once held by his
grandfather. He recognized the facts that effective conquest
involved adequate organization of the conquered territories,
. and that such organization was unattainable without the
co-operation of all classes of his subjects. He began life
practically without any territory, and had to subdue the
whole of the enormous empire which owned his sway at
the time of his death. The bureaucracy which he organized
on a Persian" basis was essentially military, and almost all
important officials exercising civil jurisdiction were primarily
military commanders.^ Their civil powers were attached
to and dependent on their military rank. His court, even
when quartered in a city, was a camp, and his camp was
a travelling city.
It is fitting, therefore, that an account of his institutions
should begin with the court and army. He did not possess
any navy to signify.
The sovereign, being recognized as an absolute autocrat. The
ministers.
entitled to do what he pleased, so long as he retained his
office, was not constrained by any law or custom having
the force of law. As a Muhammadan his personal religious
duty required him to obey the scripture and authentic
traditions, but if he chose, as often happened, to disregard
Koranic precepts, nobody could hinder him. The only
remedies available to the orthodox against an impious or
latitudinarian king were rebellion and assassination, both
operations being extremely dangerous to attempt. A really
strong king could defy Koranic law as far as he thought fit.
Akbar did so in greater or less degree throughout most of
his reign, and carried his defiance to the utmost lengths
during the last twenty-three years of his life. His action
' Even the kitchen department pay of a foot soldier varies from
was organized on mihtary lines. 100 to 400 dams' Hakim Humam,
Ain 26 of book i (Aln, vol. i, p. 62) the Mir Bakawal, or chief of that
ends with the words :— ' In this department, ranked as a com-
department nobles, ahadis, and mander of 600 (Aln, vol. i, p. 474,
other military are employed. The No. 205).
358 AKBAK THE GREAT MOGUL
endangered his throne in 1581, but when he had surmounted

that crisis he was able for the rest of his time to do what
he pleased. A monarch in such a position lay under no
obligation to have a council or ministers at all. In practice,
however, such aids to personal government were indis-
pensable. But nothing required the autocrat to maintain
any particular number of ministers or to have a council of
any particular form.
In Akbar's reign the principal ministers were :
1. The Vakil, or Prime Minister.
2. The Vizier (vazir, wazir), or Finance Minister ; some-
times called Diwan.
3. The chief Bakhshi, an officer, whose varied functions
cannot be indicated by any English denomination. His
duties, as defined by Irvine, included the recruiting of the
army, and the keeping up of certain registers, comprising
the list of high officials {mansabddrs) in proper form ; the
roster of palace-guards ; the rules as to grants of pay ;
list of officers paid in cash, &e. When an important battle
was being arranged it was his business to assign posts to
the several commanders in the van, centre, wings, or rear-
guard, and to lay a ' present state ' or muster roll of the
army before his sovereign. He might or might not assume
a high command himself.
4. The Sadr, or Sadr Sudur, whose functions are equally
inexpressible by any English offidal designation. Early in
the reign, while his position was unimpaired, the Sadr
ranked as the highest ecclesiastical officer, exercising the
powers of a Chief Inquisitor, even to the inffiction of the
capital penalty, and enjoying the privilege of granting
lands for ecclesiastical or benevolent purposes without the
necessity of obtaining royal sanction. His reading of the
Khvibah, or ' bidding prayer ', in the name of a new sovereign
legalized the accession.
In the later part of the reign Akbar clipped the powers
of the Sadr, and in 1582 he abolished the office as an imperial
appointment, dividing the duties among six provincial
officers. In practice other officials besides the four great
INSTITUTIONS 359
officers specified often enjoyed immense power. Abu-1

Fazl, for instance, was never, I think, formally appointed
either Vizier or Vakil, but he was for a long time Akbar's
most trusted minister and Secretary of State.
The person of the sovereign being regarded as precious The
beyond everything, the officials of the household occupied jJ^Pgg.'**
positions of high importance. The two principal officials hold,
at the palace seem to have been the First Bakhshi, some of
whose duties have been described above, and who, accord-
ing to Irvine, is to be identified with the Mir Arz, or Lord
of Requests, and secondly, the Palace Commandant. All
imperial orders passed through their hands. The various
household departments, such as the kitchen, water-supply,
stables, and so forth, were carefully organized, but it would
be tiresome to go into details. Hakim Humam, the Mir
Bakawal, or Master of the Kitchen, possessed great influence
at court, and ranked as one of the intimate personal friends
of the emperor.^
The imperial harem constituted a town in itself. No The
less than five thousand women dwelt within the walls, and harem,
each of them had a separate apartment. The maintenance
and control of such a riiultitude of women necessitated
a carefully devised system of internal administration and
the organization of adequate arrangements for discipline.
The inmates were divided into sections, each under a female
commandant (ddroga), and due provision was made for the
supply from the ranks of clerks to keep the accounts. A strict
method of check was applied to the expenditure, which was
on a large scale.
The inside of the enclosure was protected by armed
female guards. Eunuchs watched on the outside of it, and
beyond them again were companies of faithful Rajpiits,
while troops of other classes posted at a greater distance
gave further security.
' Blochmann, Ain, vol. i, p. nine friends, namely. Raja Birbal,
474, No. 205 ; and the nauratna Raja Man Singh, Raja Todar Mall,
picture in the Victoria Memorial Hakim Humam, MuUa Diipiyaza,
Collection, Calcutta. The nau- FaizI, Abu-1 Fazl, Mirza Abdu-r
ratna or 'nine jewels' meant rahim, Khan Khanan, and Tansen.
More or less similar arrangements must necessarily have

been made by earlier rulers, but there seems to be no reason
to doubt that Akbar's genius for organization and his rare
capacity for mastering the minute details of any subject
enabled him to effect practical improvements in the adminis-
tration ofhis household and harem, as well as in the external
departments of his government.^ He kept a watchful eye
over everybody and everything.
The Akbar did not maintain a large standing army, equipped
army and at the expense of the State and paid directly from his
^?'^' treasury, as the Maurya kings in ancient days are said to
have done. Most of his military strength consisted of the
aggregate of irregular contingents raised and commanded
either by autonomous chieftains or by high imperial officers.
Then, as now, a large part of the empire was in the posses-
sion of hereditary kings or chieftains, who are now known
as the rulers of the Native or Protected States. In Akbar's
time they recognized more or less effectively the authority
of the emperor, which they supported by the more or less
regular payment of tribute and the furnishing of military
aid on demand. Akbar was willing to allow such kings or
chieftains to retain their territories and rank, with full
powers of internal administration in their own several
fashions, on condition that they should attend court from
time to time, humbly do homage, offer valuable gifts,
recognize the Padshah as their suzerain, and give him help
in his wars. When his power was at its height he is said
to have had twenty such princes in constant personal
attendance. They often rendered active service in war ;
as, for instance, the ruler of Khandesh, who fell fighting
for Akbar's cause at the battle of Supa (a. d. 1597).
But the emperor relied more on the contingents furnished
by the officials whom he himself had appointed for the
purpose. Each of them was required to recruit and equip
a certain number of men and horses, besides elephants.
Regulations to which he devoted much thought and labour
' Compare the arrangements in (Sewell, A Forgotten Empire, 1900,
the Hindu court of Vijayanagar pp. 247, 370, 382).
INSTITUTIONS 361
were devised with the object of securing the actual recruit-

ment of the numbers prescribed and of preventing fraud
in the provision of horses and equipment. The troops so
recruited were cavalry for the most part, the infantry and
artillery being of little account.^ The men brought up to
the standards by each great official looked to him as their
personal chief. They were not formed into regiments or
any other organized body, and were not required to drill
or to observe uniformity in dress or arms.
Blochmann calculated that the standing army, equipped Small
by the State and paid directly from the Treasury, could not amy.'"^
have exceeded normally 25,000 men; but we now know
from the testimony of Monserrate, who accompanied the
emperor, that at the time of the expedition to Kabul (1581) ^
Akbar had 45,000 cavalry equipped and paid by himself,
besides 5,000 elephants and an unnumbered host of men
on foot. The latter, who were little esteemed, included
all sorts of people besides regular soldiers. The effort made
in 1581 was exceptional, Akbar's life and throne being then
in imminent danger, and it may be accepted as certain that
in ordinary years he did not incur the expense of keeping
under arms a force at all as large as that raised to defeat
his brother's attack.
The historian specially notes that in 1573, when the
emergency in Gujarat had necessitated prompt action,
Akbar had opened wide the doors of his treasury and
equipped his nobles' contingents at his own expense.
Ordinarily, however, the Rajas and mansabddrs were ex-
pected to provide the men of their contingents with all
necessaries. Hardly any transport was engaged officially ;
each man had to make his own arrangements. No com-
missariat service existed. Supplies were provided by huge
bazaars marching with the camp, and by the nomadic tribes
• ' Verum tota virtus belli in peditionary force. It consisted of
equitatu posita est ' (Commen- 50,000 cavalry, recruited from
iarius, p. 58S). diverse nations, and, of course,
" Commentarius, p. 585. Mon- including chieftains' and officials'
serrate does not state how many contingents ; 500 elephants,
of the 45,000 state-paid cavalry camels, and infantry of sorts (ibid.,
actually took part in the ex- p. 582).
of Banjaras, who made a profession of carrying grain with

which to feed armies. Similar old-world arrangements con-
tinued in India until quite modern times. Under Akbar
they were usually effective. Monserrate was much impressed
by the plenty and cheapness of provisions in the great
camp on its way to the Indus.^
Mansab- The superior graded officials of the empire were called
dars, or
graded mansabdars, holders of mansabs, or official places of rank
officials. and profit. The Arabic word mansah, which was imported
from Turkistan and Persia, simply means 'place'. The
earliest mention of the grading of mansabdars in India is
the statement of Tod that ' Bihar Mall was the first prince
of Amber who paid homage to the Muhammadan power.
He attended the fortunes of Babur, and received from
Humayun (previous to the Pathan usurpation) the mansab
of 5,000 as Raja of Amber '.^ That must have happened
about 1548. The next reference to a mansab of definite
grade known to me occurs in the fifteenth year of Akbar's

reign (1570-1), when Baz Bahadur, the ex-king of Malwa,
came to court and was appointed a ' mansabdar of 1,000 '.^
But the systematic grading of the ranks was not accom-
plished until three years later, in the eighteenth regnal year
(1573-4), after the conquest of Gujarat, a landmark in
Akbar's career.*
The system was based on the fact that the bulk of the
army consisted of contingents recruited and supplied by
individual chiefs or leaders. The grades fixed by Akbar
had originally indicated the number of men which each
officer was expected to bring in.^
■ ' At Sacerdoti, qui in castris authority. The statement is not

erat, magnam admirationem in either the A. N. or Badaoni.
movebat, in tanta multitudine, ' A. N., iii, 95.
potissimum elephantum, tanta ' The system was borrowed
vilitas annonae, quae Regis pro- directly from Persia. See Fryer,
vida, et solerti cura, atque dili- A New Account of East India and
gentia, contingebat' (ibid., p. 581). Persia, ed. Crooke, Hakluyt Soc,
Terry expressed similar senti- 1915, vol. iii, p. 56. The Persian
ments in the next reign. gradation extended from ' a com-
" Tod, 'Annals of Amber', mander of12,000' to 'commanders
chap, i ; popular ed., ii, 286. of 10 ' . The Sultans of the Deccan
' Blochmann, Aln, vol. i, p. had a similar organization.
429. He does not name his
INSTITUTIONS 363
He classified his officers in thirty-three grades, ranging

from ' mansahdars [usually translated as ' commanders ']
of 10 ' to * mansahdars of 10,000 '. Late in the reign such
officers numbered about 1,600 in all, and formed an official
nobility. Their appointment, retention, promotion, and
dismissal depended solely on the arbitrary will of the
sovereign, and no incident of the dignity was heritable. On
the contrary, the emperor regarded himself as the heir of
all his subjects, and ruthlessly seized the entire property of
every deceased official, whose family had to make a fresh
start, contingent on the goodwill of the emperor.
The 10,000 and 8,000 grades were reserved exclusively
for princes of the royal family. The 7,000 grade was so
reserved at first, but later in the reign Raja Todar Mall
and one or two other officers were raised to that rank.
Each class carried a definite rate of pay, out of which the
holder was required to pay the cost of his quota of horses,
elephants, beasts of burden, and carts. Further, there were
three gradations of rank within each class from 5,000
downwards.
A few examples will make the matter clearer. The table
is condensed from Blochmann, Am, vol. i, p. 248.
Salary, monthly (in rupees).
Beasts
den andofcarts.
bur-
Com- of Horses.
mander with strings 1st 2nd 3rd
phants.
Ele-
of mules.
340 100 260
5,000 94 27 grade.
30,000 82i
31 grade.
29,000 grade.
28,000
1,000
500 30
10 12 67 8,200 8,000
100 3 7 100
2,500 8,100
10 4 — — 700 600 2,100
75
500
2,300
The pay, it should be understood, was seldom, if ever,

drawn for the whole year, and in some cases only four
months' pay was allowed. Various deductions also were
made, and the pay was usually, if not always, several months
in arrear. The number of men actually suppUed rarely
agreed with the number indicated by the rank. A ' com-
mander of 5,000 ' would have done unusually well if he
produced 4,000 cavalry, and ordinarily would not be asked
for more than a thousand or so. Most of the men brought

their own horses. In later times the ranks became purely
honorary so far as supplying contingents was concerned.^
Addi- Another complication was introduced by the grant of
tiona[
suwar
swmar rank in addition to the personal
r {zat)
\ Iclass rank, ■> that
rank. is to say, an officer was allowed to add and draw extra pay
for a supplementary body of suwdrs or horsemen. The
grading within each class depended on the suwdr addition.
' From 5,000 downwards, an officer was First Class [or grade],
if his rank in zdt and suwdr were equal ; Second Class, if
his suwdr was half his zdt rank ; Third Class, if the suwdr
were less than half the zdt, or there were no suwdr at all.'
For example :
Commander (mansabddr) of 1,000 + 1,000 suwdr was first
class or grade ;
Commander {mansabddr) of 1,000 + 500 suwdr was second
class ; and
Commander (mansabddr) of 1,000 + 100 suwdr was third
class.
It is unnecessary to pursue the subject further. Any
reader interested will find additional details in the pages
of Blochmann and Irvine. The comments of the later
author clear up certain points left obscure by the earlier.^
'Da- Troops paid by the State, and not raised by the man-
troops ; sabddrs, under whose command they were placed, were
Ahadis. called Ddkhili, or ' supplementary '.* There was also a body
of gentlemen-troopers recruited individually, and called
Ahadis. They were not distributed among the mansabddrs'
contingents, but were under the separate command of
a great noble, and had a Bakhshi of their own. The pay
' ' As, for instance, . . . Lut- the king's need of them, and so
fullah Khan Sadiq [in eighteenth in proportion all the rest' (ed.
century], although he held the 1777, p. 391). According to the
rank of 7,000, never entertained same author the salaries of the
even seven asses, much less horses mansabddrs were paid punctually
or riders on horses ' (Irvine, p. 59). (p. 396).
Terry, referring to 1617 or 1618, * Aln, vol. i, pp. 236-49 ;
says :— ' He who hath the pay Irvine, pp. 3-11.
of five or six thousand, must ' A%n, vol. i, p. 254 ; Irvine,
always have one thousand in p. 260.
readiness, or more, according to
INSTITUTIONS 365
of an Ahadi sometimes exceeded 500 rupees a month, but

he was paid for only 9| months in the year.^
Mansabddrs under the rank of 500 had no extra title, official
Those ranging from 500 to 2,500 were Umard, or Nobles, t't'^^-
commonly anglicized as ' Omrah ', and the highest classes
were Great Nobles, Amir-i Azam. A few individuals from
time to time were granted the rank of Premier Noble, Amiru-1
Umara. Another lofty title occasionally conferred, was that
of Khan Khanan, by which Bairam Khan's son, Abdu-r
rahim, is commonly designated.
Most of Akbar's predecessors used to pay their officers Jagirs
by grants of land (jagirs), administered as temporary p"o^n
estates by the holders, who were expected to defray all lands.
their official expenses from the proceeds, that is to say, the
land revenue, which otherwise would have been paid to the
State. The theory was that the whole produce should be
shared between the cultivators and the State, or its assignee.
Economic rent was not supposed to exist. Akbar, following
the example of the Sur kings, was hostile to the jdgir system,
because it was expensive and gave his nobles too much
power and independence. Each jdgirddr was a little king
in his own domain. Akbar devoted much energy to the
conversion oi jdgir s into crown lands (Khdlsa), that is to
say, whenever possible, he paid his mansabddrs by cash
salaries, not by assignments of land revenue, administering
the crown land territory through his own officers. Thus he
secured more money and more power, the two things which
he loved most.
All office-holders,
. as a rule, did their best to cheat the Frauds
on the
government. govern-
' False musters were an evil from which the Moghul army ™^"*'
suffered even in its most palmy days. Nobles would lend
each other the men to make up their quota, or needy idlers
from the bazaars would be mounted on the first baggage
pony that came to hand and counted in with the others as
efficient soldiers.' *
Akbar, who made incessant efforts to cope with the
vol. i, p. 249 ; Irvine, ' Irvine, p. 45. Compare Fal-
pp. 10, 40, 43. staff :— ' I am damned in hell for
Protean forms of roguery practised in his service, admittedly

attained only imperfect success. At first he relied on the
preparation of minute descriptive rolls for each man. Later,
after the conquest of Gujarat, he supplemented that measure
by introducing the practice of branding each horse in the
service. He trusted chiefly to continual musters and minute
personal inspections for the due execution of his orders,
which no subordinate was willing to enforce strictly. Indeed,
the great Bengal revolt of 1580 was partly due to the resent-
ment provoked by his insisting on the resumption oijagirs,
the preparation of descriptive rolls, and the systematic
branding of horses. The last-named precaution had been
practised by Sher Shah, and long before his time by Alau-d
dm Khilji.
Artillery Akbar took great pleasure in watching the practice of
hifantrv. mechanical arts, and often worked at them himself. He
paid special attention to the founding of cannon and the
manufacture of matchlock guns. He was an excellent shot,
and killed a vast quantity of game. His lucky hit when he
shot Jaimall brought about the fall of Chitor. But, in spite
of all his efforts, he never succeeded in securing either
a tolerably efficient park of artillery or good infantry. His
biggest guns were powerless against the walls of Asirgarh,
and he fully admitted the superiority of the Portuguese
ordnance. He was much disappointed when the astute
authorities at Goa politely declined to furnish him with
their better weapons. His infantry, too, continued to be of
poor quality and little account ; and to the end he relied
chiefly on his irregular horsemen used in the old Central
Asian manner.^ Akbar made considerable use of elephants,
which he kept in large numbers. He used to mount archers
or musketeers on them.^
It is abundantly clear that Akbar's military organization
swearing to gentlemen my friends, strated the vast superiority of
you were good soldiers and tall disciplined infantry, the Indian
fellows ' (Merry Wives, Act ii, foot-soldier was little more than
scene ii). a night watchman, and guardian
> ' Until the middle of the over baggage, either in camp or
eighteenth century, when the on the line of march ' (Irvine,
French and English had demon- p. 57). ' Ibid., p. 175.
INSTITUTIONS 367
was intrinsically weak, although it was far better than that Weak-
of his happy-go-lucky neighbours. His army could not "^ ^^g
have stood for a moment against the better kinds of con- military
temporary European troops. Whenever his officers ventured tion.
to attack the Portuguese settlements they failed disastrously.
His admirable personal qualities alone enabled him to
make wonderfully effective use of an instrument essentially
inefficient. After his death the quality of the army deterior-
ated rapidly, until in the latter days of Aurangzeb's
reign its proceedings in the Deccan became ridiculous.
Even in Akbar's time the court pomp and display main-
tained on the march and in camp were fatal to real efficiency.
Alexander the Great would have made short work of Akbar's
mightiest host.
Akbar knew the value of rapid military strokes, un- Unwieldy
hampered by the cumbrous equipage of an imperial camp, <=*>'mp, a
and gave a notable example of his power to strike a stunning city,
blow by his wonderful nine days' ride to Gujarat and the
heroic hand-to-hand fights in which he engaged on his
arrival in that province. But ordinarily he was content to
follow the current practice and to encumber his fighting
force when on the march with all the paraphernalia of the
court and the incubus of a moving city. He could afford
to run the risks involved in that practice because he never
encountered an enemy sufficiently alert to take advantage
of the opportunities offered to a mobile and enterprising
foe. Father Monserrate, who accompanied him on the
Kabul expedition, the most carefully planned military
operation of the reign, gives a vivid account of the pomp
and magnitude of the imperial camp, which can be amplified
from the detailed descriptions in the Am. The imperial
consorts selected to accompany their lord were carried by
she-elephants and shut up in decorated cages. The female
servants, riding on camels, shaded by white umbrellas,
followed their mistresses, the cortege being protected by
a guard of five hundred men under the command of grave
seniors. The treasure was conveyed on a multitude of
elephants and camels. Ordnance stores were carried on
carts, and the imperial furniture and belongings on mules.^

The state records also accompanied the army.
Abu-1 Fazl states that
' His Majesty has invented an admirable method of encamp-
ing his troops, which is a source of much comfort to them.
On an open ground they pitch the imperial seraglio, the
audience hall, and the Naqqarah Khanah (musicians' gallery),
all occupying a space the length of which is 1530 yards.
To the right and left, and behind, is an open space of 360
yards, which no one but the guards are allowed to enter.
Within it, at a distance of 100 yards to the left centre, are
the tents of Maryam Makanl [the Queen-Mother], Gulbadan
Begam [Akbar's aunt], and other chaste ladies, and the
tents of Prince Daniyal ; to the right, those of Prince
Salim ; and to the left, those of Prince Shah Murad. Behind
their tents, at some distance, the offices and workshops are
placed, and at a further distance of 30 yards behind them,
at the four corners of the camp, the bazaars. The nobles
are encamped without on all sides, according to their rank.' ^
Such arrangements, which must have been slightly varied
in detail as occasion required, however well organized they
were for a peaceful imperial progress, could not have been
maintained in war against any capable enemy. In Aurang-
zeb's days the luxury and cumbrousness of the imperial
encampment were carried still further to such a degree that
the army became absolutely useless. If Akbar had had the
misfortune to encounter the Maratha light horse it is possible
that he might not have fared much better than his great-
grandson did. Akbar's military organization had in it the
seeds of decay and failure.*
Local The whole framework of the government, as has been
potisms. sî<i' ^^s military. The only considerable officials who did
not take rank as army officers were those charged with
purely ecclesiastical and civil legal duties, such as the Sadrs
and Kazis. Each of the more considerable jdgirddrs and
mansabddrs was vested as such with civil administrative
powers, practically unlimited. A local governor was not
bound by any rules of either substantive law or procedure,
' Commentarius, p. 580. = For all details see Horn's and
" Aln, vol. 1, p. 47. Irvine's works, as in Bibliography.
INSTITUTIONS 369
unless in so far as his conscience required him to follow

the Koranic precepts. He was the representative of the
imperial autocrat, and as such could do much as he pleased
within his jurisdiction, subject to the risk of being recalled
to court and punished if complaints reached the ears of his
sovereign. Ordinarily, the subjects had to make the best
of the treatment which their local rulers thought fit to
give them. ' It is a long, long way to Delhi ', as the proverb
says, and nothing but exceptionally outrageous oppression
had a chance of eliciting reproof from head-quarters. Even
Akbar, one of the most vigilant and diligent of monarchs,
could exercise only slight control over distant subordinates.
The government, in short, was carried on by a vast multi-
tude of petty local despotisms, kept in order to a certain
extent by an overpowering autocracy at the top.
The principle laid down by Kautilya, the early Hindu Akbar's
writer on statecraft, that ' all undertakings depend upon g^^'^
finance. Hence foremost attention should be paid to the measures.
Treasury ', was present to the mind of Akbar from the time
that he emerged from ' behind the veil ', and began to regard
seriously the duties of his position. The following pages
give a brief summary of the principal fiscal measures of the
reign. As early as 1565 or 1566 Muzaffar Khan Turbati
did something to reform the financial confusion which had
existed during Maham Anaga's brief tenure of power, but
the details of his measures are not recorded. Two or three
years later (1568) Shihab Khan (Shihabu-d din) was ap-
pointed Finance Minister in the room of Abdullah Khan. The
new minister was a careful expert and did his best to check
embezzlement, although hampered by the fact that ' officers,
who did not much embezzle, were few '. The exact nature
of the measures taken by him is not known. It is impossible
to attach any definite meaning to Abu-1 Fazl's enigmatic
statement that ' he abolished the yearly settlement, which
was a cause of great expense and led to embezzlements,
and he established a rate, and by his acuteness suppressed
the fraudulent '.^
• A.N., ii, 488.
X845 B b
More definite reforms were effected in the fifteenth regnal

year (1570-1), when Muzaffar Khan TurbatI, with the
assistance of Todar Mall, prepared a revised assessment of
the land revenue based on estimates framed by the local
Kanungos and checked by ten superior Kanungos at head-
quarters.^ The amount of the demand was somewhat less
than in former years, but the discrepancy between the
estimate and the actual receipts was diminished. The
early assessments had been simply rough guesses, made
with little or no help from hereditary officials with local
knowledge,
Todar The conquest of Gujarat in 1573 gave Todar Mall the
'Settle- opportunity for further exercise of his special abilities. He
ment ' of was sent to make the land revenue assessment of the newly-
"J3.Ta . pQj^qygjgjj province, and was engaged on the task for six
months. Certain districts which had been conquered by
the local kings were restored to neighbouring jurisdictions,
so that the provincial area as taken under direct imperial
administration was largely reduced. We now hear for the
first time of systematic measurement as a preliminary to
the ' settlement ', or assessment of the land revenue ; 64
out of 184 parganas or subdivisions were surveyed, and the
measurement was so far completed in 1575. About two-
thirds of the area measured were found to be cultivated or
fit for cultivation, and in that portion of the total area the
assessment was determined with reference to the area and
quality of the land. In the rest of the province the govern-
ment share of the produce was determined either by actual
division of the grain heaps at harvest time or by the official
selection of a certain portion of each field while the crop
was still standing. The total revenue demand appears to
^ The Kanungo was an officer documents. The word Kanungo

retained as a special authority on means ' expounder of the law ',
all customs and usages connected or ' customary rules '. Akbar's
with the tenure of land. The Kanungos were graded In three
office was hereditary. It still classes, with allowances respec-
survives in the United Provinces tively equivalent to twenty, thirty,
in a modified form. Some of the and fifty rupees a month (Am,
old Kanungo families used to be vol. ii, p. 66 ; book ii, Ain 12,
mines of information, and they and p. 88).
were often in possession of ancient
INSTITUTIONS 371
have been largely reduced when compared with that levied

by the kings, but any attempt to give exact figures is beset
by formidable difficulties.
Payment in either money or kind was permitted, a pre-
ference being given to cash collections. The collectors were
instructed that ' when it would not prove oppressive the
value of the grain should be taken in ready money at the
market price '.
The ' settlement ' was made for a term of ten years, with
a demand uniform for each year.
Certain other minor improvements were introduced at
the same time. It thus appears that all the essential features
of Raja Todar Mall's later ' settlement ' in Northern India
were anticipated by him in Gujarat, in 1574-5.
Shihab Khan, who governed the province from 1577 until
1583 or 1584, continued to develop the arrangements made
by Todar Mall.i
The reader may remember that at about the same time
(1574-5) as the Gujarat settlement, the conversion of
jdgirs into crown lands {khdlsa), the grading of man-
sabddrs, and the branding of army horses had been taken
in hand.
In 1575-6, as already described in chapter v, Akbar The
decided to disregard the old traditional local jurisdictions Karons,
for revenue and administrative purposes called ' parganas ',
and to divide the empire as it then existed, with the impor-
tant exceptions of Bengal, Bihar, and Gujarat, into 182
purely artificial areas, each yielding a ' crore ' or ten millions
of tankas, equivalent to 250,000 rupees. The officers
appointed to collect the revenue were styled Amils or
Karoris. The change was not a success and was not per-
sisted in, but the title of Amil long survived.
The most important reforms in fiscal administration were Subas,
those effected in 1579-80, the 24th and 25th regnal years, ^^hals'
The empire, as it then stood, was divided into twelve Siibas, or par-
or viceregal governments, roughly equivalent in rank to the f^j^^'
dftsturs
' Bombay Gazetteer (1896), vol. i, part i, pp. 221-4, 265-9 ; Bayley,
Gujarat, pp. 20-3.
Bb2
provinces, each under a local government, of modern

times. The Subas comprised more than 100 Sarkars or
Districts, each Sarkar being an aggregate of Parganas, also
called Mahals. For example, the Suba of Agra included
13 Sarkars and 203 Parganas. The Sarkar of Agra, 1,864
square miles in area, comprised 31 Parganas.^ The territorial
gradation was essentially the same as that now in existence
in Northern India under different names, but, of course,
infinite changes in detail have occurred.
The statistics in the Ain are arranged accordingly, without
reference to the karori system.
Prin- The early rough guess-work assessments had been largely
tlSten based on the statistics of prices current, so far as they had
years'
' settle- any statistical foundation at all. It is admitted that they
ment '. were largely influenced by ' the caprice of the moment '.
The principles of Todar Mall's new ' settlement ' are explained
by Abu-1 Fazl in the following terms :
' When through the prudent management of the Sovereign
the empire was enlarged in extent, it became difficult to
ascertain each year the prices current and much incon-
venience was caused by the delay. On the one hand, the
husbandmen complained of excessive exactions, and on the
' Ain 13 of book ii, Ain, vol. li, Glossary (1869), vol. il, pp. 82-
pp. 88, 96, 115, 182, with some 146, s. v. Dastiir. E. Thomas,
discrepancies in the numbers. who had read many of the docu-
The Kanungos
manuals or codesused to prepare
of instructions ments, says :to
are difficiilt — ' describe,
Dastur-al as'Amals
it is
and tables for the use of revenue rash to say what they may not
officers in particular territories. contain amid the multifarious
Local customs and usages vary instructions to Revenue Officers,
too much to permit of one uni- They combine occasionally a
form code. Such local codes, court guide, a civil list, an army
specimens of which survive, were list, a diary of the period, sum-
called Dasturu-l 'Amal, or ' Cus- maries of revenue returns, home
tomary Practice ' ; and for con- and foreign ; practical hints about
venience of administration par- measures, weights, and coins,
ganas which followed the one code with itineraries, and all manner
were grouped together, and the of useful and instructive informa-
groups became known as Dastiirs. tion ' {Revenue Resources of the
Thus the Sarkar of Agra had four Mughal Empire (1871), p. 14 n.).
codes or dasturu-l 'amals used in In the older ' settlements ' under
it, and consequently was said to the British Government the pre-
comprise four Dastiirs. The paration of the dasturu-l 'amal
grouping of Parganas in Dastiirs, was continued under the name of
which never was of much impor- wdjibu-l 'arz, which was prepared
tance, has been long obsolete. See for each mahal separately, not for
Elliot, ed. Beames, Supplemental groups of mahals.
INSTITUTIONS 373
other, the holder of assigned lands was aggrieved on account

of the revenue balances.^
' His Majesty devised a remedy for these evils and in the
discernment of his world-adorning mind fixed a settlement
for ten years ; the people were thus made contented and
their gratitude was abundantly manifested. From the
beginning of the 15th year of the Divine era [a. d. 1570-1]
to the 24th [a. d. 1579-80], an aggregate of the rates of
collection was formed and a tenth of the total was fixed as
the annual assessment ; but from the 20th [a. d. 1575-6]
to the 24th, an aggregate of the rates of collection was
formed and a tenth of the total was fixed as the annual
assessment ; but from the 20th to the 24th year the collec-
tions were accurately determined and the five former ones
accepted on the authority of persons of probity. The best
crops were taken into account in each year, and the year
of the most abundant harvest accepted, as the table
shows.' 2
Akbar and his advisers fixed the units of measurement Linear
as the necessary preliminary to survey. The gaz or yard super-
was determined as being equal to 41 digits or finger-breadths, measures.
filial
or about 33 inches. The tanab, jarib, or ' chain ', was
60 gaz, and the hlgha, or unit of superficial measure, was
60 gaz square, or 3,600 square gaz. As a matter of fact,
the exact length of Akbar' s Ilahi gaz, on which the area
of his hlgha depends, is not known. The precaution of
depositing at the capital carefully attested metal standards
is not mentioned as having been taken ; and if it had been,
the standards would have been lost long ago. The assump-
tion adopted by the British revenue authorities in 1825-6
that the Ilahi gaz should be deemed the equivalent of
33 inches ( = 83*82 cm.) was an arbitrary decision, formed
for convenience, because inquiry showed that calculated
values ranged from 29 '20 to 33 '70 inches.
Measurements had been made formerly by a hempen rope,
which contracted or lengthened according to the amount of
moisture in the air. From a. d. 1575 the rope was replaced
• The holder of a ja^r was gone to the Treasury. Heavy
authorized to appropriate the balances, therefore, were a grave
land revenue or government share personal grievance to him.
of the produce, which, if his ja^r ' Aln, vol. ii, p. 88 ; Ain 15.
had been crown land, would have
by ajarib of bamboos joined by iron rings, which remained

of constant length.^
Classi- The first step in the new system of ' settlement ' opera-
of lands, tions was measurement. The next was the classification of
lands ; the third was the fixation of rates for application
to the classified areas.
Modern ' settlement officers ' usually prefer a classifica-
tion based on either the natural or the artificial qualities
of the soil, and divide the land into classes of clay, loam,
irrigated, or unirrigated, and so forth. Todar Mall and
Akbar took no count of soils, whether natural or artificial,
and based their classification on the continuity or dis-
continuity ofcultivation. The four classes were :
1. Polaj, land continuously cultivated.
2. Pamuti, land left fallow for a year or two in order to
recover its strength.
3. Chachar, land that has lain fallow for three or four
years.
4. Banjar, land uncultivated for five years or more.
Each of the first three classes was subdivided into three
grades, and the average produce of the class was calculated
from the mean of the three grades in it. For instance, the
average produce of wheat in polaj land was worked out as
nearly 13 maunds (12 m. 88|- s.), the produce per blglia in
each of the three grades being, first grade, 18 m. 0 s. ; second
grade, 12 ra. 0 s. ; and third grade, 8 m. 35 s.
The government share was one-third of the average, or
in the above case, 4 m. 12f s.
Paravil land, when actually cultivated, paid the same as
polaj.
Chachar and banjar land, when brought under cultiva-
tion, were taxed progressively until in the fifth year they
became as polaj.
Only the area actually under cultivation was assessed.^
' Ain, book ii, Ains 8-10 ; the facilities of the husband-
Prinsep's ' Useful Tables ', in man year by year, and under the
Essays, ed. E. Thomas (1858), pledge of his engagements take
vol. ii, pp. 122-30. nothing beyond the actual area
" The collector of the revenue under tillage ' (Ain, book ii, Ain 5;
was instructed : ' Let him increase vol. ii, p. 44).
INSTITUTIONS 87^
The area under each crop had its own rate. The kinds Nu-
of crops being numerous, the multitude of rates quoted in ^^J°^
Abu-1 Fazl's condensed tables is extraordinary. The number rates.
used in the preUminary calculations must have been enor-
mous. The use of so many rates made the calculations
needlessly compUcated, and no settlement officer nowadays
would dream of working such a complex system. Abu-1
Fazl, who must have controlled a gigantic statistical office,
had the rates worked out for nineteen years (6th to 24th
regnal years inclusive) for each crop in polaj land, which
served as the standard. A separate set of rates was com-
piled for the spring, and another for the autumn harvest.
Those for the Subas of Agra, Allahabad, Oudh, Delhi,
Lahore, Multan, and Malwa are recorded in Ain 14 of
book ii.
The figures offer many difficulties and problems to expert
criticism. It seems to be doubtful whether or not laborious
analysis of them can yield many results of value. The
subject is too technical for discussion in these pages. Abu-1
Fazl, who was not a practical revenue expert, probably did
not thoroughly understand the statistics collected and
tabulated by his kdnungos and clerks. It is no wonder that
by the time his seven years of unremitting labour and the
fifth revision of his great book were concluded he was very
weary.^
Wilton Oldham is right in affirming that ' Akbar's revenue Akbar's
system was ryotwaree ' (raiyaiwdrl) ; and that ' the actual ment
cultivators of the soU were the persons responsible for the ^'*1* •="'"
tivstors
annual payment of the fixed revenue '.^ The ' settlement ' direct,
was not made either with farmers of the revenue, as was
afterwards done in Bengal by Lord Cornwallis, or with the
headmen of villages, as in the modern settlements of the
United Provinces. Many passages in the Am prove the
• See the author's extremely or may not obtain definite results,
interesting autobiography in Ain, ' Memoir of the Ghazeepoor Dis-
vol. iii, pp. 400-51, especially trict (Allahabad, 1870), part i,
pp. 402, 411, 415. Mr. W. H. p. 82. The author served under
Moreland, C.S.I., C.I.E., is en- Mr. Wilton Oldham, who was
gaged on the study of the agricul- a learned and skilled revenue
tural statistics in the Ain, and may expert.
376 AKBAR. THE GREAT MOGUL
correctness of Oldham's proposition. For instance, the

collector is directed to ' stipulate that the husbandman
bring his rents himself at definite periods so that the mal-
practices of low intermediaries may be avoided '.^ The
Bitikchi, or accountant, was instructed that ' when the
survey of the village is complete, he shall determine the
assessment of each cultivator and specify the revenue of
the whole village '? But if the village headman should aid
the authorities by collecting the full rental, he was to be
allowed ^^^th of each higha, or otherwise rewarded ' accord-
ing to the measure of his services '.* No special engagement
was made with the headman, who was simply paid a com-
mission not exceeding %\ per cent, for work done.
Instruc- The instructions recorded for the several officers of the
tions to
revenue revenue department are full and judicious, and may be
officials.
compared with Thomason's Directions to Collectors, a book
with which I had to be familiar in my youth. The cultivators
were to be allowed ordinarily the option of paying in kind,
which they might do in any one of five different ways.
But for certain of the more special and valuable crops, such
as sugar-cane and poppy, cash rates were obligatory. Bound-
aries in the areas surveyed were to be properly marked.
The records prescribed were substantially the same as those
used by modern settlement officers in the United Provinces,
and elaborate provision was made for the transmission of
both statistics and cash to the head-quarters of the province.
The ' royal presence ' to which both the figures and the
money were transmitted must mean the official capital of
the province, not the imperial capital. The collection of
miscellaneous cesses was prohibited, and Abu-1 Fazl gives
a long list of such cesses which were universally remitted by
Akbar's order. The statistics included regular prices current.
The treasury arrangements were much the same as those in
force some years ago in the United Provinces, and no doubt
still maintained for the most part.
In short, the system was an admirable one. The principles
' Ain, book ii, Ain 5 ; vol. ii, ^ Ibid., Ain 6 ; vol. ii, p. 48.
p. 46. " Ibid., Ain 5 ; vol. ii, p. 44.
INSTITUTIONS 377
were sound, and the practical instructions to officials all

that could be desired. But a person who has been in close
touch, as the author has been, with the revenue administra-
tion from top to bottom, cannot help feeling considerable
scepticism concerning the conformity of practice with pre-
cept. Even all the resources of the modern Anglo-Indian
Government often fail to secure such conformity, and in
Akbar's time supervision undoubtedly was far less strict
and searching. Histories tell us hardly anything about
the working of revenue legislation in actual practice. Stray
hints are all that can be gleaned from books, A notable
instance is the discrepancy already cited between the
accounts of the working of the karorl system, as expounded
by Abu-1 Fazl and by Badaoni. We find, too, that proclama-
tions abolishing miscellaneous cesses and imposts were often
repeated, and so draw the inference that the benevolent
intentions of the autocrat were commonly defeated by
distant governors enjoying practical independence during
their term of office.
The revenue assessment was not light. On the contrary, Severity
it was extremely severe. Abu-1 Fazl expressly states that '^^^\.
' the best crops were taken into account in each year, and meat,
the year of the most abundant harvest accepted '. His
average crop rates seem really to have been " selected rates '
based on the average of the best fields, not on the average
of the whole area in any given class of land. The meaning
of the statement that ' the year of the most abundant
harvest was accepted ' is not clear to me ; but, whatever
its exact meaning may be, it implies a standard of assess-
ment so high that large remissions must have been required
in bad seasons. Remissions were not easy to obtain, if we
may judge from probabilities and the experience of later
times. Little information on the subject for Akbar's
reign seems to be available, although the collector was
instructed to report cases of disaster to the crops, and
submit an estimate of the amount. No specific case of the
action taken on such official reports appears to be on record.
But in 1586 (31st year) more than a million of rupees was
remitted from the revenues of the crown lands in the Subas
of Delhi, Oudh, and Allahabad, because prices were so low
that the peasantry could not pay full cash rates. A similar
remission had been made in the previous year.
Abu-1 Fazl admits that ' throughout the whole extent of
Hindustan, where at all times so many enlightened monarchs
have reigned, oncsixth of the produce was exacted ; in
the Turkish Empire, Iran, and Turan, a fifth, a sixth, and
a tenth respectively '.^
But Akbar asked for one-third, that is to say, double the
Indian and Persian proportion. Abu-1 Fazl seems to think
that the abolition of a host of miscellaneous cesses and
imposts justified the doubling of the government share of
the produce. But it is impossible to doubt that in practice
many of those imposts and cesses continued to be collected,
and, as Oldham drily remarks in a note, ' most, if not all,
of these taxes were subsequently revived '.
He calculated that in the Ghazipur District Akbar's
revenue assessment worked out at 2 rupees per acre as
against Ij in 1870, the assessment then in force being that
made in 1789, when the country was in a very depressed
and backward state. He points out that ' in Akbar's time
only the best lands were cultivated ', the cultivated area
in the Ghazipur District being then only about one-fifth of
the tillage in 1870. Moreover, the government in Northern
India no longer deals directly with the cultivator, as Akbar
did. Private rent has been allowed to develop, so that the
crops have to provide for at least three parties, the State,
the landlord, and the tenant. Akbar did not recognize the
existence of a landlord class. He left the actual cultivator
as much of the crops as was considered to be necessary for
tolerable existence, and took the rest for the State.^
The assessment unquestionably was severe. The question
whether or not it was actually oppressive depends on the
• Ain, book ii, Ain 7 ; vol. ii, Akbar took half the crop. The
p. 55. But in the Ajmer Suba local Sultans used to take two-
only one-seventh or one-eighth of thirds (ibid., p. 366). For the
the produce was taken as revenue, remissions see A. N., iii, 643, 749.
and very little was paid in cash ^ Oldham, op. cit., p. 83.
(Ain, vol. ii, p. 267). In Kashmir
INSTITUTIONS 379
nature of the administration, concerning which hardly any

evidence exists. We have no knowledge of the extent to
which remissions were granted, or as to the amount of the
discrepancy between the assessment and the ordinary actual
collections. In all probability cases of hardship must have
been numerous. The scanty evidence available concerning
the economic condition of the country during Akbar's reign
will be discussed in the next chapter.^^
The best set of figures indicating the amount of the The land
imperial income derived from the land revenue is that "^^^g"*
given by President van den Broecke as the sum of the collec- empire,
tions in 1605 at the time of the accession of Jahangir, accord-
ing to Akbar's official accounts. He states that the annual
collections from the provinces named by him (with their
dependencies, cum limitibus) amounted to 174,500,000
rupees (17 ' crores ' and 45 lakhs), or, taking the rupee
to be worth 2«., £17,500,000 sterhng. That sum may or
may not have included other items besides land revenue,
but certainly was such revenue in the main. If the
rupee be valued at 2*. 3d., we may say that Akbar's share
of the crops was worth £20,000,000 sterling to him at the
close of his reign. The ordinary civil and military expenses
were defrayed from the revenue so stated ; the gigantic
hoards of coin, precious metals, and jewels stored in the
treasure cities being accumulated from plunder, from the
presents continually offered, and from escheats. The Dutch
author's figures include the Deccan provinces which had
not been annexed when the Am was compiled.^
* According to Sikh txadition, easily recognized in the author's
Akbar remitted the land revenue spelling, except 'Benazaed' tacked
of the Panjab for the famine year, on to Ghazni (Ghassenie, db Bena-
1595-6, in deference to the inter- zaed), which I cannot identify,
cession of Guru Arjun (Macauliffe, It is odd to find Burhanpur and
The Sikh Religion, in, 84). Khandesh distinguished. The
' De Laet, p. |f| ; E, Thomas, . list does not tally with the list of
The Revenue ^sources of the Akbar's Subas in the Aln, but the
Mughal Empire (1871), pp. S-21, number, 15, is the same. During
52-4. The names of the pro- Akbar's reign and the early years
vinces, Kandahar, Kabul, Kash- of Jahang^r's the trade with
mir, Ghazni, Gujarat, Sind or Europe was so little developed
Tatta, Khandesh, Burhanpur, that a definite sterling exchange
Berar, Bengal, Orissa, Oudh, rate for the rupee hardly existed.
Malwa, Agra, and Delhi, are De Laet (not van den Broecke)
The We now pass to the executive as distinguished from the
sSS^' fiscal or revenue administration. The organization was of
Subadar, the simplest possible kind. Each of the fifteen provinces
Governor ^^ Subas was a miniature replica of the empire, and the
Subadar, as long as he remained in office, had powers
practically unlimited. The essentially military character of
the government is marked by the fact that in the Ain, the
provincial viceroy or Subadar, as he was called in later
times, is designated as Sipahsalar, or commander-in-chief.
He is described as ' the vicegerent of His Majesty. The
troops and people of the province are under his orders,
and their welfare depends upon his just administration.'
It is needless to transcribe the admirable copy-book maxims
which enjoin him to practise all the virtues, but a few of
the more practical instructions possess special interest and
may be cited. When good counsel failed to produce the
desired effect on evildoers, the governor was to be 'swift
to punish by reprimands, threats, imprisonment, stripes, or
amputation of limb, but he must use the utmost delibera-
tion before severing the bond of the principle of life '. It
will be observed that the penalties in the list do not include
fines. The horrid punishment of mutilation, which is pre-
scribed bythe Koran, was used freely.
Neither Akbar nor Abu-1 Fazl had any regard for the
judicial formalities of oaths and witnesses. The governor,
who like all Asiatic rulers was expected to hear many
criminal cases in person, and to dispose of them in a sharp,
summary fashion, was enjoined not to be satisfied with
witnesses and oaths, but to trust rather to his own acute-
ness and knowledge of physiognomy, aided by close examina-
tion. For ' from the excessive depravity of human nature
and its covetousness, no dependence can be placed on
a witness or his oath '. The judge should be com-
petent to distinguish the oppressor from the oppressed
by the help of his own impartiality and knowledge of
puts it as ranging from 2s. to Shahjahan. Terry (p. 113) gives
2s. 9d. (p. i3f ). He also quotes the range in 1618 as from 2s. 3rf. to
a 2s. 3d. rate, which was that 2s. 9d.
usually current in the time of
INSTITUTIONS 381
character ; and, having come to a decision, he should

act on it.
The proceedings were verbal, no written record being
prepared.^
The executive authority was expected to obtain help in
his judicial duties from the Kazi, an officer learned in
Muslim law, and if need were he might appoint a Mir Adl,
a justiciary, to carry out the Kazi's finding.^
The province was divided for executive purposes into The
districts, each composed of several parganas, each such o^îs^""'
district, probably identical with the area denominated trict
Sarkar in the Ain, being governed by a Faujdar, or com- ^^nt.
mandant, as the deputy of the Sipahsalar or governor of
the province. The Faujdar was expected to reduce rebels,
always numerous, and, whenever necessary, to use his
troops against recalcitrant villagers in order to enforce pay-
ment of the government dues. ' When he had captured the
rebel camp, he must observe equity in the division of the
spoil and reserve a fifth for the royal exchequer. If a balance
of revenue be due from the village this should be first taken
into account.' The existence of such instructions is clear
proof of the extremely imperfect manner in which order
was maintained even in the best days of the Mogul empire.
Akbar usually had a rebellion somewhere or other on his
hands, and the unrecorded outbreaks of disorder in the
provinces, summarily dealt with by the Faujdar s, must have
been innumerable.'
In towns the repression of crime, the maintenance of The
public order and decency, and all duties of a police nature ° ^* '
were entrusted to the Kotwal. If in any town there happened
to be no Kotwal, the collector of the revenue was bound
to take the police duties on himself. In modern India the
offices of collector and magistrate of the District are usually
• ' Everything is done verb- ' ' His people are continually
ally ' : e tudo seBelofam,
(Monserrate, iulga uerbalmente
in J. <fc in revolt deagainst
acabam aleuatarhim cotra
' : nd elle
se
Proc. A. S. B., 1912, p. 201). (Monserrate, RelaQam (1582), in
2 Book ii, Ains 1 and 3 ; Aln, J. db Proc. A. S. B., 1912, p. 216).
vol. ii, pp. 37-41.
combined in one person. The Kotwal was authorized to

inflict penalties for breach of regulations, extending even
to mutilation. Probably he could not legally execute
a prisoner without the sanction of superior authority, but the
point is not determined by the books. We may feel assured
that if an energetic officer chose to take the responsibility
of drastic action against evil-doers he would not have been
troubled by official censvu:e. The whole administration
was absolutely personal and despotic, directed to the strin-
gent collection of a heavy assessment, the provision of
numerous military forces, and the maintenance of imperfect
public order in a rough and ready fashion under the sanction
of ferocious punishments, inflicted arbitrarily by local
despots.
The penalties in ordinary use included impalement,
trampling by elephants, beheading, amputation of the
right hand, and severe flogging.^ But there was no effective
law to hinder the infliction of many other cruel forms of
punishment according to the caprice of the official.^
Special The duties of the Kotwal, as defined by Abu-1 Fazl, were
'^f'ti^^ essentially the same as those prescribed for the Nagaraka,
Kotwal. or Town Prefect, in the old Hindu books. The Kotwal was
expected to know everything about everybody. In order
to acquire such knowledge he was bound to employ spies,
or detectives in modern language, to keep up registers of
houses and persons, and to watch the movements of strangers.
He was responsible for the regulation of prices, and the use
of correct weights and measures. It was his business to
take charge of the property of any deceased or missing
person who had left no heir.
He was required to see to the observance of Akbar's
special ordinances. Those included the universal prohibi-
tion of the slaughter of oxen, buffaloes, horses, or camels ;
the prevention of ' suttee ' against the inclination of the
woman ; prohibition of circumcision before the age of
• Monserrate, ReJagam, p. 194. monly ordered by Mongol chiefs,
' Prince Salim when at Allah- and was inflicted by Babui on at
abad inflicted the horrible penalty least one occasion. Akbar dis-
of flaying alive, which was com- approved of that form of cruelty.
INSTITUTIONS 383
twelve, and of any slaughter of any animals on many days

in the year, as prescribed by imperial order. It was also
his duty to enforce the observance of the Ilahl calendar
and of the special festivals and ritual practices enjoined by
the emperor. An energetic Kotwal could always find plenty
of occupation.^
Every institution of the empire derived its existence from Akbar in
and was dependent for its continuance on the all-powerful audience
will of the sovereign. The most fitting conclusion to this ^^^ '"^
chapter, therefore, will be a glimpse of Akbar on his throne
and in council.
Before daybreak his people, high and low, assembled in
the outer court of the palace to wait for the appearance of
their lord. Shortly after sunrise he showed himself to his
subjects of all ranks, who watched eagerly for the darsan,
or view of him on whom their good or evil fortune depended.
Before retiring he often disposed of matters of business.
His second formal public appearance generally took place
after the first watch of the day, but sometimes at a later
hour. Only persons of distinction were then admitted. He
also frequently appeared informally at other hours at the
window (jharokhd) opening on the audience hall, and would
sometimes stand there for two hours, hearing petitions,
receiving reports, disposing of judicial cases, or inspecting
parades of men or animals. Usually he preferred to stand,
but would sometimes sit, either cross-legged on cushions in
the Asiatic manner, or on a raised throne after the European
fashion. The princes and great nobles were ranged near
him according to their several degrees.
The proper officers, who came on duty in accordance
with a regular roster, presented petitions or persons with
due form and solemnity, and orders were passed at once.
Scribes stood by who took accurate notes of every word
which fell from his lips.^
' ' The Faujdar ', book ii, Ain 2 ; ^ The practice was continued
' the Mir Adl and the Kazi ', ibid., by Jahangir. ' And when the
Ain 3 ; ' the Kotwal ', ibid., Ain 4 ; King sits and speaks to any of his
' the Collector of the Revenue ', people publickly, there is not a
ibid., Ain S ; in Ain, vol. ii, pp. word falls from him that is not
40-7. written by some scriveners, or
In private council he was ready to hear the opinions of
his inner circle of advisers. It was his practice to announce
the view he took and his reasons. Ordinarily his resolve
would be greeted by all with expressions of assent and the
prayer, ' Peace be with the King '. But if any one present
felt and expressed doubts, His Majesty would listen patiently
to the objections raised, and reserve the intimation of his
decision. Whatever anybody might say, the final resolve
was his alone.i
scribes, that stand round about three times a day.
him ' (Terry, ed. 1777, p. 393). > Aln, vol. i, pp. 156-9 ; Ains
So also at Vijayanagar (Nuniz in 72-4 of book i ; Monserrate,
Sewell, A Forgotten Empire, p. Belagam, p. 202 ; Peruschi, p. 24.
375). Jahan^r used to appear
CHAPTER XIV
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE
' A HISTORY of the people ', Mr. Stanley Lane-Poole The

observes, ' is usually assumed in the present day to be ' simple
more stimulating and instructive than the records of kings th"poor'.
and courts ; but, even if true, this can only be understood
of Western peoples, of peoples who strive to go forward, or
at least change. In the East, the people does not change,
and there, far more than among more progressive races, the
" simple annals of the poor ", however moving and pathetic,
are indescribably trite and monotonous, compared with
the lives of those more fortunate, to whom much has been
given in opportunity, wealth, power, and knowledge.' ^
Mr. Lane-Poole is right. The Indian commonalty has
no history that can be told. There has been practically
no evolution of institutions, and when we read descriptions
of Indian social conditions recorded by Megasthenes twenty-
two centuries ago, we feel that his words are still applicable
in the main to present conditions in India ' up-country ',
where the ancient structure of society and the habits of
daily life have been very slightly affected by changes of
government or by modern influences.
In Europe we can watch with intense interest the slow
overthrow of paganism by Christianity, the conflict between
Roman and Teutonic ideals, the birth and decay of the
feudal system, the growth of municipal autonomy, the
development of representative government, and a hundred
other political and social changes, which go down to the
very roots of national life, and make the Europe of to-day
fundamentally different from the Europe of Alexander the
Great.
Although it would be absurd to affirm that India does Lack of
not change from age to age, or that there is nothing in its ™^t^""'-
history at all comparable with the changes in Europe, it is
» Mediaeval India under Mohammedan Rule, 1903, Preface, p. v.
1845 C c
true that basic revolutions in essential institutions have been

few. The Indian autocrat, whatever his name might be,
always was essentially the same in kind, while the daily life
of the twentieth-century villager differs little from that of
his ancestor two thousand years ago. The history of India
in the Muhammadan period must necessarily be a chronicle
of kings, courts, and conquests, rather than one of national
and social evolution. The main interest of the story must,
lie in the delineation of the characters of individual rulers,
who, although essentially one in type, yet varied widely in
personal qualities. In Akbar's case that personal interest
is supreme. He was truly a great man and a great king
deserving of the most attentive study.
But when we try to picture the effect of his qualities on
the people whom he conquered and governed, and seek to
decide whether or not they were happier and more prosperous
under his rule than under that of many other despots per-
sonally inferior in character and genius, it is not easy to
draw even an outline sketch. The record is painfully
defective. We hardly ever hear anything definite in the
histories about the common people or their mode of life.
Information about the actual working of the revenue
administration, a matter all-important to the Indian peasant,
is almost wholly lacking, and the record of the state of
education, agriculture, and commerce is extremely meagre.
The A reader glancing hastily at the Ain-i Akharl, or ' In-
Akbari. stitutcs of Akbar ', and seeing the elaborate statistical
tables, the prices current, the details of wages paid, and the
chapters headed education, building materials, shawl manu-
facture, &c., might suppose that Abu-1 Fazl's remarkable
work contains ample materials for an economic history or
description of the country under the rule of his master. But
closer study would soon dispel the illusion. All subjects
are considered solely with reference to the sovereign and
the court, and little or no attempt is made to compare the
conditions under Akbar with those existing under his pre-
decessors. The important subject of ' Regulations regarding
Education ' (book ii, Ain 25), for instance, is dismissed with
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITION 887
a few perfunctory words intimating that boys should be

taught reading and writing in an inteUigent way, and should
be required to read ' books on morals, arithmetic, the
notation peculiar to arithmetic, agriculture, mensuration,
geometry, astronomy, physiognomy, household matters,
the rules of government, medicine, logic, the theological
(ildhi), the mathematical and physical {riydzt and tabi't)
sciences, as well as history, all of which may be gradually
acquired '. Particular school-books are recommended for
Sanskrit studies. ' No one should be allowed to neglect
those things which the present time requires.' That is all.
The section is closed by the baseless assertion that ' these
regulations shed a new light on schools, and cast a bright
lustre over Muslim schools (madrasahs) '. The curriculum
recommended obviously has no relation to the facts. No
school in India or elsewhere has ever attempted to work
such a programme. The author simply desired to lay
another morsel of flattery on the altar of Akbar's shrine.
When the statistics in the Am are examined with atten- Diffi-
tion something more may be learned, although the figures p"'*'^^ of
offer many difficulties of interpretation. Some of the pretation.
difficulties which embarrass the student of the revenue
statistics have been already mentioned. When the tables
of prices and wages are considered obstacles to complete
understanding of them become immediately manifest. As
a preliminary, the meaning of the terms referring to coinage,
weights, and measures has to be settled. That can be
done with a considerable, although not absolute, degree' of
certainty. The figures themselves, apart from the question
of arithmetical and copyists' errors, suggest doubts of many
kinds. The tables published by Abu-1 Fazl are made up of
abstract averages. Nothing is known about the method of
compilation, or the area from which the statistics are drawn,
and it is obvious that the figures must be subject to criticism
from different points of view. Still, notwithstanding such
hindrances to complete understanding, Abu-1 Fazl is entitled
to the gratitude of later ages for the industry and skill
with which he handled his embarrassing mass of material.
c c 2
Nothing approaching his survey of the empire is to be
found anywhere else in the sixteenth century.
Copper A considerable part of the information about wages given
coinage ;
the dam. in Ain 87 of book i {Am, vol. i, p. 225) is intelligible and of
interest.
The dam, paisd, or fuliis, was a massive copper coin,
copied from Sher Shah's issues, and weighing normally
323-5 grains, or very nearly 21 grammes (20-962). The
normal relative value of copper to silver was 72-4 to 1,
and for purposes of account 40 of the copper dams were
reckoned uniformly as equivalent to the silver rupee of
172-5 grains, the silver being practically pure. In practice
the bazaar rate equating the ' pice ' or dams with the silver
rupee varied somewhat, but the actual rate did not depart
widely from the standard of 40 dams to one rupee. Wages,
of course, were paid in real coins, and not in the money of
account. Poor people then, as now in India, thought in
terms of copper coins, and the revenue accounts were made
up in dams at the rate of 40 to the rupee. The dam was
divided into 25 jltals for account purposes, but no coin
called jital then existed. Very small change was pro-
vided by certain subsidiary coins and by cowrees.^ The
coinage in silver and gold was abundant and of excellent
quality.
Daily
It is needless to attempt to make out the exact meaning
wages.
of the rates for piece-work given by Abu-1 Fazl. The daily
rates for wages are more easily understood, subject to the
preliminary observations already made that we do not
know either the area to which they apply or the sources
■from which they were obtained.
' See Ain 10 of book i in Am, dam was the ready money of
vol. i, p. 31, ' The Coins of this prince and peasant. Abu-1 Fazl
relates that a kror of dams was
Glorious Empire '. Abu-1 Fazl
says that the old copper coins kept ready for gifts, &c., within
used to be called Bahloll. That is
the palace, " every thousand of
true, but the Bahlolis of Bahlol which is kept in bags ".' Smaller
and his son Sikandar bin Bahlol pieces were the i, a, and | of a
Lodi weighed only about 140 dam. Double dS/ms were also
grains (E. Thomas, Chronicles of struck. See the Catalogues of
Coins, as in Bibliography.
the Pathan Kings, p. 362). ' Prac-
tically ',Thomas observes, ' the
The normal rate for an unskilled labourer was two dams,

or the twentieth part of a rupee, or four-fifths of an anna
in modern currency. A first-class carpenter got seven dams,
seven-fortieths of a rupee, and other working-men obtained
pay at intermediate rates. Those two leading rates, assum-
ing their approximate accuracy, may be taken as the basis
of discussion.
The value of the rupee in English money was estimated
to range from 2s. to 2s. 9d., and more generally might be
taken as 2s. 3d., or 27 pence. Consequently, the normal
wage of an unskilled labourer may be taken as ^^d., or from
l^d. to l^d. a day.
The first-class skilled workman drawing 7 dams got less
than one-fifth of a rupee, about three annas in modern
currency, or £q of 27 pence, that is to say, about 4^d. a day,
according to the rate of exchange then prevailing.
The table of average prices shows the amount of food Low
that could be purchased in normal times for either 2 or tjJe'lrtatt
7 dams, that is to say, for from Hd. to l^d. or for about or
4|-d. The figures certainly express, as E. Thomas justly
observed, ' the extraordinary cheapness of food '. It must
be understood, of course, that they are average figures
calculated from a mass of details no longer in existence,
and that they can refer only to years of ordinary plenty.
India in Akbar's time, as will be shown presently, was
by no means exempt from famine in its most appalling
form.
Abu-1 Fazl gives the price per man, or ' maund '. It is
well established that that term in his book expresses a weight
equivalent roughly to half a hundredweight (56 pounds
avoirdupois), or more exactly, to 55 J pounds. His ' maund ',
therefore, was approximately two-thirds of the present
standard ' maund ' of 82 pounds. In both cases 40 ' seers '
(ser) go to the ' maund '. The modern ' seer ' is a trifle
over 2 pounds, and nearly agrees with the kilogramme.
The ' seer ' of Akbar was slightly more than two-thirds of
2 pounds, or about 21 ounces.
With these preliminary explanations, the prices of the
of
principal articles of food and the amount obtainable by an
unskilled labourer for 2 dams, or by a skilled artisan for
7 dams, may be stated in tabular form.^
Amount op Food obtainable in Akbak's Reign, aboxtt a.d. 1600,
AT Average Prices in Normal Years
Obtainable by
Article. Unskilled
Price per ' maund ' or dams or bourer^ât la-
2 san atorSmUd
dams 7ârti-
man of 55^ lb. avoir-
dupois in dams at 40
to rupee. rupee per diem. of rupee
per diem.
lb. oz.
lb. oz.
Wheat. 12 9 4 32 6
(=1941 lb. per rupee 13
of 40 dams)
Barley. 8 48 9
(=2771 lb. per rupee) 140
Rice, best. 110 1 3 8
(=20J lb. per rupee) 19 7
„ worst. 20 5 9
(111 lb. per rupee)
18 6 153 21 10
Mung pulse (Pha-
seolus mungo). (=37 lb. 16per rupee)
Mas/j pulse (Phaseo- 6 24 4
lus radiaius). (=188} lb. per rupee)
12 9 4 32 6
Moth pulse {Phaseo-
lus aconitifolins). ( = 1941 lb. per rupee)
Gram, or chick-pea 6 2 21 7
(Cicer arietinum). (=134| lb. per rupee)
Juwar millet {Hol- 10 nearly 11 2 38 15
cus sorghum). (=222 lb. per 1 rupee)
White sugar. 12816 nearly 0
3 1
56
(=171 lb. per rupee)
Brown „ nearly 2 140 nearly 7 0
(=39| lb.105per rupee)
Ghi, or clarified 1 1 3 11
butter. (=13^ lb. per rupee)
Sesamum oil (tel). 16
80 1 156 4 13
(=27| lb. per rupee)
Salt. 6 24 4
(=138 J lb. per rupee)
' Prinsep's view ('Useful Tables', Hawkins also defined Jahan^r's

p. Ill)- that Akbar's man was man as 55 pounds. De Laet,
' in round terms' about 'one-half following him, correctly states
of our present standard man ' of that 'Maune item est pondus LV
82 pounds is erroneous. The true libr. Angl.' (p. ia|). The table
value of about 55J pounds avoir- following has been compiled from
dupois has been worked out by Ain 27 of book i, ' Statistics of
E. Thomas (Chronicles, p. 430), the Prices of Certain Articles ' ;
and in a different way by Wilton Ains 27 and 87 of same (Aln, vol. i,
Oldham, Memoir of the Gfiazee- pp. 62, 225); and from Thomas,
pooT District (1870), part i, p. 84. Chronicles, p. 430.
Four of the leading items may be compared with the

most recent set of average retail prices as given in the
Imperial Gazetteer, 1907. The table there is made out for
' seers ' per rupee. Taking the ' seer ' as two pounds, the
* seer ' figures may be doubled to get pounds and so com-
pared with the rupee prices as given in brackets in the
preceding table.
Prices per Rupee
Article. Pounds avoirdupois per Rupee.
In Akbar's time, a. d. 1600. In 1901-3 (I. G.).

Wheat . 194-25
Barley 290 (seers 14-5)
277-50 43-8 (seers 20-9)
Gram
Juwar millet . 134-25
2220 380 (seers 16-5)
41-2 (seers 20-6)
The low prices were not confined to grain. Nearly every- Low
thing else was equally cheap. For instance, sheep of the meatând
ordinary kinds could be bought for a rupee and a quarter milk,
or a rupee and a half each. Mutton is priced at 65 dams
per ' maund ', equivalent to 34 pounds or 17 ' seers ' for
the rupee. Milk sold at 25 dams the maund. A rupee
therefore would purchase 89 pounds, or 44 seers. The
larger seer of the present day is reckoned as equal to a quart.
Deducting one-third from the figure 44, the price in Akbar's
day works out at about 30 quarts for the rupee, or a penny
a quart, if the rupee be taken at 2s. 6d. (30 pence) as it
usually was by Terry, early in the reign of Jahanglr, which
was simply a continuation of Akbar's, so far as social and
economic conditions were concerned, as well as in most
other respects. The historian of Akbar, therefore, is fully
justified in using the evidence of Roe, Terry, and Tom
Coryate, who all resided in northern and western India
between 1615 and 1618. Their testimony emphatically
confirms that of the Ain, respecting the lowness of prices
and wages, while adding to it by distinctly affirming the
abundance of provisions in ordinary years. In 1585 and
1586 prices were so exceptionally low that the full cash
revenue rates could not be paid, and considerable remissions
became necessary in three provinces.
Low
The low cash retail prices were not confined to India.
prices in
Western
Asia.
They extended all over Western Asia. That fact is con-
clusively proved by the experience of Tom Coryate, ' the
Wanderer of his age ', a most accurate observer and truthful
writer, whose trustworthiness was not in any way affected
by his eccentricities. He entered the Mogul dominions by
way of Kandahar and Lahore, having travelled overland
from Syria on foot through Armenia, Mesopotamia, and
Persia. During the journey of ten months from Aleppo to
Kandahar he spent in all £3 sterling, but out of that 10s.
had been stolen, so that he lived on twopence a day all
round, and at times on a penny .^
Value In October 1616 he managed to secure access to court
of the
rupee in without the knowledge of Sir Thomas Roe, the Enghsh
sterling.
ambassador, and extracted a hundred rupees from Jahanglr
in recompense for a flattering oration in Persian. The
recipient reckoned the gift as the equivalent of £10 sterling,
valuing the rupee expressly at 2s. ; but Terry, who also
tells the story, valued the present as equal to £12 10*.,
which implies that he then estimated the rupee at 2s. 6d.
He states in general terms that the ' meanest ' rupees were
worth 2s. 3d., and the ' best ' 2s. 9d. sterling. On another
occasion, when paying a rupee as compensation for an
injury, he valued it at 2s. 9d.^ These instances explain
de Laet's remark in 1631 that rupees ranged in value from
2s. to 2s. 9d.^ In another place Terry reckons the pay of
an ordinary servant or follower as 5s. a month, meaning
apparently two rupees.*
The statistics show that that small sum would have
' The epithet ' Wanderer of edition. The eccentric traveller
died at Surat in December 1617.
his age ' is from Terry's verses
(p. 73). Coryate's Crudities, a Terry gives a good account of
queer medley, as originally pub- him, which is included in the 1776
lished in 1611, in a single rare edition of the Crudities, and occu-
volume of 653 pages, plus the pies pp. 55-74 of the 1777 edition
index and some supplementary of Terry, whose first edition
matter, deals with Europe only. appeared in 1655.
The reprint of 1776, in three 2 pp. 113, 167.
volumes octavo, adds the Letters ' ' Per Rupias ; quae com-
from India in vol. iii, which are muniter valent duos solidos &
not paged. Another reprint, by novem denarios Angl. interdum
MacLehose of Glasgow, was issued etiam
' p. tantum
173. duos ' (p. -J^f ).
in 1905. I have used the 1776
purchased 194 x2 = 398, or nearly 400 pounds of wheat in Plenty

1600. Abu-1 Fazl does not state the price of flour, which, ^swns.
of course, must have been appreciably higher. It is clear,
however, that a man could feed himself adequately for
a cost of from a penny to twopence a day.
Terry further states that fish were purchaseable ' at such
easy rates as if they were not worth the valuing \^ and that,
generally speaking, " the plenty of all provisions ' was ' very
great throughout the whole monarchy ' ; ' every one there
may eat bread without scarceness '.^
Oldham,
T-,. . . .
writing
,
in 1870 with reference to the Ghazipur Prices
1870 and
iii
District m the eastern part of the United Provinces, was of i90i-3.
opinion that ' according to the prices given in the Ayeen
Akhery, a rupee in the days of Akbar would purchase at the
very lowest computation about four times the amount of
agricultural produce that can now be bought for a rupee '.*
Things were cheaper in 1870 than they were in 1901-3, for
which the Gazetteer statistics have been quoted. It may be
as well to compare the figures for the four selected grains in
the two recent periods.
Price per Rupee in Pounds Avoirdupois
1. 2. 3. 4.
Akbar, Percentage to col. 2
Article.
A.D. 1600. 1866-70. 1901-3.
o/coZ. 3. of col. 4.
Wheat 194-25 39-4 (seers 19-7) 29-0 (seers 14-5)
Barley 277-50 58-0 (seers 29-0) 43-8 (seers 21-9)
Gram 134-25 20-3 15-0
47-2 (seers 23-6) 33-0 (seers 16-5) 20-9
Juwar 222-0 53-6 (seers 26-8) 41-2 (seers 20-6) 15-7
24-2
35-6 18-4
24-3
These figures indicate that the rise in prices from the
period 1866-70 to that of 1901-3 has been large. Even
when Oldham wrote, his estimate that the purchasing
power of the rupee in 1600 was more than four times what
it was in 1870, fell below the mark except in the case of
gram. For the later period the purchasing power of the
rupee is far less.
When the material condition of the people is the question
' p. 89. * p. 175. ^ Op. cit., part i, p. 84.
Effect under consideration, a rise in prices is immaterial if the
"^'"^ buyer is provided with additional cash in the same pro-
portion. The rise in prices in the course of three centuries
has been something like 500 or 600 per cent. The rise in
wages has not been so great. I doubt if it comes up to
300 per cent. In Akbar's time the daily wage of the unskilled
labourer was one-twentieth of a rupee. During my service
in the United Provinces, between 1871 and 1900, the familiar
current rate paid by Europeans was one-eighth of a rupee,
but natives of the country often paid less. The fraction
one-eighth is 250 per cent, larger than one-twentieth. The
increase in the wage of skilled labour may be even less,
and has hardly more than doubled. I refer to ' up-country '
conditions, not to Calcutta or Bombay. On the whole, so
far as I can judge, the hired landless labourer in the time
of Akbar and Jahangir probably had more to eat in ordinary
years than he has now. But in famine years, such as 1555-6
and 1595-8, he simply died. Now, even in seasons of severe
famine, he is often kept alive.
The advance in prices does not affect cultivators so much.
When prices are exceptionally low they find it impossible
to pay cash revenue rates based on a normal scale of prices.
High prices mean for them enhanced incomes as well as
enhanced cost, and they have greater security than they
used to have, while the demand made by the State is less.
We must remember that the absolutely landless labourer is
not common in the country districts. I doubt if the culti-
vators on the whole were better off three centuries ago
than they are now, and it is possible that they may have
been less prosperous.
Urban When we come to compare the conditions of the town
popula- population then and now, exact, or approximately exact
figures are lacking. It is obvious that the disappearance
of the imperial court and of many splendid viceregal and
princely courts has adversely affected certain localities and
trades. But the development of commerce in modern times
has been so great that townspeople on the whole may be
better off than they were in Akbar's day. It would carry
me too far to pursue the subject in detail. Contemporary

travellers undoubtedly were much impressed by the wealth
and prosperity of the great cities in the reigns of Akbar
and Jahan^r. Fitch, for example, in 158S, tells us in
a passage already quoted that
' Agra and Fatepore are two very great cities, either oT
them much greater than London and very populous. Between
Agra and Fatepore are 12 miles [soil, kos], and all the way
is a market of victuals and other things, as full as though
a man were still in a towne, and so many people as if a man
were in a market.' ^
Terry, from the testimony of others, describes the Pan jab
as ' a large province, and most fruitful. Lahore is the chief
city thereof, built very large, and abounds both in people
and riches, one of the most principal cities for trade in all
India ' (p. 76). Monserrate, speaking from personal know-
ledge of the same city as it was in 1581, declares that Lahore
was not second to any city in Europe or Asia. Every kind
of merchandise was to be found in its shops, and the streets
were blocked by dense crowds.* Similarly, Burhanpur in
Khandesh was ' very great, rich, and full of people ' (p. 80).
Abu-1 Fazl is enthusiastic over the glories of Ahmadabad
in Gujarat, ' a noble city in a high state of prosperity ',
which ' for the pleasantness of its climate and its display
of the choicest productions of the whole globe is almost
unrivalled '. It was reputed to contain a thousand mosques
built of stone.* Kabul was a place of busy trade, crowded
with merchants from India, Persia, and Tartary.* Such
testimonies concerning the conditions of the great inland
towns, which might be largely multiplied, permit of no
doubt that the urban population of the more important
cities was well to do. Whether or not it was better off on
the whole than the townspeople of the twentieth century
are it is hard to say. I am not able to express any definite
opinion on the subject.
'Famine', as has been truly said, 'lies broad written
' Fitch, p. 98. The distance ' Commentarius, p. 622.
between Agra and Fathpur-Sikri * Ain, vol. ii, p. 240.
is about 23 miles. * Commentarius, p. 617.
396 AKEAR THE GREAT MOGUL
Famines across the pages of Indian history.' ^ We hear of it in the

villages remote age when the Buddhist Jataha stories were com-
posed,^ and from time to time in every age. The occurrence
of famine, resulting from the absolute non-existence of
crops, was and is inevitable in a country like India, where
the possibility of sowing and reaping a crop depends on
seasonal rains, which often fail, and where the mass of the
people are, and always have been, extremely poor. The
modern extension of communications and of irrigation on
a gigantic scale has done much to remove the causes of
extreme famine, but nothing can absolutely prevent its
recurrence. When it does come it is now fought with all
the resources of a- highly organized and philanthropic
government. Even so, as recent experience proves, intense
suffering cannot be prevented whenever there is a wide-
spread failure of the rains, and appalling mortality still
results. Pestilence, in one form or another, inevitably dogs
the steps of famine.
Ancient The old governments, whether Hindu or Muhammadan,
famines.
were not so highly organized as the existing Anglo-Indian
government. Perhaps the most elaborate native organiza-
tion which ever existed in India was that of the Maurya
dynasty in the fourth and third centuries before Christ.
The extant descriptions of the Maurya administration, and
the indubitable facts which prove the wide extent of dominion
ruled by Asoka, his father, and grandfather, as well as the
firm grip of the government on remote territories, leave on
my mind the impression that Akbar's machine of govern-
ment never attainied the standard of efficiency reached by
the Mauryas eighteen or nineteen centuries before his time.
Nevertheless, the iron hand of the great Maurya emperors
could not coerce the clouds or save their much-governed
realm from the miseries of famine. The traditions of the
Jains give prominence to the terrible famine which occurred
late in the fourth century b. c. towards the close of the
reign of Chandragupta Maurya, and lasted for twelve
' Sir Harcourt Butler in I. G., " Jataka, No. 199, in Cambridge
iii (1907), chap, x, p. 475. The transl., ii, 94.
whole chapter is worth reading.
years.^ Famines recur throughout all ages ; as, for instance,

early in the tenth century after Christ, when a Hindu king
reigned in Kashmir, that pleasant land was desolated by
a famine of the severest kind.
' One could scarcely see the water in the Vitasta (Jihlam),
entirely covered as the river was with corpses soaked and
swollen by the water in which they had long been lying.
The land became densely covered with bones in all direc-
tions, until it was like one great burial-ground, causing
terror to all beings.' ^
Siriiilar scenes occurred over and over again under Muham-
madan kings in various parts of India, and the glorious
reign of fortunate Akbar was not an exception.
The year of his accession (1555-6) was marked by a famine The
as grievous as any on record. Abu-1 Fazl, who was a child ^^^^ °
iive years old at the time, retained in after life ' a perfect
recollection of the event ', and learned further details from
elder eyewitnesses. The capital (Delhi) was devastated,
and the mortality was enormous.* The historian Badaoni
' with his own eyes witnessed the fact that men ate their
own kind, and the appearance of the famished sufferers was
so hideous that one could scarcely look upon them. . . . The
whole country was a desert, and no husbandmen remained
to till the ground.' *
Guiarat, one of the richest provinces of India, and generally Famines,
• 1573—98
reputed to be almost exempt from the risk of famine, suffered
severely for six months in 1573-4. Pestilence, as usual,
followed on starvation, so that ' the inhabitants, rich and
poor, fled the country and were scattered abroad '.^
Abu-1 Fazl, with characteristic vagueness, records that
in 1583 or 1584, ' as prices were high on account of the
dryness of the year, the means of subsistence of many
people came to an end '.® He does not trouble to give any
details or even to mention which provinces were affected.
If we may judge from the slovenly way in which he treats
• E. H. I., 3rd ed., p. 146. ante, chap. ii.
' Ibid., p. 374. ' Tabakat, in E. & D., v, 384.
' îw, vol. lii, p. 475. ' A.N., vol. iii, chap. Ixxiv,
* Badaoni, tr. Ranking, i, 549- p. 625.
51 ; E. & D., v, 490, 491. See
the tremendous calamity of 1595-8, we may infer that the

famine of 1583-4 was serious. It does not seem to be
mentioned or even alluded to by other chroniclers.
The famine which began in 1595 (a. h. 1004) and lasted
three or four years until 1598 equalled in its horrors the one
which had occurred in the accessiop. year, and excelled that
visitation by reason of its longer duration. Abu-1 Fazl, as
already observed in chapter x, slurs over the calamity by
using vague words designed to conceal the severity of the
distress, and to save the credit of the imperial government."-
A minor historian, who was less economical of the truth,
lets us know that
' during the year 1004 ii. [August 1595-August 1596] there
was a scarcity of rain throughout the whole of Hindostan,
and a fearful famine raged continuously for three or four
years. . . . Men ate their own kind. The streets and roads
were blocked up with dead bodies, and no assistance could
be rendered for their removal.' ^
The Jesuit missionaries witnessed the effects of the
famine and pestilence in Lahore and Kashmir, but no
contemporary authority cared to record details or to give
any estimate of the extent of the havoc wrought. Nothing
is known concerning the process of recovery, which must
have occupied a long time. The modern historian would
be glad to sacrifice no small part of the existing chronicles
if he could obtain in exchange a full account of the famine
of 1595-8 and of its economic effects.
Epi- Pestilence, as already observed, was the inevitable accom-
and"inun- paniment and consequence of widespread starvation. The
dation. vague statements of the historians give no clue to the
nature of the diseases occasioned by the two great famines
and the minor visitations of Akbar's reign. Cholera, which
usually appears under similar conditions, probably caused
a large part of the mortality in the sixteenth century.
Bubonic plague was regarded by Jahangir as a novelty
when it appeared in 1616.*
' He gives details of the famine Akbar ascended the throne,
in the accession year in order to ^ E. & D., vi, 193.
show that things improved when ' Jahangir, R. B., i, 330, 442 ;
The deadly epidemic of 1575, which extended over

Bengal, and was particularly virulent at Gaur, seems to
have been a kind of malarial fever, or rather several kinds
of that multiform disease.
The destructive inundation which occurred in the Megna
delta in 1584-5 may be mentioned here as one of the calami-
ties which occasionally marred Akbar's record of prosperity.
The Sarkar of Bagla, in which the disaster happened,
extended, we are told, along the sea-shore. ' In the 29th year
of the Divine Era, a terrible inundation occurred at three
o'clock in the afternoon, which swept over the whole Sarkar.
. . . Nearly 200,000 living creatures perished in this flood.' ^
The ancient governments, Hindu or Muhammadan, did Relief
rule,tenth, in theandway of famine relief. The King "'®^^"''^^-

of Kashmiras ina the
nothing, Hemu in the sixteenth century,
both showed heartless indifference to the sufferings of their
people. The most considerable effort to relieve distress
seems to have been that made by Akbar during the famine
of 1595-8, when Shaikh Farid of Bokhara, a man of naturally
generous disposition, was put on special duty to superintend
relief measures. But no particulars of his operations are
recorded, and it is certain that their effect was extremely
limited. The definite famine relief policy of the British
Government as now practised may be said to date from
1877, its main principle being the determination to save
human life so far as possible, even at enormous cost. Not-
withstanding the heroic exertions made for that purpose,
the mortality in the widespread famine of 1900 reached
gigantic figures. We dare not expect that similar calamities
can be altogether averted in the future.
E.&D., vi, 346; Terry, pp. 226-8. which lies below sea-level, is still
Sir Thomas Roe's suite was liable to disastrous inundations,
attacked by the disease at Ahmad- It was visited in 1586 by Ralph
abad in May 1616. Fitch, who calls it Bacola. The
' Am, vol. ii, p. 123. The position of the town of that name
Sarkar of Bagla or Bogla, more is not known. The Jesuit mis-
correctly spelt Bakla, corresponded sionaries who were in the district
roughly with the southern part of in 1599 and 1600 write the name
the modern Bakarganj District. as Bacola, Bacola, or Bacalu. See
The Am (vol. ii, p. 134) names /. G. (1908), vi, 172 ; and Beve-
four mahals which I cannot ridge. The District of Bakarganj,
identify. The district, much of London (Trubner), 1876.
Forests. A few particular, though rather desultory observations
may be made to illustrate the actual condition of various
parts of India in Akbar's time and to emphasize the contrast
with present conditions.
' Pergunnahs [parganas] ', as Oldham correctly states,
' are now subdivisions of a district, containing a large
number of villages, and called by a fixed name. In the
early days of the Mahomedan empire they appear to have
been clearings or cultivated spaces in the forest, occupied
generally by a single, but sometimes by more than one
fraternity or clan.
' The Emperor Baber, in his Autobiography, mentions
that the pergunnahs were surrounded by jungles, and that
the people of the pergunnahs often fled to these jungles to
avoid paying their revenue.'-
' In the days of the Emperor Baber, the rhinoceros
abounded in the country 'adjacent to the Ghogra ; and
wild elephants, first met with in numbers at Karrah, now
in the Futtehpoor^ District, became more common as a
traveller proceeded eastward. We may, therefore, fairly
conclude that the Ghazeepoor District, which is situated
on the Ghogra, and far east of Karrah, must have been in
a great degree a forest, swarming with herds of elephants
and rhinoceros, three or four hundred years ago.' *
I lived in that District more than forty years ago, and
can testify from personal knowledge that no large game
was then to be found anywhere in or near it. Even the
black buck was rare, and there was practically no shooting
to be had except wild-fowl.
Increase The area under cultivation undoubtedly has increased
"ted"^*'^' "^^^^-'y almost everywhere during the last three hundred
area. years. It is not possible to give general comparative statistics,
and attempts to work out the figures for any individual
modern administrative District are difficult and yield
indeterminate results. In certain cases, as in that of Sarkar
Mungir (Monghyr) in Bihar, the Am omits the figures of
area altogether, and in a hundred other ways obstacles
beset the path of the inquirer who seeks to map out the
1 The same state of things con- reference to the tacts as in 1849-50.
tinned to exist in Oudh until the " sic ; read ' Allahabad '.
annexation in 1856. See Sleeman, ' Op. cit., p. 51.
Tour in Oudh, 1858, passim, with
Sarkars of Akbar and compare them with modern Districts.

Elliot, Beames, and many local officers have attempted the
task and attained partial, but admittedly only partial
success.^ The proportionate extension of the cultivated
area has, of course, varied infinitely in different localities.
For instance, Mr» Moreland estimates that in the Fatehpur
District, United Provinces, as a whole, the tillage has about
doubled, but in different parts of the district the increase
varies between 50 and 400 per cent. Oldham, writing in
1870, estimated the cultivated area of the Ghazlpur Sarkar
in the east of the United Provinces to have been one-sixth
of the total area in the reign of Akbar, as against more than
five-sixths when he was writing. All such estimates are
merely rough approximations, and it is not worth while to
pursue the subject in further statistical detail.
The range of the Rhinoceros indicus or unicornis is now Wild
restricted to the forests of the Himalayas and the swampy
tracts at the base of the mountains, but the great beast
was hunted by Babur in the neighbourhood of Peshawar as
well as on the banks of the Gogra.
Akbar captured wild elephants in many places where
now one would be as likely to meet a mammoth, and he
shot tigers near Mathura.
In ancient times the lion used to be found throughout
the greater part of North-western and Central India. At
the present time it is almost extinct,^ only a few specimens
surviving, it is believed, in Kathiawar.
But in 1615, when Terry was encamped at Mandu in
Central India, now included in the Dhar State, lions troubled
the camp as they do at the present day in parts of Africa.
' In those vast and extended woods ', Terry writes, ' there
are lions, tigers, and other beasts of prey, and many wild
elephants. We lay one night in that wood with our carriages,
and those lions came about us, discovering themselves by
their roaring, but we keeping a good fire all night, they
came not near enough to hurt either ourselves or cattle j
' For Subas Agra, Allahabad, (Awadh) and Bihar, Beames in
and Delhi see Elliot, Supplemental J. A. S. B., part i, 1884, pp. 215-
Glossary, ed. Beames, 1869, vol. ii, 32 ; and 1885, pp. 162-82, with
pp. 83-146 ; and for Subas Oudh maps.
1845 D d
those cruel beasts are night-walkers, for in the day they
At thenot.'
appear same place, a little later :
' One night, early in the evening, there was a great lion,
which we saw, came into our yard (though our yard was
compassed about with a stone wall thai: was not low) ; and
my Lord Ambassador having a little white neat shock
that ran out barking at him,^ the lion presently snapt him
up, leapt again over the wall, and away he went.'
Jahangir and his courtiers used to ride down lions, and
kill them ' with their bows and carbines, and launces '.^
It would be easy to give further illustrations of a like kind,
but so much may suffice.
Gardens. The benefits conferred on India either directly by the
Mogul emperors or in their time were not confined to the
administrative reforms already noticed or -to the develop-
ments of art and literature to be discussed in the next
chapter.
Babur grumbled much at the deficiencies of the burning
plains of India in comparison with the delights of his
pleasances at Samarkand and Kabul. He missed nothing
more than the gardens with their murmuring streams to
which he had been accustomed, and did his best to make
a colourable imitation of them by the help of wells and
brick water-courses. Whenever he settled for a time at
any place, his first thought was a garden, and he straight-
way set to work to make one. So at Agra, across the river,
he built a garden palace, where, after four years of sovereignty
in India, his restless spirit passed away. He left directions
that his body should be transported to Kabul, and there
laid to its final rest in ' the sweetest spot of the neighbour-
hood ',a lovely garden at the foot of a ' turreted mountain '
beside a tumbling cascade.
Akbar inherited his grandfather's love for gardens and
flowers, and made many ' paradises ', as the old English
monks called such retreats. The scene of his accession was
set in a well-planned garden, and other similar abodes of
» ' Shock ' or ' shough ', a long- « Terry, pp. 182, 184, 403.
haired, or shaggy dog.
delight were constructed at Fathpur-Sikrl, Sikandara, and

various places. His son Jahangir frequently expresses his
passion for flowers and gardens. The scarlet blossom of
the dhdk tree, he remarks, ' is so beautiful that one cannot
take one's eyes off it '. Shahjahan, the author of the Taj
and its exquisite gardens, continued the family tradition,
but the puritan Aurangzeb cared for none of those things.
The Mogul gardens certainly were a boon to India, and
their merit is only now beginning to be frankly recognized.
Those laid out round the great buildings of the period were
an essential element -in the architectural design, and cannot
be tampered with, save at the cost of spoiling the full
expression of the architects' ideas.^
A garden is naught unless it is graced by a good selection New
of flowers and fruits. Babur, who could not be content veset-""
with the somewhat meagre assortment which satisfied the ables.
taste of the Rajas, devoted much attention to the subject
of enriching the stock of the Indian gardener. He never
rested until the local horticulturist was able to supply him
with good grapes and musk melons. His successors followed
his example and much improved the variety and quaUty of
the flowers, vegetables, and fruits cultivated in Hindostan.
The potato, meaning probably the ' sweet potato ' (Batatas
edtdis or Ipomaea batatas), which had been brought from
.Brazil to Spain in 1519, early found favour in India.^ Terry
mentions the vegetable as being grown along with carrots
in Northern India ; and when Asaf Khan, Jahanglr's brother-
in-law, feasted the ambassador, ' potatoes excellently well
dressed ' were an item in the numerous dishes. The con-
scientious chaplain tasted them all, to his satisfaction.^
Terry's account of the entertainment alluded to deserves Asaf
quotation in full as being an authoritative description, such ^^'J!],^^
as is not to be found elsewhere, of the manners of a great
' See C. M. Villiers Stuart, and Encyd. Brit., ed. 11, s. v.

Gardens of the Great Mughals, ' Potato ' and ' Sweet Potato '.
A. & C. Black, London, 1913 ; It is hardly possible that Terry's
an interesting and well-illustrated potatoes can have been Solanum
book. tuberosum.
' Chambeis, Eneyclopaedia,1904i, ' Terry, pp. 92, 197.
Dd2
Muhammadan noble in the days of Akbar and his son. It

is as follows :
' The Asaph Chan entertained my Lord Ambassador in
a very spacious and a very beautiful tent, where none of
his followers besides myself saw or tasted of that enter-
tainment.
' That tent was kept full of a very pleasant perfume ; in
which scents the King and grandees there take very much
delight. The floor of the tent was first covered all over
with very rich and large carpets, which were covered again
in the places where our dinner stood with other good carpets
made of stitcht leather, to preserve them which were richer ;
and these were covered again with pure white and fine
callico cloths ; and all these covered with very many dishes
of silver ; but for the greater part of those silver dishes,
they are not larger than our largest trencher plates, the
brims of all of them gilt.
' We sat in that large room as it were in a triangle ; the
Ambassador on Asaph Chan's right hand, a good distance
from him ; and myself below ; all of us on the ground, as
they there all do when they eat, with our faces looking each
to the other, and every one of us had his separate mess.
The Ambassador had more dishes by ten, and I less by ten,
than our entertainer had ; yet for my part I had fifty
dishes. They were all set before us at once, and little paths
left betwixt them, that our entertainer's servants (for only
they waited) might come and reach them to us one after
another, and so they did ; so that I tasted of all set before
me, and of most did but taste, though all of them tasted
very well.
' Now of the provision itself ; for our larger dishes, they
were filled with rice, dressed as before described ; and this
rice was presented to us, some of it white, in its own proper
colour, some of it made yellow with saffron, some of it was
made green, and some of it put into a purple colour ; but
by what ingredient I know not ; but this I am sure, that it
all tasted very well : And with rice thus ordered, several of
our dishes were furnished ; and very many more of them with
flesh of several kinds, and with hens and other sorts of fowl
cut in pieces, as before I observed in their Indian cookery.
' To these we had many jellies and culices ; ^ rice ground
to flour, then boiled, and after sweetened with sugar-candy
' Also spelt ' cuUises ', and said cullises ' from Beaumont and
to mean savoury meat jellies. Fletcher.
Webster quotes ' caudles and
and rose-water, to be eaten cold. The flour of rice, mingled

with sweet almonds, made as small as they could, and with
some of the most fleshy parts of hens, stewed with it, and
after, the flesh so beaten into pieces, that it could not be
discerned, all made sweet with rose-water and sugar-candy,
and scented with Ambergrease ; ^ this was another of our
dishes, and a most luscious one, which the Portuguese call
mangee real, food for a King. Many other dishes we had,
made up in cakes, of several forms, of the finest of the
wheat flour, mingled with almonds and sugar-candy, whereof
some were scented, and some not. To these potatoes
excellently well dressed ; and to them divers sallads of the
curious fruits of that country, some preserved in sugar,
and others raw ; and to these many roots candied, almonds
blanched, raisons of the sun,^ prunellas,^ and I know not
what, of all enough to make up the number of dishes before
named ; and with these quelque chose * was that entertain-
ment made up.
' And it was better a great deal, than if it had consisted
of full and heaped up dishes, such as are sometimes amongst
us provided for great and profuse entertainments. Our
bread was of very good excellent wheat, made up very
white and light, in round cakes ; and for our drink, some
of it was brew'd, for ought I know, ever since Noah's flood,
that good innocent water, being all the drink there commonly
used, (as before) and in those hot climates (it being better
digested there than in other parts) it is very sweet, and
allays thirst better than any other liquor can, and therefore
better pleaseth, and agreeth better with every man that
comes and lives there, than any other drink.
' At this entertainment we sat long, and much longer
than we could with ease cross-legged ; but all considered,
our feast in that place was better than Apicius, that famous
Epicure of Rome, with all his witty gluttony (for so Pater-
culus calls it, ingeniosa gula) ^ could have made with all
provisions had from the earth, air, and sea.' *
• Now spelt 'ambergris', scil. ' More common in the corrupt
ambre gris, or grey amber. It is form ' kickshaws '.
a morbid secretion from the in- ° C. Velleius Paterculus, author
testines of the sperm whale, and of a compendium of Iiistory
in Europe is used only as a finished in a. d. 30, and now
material for perfumery. rarely read; served under Tibe-
^ The sun-dried grapes, now rius, and was contemporary with
commonly sold packed in cotton- Apicius.
wool in chip boxes, and known as " Terry, pp. 195-8. Indian
Kabuli. cookery is described in the pages
' Dried plums, the am Bokhdrl preceding,
of the bazaars.
Temper- Asaf Khan gave his guests nothing to drink except water,
fntem^"*^ adhering strictly to the precepts of his religion. His
perance. sovereign, as is well known, had no scruples on the subject,
and drank more or less heavily, generally more, during the
greater part of his life. Intemperance was the besetting sin
of the Timurid royal family, as it was of many other Muslim
ruling families. The grace with which Babur describes
his frequent orgies wins forgiveness for the elegant toper,
and the thoroughness of his reformation when he became
a teetotaller at a dangerous crisis in his fortunes compels
admiration. Humaytin, who is not recorded to have
indulged in excessive drinking, made himself stupid with
opium. Akbar, as we have seen, permitted himself the
practice of both vices. Some of the mad freaks in which
he indulged while under the influence of liquor have been
narrated. They, naturally, occurred while he was still
young. Later in life he rarely drank wine, but habitually
consumed opium. The evil example set by the sovereigns
was followed only too faithfully by the princes and nobles.
Akbar's two younger sons died in early manhood from
chronic alcoholism, and their elder brother was saved from
the same fate by a strong constitution, not by virtue. The
biographies of the nobles recorded by Blochmann record
a surprising number of deaths due to intemperance. One
of the most conspicuous victims of that vice was Mirza
Jani Beg of Sind, who drank himself to death in the Deccan
soon after the fall of Aslrgarh. Another noble of high rank
(Shahbeg Khan, No. 57) used to drink a terrible mixture
of wine, hemp, and two forms of opium. Many other examples
might be cited.
But the vice of intemperance which so disgraced court
circles was not common in decent society elsewhere. Terry
was much impressed by the general sobriety of all ranks,
both Hindu and Musalman, and declares that ' none of
the people there are at any time seen drunk (though they
might find liquor enough to do it) but the very offal and
dregs of that people, and these rarely or very seldom '.
The same eminently sympathetic author names ' temper-
ance, justice, and unwearied devotion ' as characteristic

Indian virtues.^
The fighting Rajput clans all consumed opium freely,
and often to ruinous excess. Speaking generally, the habits
of the people in relation to strong drink and potent drugs
seem to have been much the same as they are now. Princes,
being free from the control of public opinion, always have
been liable to the temptations of vicious excess, and fearful
examples may still be found. Individuals of good social
position below the princely order sometimes give way to
intemperance, but the population, as a whole, is a sober
one to-day, as it was in the days of Akbar and Jahanglr.
Certain castes which permit drinking are apt to exceed the
limits of seemly conviviality on the occasions when they
exercise their liberty. Public opinion in the mass, whether
Hindu or Muhammadan, is distinctly opposed to intem-
perance, and so it has always been.
Tobacco was introduced into the Mogul empire at the Introduc-
close of Akbar's reign, either late in 1604 or early in 1605. tJ,^ppo
The story is so well told by Asad Beg that his narrative, in 1604-5.
although long, deserves to be quoted in full. Bijapur must
have received the drug from Portuguese traders. Asad Beg
writes :
' In Bijapur I had found some tobacco. Never having

seen the like in India, I brought some with me, and pre-
pared ahandsome pipe of jewel work. The stem, the finest
to be procured at Achin, was three cubits in length, beauti-
fully dried and coloured, both ends being adorned with
jewels and enamel. I happened to come across a very
handsome mouthpiece of Yaman cornelian, oval-shaped,
which I set to the stem ; the whole was very handsome.
There was also a golden burner for lighting it, as a proper
accompaniment. Adil Khan [the Sultan of Bijapur] had
given me a betel bag, of very superior workmanship ; this
I filled with fine tobacco, such, that if one leaf be lit, the
whole will continue burning. I arranged all elegantly on
a silver tray. I had a silver tube made to keep the stem
in, and that too was covered with purple velvet.
' His Majesty was enjoying himself after receiving my
» Terry, pp. xi, 232.
presents, and asking me how I had collected so many
strange things in so short a time, when his eye fell upon
the tray with the pipe and its appurtenances ; he expressed
great surprise, and examined the tobacco, which was made
up in pipefuls ; he inquired what it was, and where I had
got it. which
tobacco, The Nawab
is well Khan-i
known in'Azam
Meccareplied :— " Thisandis
and Medina,
this doctor has brought it as a medicine for Your Majesty." ^
His Majesty looked at it, and ordered me to prepare and
take him a pipeful. He began to smoke it, when his physician
approached and forbade his doing so. But His Majesty
was graciously pleased to say he must smoke a little to
gratify me, and taking the mouthpiece into his sacred
mouth, drew two or three breaths. The physician was in
great trouble, and would not let him do more. He [scil.
Akbar] took the pipe from his mouth, and bid the Khan-i
'Azam try it, who took two or three puffs. He then sent
for his druggist, and asked what were its peculiar qualities.
He replied that there was no mention of it in his books 4
but that it was a new invention, and the stems were imported
from China, and the European doctors had written much
in its praise. The first physician said, " In fact, this is an
untried medicine, about which the doctors have written
nothing. How can we describe to Your Majesty the qualities
of such unknown things ? It is not fitting that Your Majesty
should try it." I said to the first physician, " The Europeans
are not so foolish as not to know all about it ; there are
wise men among them who seldom err or commit mistakes.
How can you, before you have tried a thing and found out
its qualities, pass a judgment on it that can be depended
on by the physicians, kings, great men, and nobles ? Things
must be judged of according to their good or bad qualities,
and the decision must be according to the facts of the case."
The physician replied, " We do not want to follow the
Europeans, and adopt a custom, which is not sanctioned by
our own wise men, without trial.'' I said, " It is a strange
thing, for every custom in the world has been new at one
time or other ; from the days of Adam till now they have
gradually been invented. When a new thing is introduced
among a people, and becomes well known in the world,
every one adopts it ; wise men and physicians should
determine according to the good or bad qualities of a thing ;
the good qualities may not appear at once. Thus the China
• This seems to be the only indication that Asad Beg was regarded
as being a physician.
root, not known anciently, Tias been newly discovered, and

is useful in many diseases." ^ When the Emperor heard
me dispute and reason with the physician, he was astonished,
and being much pleased, gave me his blessing, and then
said to Khan-i 'Azam, " JOid you hear how wisely Asad
spoke? Truly, we must not reject a thing that has been
adopted by the wise men of other nations merely because
we cannot find it in our books ; or how shall we progress ? "
The physician was going to say more, when His Majesty
stopped him and called for the priest.^ The priest ascribed
many good qualities to it, but no one could persuade the
physician ; nevertheless, he was a good physician.
' As I had brought a large supply of tobacco and pipes,
I sent some to several of the nobles, while others sent to
ask for some ; indeed, all, without exception, wanted some,
and the practice was introduced. After that the merchants
began to sell it, so the custom of smoking spread rapidly.
His Majesty, however, did not adopt it.' *
Some years later, in 1617, Jahanglr made up his mind
that tobacco was productive of disturbance in most tempera-
ments and constitutions. Accordingly, he forbade the
practice of smoking, as his fellow sovereign. Shah Abbas,
had done in Persia.* But the prohibitions of those autocratic
potentates were no more effectual than the Counterblast to
Tobacco issued by their contemporary, James I of England,
The cultivation of various species of the tobacco plant
{Nicotiana) spread quickly in both India and Persia, and,
as everybody knows, smoking is now nearly universal in
India. Tiie Indian tobacco trade in many forms is of great
magnitude.
' The statistical returns for British India give the average
area under tobacco for the ten years ending 1899-1900 as
approximately 1,700 square miles. It is believed, however,
that the actual cultivation is much higher than these figures
indicate. More than half the recorded area is in Bengal ;
the other chief centres of cultivation, in order of importance,
1 Asad Beg speaks as an expert. Balfour, Cyclopaedia, s. v.
The ' China root ' is the tuberous ^ Presumably meaning a mulla ;
root or underground stem of but, perhaps, one of the Jesuits
various species of Smilax, espeoi- is meant,
ally S. chinensis. It was pro- ' E. & D., vi, 165-7.
duced in plenty in the Sylhet * Jahangir,Il.B.,i, 370; E.&D.,
Sarkar (Am, vol. ii, p. 124). See vi, 351.
Yule and Burnell, Glossary, and
are Madras, Bombay, Burma, the Punjab, and the United
Provinces.' ^
Manu- The information about the state of manufactures in
factures
and Akbar's empire is scanty and sHght. Such notices as exist
inland
trade. refer chiefly to articles of luxury used at court. The emperor
naturally encouraged the production of the well-known
Kashmir shawls, which were made on a large scale at Lahore
as well as in their place of origin. Carpets and other fine
textiles were woven at Agra and Fathpur-Sikrl. Good
cotton cloths were made at Patau in Gujarat, and at Bur-
hanpur in Khandesh. Sunargaon in the Dacca District of
Eastern Bengal was famous for its delicate fabrics, ' the best
and finest cloth made of cotton that is in all India '.^
In the autumn of 1585 Fitch travelled from Agra to
Satgaon by river ' in the companie of one hundred and
fourscore boats laden with Salt, Opium, Hinge [assafoetida].
Lead, Carpets, and divers other commodities down the river
Jemena [Jumna] '. He observes that ' great store ' of cotton
goods was made at Benares. Patna had extensive trade in
raw cotton, cotton cloths, sugar, opium, and other com-
modities. Tanda in Bengal also was a busy cotton mart.
Terry noticed that " many curious boxes, trunks, standishes
[pen-cases], carpets, with other excellent manufactures '
were to be had in the Mogul's dominions.* The ordinary
village industries, of course, were practised as they always
have been throughout the ages.
Foreign The foreign trade of the empire, chiefly in articles of
trade.
luxury so far as imports were concerned, was considerable,
and both Akbar and Jahangir took an interest in its exten-
sion. The seaports, as Terry observes (p. 397), were not
numerous. On the western coast, Surat, a safe and busy
harbour, was the most important ; * and on the eastern
' I.G. (1907), vol. iii, pp. 49- ' Monserrate (1582) writes :—
52, and general index. In North- ' Frequens est in ea mercatorum
ern India tobacco is grown usually conventus, et naviiun concursus :
in small patches, the statistical amne ab ipsis faucibus, ad urbem
record of which is apt to be ipsam, praealto, ac lato, ad quam
imperfect. est tutus portus ' {Commentarius,
" Fitch, pp. 94, 119. p. 551).
» Terry, p. 111.
side, Satgaon, close to Hooghly (Hiigli), seems to have been

the chief mart. * Satagaon ', Fitch says (p. 114), ' is a faire
city for a city of the Moores, and very plentiful! of all
things.'
Terry notes that the customs duties were ' not high, that
strangers of all nations may have the greater encourage-
ment to trade there with him [scil. the Great Mogul] '. But,
in accordance with the accepted economic theory of the
age, traders were strictly forbidden to ' carry any quantity
of silver thence '. Silver was largely imported, as it always
has been and still is ; and in Terry's time the English
purchases were chiefly paid for in that metal (p. 112). The
trade with England had not been established before Akbar's
death.
The chaplain considered indigo and cotton wool to be
' the most staple commodities ', that is to say, the principal
articles of export in the empire (p. 105). Abu-1 Fazl does
not explain the system of customs. The only distinct
reference to port dues in the Ain which I can find is a table
(vol. ii, p. 259) giving the revenue from that source obtained
from ten small ports in Sarkar Sorath, Gujarat, as amount-
ing to the petty sum of 125,228 mahmudls, equivalent to
about £6,000 sterling.
The sdir or miscellaneous revenue collected from Mahals
Bandarban, and Mandawi in the Satgaon Sarkar (vol. ii,
p. 141), amounting to 1,200,000 dams or 30,000 rupees, must
have been customs and export duties.^ The smallness of
the amount confirms Terry's statement that the rate of duty
was low.
Akbar himself was a trader, and did not disdain to earn
commercial profits.^
The articles of luxury imported from foreign countries Chinese
included considerable quantities of Chinese porcelain of P'"'*'^ ^"*'

high quality, which was largely used both by the emperor
and by his Muhammadan nobles. Caste prejudices prevent
" Bandar means ' a port ', and gendum, pertineat ; mercaturis
Mandawi, ' a market '. faciendis, rem quaerit ; eamque
' ' Ac ne aliquid praetermittere non mediocriter- auget ' {Com-
videatur, quod ad peculium au- mentarius, p. 646).
Hindus from using pottery, except of the most fragile and
impermanent kind. Akbar's dinner used to be brought to
him Ln porcelain dishes imported from China.^ When he
died in 1605, he left in Agra alone more than two millions
and a half of rupees worth of ' most elegant vessels of every
kind in porcelain and coloured glass '.^ The glass probably
came from Venice. Little or nothing of that vast store
now exists, but the Indian bazaars still yield occasionally,
or yielded some years ago, good specimens of porcelain
imported during the Mogul period. The favourite ware
was that known to European connoisseurs as ' celadon ',
but at Delhi called ' Ghori '.
' The ware is extremely heavy. The basis is red, and the
glaze, which is very thick, has a dark willow-green colour.
The vases are generally crackled, and the plates or dishes
are deep and sometimes have fluted or gadrooned edges,
Beneath the glaze are usually bouquets of flowers (generally
chrysanthemums), fishes, and other designs.'
Most of the good Indian examples seem to belong to the
Ming period (a. d. 1368-1644), but a few pieces may go
back to the Sung period (a. d. 960-1280). The ware was
specially esteemed because it was believed to split or break
if brought into contact with poisoned food. Other kinds
of Chinese pottery also were imported.^
Security The successful prosecution of commerce is dependent on
of life and ^j^g existence of reasonable security for life and property,
property. •' sr c j
Three hundred years ago people did not expect to find in
either Europe or Asia the elaborate police arrangements
now deemed essential, nor did they consider it a hardship
to meet with robbers now and again, or to be compelled to
defend their persons and goods with their own stout arms.
In Akbar's reign the roads must have been fairly secure in
the more settled parts of the country, although they were
never so safe that precautions in travelling could be dis-
' Peruschi, p. 19. J. I. A., No. 129, January 1915,
" De Laet and Manrique in p. 1, and plates. See also a valu-
' The Treasure of Akbar ', J. R. able article in the first number
A. S., 1915, p. 242. of the Journal of the Hyderabad
' Hendley, ' Foreign Industrial Historical Society, 1916.
Alt Products imported into India,'
pensed with. Some of the wilder regions, especially the

Bhil country in the west, were much infested by daring
banditti, and travellers were well advised to move in large
caravans. Sometimes guards were furnished by the local
authorities. In 1595 the members of the Third Jesuit
Mission, when going to Lahore through Gujarat and Raj-
putana, were obliged to join company with a huge caravan
comprising 400 camels, 100 horses, 100 wagons, and a great
multitude of poor folk on foot. They had a very unpleasant
and tedious journey through sandy and desolate country,
where the supplies were scapty, until they came within
sixty leagues from Lahore, when they reached fertile and
prosperous districts. Late in 1615, when Terry was march-
ing up country to Mandu in order to meet Sir Thomas Roe,
who had summoned him from Surat, he made the long
journey of four hundred miles ' very safely ', although his
company was small, comprising only four other Englishmen
and about twenty natives of the country. In some of the
more dangerous spots they were protected by guards deputed
by the governor. The party was attacked only once, near
Baroda.i
The roads, except certain great highways, were not good, Roads
and permanent bridges over even the smaller rivers were bridges
rare. Terry did not happen to see any, but a few existed,
of which the most notable, perhaps, was the substantial
structure erected early in Akbar's reign by Munim Khan
at Jaunpiu". It still stands and does good service. Ordi-
narily, rivers had to be crossed by fords, ferries, or bridges
of boats, and the passage was extremely difficult when the
streams were in flood. Akbar's chief engineer, Kasim
Khan, was specially skilful in constructing bridges of boats
for the passage of the imperial army. He built several
such over the rivers of the Panjab in 1581. At Agra and
some other cities boat bridges were kept up for ordinary
traffic as long as the state of the rivers permitted. Tom
Coryate immensely admired the ' Long Walk ', four hundred
miles in length, ' shaded by great trees on both sides ',
* pp. 161, 171. Terry spells ' Brodera '.
which was the king's highway between Lahore and Agra.

' This ', says Terry (p. 81), ' is looked upon by travellers,
who have found the comfort of that cool shade, as one of
the rarest and most beneficial works in the whole world.'
The section of the highway between Agra and Delhi had
been constructed by Sher Shah, to whom Akbar was in-
debted for so many ideas.^ Sarais, or public inns, and wells
were provided on the main roads. The provision of such
conveniences on highways was in accordance with the
practice of the best Hindu kings in ancient times.
• 'Sher
which now Khan
runs made
from the
Delhiroad
to ' tract
between east that
of theriverJumna
and lying
the
Agra [scil. that going west of the Ganges] between those two places.
Jumna through Mathura], by There was so much security in
cutting through jungles, remov- travelling during his reign, &c.'
ing obstacles, and building sarais. (Nuru-1 Hakk, in E. & D., vi,
Before that time people had to 188).
travel through the Doab [scil. the
CHAPTER XV
LITERATURE AND ART
The Indo-Persian literature of Akbar's reign, putting Indo-

aside commentaries on the Koran and other purely theo- jiterat"
logical or technical works, may be classified under the ture.
heads of translations, histories, letters, and verse. Probably
nobody nowadays reads the translations from Sanskrit books
so laboriously made by Badaoni and other people at the
command of Akbar. It would be difficult to obtain a com-
petent opinion on their literary merit, and it does not seem
worth while to try to obtain it. The principal collection of
letters, that by Abu-1 Fazl, has not been translated. The
histories, which are enumerated in the bibliography, are
of value as records of fact rather than as literature. Nizamu-d
din, who says that he wrote purposely in a simple style,
seems to have succeeded in so doing. The language of
Badaoni is more difficult. His composition is utterly lack-
ing in arrangement and literary proportion. Abu-1 Fazl
alone among the historians aimed at producing a work
worthy to be ranked as literature, but can hardly be said
to have succeeded, as will be explained presently.
The versifiers, or so-called poets, were extremely numerous.
Abu-1 Fazl tells us that although Akbar did not care for
them, ' thousands of poets are continually at court, and
many among them have completed a dtwdn (collection of
artificial odes), or have written a masnawi (composition in
rhymed couplets) '. The author then proceeds to enumerate
and criticize ' the best among them ', numbering 59, who
had been presented at court. He further names 15 others
who had not been presented but had sent encomiums to
His Majesty from various places in Persia.^ Abu-1 Fazl
gives many extracts from the writings of the select 59,
which I have read in their English dress, without finding
' Ain, vol. i, pp. 548, 611>
a single sentiment worth quoting ; although the extracts
include passages from the works of his brother Faizi, the
' king of poets ', which Abu-1 Fazl considered to enshrine
' gems of thought '.
Most of the authors prostitute the word love to the
service of unholy passion, and Faizi sins in that way like
the others.
Many of the persons who claimed the honourable name
of poet had no better claim to that title than the composer
of acrostics for a magazine has. They exercised their
perverse ingenuity in torturing words into all sorts of shapes,
omitting words with dotted letters, constructing cunningly
devised chronograms, and such like trivialities. Exercises
of the kind, whatever their technical merits may be, certainly
are not poetry. Blochmann held that ' after Amir Khusrau
of Delhi, Muhammadan India has seen no greater poet
than Faizi '.^ No critic could be in a better position to
judge. Admitting the justice of Blochmann's verdict, I can
only say that the other " poets ' of Muhammadan India
must be worth very little. They do not seem to have written
anything with substance in it sufficient to stand the ordeal
of translation. All or nearly all of them, if an opinion may
be formed upon the strength of Blochmann's translations
of Abu-1 Fazl's picked extracts, are disgraced by the filthi-
ness to which allusion has been made.
Abu-1
Fazl
No such reproach can be levelled against Abu-1 Fazl,
undoubtedly the ablest among the authors of the reign,
writing in Persian. However severe may be the criticisms
of his literary style, he is absolutely free from impurity.
His prose style, as read in Mr. Beveridge's translation of the
Akbarndma, is intolerable to me. Simple facts are wrapped
in a cloud of almost meaningless rhetoric, and an indelible
impression is produced on the mind of the reader that the
author lacks sincerity. Nevertheless, Blochmann endorsed
the judgement of the author of the Ma'dsiru-l Umard that
' as a writer Abu-1 Fazl stands unrivalled. His style is
grand and free from the technicalities and flimsy prettinesses
' Aln, vol. i, Biography, p. xvi.^
LITERATURE AND ART 417
of other munshts (secretaries), and the force of his words,

the structure of his sentences, the suitableness of his com-
pounds, and the elegance of his periods are such that it
would be difficult for any one to imitate them.' ^
Few Europeans can honestly agree with that criticism.
By far the most satisfactory of Abu-1 Fazl's compositions,
in my judgement, and probably in that of most western
readers, is the interesting autobiography which he appended
to the third volume of the Ain-i Akbari. The style, although
not altogether free from the wearisome affectation in which
the author delighted, is far more straightforward and sincere
than that of the Akbarndma.
On the whole, so far as I can see, the Indo-Persian works
of Akbar's age possess little interest as monuments of
literary art.
It is a relief to turn from the triviality and impurity of The
most of the versifiers in Persian to the virile, pure work man of
of a great Hindu — the tallest tree in the ' magic garden ' the age.
of mediaeval Hindu poesy. His name will not be found
in the Ain-i Akbari, or in the pages of any Muslim annalist,
or in the books by European authors based on the narratives
of the Persian historians. Yet that Hindu was the greatest
man of his age in India — greater even than Akbar himself,
inasmuch as the conquest of the hearts and minds of millions
of men and women effected by the poet was an achievement
infinitely more lasting and important than any or all of the
victories gained in war by the monarch. Although the poet
mmabered among his friends and admirers both Raja Man
Singh of Amber and the Khan Khanan (Mirza Abdu-r rahim ),^
the two most powerful nobles of Akbar's later years, he does
not appear ever to have been brought to the notice of
• Ain, vol. i, Biography, p. xxix. Raja Man Singh (No. 109 of

' The Khan Khanan (Grierson, Grierson) also was a liberal patron
Vernacular Literature, No. 108), of learning and literature. Sir
who wrote fluently under the George Grierson informs me that
name of Rahim in Persian as well the friend of Tulsi Das named
as in Arabic, Turld, Sanskrit, and Todar Mall was a merchant of
Hindi, was reckoned the Maecenas Benares, and not the famous
of his age (Blochmann, in Aln, finance minister, as Sir George
vol. i, p. see
Rahlml 332). E. For
& the
D., Ma'asir-i
vi, 237. formerly supposed him to be.
1846 E e
either the emperor or Abu-1 Fazl. Probably the explana-

tion may be that the two nobles named did not become
acquainted with the poet until after the death of Akbar, in
1605. Neither the secretary nor his master showed any
unwillingness to recognize Hindu merit, and if they had
known of the genius who lived a quiet life at Benares they
would not have been slow to acknowledge his excellence
and encourage him in his undying labours.
Tulsi Tulsi Das was the name of the Hindu for whom such
life.' pre-eminence is claimed. He enjoyed no advantages of
birth, fortune, or education, being the son of ordinary
Brahman parents, who exposed him in his infancy to live
or die, because he had been born in an unlucky hour. Fate
or providence willed that the child should be picked up by
a wandering mendicant, who gave him sustenance as well
as instruction in the legendary lore of Rama. The rescued
child wandered about with his adoptive parent, living for
some time at Chitrakut and Rajapur, in the Banda District
of Bundelkhand. Most of the latter part of his long life
was spent at Benares, where he wrote the bulk of his poems.
His literary career, which did not begin until he was past
the age of forty, lasted for forty years, from 1574 to 1614.
In 1623 he died, aged over ninety. Such are the simple
facts of his life, which matter little. His writings matter
much.
The The principal composition of Tulsi Das, on which his
yan, or fame mainly rests, is the huge epic poem in seven books,
Ram- commonly known as the Ramdyan, but entitled by the
manas. author the ' Lake of the Deeds of Ram ' {Bdm-charit mdnas).
The title was intended to signify that the reading and
recitation of the poem would purify the student from sin,
as bathing in the waters of a sacred lake is believed to
purify the pilgrim. The work is so large that Growse's
prose translation occupies 562 quarto pages.^ The subject
is the story of the deeds of the hero Ram or Rama, who is
regarded as God manifested in the flesh, and entitled to the
• Growse's excellent version de- the original as faithfully as prose
serves the highest praise. Writ- can reproduce verse,
ten in good English, it represents
deepest reverence. Whatever the explanation of the fact

may be, it is certain that the theology approaches so closely
to that of Christianity that many passages might be applied
to Christian uses by simply substituting the name of Jesus
for that of Ram. Grierson cites a long prayer, which, as
he justly observes, might be printed in a Christian prayer-
book. The morality of the poem is as lofty as the theology,
and there is not an impure word or idea in it from beginning
to end. Rama's wife, Sita, is depicted as the ideal of woman-
hood. The poem is to the Hindus of northern India even
more than the Bible is to ordinary British Christians. ' In
its own country it is supreme above all other literature and
exercises an influence which it would be difficult to exag-
gerate.' That influence is all for good. The religion taught
is that of the love of God — a personal God, who loves and
cares for his children, and makes himself understood through
his incarnation, Rama the Saviour.
The poem is written in archaic Hindi, the vernacular of Literary
Ajodhya and surroimding districts^ in the sixteenth century, ^^^^
recorded phonetically. It is consequently difficult for poem.
European students, and very few people of European birth
are able to read it in the original with ease. Sir George
Grierson, one of the few, is firmly convinced that the poem
is * the work of a great genius '. He admits that ' as a work
of art it has to European readers its prolixities and episodes
which grate against Occidental tastes ' ; but, notwithstand-
ing, he holds to the opinion that the poem is a masterpiece.
He points out that the style varies with the subject, some
passages being filled with ' infinite pathos ', while others
are expressed in the form of sententious aphorisms, so much
favoured by Hindu authors. The characters, each of which
has a well-defined personality, ' live and move with all the
dignity of a heroic age '. The opinion of other competent
experts coincides with that of Grierson, and, although my
acquaintance with the original is extremely slight, I may
say that I concur cordially. In a letter dated January 30,
1916, Sir George Grierson expresses himself even more
strongly than he has done inE print,
e 2 and declares that ' I still
think that Tulsi Das is the most important figure in the

whole of Indian hterature ',
Nature Tulsi Das, although not averse to using the conventional
TuJsi^^ ° language of Indian poets in many passages, is rightly praised
Das. because his narrative ' teems with similes drawn, not from
the traditions of the schools, but from nature herself, and
better than Kalidasa at his best '. The three examples
following, which I venture to clothe in metrical garb, may
be thought sufficient to justify the criticism quoted.
Humility
E'en as the tree with golden fruitage blest

Gladly bows down to earth its lofty crest ;
Just so, the more enrich'd by fortune kind,
More and more humble grows the noble mind.
The tortured
ii heart
In time of drouth the scorching earth finds rest
By cracking ; but within my burning breast
The tortured heart, enduring ceaseless grief.
Cracks not, while God's decree forbids relief.
Hi
The teacher's word
As at the healthful breath of autumn's breeze
The noxious swarm of rain-fed insects flees ;
So, at the teacher's word, the mist of doubt
And error vanishes in headlong rout.^
Sur Das. Among the numerous Hindu poets who graced the court
' The references to Growse's the body that God has given me.'
translation are No. 1, book iii, in. ' Under the influence of the
Doha 35 (=43 of standard ed. autumn earth is rid of its insect
of text) ; No. 2, book ii, Doha 141 swarms, as a man, who has found
(= 146 of text) ; No. 3, book iv, a good teacher, is relieved from
DoM 17 (= 18 of text). all doubt and error.'
Growse renders in prose : Grierson translates the last
i. ' The tree laden with fruit passage more literally thus :
bowed low to the ground, like ' The swarms of living creatures
a generous soul whom every in- with which, in the rainy season,
crease of fortune renders only the earth was fulfilled, are gone,
more humble than before.' When they found the Autirnm
ii. ' My heart bereft of
beloved is like clay drained its approaching, they departed. So,
of when a man flndeth a holy
water, but it cracks not ; now spiritual guide, all doubts and
I know how capable of torture is errors vanish.'
or reign of Akbar, the second place after Tulsl Das is accorded

by unanimous consent to Sur Das, ' the blind bard of Agra ',
who, with his father, Ramdas, is included in Abu-1 Fazl's list
of thirty-six singers and musicians employed at court.^ Abu-1
Fazl does not refer to the written compositions of Sur Das,
which, according to Grierson, are characterized by ' cloying
sweetness '. He is said to have excelled in all styles.
It is impossible in this place to go farther into detail.
Readers who desire to pursue the subject will find guidance
in the works enumerated in the bibliography.
The brilliant development of original Hindi poetry in Causes of
the time of Akbar may be ascribed partly, like the con- niMrt°of
temporary development of literature in England, to the Hindi
undefinable influence exercised by a glorious and victorious poetry.
reign, which necessarily produces a stimulating effect on all
the activities of the human mind. The emperor's known
and avowed partiality for Hindu practices and modes of
thought, and the active interest which he showed in
acquiring a knowledge of the ancient literature of India,
contributed to the satisfactory result, as did the compara-
tive peace secured by a government stronger than its pre-
decessors. Although the achievement of Tulsl Das may
not have been brought to the personal knowledge of Akbar,
the poet felt that he could carry on his prolonged labours
without fear of disturbance or persecution. Almost all
Hindu poetry of merit is closely associated with the unre-
stricted practice of the Hindu religion, which was absolutely
assured by the government of Akbar. Muhammadans alone
had reason to complain that the imperial principles of
universal toleration were often disregarded to their detri-
ment. The Muhammadan literature of the time, written
mainly by courtiers and officials, appears to be far inferior
in originality to the Hindi poetry. The impetus given to
Hindi literature by the policy of Akbar lasted long after
his death, throughout the reign of Jahangir, who ordinarily
continued his father's system of government, and even into
the reigns of Shahjahan and Aurangzeb, the temple-breakers.^
' Aln, vol. i, p. 612. destiuction of temples see Bad-
' For Shahjahan's extensive shah-nama in £. & D., vii, 36.
Music The cognate subject of music, to which reference has been
an song, j^g^^jg already in chapter iii, requii:es more explicit notice.
Akbar, we are told,
' pays much attention to music and is the patron of all who
practice this enchanting art. There are numerous musicians
at court, Hindus, Iranis, Turanis, Kashmiris, both men and
women. The court musicians are arranged in seven divisions,
one for each day of the week '.
Abu-1 Fazl goes on to give a list of thirty-six singers and
performers on sundry instruments, which includes the name
of Baz Bahadur, the ex-king of Malwa, who had been
appointed a mansabddr of 1,000, and is described as 'a
singer without rival '.
The fact that many of the names are Hindu, with the
title Khan added, indicates that the professional artists at a
Muhammadan court often found it convenient and profitable
to conform to Islam. The list does not include any women.
Several of the persons named were poets as well as singers.
According to Abu-1 Fazl, Akbar was the master of ' such
a knowledge of the science of music as trained musicians do
not possess ; and he is likewise an excellent hand at per-
'forming, especially on the nakkdrah (kettle-drum)'. The
emperor made a special study of Hindi vocalization under
Lai Kalawant, or Miyan Lai, who taught him ' every
breathing and sound that appertains to the Hindi language '.^
Details of the daily routine of the formal performances by
the palace band are given in the Am-i Akharl.
All authorities and traditions are agreed that the best
performer at Akbar's court was Miyan Tansen, whom Akbar,
in the seventh year of the reign, had required the Raja of
Riwa to surrender. Abu-1 Fazl declared that "a singer like
him has not been.in India for the last thousand years '. He
was a close friend of Stir Das, and, like many of his con-
temporaries, received much of his musical education at
Gwalior, where Raja Man Singh Tomar (1486-1518) had
Elphinstone exaggerated the sup- tion of temples when policy
posed 'beneficent and paternal' required him to pose as a good
conduct of Shahjahan. Jahangir Musalman.
occasionally did a little desecra- ' Jahangir, R. B., i, 150.
^v ;,{,%
t- ^?f ^■^t---^-';*
ii»m>"-^^'
..,jy;iîMyiiipi
TANSEN THE SINGER
RAJA BIRBAL AKBAR

founded a school of music. Tansen became a Muhammadan,

assumed or was given the title of Mirza, and is buried in
Muslim holy ground at Gwalior. Unfortunately, he per-
mitted himself to be ensnared by the prevailing vice of
Musalmans in that age. His talents included the com-
position ofverse. The date of his death does not seem to
be recorded, but he certainly continued to serve in the
court of Jahangir.i
The active interest shown by Akbar in the ancient San- Transla-
skrit literature of India, to which allusion has been made, f^°^
was chiefly manifested by his orders for the preparation of Sanskrit,
Persian translations and adaptations of the epics and other
famous works. The versions, when completed with mag-
nificent bindings and illustrations, were consigned to the
immense imperial library at Agra. The Sanskrit books
translated or paraphrased comprised the Atharva Veda ;
both of the great epics, namely, the Mahabhdrata and the
Bamdyana of Valmiki; the IMavatl, a treatise on arithmetic ;
and many others. The work of translation was not confined
to Sanskrit authors. Greek and Arabic books were also
dealt with. The Khan Khanan rendered into Persian the
celebrated Memoirs of Babur, which had been written in
Turki.2 FaizI made the version of the treatise on arithmetic,
and Badaoni, to his intense disgust, was compelled to
labour on the infidel Mahabhdrata and Rdmdyana. He
could find only faint comfort in the thought that he was
a blameless victim of destiny :
' But such is my fate,- to be employed on such works.
Nevertheless, I console myself with the reflection that what
is predestined must come to pass.' *
' For Akbar's music and Tan- Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior
sen see ante, chap, iii ; Ain, must not be confounded with his
vol. i, pp. 51 (AlQ 19, with plates) namesake, the Kachhwaha of
and 611 ; A. N., ii, 279 ; Grierson, Amber (Jaipur). A good full-
Vemacular Literature,'So. 60, &c.; length portrait of Tansen, on a
A. S. R., ii, 370, with description small scale, is included in a well-
of Tansen's tomb ; A. H. Fox executed picture of Jahangir's
Strangways, The Music of Hindo- reign, depicting a coiul; group,
Stan, Oxford, 1914, p. 83. Jahan- which is in the possession of the
^ confirms Abu-1 Fazl's opinion Royal Asiatic Society,
of Tansen's skill (Jahan^, R. B., " Ain, book i, Ain 84 ; vol. i,
i, 413). TansSn is labelled as pp. 103-6.
Mirza in the nauratna drawing. ' Badaoni, ii, 330, 347, 425.
The nobles were required to take copies of the illustrated
adaptation of the Mahabhdrata, which was entitled the
Razmndma?-
Library. Akbar's ancestors, notwithstanding their stormy lives,
had loved and collected books. Akbar, although he had
not taken the trouble to learn to read, yet, ' by a peculiar
acquisitiveness and a talent for selection, by no means
common, had made his own all that can be seen and read
in books '.^ In order that material for his studies through
the medium of the ear might not be lacking, he collected
an enormous library of extraordinary pecuniary value, to
which probably no parallel then existed or ever has existed
in the world. All the books were manuscripts. Akbar cared
nothing for printed volumes, and got rid of the choice
specimens presented to him by the first Jesuit mission.
When the inventory of his treasures preserved in the fort
of Agra was taken after his death, in October 1605, the
books, ' written by great men, mostly by very ancient and
serious authors ', adorned with extremely valuable bindings,
and in many cases enriched with costly illustrations by the
best artists, numbered 24,000, valued at nearly six and a half
millions of rupees (6,463,731). The average valuation for
each volume therefore comes to from £27 to £30, according
to the rate of exchange assumed. The total value similarly
was equivalent to £646,373 or £737,169. 4,300 choice
manuscripts had been transferred from Faizi's library after
his death, in 1595. The figures of the inventory are beyond
doubt, being taken from official registers copied indepen-
dently by two European authors.^
Printing. No native Indian government or private specidator
attempted to use the art of printing by types until near the
close of the eighteenth century, when certain Bengali works
were printed under European supervision. The earliest
^ See Colonel Hendley's fine Akbar ' in J. R. A. S., April 1915.
edition (1883) of the plates in tlie Mandelslo, who gives the same
Jaipur copy (vol. iv, of Memorials figures, does not count, as his
of the Jeypore Exhibition). editor copied from either Man-
2 Badaoni, ii, 263.
' The authors are Manrique and library riquesee
or de Blochmann
Laet. For inFaizi's
Aln,
de Laet. See ' The Treasure of vol. i, p. 491.
Indian printing had been done by the Jesuits in presses at

Goa and Rachol, beginning about the middle of the sixteenth
century. Very few specimens of the productions of those
presses have survived, and not even one example can be
traced of the books printed at Ambalacatta in Cochin
during the seventeenth century. It is difficult to cut satis-
factory types for the Perso-Arabic alphabet,^ which was
used for the works in Akbar's library, and it is impossible
to produce with types results at all comparable with the
beautiful calligraphy of the best manuscripts written
in Persian. Akbar, who did not want books written in
European languages, would have been horrified to see the
works of his favourite authors reproduced by a mechanical
process, instead of by the artistry of the skilful penmen
who found liberal patronage at his court. His inability to
read did not hinder him from enjoying and appreciating the
beauty of the writing turned out by the best calligraphists,
who were esteemed as artists at least as highly as the
draughtsmen and painters who enriched the manuscripts
with delicately executed illustrations .^
Asiatic connoisseurs in China, Persia, Central Asia, and Calli-
India treat fine handwriting or calligraphy seriously as
a branch of art, and are often attracted by the penmanship
of a manuscript more than by the illustrations, if any.
Specimens of the handiwork of the more celebrated artists
in writing were carefully collected and preserved with
reverence in albums, of which many still exist. Abu-1
Fazl enumerates eight styles of writing as being current
in his day in Turkey, Turkistan, Persia, and India, dis-
tinguished one from the other chiefly by the proportion of
curved to straight lines. In the Ktific script the straight
lines were five-sixths of the whole, whereas in the Nastalik,
which Akbar preferred, all the lines were curved. The
author of the Ain-i Akbarl goes into much detail on the
subject, which would not interest many modern readers.
1 For a sketch of the history of an block-printing, derived from
printing in India see Balfour, China, never came into use in
Cyciopaedia of India, 3rd ed., India, so far as I know.
1885, s.v. Printing. The Tibet-
The most renowned master of Nastalik in Akbar's time was

Muhammad Husain of Kashmir, who was honoured by the
title of ' Gold-pen ' {Zamn-kalam). Many other names of
eminent scribes are recorded. The taste for elegant pen-
manship isnot extinct, but the art is now little practised
in India because it is no longer profitable. Sir John Malcolm,
writing of experience in Persia early in the nineteenth
century, remarks :
' I have known seven pounds given for four lines written
by Derweish Mujeed, a celebrated penman, who has been
dead some time, and whose beautiful specimens of writing
are now' scarce.' ^
It is unlikely that any Indian connoisseur would now pay
such a price.
Origin During the early years of his reign Akbar had had no
of Indo-
Persian time to spare for the luxuries of art. A hard fight was
pictorial needed to recover the Indian dominions of his father and
art.
grandfather, and to free himself from the control of his
womankind and the Uzbeg nobles. In 1569, when he
decided to build Fathpur-Sikri as a memorial of the birth
of his son and heir, much fighting remained to be done ;
but he had then become master of Hindostan with its great
fortresses, and was able to feel himself to be indeed a king,
ijrom about that year his active patronage of art and
artists may be dated. The amenities of life in the Mogul
court were regulated on the Persian model. The monarchs
of Persia, who belonged to the dissenting Shia sect of
Islam, took a lively interest in various forms of art and paid
little regard to the ancient Mosaic and Koranic prohibition
of the artistic use of images. The Persian draughtsmen
and painters were thus able to create an important school,
and produce multitudes of coloured drawings — often loosely
called miniatures — filled with dainty representations of
men, women, beasts, and birds. The earliest works of that
school date from the thirteenth century. The Persian
' Hist, of Persia, new ed., 1829, A work in Persian or Urdu, by
vol. ii, p. 421 n. For the subject Professor M. Hidayat Husain,
generally see Huart, Les Calli- entitled Tadhkira-i KhushnmHsan,
graphes et les Miniaturistes de is said to be
examined it. good, but I have not
I'Orient Musalman, Paris 1908.
master most closely comiected with the Indian branch of

the school founded by Akbar was Bihzad of Herat, the
contemporary of Babur. His work, more than that of
any other man, was taken as a model by the numerous
artists whom Akbar collected round him at Fathpur-Sikri.
The Ddrdbndmah, a story-book prepared to Akbar's order,
includes a composition by Bihzad, touched up by Abdu-s
samad (Abdul Samad), who had been the drawing-master
of Akbar as a boy. That picture may be regarded as one of
the earliest book illustrations of the Indo-Persian school,
and it is possible that it may even antedate the foundation
of Fathpur-Sikri.i
The main subject, two men and a woman seated among
purely conventional rocks, is in the older Persian style. It
is not difficult to recognize the touch of Abdu-s samad in
the little bits of feathery foliage inserted on the right.^
Khwaja Abdu-s samad, the most notable artist at Akbar's Khwaja
court in the early years of the reign, and a native of Shiraz samad.
in Persia, had been an intimate friend of Humayun. His
title Shtrin-kalam, or ' Sweet-pen ', indicates that he must
have been a skilled calligraphist. Akbar appointed him to
be Master of the Mint at the capital in the twenty-second
regnal year, and subsequently sent him to Multan as Dlwan
or Revenue Commissioner. Although his official grading
was only that of a ' commander of 400 ' he enjoyed much
influence at court. His skill of eye and hand was so mar-
vellous that he is recorded to have written on a poppy seed
the much venerated chapter 112 of the Koran, which is
reputed to be worth a third of the whole book.' It runs
thus :
' In the Name of the most merciful God. Say, God is our
God ; the eternal God : he begetteth not, neither is he
begotten ; and there is not any one like unto him.' *
' The portrait of Akbar as a the origmal. The style is crude
boy aged about fifteen (Johnson and the picture ill arranged.
Collection, I.O., vol. xviii, fol. 4) ' H. F. A., PI. cxiii (from B. M.
must have been painted about Or. 4615, fol. 103 rev.).
1557, and may be the earliest ' Blochmann, Ain, vol. i, pp,
known work of the Indo-Persian 107, 495 (Nq. 266).'
school (frontispiece of this work). i ■ * Sale's version.
It is anonymous, and probably
Jahangir, a competent judge, was of opinion that the
Khwaja ' in the art of painting had no equal in the age '.
That emperor, immediately after his accession, promoted
the artist's son, Sharif Khan, to the office of Vizier, invested
him with the lofty title of Amiru-1 Umara, or ' Premier
Noble ', and raised him to the princely dignity of ' com-
mander of 5,000 '.^ The foundation of the Indo-Persian
school of pictorial art may be attributed to Khwaja Abdu-s
samad, working with the powerful aid of Akbar's imperial
patronage.
Akbar's Akbar, although not in a position to bestow extensive
ps^nting. patronage on artists until his throne had been secured,
had shown a great predilection for painting from his earliest
youth. Characteristically, he sought a theological justifica-
tion for his personal taste, remarking to friends assembled
at a private party :
' There are many that hate painting ; but such men
I dislike. It appears to me as if a painter had quite peculiar
means of recognizing God; for a painter in sketching any-
thing that has life, and in devising its limbs, one after the
other, must come to feel that he cannot bestow individuality
upon his work, and is thus forced to think of God, the
Giver of life, and will thus increase in knowledge.' ^
Late in the reign Abu-1 Fazl was able to affirm that
more than a hundred painters had become famous masters
of the art, while many more had attained moderate success.
Seven- The same author gives the names of seventeen specially
eminent distinguished artists. Examples of the work of all those
artists, persons, with the exception, perhaps, of one, are to be seen
in London.^ The collection of signed pictures from the
Akbarndma at South Kensington alone would suffice as
material for a critical examination of the merits of each
of the principal artists of Akbar's reign. But no modern
critic has yet attempted the task of accurately discriminating
' Jahangir, R. B., i, 15. The " Aln, vol. i, p. 108.
splendid reward was for services ' The exception is Haribans, of
rendered to Prince Salim in the whose art I have not seen a speci-
contest with his father, and men, but examples of his skill
especially, it was believed, for may exist, wMeh have escaped
arranging
Fazl. the murder of Abu-1 my search.
the styles of the various draughtsmen and colourists of the

age. Jahanglr professed his ability to identify the work
of any artist.
' As regards myself,' he observes, " my liking for painting

and my practice in judging it have arrived at such a point
that when any work is brought before me, either of deceased
artists or of those of the present day, without the names
being told me, I say on the spur of the moment that it is
the work of such and such a man. And if there be a picture
containing many portraits, and each face be the work of
a different master, I can discover which face is the work
of each of them. If any other person has put in the eye
and eyebrow of a face, I can perceive whose work the
original face is, and who has painted the eye and eyebrows.' ^
We may feel assured that the accuracy of the imperial
guesses was never disputed. Although Akbar is not recorded
to have claimed such marvellous connoisseurship, there
can be little doubt that he too was well acquainted with
the several merits of individuals in the crowd of artists
whom he gathered around him. His exceptionally powerful
memory and firm grasp of minute details must have been
effective aids to his natural good taste. Jahanglr's words
allude to the curious practice of the collaboration of several
persons on one small work, which was frequent, and is
abundantly vouched for by the signatures.
The death of the artist Daswanth, a pupil of Abdu-s Hindu
samad, in 1584, has been mentioned already in chapter viii. ^'îsts.
His tragic story is of peculiar interest as affording definite
proof that when Akbar and Abdu-s samad introduced
Persian technique into India they had a foundation of
indigenous art on which to build. Unfortunately, the
Indian works executed during the long period of nine
centuries between the latest paintings at Ajanta and the
earliest at Fathpur-SikrI have perished almost without
exception, and but for Abu-1 Fazl's express testimony the
continued existence of Hindu schools of painting throughout
the ages would be matter of faith and inference rather
than of positive certainty. Akbar made full use of the
' Jahan^r, R. B., i, 20.
abundant indigenous talent at his disposal. Out of the
seventeen artists of his reign named as being pre-eminent
no less than thirteen are Hindus. Abu-1 Fazl specially
admired the productions of the Hindu painters, and declares
that ' their pictures surpass our conceptions of things.
Few, indeed, in the whole world are found equal to them '.
Basawan disputed with Daswanth the first place among
the Hindu artists of Akbar's age. The Indian influence
quickly asserted itself and resulted in the evolution of
a school differing profoundly in spirit' from the Persian
school, which at first had been directly imitated.^
For- The Indians, both Hindu and Muhammadan, speedily
established a distinct superiority in the art of portraiture.
' His Majesty himself sat for his likeness, and also ordered
to have the likenesses taken of all the grandees of the realm.
An immense album was thus formed ; those that have
passed away have received a new life, and those who are
still alive have immortality promised them.' ^
The gnawing tooth of time and the heavy hand of bar-
barous men have dealt hardly with that ' immense album '.
Few of the separately executed portraits of Akbar's time
seem to have survived in original, and it may be doubted
if any of the portraits now extant come from the court
album.
At the time of Jahangir's accession a picture gallery was
attached to the library in the Agra fort, both institutions
being under the care of Maktub Khan.*
Organiza- The liberal patronage accorded to painters and calli-
tion.
graphers necessarily involved the maintenance of a large
staff of skilled artisans employed as binders, gilders, &c.,
who were classed as infantry soldiers in accordance with
the military framework of Akbar's government. Similarly,
the artists and other principal people held military rank
as Mansabddrs or Ahadts, and as such drew their salaries.
The emperor was in the habit of examining the works
' See H. F. A., chaps, ix (sec. S) » Jahangir, R. B., i, 12. The
and XV, and Dr. Coomaraswamy's emperor quotes an ingenious
publications on Rajput painting. chronogram composed by the
= Ain, vol. i, p. 108. See post, librarian.
Bibliography, section F.
produced at weekly inspections, when he distributed rewards

or increased salaries at his royal pleasure. Jahangir, who
was more free-handed than Akbar, mentions on one occasion
the bestowal of 2,000 rupees on Farrukh Beg the Kalmak
(Calmuck), an excellent painter, whom Akbar had taken
over from his brother.^ The donations bestowed by Akbar
probably were on a more economical scale.
The labours of Akbar's artists were not confined to book Frescoes,
illustrations or small album pictures. The art of fresco
painting on a large scale was sedulously and successfully
cultivated, being applied to the interior walls of many
buildings at Fathpur-Sikri and elsewhere during the reigns
of both Akbar and his son. The extant fragments, few
and sadly mutilated, are sufficient to show that the art of
the fresco painter was of high quality. It was Persian in
technique on the whole, but much modified by Indian,
Chinese, and European influence. The most interesting
fragment surviving is that of the fine composition on the
north wall of Akbar's bedroom at Fathpur-Sikri, which
may be called ' Eight Men in a Boat '.^ The building may
be dated about 1570 or 1571,
Numerous decorative patterns, which are better preserved
than the figure subjects, are of the highest excellence.
Akbar was glad to engage the services of a good artist
from any country, and allowed each to work in the style
suited to him.*
Architecture, ' the queen of arts ', naturally was practised ArcMtec-
with eminent success under the sway of Akbar, whose th^^îgn.
tolerant policy permitted the votaries of all creeds to
worship God each in his own fashion and to build fanes of
any pattern in honour of the divine ruler of the universe.
The requirements of a magnificent imperial court and
of many lesser viceregal and princely courts throughout
the provinces demanded dignity and splendour in public
• H.F.A., p. 470 ; A. N., iil, ' For further information on

714. the subject of pictorial art in
' B. W. Smith, Fathpur-Sikri, Akbar's reign the reader is re-
part i, pi. xiii, in colour ; H. F. A., ferred to H. F. A.
p. 480, pi. cxiv, uncoloured.
buildings of a civil kind, while the security of property was
assured in a degree sufficient to encourage the accumulation
of private wealth and its free disbursement on palaces,
domestic dwellings, tombs, and other edifices. Each architect
was at liberty to adopt any style that he fancied. The
edifices erected consequently included examples purely
Muhammadan in conception, others purely Hindu, and
a great number executed in different varieties of an eclectic
style — sometimes designated as Hindu-Muhammadan —
which combined the characteristic features of Muham-
madan architecture, the dome and pointed arch, with the
equally characteristic Hindu horizontal construction and
many peculiarities of Indian decoration. The story of
Indian architecture during the reign of Akbar and that of
his son Jahangir, which, as already observed, may be
regarded as a continuation of Akbar' s rule, has not yet
been written. In this work it is not practicable to offer
more than a general sketch of the architectural achievement
of Akbar's reign only.
Existing The existing buildings are less numerous than might be
buildings.
expected, if the immense complex of edifices, civil and
religious, at Fathpur-Sikri be excluded from consideration.
One reason for the comparative paucity of structures of
Akbar's time is that Shahjahan cleared away nearly all of
his grandfather's numerous buildings in the Agra fort in
order to replace them by others designed in accordance
with his own taste. The lapse of time and the ruthless
violence of man during the eighteenth and the first half of
the nineteenth century account for many losses, while not
a little injury has been wrought by carelessness, neglect,
and stupid destruction effected by officials destitute of
historical sense or artistic taste. Some of the earlier work
of the reign seems to have been pulled down by order of
Akbar himself. Not a vestige remains of his buildings at
Nagarchain, and in all probability the famous House of
Worship was levelled soon after 1580. We also hear of the
destruction of mosques in the later years of the reign, but
no specific instance seems to be recorded, and it is impossible
to say anything about the date of the doomed buildings.

Jahangir disapproved of the plans passed by his father
for the mausoleum at Sikandara. The unique existing
structure, finished in a. d. 1612-13 (a. h. 1021), is wholly
the result of instructions given by Jahangir^
The remains of Akbar's buildings at Allahabad, Ajmer,
Lahore, and other places have not been accurately surveyed
or described.^
It is certain that many Hindu (including Jain) temples Buildings
were erected during Akbar's reign, and it may be assumed g" ^™'*"
that in numerous cases the style was not affected by Muham-
madan influence. But the enormous destruction wrought
by Shahjahan and Aurangzeb has left few specimens of that
period standing. The surviving half-ruined temples at
Brindaban near Mathura are in the ' mixed ' style. Temples
of Akbar's time, purely Hindu in character, if such still
exist, must be sought in remote parts of Rajputana or in
other out-of-the-way places not easily reached by Muslim
iconoclasts.
Some of the civil buildings erected by Akbar may be
classed as almost purely Hindu in style. The best-known
example of the kind is the so-called Jahangiri Mahall in
the Agra Fort, which, as Fergusson justly observed, would
hardly be out of place at Chitor or Gwalior.* A few kiosks
and minor decorations, perhaps, may display the influence
of Islamic art, but the palace, as a whole, undoubtedly is
Hindu in style. The best modern opinion holds that it
dates from Akbar's time, late in the reign. The so-called
' Jodh Bai's Palace ' at Fathpur-Sikri, which has a general
resemblance to the ' Jahangiri Mahall ', was built about
1570, and is considerably earlier in date than the building
in the Fort. The palace built subsequently by Jahangir
' Part of the cloisters in the have been altered. The same
enclosure may date from Akbar's author enumerates other build-
time, ings erected by Akbar and still in
" Akbar's palace at Ajmer is existence at Ajmer, including a
now the Rajputana Museum (H. handsome mosque.
B. Sarda, Ajmer, Historical and ^ Hist, of Indian and Eastern
Descriptive (Ajmer, 1911), pp. Ill, Architecture, ed. 1910, p. 293.
113, and plates). The buildings
1845 p f
for his own residence in Agra was pulled down by his son.
The central hall of Akbar's original palace in the Fort,
built about 1565, appears from the photograph to be purely
Hindu in style and construction .^ The Sati Burj, a quad-
rangular town of red sandstone at Mathura, built in 1570
to commemorate the self-immolation of a wife of Raja Bihar
Mall of Amber (Jaipur), is an interesting and exceptional
monument of Hindu architecture.^
Buildings The extant buildings of the age in purely Muhammadan
'hammad- style are not numerous. Most of the sixteenth-century
an style, edifices, even those probably not at all influenced by defer-
ence to Akbar's personal opinions, display certain features
of Indian, that is to say, Hindu origin, resulting from the
employment of Hindu craftsmen and from the general
influence of the environment. India, from time immemorial,
has rivalled Greece in her conquest of her conquerors. No
information is at my disposal concerning the ' handsome
mosque erected by Akbar ' at Mirtha (Merta) in Rajputana,
and it may or may not be purely Muslim in design. The
llwdn, or service portion of the great mosque at Fathpur-
Sikrl, finished in a. d. 1571, although it professes to be
copied from a model at Mecca, yet exhibits Hindu construc-
tion in the pillars and roofing. The noble gateways of that
mosque, perhaps, may be reckoned as being the most
purely Muslim in character of Akbar's buildings designed
on a considerable scale.
Tomb of The famous tomb of Humayun at Old Delhi, completed
^JJ""' to the order of Haji Begam early in 1569, and designed by
Mirak Mirza Ghiyak, presumably a Persian, admittedly is
the most Persian in style of all the larger structures of the
age. Indeed, at the first glance it seems to be purely foreign
and un-Indian. Nevertheless, the ground-plan, based on
the grouping of four chambers round one great central
room, is purely Indian. The building offers the earliest
example in India of a double dome with slightly swelling
outline standing on a high neck. That mode of construc-
» Ann. Report A. S. India for (1883), p. 148, with plate. The
1907-8, pi. iv a. plastered dome is modern.
' Growse, Mathura, 3rd ed.
tion, copied from the tombs of Timur and Bibi Khanam

(a. d. 1403) at Samarkand, may be traced back ultimately
to the Umayyad mosque at Damascus, built about a. d. 1082.
The theory that the Mogul swelling dome, of which Huma-
yun's tomb is the earliest Indian specimen, was the lineal
descendant of Hindu forms appears to be purely fanciful
and opposed to clear evidence. Akbar and his architects
are entitled to the credit of introducing into India that
pleasing Persian form, which far excels in beauty and effec-
tiveness the low-pitched so-called ' Pathan ' domes. It must
not, however, be supposed that domes of that kind were
altogether superseded by the Persian novelty. On the
contrary, they continued to be built in large numbers, and
at Fathpur-Sikri they are common. The tomb of Humayun
is regarded by most writers as the prototype of the Taj ;
but, as Mr. Cresswell justly points out, the ruined tomb of
the Khan Khanan, which stands to the east of Humayun' s
mausoleum, has a better claim to be regarded as the model
of Shahjahan's masterpiece.^
The buildings of Akbar's time, as a rule, obviously com-
bine both Hindu and Muhammadan features, and so may
be described correctly as being designed in an eclectic or
mixed Hindu-Muhammadan style. Sometimes the Hindu,
sometimes the Muhammadan element predominates.
One of the most remarkable edifices of the reign, although Tomb
comparatively little known, is the tomb at Gwalior of the hammad
saint Muhammad Ghaus, who died in 1562. The building, ^^^? ^*
consequently, is approximately contemporary with the
mausoleum of Humayun, but its design is totally distinct,
and nobody could mistake it for anything but an Indian
monument. The buUding is a square, measuring 100 feet
> See Mr. Cresswell's papers : Ant., 1915, pp. 233-59). The
' The Origin of the Persian Double rival erroneous theory is advo-
Dome ' {Burlington Mag., Novem- cated by Mr. Havell in Indian
ber-December, 1913) ; ' Persian Architecture (Murray, 1915) and
Domes before 1400 a. d.' (ibid., other works. For the despoiled
January-February, 1915) ; ' In- tomb of the Khan Khanan see
dian Domes of Persian Origin ' Carr Stephen, p. 214 ; Harcourt,
(Asiatic Rev., November 1914) ; Guide to Delhi (1866), No. 35 ;
and ' The History and Evolution and Ain, vol. i, p. 336. Cresswell
of the Dome in Persia ' (Ind. Ff gives
2 a photo of it in the Ind. Ant,
on each side, with a hexagonal tower attached by an angle

to each corner. The single tomb-chamber, 43 feet square,
is surrounded by a deep verandah, protected by extra-
ordinarily large eaves. The exterior formerly was covered
by blue glazed tiles in the Persian fashion. The dome is of
the ' Pathan ' type, rather high, with sides vertical for
some distance. Some of the kiosks are Muslim in form,
while others with square columns and bracket capitals
might belong to a Hindu temple. The queer undisguised
mixture of Muhammadan and Hindu elements seems to
be due to local conditions, rather than to any theoretical
attempt at harmonizing Hinduism with Islam. It is not
likely that Akbar's opinions can have had influence on the
architect, and at the time the building was erected the
emperor still was a zealous Musalman.^
Reflex of When Abu-1 Fazl declared that ' His Majesty plans
Akbar's
mind splendid edifices, and dresses the work of his mind and
heart in the garment of stone and clay ', the imposing
phrase is not merely a courtly compliment.^ It is sober
truth, as Fergusson puts the matter, that Fathpur-Sikri is
" a reflex of the mind of the great man who built it ',* and
it is certain that Akbar not only mastered every detail in
the working of his Public Works Department, but supplied
ideas which were carried out by the able architects whom
he gathered around him. The names of those brilliant
artists, who adopted no precautions to secure the applause
of posterity, have perished utterly. It is true that a small
mosque and pillared tomb outside the walls, near the Tehra
(Terha) gate of Fathpur-Sikri, expressly commemorate
Bahau-d din, who is remembered by tradition as the over-
" A.S.B., ii (1871), p. 369; ments of fact occur in the short
Beale, Diet., s. v. Muhammad section deahng with Akbar. For
Ghaus, Shaikh ; I. G. (1908), s. v. instance, it is not true that ' there
Gwalior ; Lepel GrifiBn, Famous is no trace of Hinduism in the
Monuments of Central India, 1886, works of Jahanglr ' (p. 288) ; or
pi. xlvii ; Fergusson, ed. 1910, that Fathpur-Sikri was Akbar's
p. 292, fig. 422. favourite residence ' during the
^ Ain, book i, Ain 85 ; vol. i, whole of his reign ' (p. 293) ; or
p. 222. that ' Allahabad was a more
' Fergusson, ed. 1910, p. 297. favourite residence of this mon-
It may ibe noted that even in that arch than Agra, perhaps as much
recent edition several misstate- so as even Fathpur-Sikri ' (p. 298).
seer of works or superintending engineer engaged on the

building of the city, but there is no evidence that he designed
any of the monuments. The building work, as Father
Monserrate mentions, was pressed on with extraordinary
speed under the personal supervision of Akbar,^ and it is
clear that many architects or master-masons of the highest
skill must have been employed simultaneously.
The greater part of the palace-city of Fathpur-Sikri, Fathpur-
planned and begun in 1569, was built between 1570 and occupied
1580. Nothing, except certain small mosques and tombs from 1570
erected by private individuals, is later than 1585, when
Akbar moved to the Panjab for a residence of thirteen
years in that province. In 1598, when he came south, he
went to Agra, and not to Fathpur-SikrI, where he never
resided again. While on his way back from the Deccan
in May 1601, as already explained in chapter iv, he merely
paid a flsdng visit to his former capital, and marched on to
Agra, Fathpur-Sikri, which is known to have been mostly
in ruins in the summer of 1604, must have decayed rapidly
from the date of its desertion by the emperor in 1585,
immediately after the visit of Ralph Fitch. The effective
occupation of the place, therefore, did not exceed fifteen
or sixteen years, the period from 1570 to the autumn of
1585. The site being unhealthy and destitute of aU natural
advantages as a residence, there was no reason why a city
should continue to exist there after the withdrawal of the
court on which its life was dependent. A small country
town has always remained.
Akbar's city, nearly seven miles in circumference, was Walls and
built on a rocky sandstone ridge running from NE. to SW. S^*^^-
The north-western side, being protected by an artificial
• Commentarius, pp. 560, 642. Monserrate was reminded of the
A peristylar building, 200 feet scriptural precedent : ' And the
long, was finished in three months, house, when it was in building,
and a great range of baths, with was built of stone made ready
all its appurtenances, was com- before it was brought thither : so
pleted in six months. All the that there was neither hammer
material, prepared according to nor ax nor any tool of iron beard
specification (secundum propogi- in the house, while it was in
tarn aedificandi descriptionem), was building ' (1 Kings vi, 7). For
brought complete and ready to Bahau-d (fin see E. W. Smith,
the place where it was to be used. Fathpur-Slkn, iv, 30.
^ C «3 n ^
Q O 03 CQ
ir, in »I ^rwrT O — <S f 1 1 -2
ru rO «*^ in ^D
X.
rO "^r in <D N CO <D

lake measuring some twenty miles round the banks, was not
fortified. The remaining three sides were enclosed by
a wall possessing little military value. The gates were nine
in number; the four principal ones being the Agra Gate
on the NE., the Delhi Gate, the Ajmer Gate, and the
Gwalior or Dholpur Gate.^
Dis- The visitor, entering by the Agra Gate at the north-
of the"* eastern corner, goes through the ruins of a bazaar, passes
buildings, under the music-gallery {navhat-khdna, p. 439), and
thence proceeds, between the Mint and Treasury buildings,
along a modern road which cuts across a large cloistered
quadrangle, on the western side of which the Public Audience
Hall {Dlwdn-i Amm) is situated. The same road, continuing
in a south-westerly direction, traverses another quadrangle,
passing between Akbar's bedroom (kkwdbgdh) on the north
and the Record Room {daftar khdna) on the south (pi. 5).
It then arrives at the King's Gate (pi. 12), the eastern
portal of the Great Mosque,
The private buildings of the palace, including the ladies'
quarters and the Private Audience Hall (Dlwdn-i Khdss),
adjoin the Public Audience Hall on the west, and extend
in a south-westerly direction towards the Great Mosque.
Many of the principal buildings still stand almost intact,
but much has been totally ruined. The remains of the
ancient town, as distinguished from the palace precincts,
are not considerable. Taking the site as a whole, enough
survives to enable the visitor to realize with a considerable
degree of vividness the former magnificence of the mass of
buildings during the brief period when they were the abode
' (1) The Delhi Gate ; (2) the iantum portis), namely, (1) Agra
Lai ; (3) the Agra ; (4) Birbal's ; Gate to E., (2) Ajmer Gate to W.,
(5) Chandanpal ; (6) Gwalior ; (3) the Amphitheatre (Circi) Gate
(7) Tehra (or more accurately, to N., corresponding apparently
Terha) ; (8) the Chor ; (9) the with the Delhi Gate ; and (4)
Ajmer (Smith, Fathpur-Sikri, lii, the Dholpur Gate, certainly the
59). The number of gates is same as the Gwalior Gate (Corn-
loosely stated as being either six meniarius, p. 561). The Elephant
or seven by the same author in Gate (HathI Pol), which also was
another passage (ibid., p. 1). on the way to the amphitheatre,
Monserrate, who resided a long stands within the city walls. See
time In the town, states that there map (p. 439).
were only four gates (guaituor
THE KING'S GATE, FATHPUR-SIK Rl
U«,iiis 12 9 6 3
SOUTH MIHRAB OF GREAT MOSQUE,

FATHPUR-SIKRi
of the richest monarch and the most splendid court in the

world. The careful student of E. W. Smith's masterly-
monograph, even if unable to visit the deserted city, is in
a position to form a fairly accurate notion of the scene as
Ralph Fitch saw it in 1585.i
The Great Mosque, as a whole, was finished in 1671 ; but The
its grandest feature, the noble portal known as the Buland Mosque.
Darwaza, or Lofty Gate, a huge building, was not erected
until four years later. Probably it was intended to serve
as a triumphal arch commemorating the conquest of Gujarat
in 1573, but definite evidence in support of that hypothesis
is lacking. It may have replaced an earlier structure
similar to the other three gates, but no direct evidence
exists as to that matter either. The inscription on the
gateway commemorating the victories in the Deccan and
Akbar's safe return Was recorded in May 1601, while the
emperor made a brief halt at his former capital. It has
nothing to do with the erection of the building, which took
place in a. h. 983 (1575-6).2 PI. 13, illustrating one of
the minor mihrdbs or prayer-niches, gives some slight
notion of the elaborate nature of the mosaic and painted
decoration of the mosque. The ' cornice and string ' in the
top part of the drawing is exquisitely painted, the prevail-
ing colour being chocolate.*
The King's Gate (pi. 12),* being the entrance to the The
Great Mosque from the palace, must have been used con- gatf.^
stantly by Akbar, presumably every day, for several years
during which he was a conforming Musalman paying respect
to the ordinances of Islam. He was careful to offer prayer
five times a day in canonical fashion until 1578. In the
year following he recited the khviba in the Great Mosque,
and, no doubt, he took part in public worship on other
subsequent occasions from time to time when policy demanded
a show of orthodoxy. He was very pious in his behaviour
while on his way to Kabul in 1581, but when he returned
victorious at the end of that year he again ceased to offer
• The author of this work visited ' Smith, Ji'aiftpMr-Siftri, part Iv,
Fathpur-Sikrl many years ago. pi. xlviii.
' See ante, chap. iv. ' Smith, op. cit., part iv, pi. iii.
the prescribed prayers. In the year following, namely in

1582, he promulgated his own Divine Faith, and thence-
forward had little use for the King's Gate.
Tomb of The most exquisite, although not the most imposing,
Shaikh
Salim edifice at Fathpur-Sikri is the white marble mausoleum of
Chishti. the old saint Shaikh Salim Chishti, in whose honour the
mosque and the whole city were built. He died early in
1572. The building, which stands within the quadrangle
of the Great Mosque on the northern side, facing the Buland
Darwaza, was finished some years later. To the eye it
seems to be wholly composed of white marble, but the
dome is really built of red sandstone, which originally was
coated with plaster, although now covered by a veneer of
marble. The marble lattices enclosing the ambulatory
round the cenotaph chamber, and the rich mosaic flooring,
which were not included in the original design, were added
by Kutbu-d din Koka, foster-brother of Jahangir, probably
at the beginning of the reign of that emperor.
It is surprising to find unmistakable Hindu features in
the architecture of the tomb of a most zealous Musalman
saint, but the whole structure suggests Hindu feeling, and
nobody can mistake the Hindu origin of the columns and
struts of the porch.
The inlay of mother-of-pearl and ebony on the canopy
is wonderful and unique work.^
' The tomb is carefully de- of the dome and portico, and these
scribed in Smith, Fathpur-Slkri, are not included in the five lakhs.'
part iii, chap. ii. ' The cenotaph Kutbu-d din, the foster-brother
chamber rises considerably above of Jahangir, was killed in 1607, so
the verandahs which are only the work contributed by him
must be earlier than that date.
12' 6" in height. It is surmounted
by a red sandstone dome veneered Latif (Agra, p. 144), after stating
on the outside with a greyish that ' the tomb of the Saint is of
marble, but originally coated pure white marble, surrounded by
a lattice work of the same
with cement ' (ibid., p. 12).
Jahangir (R. B., ii, 71) states the material ', proceeds to affirm that
cost of the whole mosque (not ' as originally built by Akbar,
only the tomb) to the public the tomb was of red sandstone,
treasury as having been half a and the marble trellis-work, the
million (5 lakhs) of rupees, a figure chief ornament of the tomb, was
incredibly low, if he refers to the erected subsequently by the em-
total cost. He goes on to say : peror Jahangir ' . As that emperor
' Kutbu-d din Khan Kokaltash succeeded his father in October-
made the marble railing (mahjar) November 1605, and his foster-
round the cemetery, the flooring brother was killed in 1607, the
II— I
Pi
&
O
<
P5
II— I
All Akbar's undoubted buildings at Fathpur-Sikri are Material

constructed with the excellent local red sandstone. The decora-
apparent exception presented by Sallm Chishti's tomb is tion-
only apparent, if it be true, as seems to be the case, that
the monument originally was built of sandstone. Akbar
ordinarily used marble only as a decorative material in the
form of inlay. The pietra dura kind of inlay, formed by
bedding thin slices of semi-precious stones in marble, as
practised by Shahjahan, was not known to Akbar's crafts-
men, who relied for decorative effect chiefly on carving the
sandstone, usually in low relief ; on marble inlay ; and on
painting plastered surfaces. Occasionally, examples of
ornaments executed in plaster may be seen, but they are
not common. Gilding was applied in suitable places. The
marvellous mother-of-pearl and ebony inlay of the canopy
at Sallm Chishti's tomb is unique, and possibly may have
been executed after Akbar's death. The remains of wall-
paintings, both figure subjects and elegant decorative
patterns, exist chiefly in Akbar's bedroom (the Khwabgdh)
and Miriam's House.
In Birbal's House, one of the most charming of the
domestic buildings, erected in a. d. 1572, the rich decora-
tion, with the exception of some insignificant coloured
bands, is confined to sandstone carving, in which Hindu
and Muhammadan elements are combined with much
ingenuity and excellent effect. The architect did not
hesitate to crown an essentially Hindu building with two
' Pathan ' domes (pi. 14).i
exquisite marble lattice would down and rebuilt or extensively
seem to date from 1606. The veneered. I do not rightly under-
observation of E. W. Smith that stand what happened, and no
the dome is built of red sandstone, exact record of the subject seems
originally coated with cement, but to exist. The porch itself may be
now veneered with marble, proves an addition to the original design ;
that a substantial portion of the and date from the reign of
structure was built of sandstone Jahan^ rather than that of
in the first instance, and subse- Akbar.
quently made to look like marble. ' Smith, op. cit., part ii, pi. 1 a.
The material of the tomb (except For details of the Hindu-Muham-
the dome) and porch appears now madan carving see especially the
to be solid marble. If sandstone remarkable drawing in the double-
was originally used, either the page plate xxxvi of Smith,
building must have been pulled Fathpur, part ii. The names of
44i4i AKBAR THE GREAT MOGUL
The One more monument at Fathpur-Sikri, perhaps the most

throne
remarkable in the city, and certainly absolutely unique,
pillar.
demands notice. The Private Audience Hall, or Privy
Council Chamber {Diwdn-i Khdss), when viewed from the
outside appears as a double-storied building, with a domed
kiosk at each corner ; but the interior is a single apartment
open from floor to roof. A massive octagonal column,
elaborately carved, rises from the centre of the tessellated
pavement as high as the sills of the upper windows. It is
surmounted by an enormous circular capital composed of
three tiers of radiating brackets, each tier projecting above
and in front of that below. The top of the pillar is ten feet
in diameter. From it four stone beams, each ten feet long,
radiate to the corners of the building, where the quadrant-
shaped ends of the beams are received on corbelling similar
in structure to the brackets of the capital. The summit of
the pillar and the galleries radiating from it were guarded
by parapets of pierced stone lattice-work about fifteen
inches high. Tradition affirms, and no doubt with truth,
that Akbar, comfortably seated on cushions and rugs,
occupied the central space, while a minister stood at each
corner of the room awaiting his orders. According to local
belief the ministers so favoured were the Khan Khanan,
Raja Birbal, Abu-1 Fazl, and Faizi, but, as a matter of fact,
the personages in attendance on the emperor must have
varied from time to time (pi. 15).i
The The building of Fathpur-Sikri was the freak of an irre-
mean- sponsible autocrat, acting under the impulse of overpowering
ing of
Fathpur- superstitious emotion, and enjoying the sensation of absolute
Sikn.
freedom from financial limitations. Happily the autocratic
whim, conceived originally in a broad-minded spirit, was
carried into effect under the control of sound practical sense
and truly artistic taste. Akbar, a man of large ideas, would
not allow the plan of an imperial capital to be marred by
the accomplished draughtsmen, ship has been disposed of in an
' Bhairav Baksh ' and ' Fazul-ud- earlier passage. Mr. Havell's
din ' deserve commemoration. symbolical explanation of the
'■ Keene's absurd suggestion throne pillar is fanciful and un-
that the Dlwan-i Khass was the proved.
Ibadat-Khana or House of Wor-
THE THRONE PILLAR, FATH PU R-SlK RI
pettiness of thought or ill-timed economy. All the needs

of court and capital were considered by the lavish pro-
vision of mosques, waterworks, Turkish baths, schools,
hospitals, and other amenities, besides the ordinary requisites
of an Asiatic town in the sixteenth century. On the palace
and its appurtenances no cost was spared. The world was
ransacked to supply craftsmen and artists of every kind ;
and the buildings which express their skill, even if they
were ill to live in, certainly are unsurpassed in their way
as achievements of architectural art.
Nothing like Fathpur-Sikri ever was created before or
can be created again. It is 'a romance in stone '— ^the
petrification of a passing mood in Akbar's strange nature,
begun and finished at lightning speed while that mood
lasted — inconceivable and impossible at any other time or
in any other circumstances. The world may well feel grateful
to the despot who was capable of committing such an
inspired folly .^
The most notable examples of the eclectic style of Akbar's Brinda-
age, with a predominance of Hindu elements, outside of ^^ igg
Agra and Fathpur-Slkri, are to be found at Brindaban in in eclectic
the Mathura District, the reputed abode of the demi-god ® ^ ^'
Krishna. Local tradition affirms that in 1573, the year of
the conquest of Gujarat, Akbar was induced to pay a visit
to the Gosains, or holy men of Brindaban, and was taken
blindfold into the sacred enclosure of the Nidhban (' Grove
of the Nine Treasures '), where a vision was revealed to
him so marvellous that he was constrained to admit that
he had been permitted to stand upon holy ground. The
Rajas who bore him company expressed a desire to com-
memorate the visit and do honour to Krishna by the
erection of four temples, which were constructed in due
course many years later.^
1 Fergusson's remarlt that ' Ak- saint's dwelling,
bar seems to have had no settled ^ The four temples, all more or
plan when he commenced build- less ruined, are (1) Gobind Deva,
ing there ' (ed. 1910, ii, 293) is a. d. 1590 ; (2) Madan Mohan,
singularly tmfortunate. The plan, exact date unknown; (3) Gopi-
which was well defined, was nath, perhaps the earliest of the
governed by the configuration of four ; and (4) Jugal Kishor,
the ridge and the position of the a. d. 1627.
The most interesting of the four is the noble shrine of

Gobind Deva, which Growse considered to be
* the most impressive reUgious edifice that Hindu art has
ever produced, at least in Upper India.'
The same author continues :
' The body of the building is in the form of a Greek cross,

the nave being a hundred feet in length and the breadth
across the transepts the same. The central compartment
is surmounted by a dome of singularly graceful proportions ;
and the four arms of the cross are roofed by a waggon
vault of pointed form, not, as is usual in Hindu architecture,
composed of overlapping brackets, but constructed of true
radiating arches as in our Gothic cathedrals. The walls
have an average thickness of ten feet and are pierced in
two stages, the upper stage being a regular triforium, to
which access is obtained by an internal staircase. . . . This
triforium is a reproduction of Muhammadan design, while
the work both above and below it is purely Hindu.'
The original design provided for five towers, which were
never completed. The architect was Gobind Das of Delhi,
who was commissioned by RajaMan Singh of Amber (Jaipur).^
The style The eclectic Hindu-Muhammadan style of Akbar's age in
future, its different forms seems to offer great possibilities of develop-
ment in the hands of a modern architect of genius. An
accomplished writer on the subject, who has had the advan-
tage of considerable practical experience, is of opinion that
for the purpose of effecting a renaissance or revival of Indian
architecture,
' the best model on which to work is the style used by
Akbar, who has claims to be regarded as the founder of
a really national Indian style, combining the best features
of both Hindu and Muhammadan architecture.' ^
' H. H. Cole, Illustrations of graph No. 5'69, facing p. 22, gives

Buildings near Muttra and Agra a good view of the wagon roof.
shoxmng the Mixed Hindu-Muham- The mosque wall has been re-
madan Style of Upper India, moved since. The photographs
London, India Office, 1873. Photo- in Growse, Mathura, 3rd ed. (1883),
graph
shows theNo.Muhammadan
6'69, facingtriforiimi
p. 24, chap, ix, do not
Muhammadan bringdistinctly,
features out the
clearly, and also the mosque or See also Fergusson, ed. 1910,
idgah wall on the summit erected p. 157, fig. 351.
by Aurangzeb to desecrate the "^ F. O. Oertel, lecture before
temple as a Hindu shrine. Photo- E. I. Assoc, July 1913.
Growse, who also much admired the mixed style, and

desired to see it developed in a manner suitable to modern
conditions, has recorded the wise caution that
' simple retrogression is impossible. Every period has
an environment of its own, which, however studiously
ignored in artificial imitations, must have its effect in any
spontaneous development of the artistic faculty.'
He suggests that wedding the style of Akbar's age to
European Gothic, which has ' a strong natural affinity ' to
it, may possibly result in the evolution of a satisfactory
national Indian style adapted to the needs of the present
age. Perhaps.^
* Select examples of modern (Allahabad, Govermnent Press,
buildings are described in an 1913). Those at Blkaner are the
official publication entitled Modem most pleasing.
Indian Architecture at Delhi, &e.
APPENDIX C
CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE AND REIGN OF AKBAR
Note. — ^Dates a. d. are in old style throughout. Chronological dis-

crepancies inthe Persian authorities are numerous, sometimes amount-
ing to two years. The exact conversion of a. h. to a. d. dates is subject
to considerable uncertainty, partly owing to difficulties about inter-
calation, partly to the fact that the Muhammadan day begins at sun-
set, and occasionally to other causes. The Hijri year is lunar. The
months are (alternately 30 and 29 days): (1) Muharram ; (2) Safar;
(3) Rabi' I ; (4) Rabi' II ; (5) Jumadi I ; (6) Jumadi II ; (7) Rajab ;
(8) Sha'ban ; (9) Shawwal ; (10) Ramazan ; (11) Zu-1 ka'da ; (12) Zu-1
Wjjat.
The Ilahi year was solar, a modification of the Persian year, and
about 11 days longer than the Hijri year. Akbar dropped the Persian
intercalation, and made his adaptation by changing the lengths of the
months, some being 30, some 31 days, and some 32. Unluckily, we are
not informed as to the exact length of each month, so that accurate
conversion into a. d. dates is impossible in most cases. The names
of the months were : (1) Faridun ; (2) Ardlbihisht ; (8) Khurdad ;
(4) Tir ; (5) Mardad or Amardad ; (6) Shahryar or Shahryiir ; (7)
Mihr ; (8) Aban ; (9) Azar ; (10) Dai ; (11) Rahman ; (12) Ispan-
darmaz or Isfandarmuz. The spelling varies. I have followed
Codrington's Persian (Musalman Numismatics, 1904, p. 208). The
chronology in vol. iii of the A.N. is ordinarily based on the Ilahi
calendar, and in consequence the exact a. d. equivalents usually cannot
be worked out.
mh cent. Before ike birth of Akbar.

21. 4. 26 Defeat of Sultan Ibrahim Lodi at 'First battle of P.
Panipat.
27. 4. 26 Rabur proclaimed as Padshah at
Delhi.
16. 3. 27 Defeat of Rana Sanga at Khanua
(Kanwa, Kanwaha, Khanwah).
— 5.29 Defeat of Afghan chiefs at battle of
the Ghaghra (Gogra) river.
26. 12. 30 Death of Babur at Agra : accession
of Humayun as Padshah of Delhi.
26. 6. 39 9 Safar, 946 Defeat of Humayiin by Sher Khan Beale.
17. 5. 40 (Shah) at Chausa.
10 Muh., 947 Defeat of same by same at Kanauj :
expulsion of Humayiin.
1541 Marriage of Humayiin and Hamida
Bano Begam.
25. 1. 42 7 Shawwal, 948 Formal accession of Sher Shah.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE AND REIGN OF AKBAR 449
DcOe.
Event. References
A.D. (o.S.) Remarks.and
From the birth to the accession of According to Jau-

Akbar (A.). har, official date
is
= Sun., 5 Rajab
Oct. 15.
23. H. 42 Birth of Akbar at Umarkot in Sind .
Th. 14 949
Sha'ban,
— 11.43 A. left with his uncle Askari.
winter, A. and his half-sister sent to Kabul .
1544^5
24. 5. 45 12 RabI' I, 952 Death of Sher Shah.
29.5.45 17
Enthronement of Islam (Salim) A.N.,
Shah Siir.
15.11.45
Humayan entered Kabul and re- i, 480 n.
covered A. 483.
?3.46 Circumcision of A. 93
late in 1546 Expulsion of H. from Kabul, which 511.
he besieges ; exposure of A. on
the walls by Kamran. 514.
27. 4. 47 Escape of Kamran from Kabul. S9 519.
— 11.47 536^
1548 A.'s first tutor appointed.
Reconciliation of H. with Kamran. 549.
1549 Failure of H. in Balkh.
1550 565.
Recovery of Kabul and person of
A. by Kanu:an. 571.
later, 1550 »
3J
Final recovery of Kabul and person
of A. by H. 583.
— 11.51 Zu-I kada, 958 Prince Hindal killed in a skirmish.
[end of 1551, A. sent to Ghaznl as nominal 586.
orbeg.ofl552
30. 10. 53 22 Zu-1 k. 960 governor.
Death of Islam (Salim) Shah Sflr :
usurpation of Muhammad Shah „ 616.
Adil Siir.
? 12. 53 960 Kamran captured and blinded.
19. 4. 54 15 Jum. I, 961 Birth of Muhammad Hakim.
— 10.54 end of 961 „ 604.
Munim Khan appointed guardian „„ 609.
612.
of A.
— 11.54 Humayun started on invasion of
India. „ 620.
22. 6. 55 Victory of H. at Sihrind over Sikan 631, 634w
dar Siir : restoration of Humayiin
(23. 7. 55).
— 11.55 A. appointed governor of the
Panjab. „ 640.
1555-6 962, 963 Severe famine in Northern India. A. N., ii, 57 ; Am,
iii, 425.
24. 1. 56 Death of Humayiin. A. N., i, 655 n.
Reign of Akbar.
14. 2. 56
2/3 RabI' II, 963 Enthronement of Akbar at Kala- A. N., ii, 5.
naur.
11.3.56 A.N., ii, 15, 23,
Rabi' II, Beginning of IlaM era and of 1st
27/28 963 32 ; Aln, ii, 30.
regnal or Ilahi year (25 days
from enthronement counted as
part of year 1). ' Second battle
5.11.56 2 Muh., 964 Hemii defeated at Panipat by A.
and Bairam Khan. ;
1556-7 963 or 964 Occupation of Ajmer (Taragarh). ^. iV., in E. & D.,
1S4S vi, 22.

of jP.'
Date.
References
Remarks.and
A.D. (o.s.)
11.3.57 9 Jum. I, 964 2nd regnal year began.
early in 1557 Arrival of the court ladies from A.N. ii
11,
Kabul. 86.
24. 5. 57 27 Ram. 964 Surrender of Silcandar Siir at Man- it
kot. 91.
31.7.57 2 Shawwal, 964 A. moved towards Lahore. j^
",
10/11. 3. 58 20 Jum. I, 965 3rd regnal year began. A.N. 11 101
246. ; E.
ii,
V u,
.SO. 10. 58 &D.
A.N. 117.
17 Muh., 966 A. arrived at Agra (Badalgath). 11
11,
1558 or 1559 Occupation of Daman by the Por- Burgess
1559 S?
other
tuguese. A.N.,
books 1558.
Jan.-Feb.,59 118.
Rabi' II, 966 Surrender
man). of Gwalior (month Rah- A.N.,
gives
ia-12. 3. 59 2 Jum. II, 966 4th regnal year began. 124 ; E.
A.N., V 246.
1559 Annexation of Jaunpur. &D.
A.N., 126.
10-12. 3. 60 13 Jum. II, 967 5th regnal year began. 137 ; E.
246.
A.N., V 141.
19. 3. 60 20 &D.
28 A. left Agra.
27. 3. 60 A. arrived at Delhi. FallofBairam >» 142.
Khan.
8. 4. 60 ]2Rajab, 967 Bairam Khan moved towardsAl,war. )> 152.
18. 4. 60 22 A. marched from Delhi. ,,
ab. 23. 8. 60 Zu-l'h., 967 Defeat of Bairam Khan. 170.
10. 9. 60 18 Zu-i h., 967 Munim Khan appointed Vakil and 174.
Khan Khanan.
17.9.60 26 „ A. visited Lahore.
I
>S 177.
— 10.60 Muharram, 968 181.
Submission of Bairam Klian (Aban,
8th month).
24. 11. 60 4 Rabi' I, 968 A. returned to Delhi. 187.
31. 12. 60 12 Rabi' II, 968 A. arrived at Agra ; and nobles
began to build houses. 202.
31.1.61 14 Jum. I, 968 Murder of Bairam Khan.
205.
early in 1561 A. ill with pustules (? small-pox).
A. on recovery began to attend to 208.
State affairs.
10.3. 61 24 Jum. II, 968 6th regnal year began.
early in 1561 Adham Khan's doings in Malwa. 218.
27. 4. 61 llSha'ban,968 A. left Agra for Malwa.
— 5.61 27 Surrender of Gagraun fortress.
13, 5. 61 A. arrived at Sarangpur. ,,
17. 5. 61 2 Ram., 968 A. started on return journey.
4. 6. 61 19 ,, ,, A. arrived at Agra. 221.
222.
226.
228.
17. 7. 61 A.'s wanderings in disguise. 3>
4 Zu-1 k., 968 A. marched from Agra eastwards.

29. 8. 61 17 Zu-1 h., 968 Khan Zaman and Bahadur having 230.
submitted, A. returned.
Adventure with the elephant Hawai. 232.
— 11.61 Rabi' I, 969 Shamsu-d din appointed Prime 230.
Minister.
14. 1. 62 8 Jum. I, 969 A. started on his first pilgrimage to 240.
243.
Ajmer.
A.'s marriage with daughter of
Raja Bihar Mall at Samtmar ; in-
troduction ofMan Singh at court.
Date.
References
Remarks. and
A.D (o.s.)
13. 2. 62 8 Jum. II, 969 A. arrived at Agra. ^. AT., ii,244.
11.3.62 5 Rajab, 969 7th regnal year oegan.
1562 Abolition of enslavement in war. 246.
ab. — 4. 62 Capture of fortress of Mirtha
„ 249.
(Merta).
Fight at Paronkh.
Death of Pir Muhammad ; tem- „ 253.
porary recovery of Malwa by Baz
Bahadur.
16. 5. 62 12 Ram., 969 „ 259.
Murder of Shamsu-d din by Adham
Khan.
abQUtll.62 A. attended to State business, and „ 269.
appointed Itimad Khan to charge „ 276.
of revenue department.
Tansen, musician and singer,
brought to court. „ 280.
10/11. 3. 63 15 Rajab, 970 8th regnal year began.
Remission of pilgrim tax. 295.
A. walked from beyond Mathura to
8. 1. 64 25 Jum. I, 971 A.Agra.
moved to Delhi, and made irre-
gular marriages. „ 312.
11. 1. 64 28 „ ,, Attempt on his life. Bad., ii, 60.
21. 1. 64 6 Jum. II, 971 A. returned to Agra. A. N., ii, 315.
11. 3. 64 27 Rajab, 971 9th regnal year began.
early 1564 Abolition otjizya. 317.
about 3. 64 Punishment of Khwaja Muazzam.
— 4.64 Id Ram., 971 Execution of Shah Ma'ali at Kabul. 321.
1564 „ 334.
Conquest of Gaiha Katanga or 331.
Gondwana.
2.7.64 21 Zu-1 k., 971 A. marched against Abdullah Khan ^.iV., ii, 341.
Uzbeg, who rebelled in Malwa ;
elephant-hunting .
? _ 7. 64 Siurender of Gagraun fortress. I. G., xii, 122.
10. 8. 64 2 Muh., 972 A. arrived at Mandu. A. N., 11,^50.
9. 10. 64 3 Rabr I, 972 A. returned to Agra. 357.
Building of Nagarchain.
1564 Haji Begam went on pilgrimage.
late 1564 Birth and death of twin sons to A. 366.
357.
11.3.65 8 Sha'ban, 972 10th regnal year began.
1565 Founding of Agra Fort.
Shaikh Abdu-n Nabi appointed Sadr . 376
373
372
early 1565 Khan Zaman and Bahadur Uzbegs
rebelled.
Beale.
'! » Private execution of Kamran's son,
Abu-1 Kasim. A.N.,
24. 5. 65 23 Shawwal, 972 A. marched against rebels. ii, 378.
13. 7. 65 14 Zu-1 h., 972 A. at .launpur. 380
16. 9. 65 20 Safar, 973 Revolt of Asaf Khan. 382
— 12.65 Meeting of Khan Zaman and Mu- 9> 387
nim Khan.
24.1.66 3 Rajab, 973 A. marched towards Benares. 393
3. 3. 66 11 Sha'ban, 973 A. marched towards Agra. 99 399
10/11.3.66 18 Sha'ban, 973 11th regnal year began. 401
28.3.66 7 Ram., 973 A. arrived at Agra ; went on to
Nagarchain.
Gg2
»»
Date.
Event. References and
A.D. (o.s.) Remarks.
1566 Revised assessment by Muzaffar A. N., il, 402.

Khan Turbati.
Invasion
Hakim. of Panjab by Muhammad „ 407.
411.
17. 11. 66 3 Jum. I, 974 A. marched northwards.
Visit to partly built tomb of Hu-
mayiin.
— 2.67 Rajab, 974 A. arrived at Lahore.
1566-7 Rebellion of the Mirzas. 413.
11.3.67 29 Sha'ban, 974 12th regnal year began. 416.
— 3.67 Great battue (Kamargha) hunt. 419.
— 3.67 Asaf Khan (I) pardoned. 422.
23. 3. 67 12 Ram. 974 A. marched towards Agra.
— 4. «7 Fight of Sanyasis at Thanesar. 423.
427.
6. 5. 67 26 Shawwal, 974 A. marched eastward against Uzbeg
chiefs.
9. 6. 67 1 Zu-1 h., 974 Defeat of Khan Zaman and Baha- 430, 434.
dur Khan at Mankuwar. 437.
18. 7. 67 11 Muh., 975 A., marching through Kara-Manik-
pur, Allahabad, Benares (plunder-
ed), and Jaunpur, arrived at Agra. 442.
30. 8. 67 25 Safar, 975 A. marched to Dholpur, against the
Mirzas.
"
445.
— 9.67 War with the Rana decided on. 1)
— 9.67 Faizi presented at court.
20. 10. 67 Camp formed to invest Chitor. 464.
19 Rabi' II, 975 »J
17. 12. 67 15 .Iiim. II, 975 Mines exploded. 471.
23. 2. 68 25 Sha'ban, 975 Fall of Chitor. „
28. 2. 68 29 „ A. started for Ajmer on foot. 477.
6. 3. 68 7 Ram., 975 A. arrived at Ajmep. it
10. 3. 68 11 Ram., 975 13th regnal year began.
13. 4. 68 484.
15 Shawwal, 975 After a tiger adventure, A. arrived s»
at Agra. 485.
1568 Continued revolt of the Mirzas, who
occupied Champaner and Surat. 486.
— 8.68 Rabi' I, 976 Regulation of the Atka Khail.
1568 488.
Shihabu-d din Ahmad Khan ap- 490.
pointed Finance Minister.
10. 2. 69 21 Sha'ban, 976
11.3.69 Siege of Ranthambhor began.
22 Ram., 976 14th regnal year began.
22.3.69 3 Shawwal, 976 Capitulation of Ranthambhor . 495.
11.5.69 24 Zu-1 k., 976 After visit to Ajmer, A. arrived at 497.
Agra and lodged in the new Ben-
11.8.69 gali Mahall. 498.
29 Safar, 977 News received of surrender of Ka-
lanjar.
30.8.69 17 Rabi' I, 977 Birth of Prince Salim. 504 n.
1569 Orders given for building Fathpur-
Sikri.
21. 11.69 11 Jum. II, 977 Birth of A.'s daughter, Shahzada 509.
Ram., 977 (Sultan) Khanam. ■
— 2, 3. 70 A. arrived at Delhi after a pilgrim- 511.
age on foot (16 stages) from Agra
to Ajmer.
11. 3. 70 3 Shawwal, 977 15th regnal year began.
— 4.70 Badaoni
A. visited newly cbntpleted tomb ii, 185
of Humayiin.
Date.
References
Remarks, and
A. D.(O.S.)
7. 6. 70 3 Muh., 978 Birth of Prince Murad. A. N., a, 514.

— 9.70 Rabi' II, 978 516.
A. visited Ajmer and erected build-
ings there and at Nagaur.
1570 Marriages with princesses of Bikaner
and Jaisalmer ; adventure in 518, 522.
hunting wild asses ; submission
of Baz Bahadur.
1570-1 Revised revenue assessment. Ain, ii, 88.
11.3.71 14ShawwaI, 978 16th regnal year began. Beveridge (A. N..,
ii, 525) gives 13.
— 3.71 3.71.
A. Sutlaj.
visiting shrine at Pak Pattan on
17.5.71 22 Zu-1 h., 978 A. arrived at Lahore.
21.7.71 A. N., ii, 529.
1 RabI' I, 979 A., marching through rains, arrives „ 530.
7. 8. 71 17 at Ajmer.
» ») A. at Fathpur-Slkri (Fathabad), 531.
11.3.72 superintending building.
25 Shawwal, 979 17th regnal year began.
1572
Embassy from Abdullah Khan Uz- 534.
beg of Turan.
4.7.72 Disgrace of Muzaffar Khan TurbatI .
20 Safar, 980 A. started for campaign in Gujarat. 538.
1.9.72 22 Rabi' II, 980 A. left Ajmer.
9. 9. 72 2/3 Jum. I, 980 Birth of Prince Daniyal. 540.
17. 9. 72 A.N., i)
" >s if A. encamped at Nagaur.

11. 10. 72 News of death of Sulaiman Kirani lU
of Bengal.
7. 11. 72 1 Rajab, 980 A. encamped at Patan (Pattan), or 543.'
Nahrwala.
— 11.72 Capture of Muzaffar Shah of Gujarat .
S3 9} 8.
13.544."
11.
20. 11. 72 14 A. camped near Ahmadabad. , 6n.»
12. 12. 72 6 Sha'ban, 980 A. at Cambay ; took a trip on the »»
it
9.
sea.
? 21. 12. 72 ? 15 „ „ 99 22.
11.1.73 Fight at Sarnal.
7 Ram., 980 A. at Surat ; siege began. 1912,
99 59
Negotiations with Portuguese. J.dkProc.A.S.B.25.
A.N., p 217 n.
26. 2. 73 23 Shawwal, 980 Capitulation of Surat. iii
Submission of chief of Nasik (Bag- 41.
lana).
10/12. 3. 73 6 Zu-1 k., 980 18th regnal year began. iii.
13. 4. 73 10 Zu-1 ic.. 980 A. started on march homewards. 48.
3. 6. 73 2 Safar, 981
9»
55.
,40.
A. arrived at Fathpur-Sikri ; 99
Shaikh Mubarak's address. A.N.

Severities on Mirza prisoners. A.N., 56; Ba
daoni,
99
ii, 163.
1573 981 Rebellion in Gujarat. 59.
' Jahan^r (R. B., i, 34) says • on the ' according to supreme decree Ul ' [scil.
astronomical tables].
night ofis Jumada-1
which the wrongawwal year.10th,
The a. year
h. 979980',
" At this point the historical narrative
of vol. ii of the Akbarnama ends.
began on Wednesday, May 14, 1572, ac-
cording to Cunningham's Tables ; Abu-1 ' Badaoni (ii, 166) rightly dates the
death of Sulaiman in 980. Stewart(p.l51)
Fazl gives 2 Jumada I, ' according to
visibility' [scil. of the moon], .and 3 gives 981.
Date.
Event. References
A.H.
Remarks. and
A. D. (O.S.)
23. 8. 73 24 Rabi' II, 981 A. started on ride to Gujarat. A. N., iii, 62.
31. 8. 73 2 Jum. I, 981 Review of troops at Balisna. 66.
2. 9. 73 5 »j »» Battle of Ahmadabad.
13.9.73 16 „ „ A. started on homeward march. „ 90.
73.
5. 10. 73 8 Jum. II, 981 A. arrived at Fathpur-Sikri.
1573-4 Revenue settlement of Gujarat by E. & D., V,
91.371.
Raja Todar Mall.
22. 10. 73 25 Jum. II, 981 Circumcision of the three princes. A. N., iii, 103.
11.3.74 17 Zu-1 k., 981 19th regnal year began.
31.3.74 114.
116.
1574 A. arrived at Fathpur-Sikri.
Abu-1 Fazl and Badaoni presented
at court.
15. 6. 74 29 Safer, 982 A. embarked on river voyage to east. 122.
135.
3. 8. 74 15 RabI' II, 982 A. halted near Patna.
— 9.74 Capture of Hajipur (25 Amardad) ; 137,141.
flight of Daud, king of Bengal. 142.
— 9.74 Patna occupied (26 Amardad). 145.
late in 9. 74 A. returned to Jaunpur ; conquest
of Bengal entrusted to officers.
News 153.
Daud.of Munim Khan's defeat of
>» 5»
1574 Famine in Gujarat. E. & D., V, 384.

99
Administrative reforms : (1) brand- A. N., iii. 95.
ing regulation ; (2) mansabdar
gradations ; (3) conversion of
— 1.75 jagirs into khalsa.
A. at Fathpur-Sikri : orders for
3. 3. 75 building the ' Ibadat-Khana. ., 157.
20 Zu-1 k., 982 Battle ot Tukaroi in Balasore Dis- 174.
trict.
10/11.3.75 27 „ „ 20th regnal year began.
12. 4. 75 1 Muh. 983 Munim Khan made peace with
Daud. 185.
200.
summer,1575 Muzaffar Khan placed in charge of
Bihar from Chausa to Telia Garhi. 208.
1575 Branding regulations, &c. enforced. 206.
autumn, 1575 Gulbadan Begam, &c. went on pil-
226.
ab. 23. 10.75 grimage.
Rajab, 983 » Death of Mimim Khan ; pestilence.
15.11.75 Khan Jahan appointed to Bengal. 229.
1575-6 The 'Karori' arrangement, &c. A. N., iii, 167;
E. &D.,v,383;
Badaoni.
11.3.76 9 Zu-I h., 983 21st regnal year began.
— 6.76 Battle of GogSnda or Haldighst.
12. 7. 76 A. N., iii, 245.
Battle of Rajmahal ; death of Daiid . 253.
— 9.76 A. at Ajmer. 259.
— 10.76 Khwaja Shah MansQr appointed A.N., iii, 274;
Vizier, or Diwan. E.&D., V, 401.
1576 Two Jesuit missionaries in Bengal. Bartoli, p. 7.
11.3.77 20 Zu-1 h., 984 22nd regnal year began.
9.77 A. at Ajmer.
about 11. 77 A. N., iii, 298.
Comet ; Todar Mall resumed office 316.
of Vizier ; reorganization of mint.
320.
Beale gives the date 12 October = 9 Rajab.
Date. 'References and
Event.
A.D.(O.S.) A. H. Remarks.
11.3.78 23rd regnal year began.

— 4.78 2 Muh., 986 > Fortress of Kumbhalmer taken. A. N. iii, 340.
346.
— 5.78 A.'s vision at Bhera (Bahra).
1578 Escape of Muzaffai Shah of Gujarat . Aln, i, 334.
» Pietro Tavarfes and Antonio Cabral Maclagan.
at court.
— 12.78 Invitation for priests sent to Goa.
S> Death of Khan Jahan, governor of ^.iV., iii, 381.
Bengal.
1 578-9 Debates on religion . 365.
11.3.79 12 Muh., 987 24th regnal year began.
14. 3. 79 Muzaffar Khan appointed to Benga 1 .
— 6.79 A. N., 386.396 ;
iii,
— Rajab, 987 A. recited Khutha in mosque.
Badaoni ; la-
3.9.79 bakat.
Badaoni, ii, 279.
— 10.79
5> "
The ' infallibility decree '.
A.'s last pilgrimage to Ajmer. A. N., iii, 405.
— 9.79
Reception of A.'s envoys at Goa. Jesuits ; Mac-
— 10.79 Father Thomas Stevens landed at Jnd. Ant., vii,
Goa. lagan.
17. 11.79 First Jesuit Mission started from 117.
Goldie, p 58.
Goa.
— 1.80 Revolt of Afghan chiefs in Bengal. ^.iV.,iii. 418,
428.
1580 Crown of Portugal united with that
of Spain.
— 2.80 Abortive expedition against Por- A. N; iii, 410.
tuguese settlements.
28. 2. 80 Arrival of First Jesuit Mission at Maclagan, &c.
Fathpur-Sikrl.
1579-80 Decennial ' settlement ' of Khwaja ^.JV., iii, 410.
Shah Mansur.
11.3.80 24 Muh., 988 25th regnal year began.
1580 Formation of the 12 Siibas. Aln, ii, 115 ;
A. N., iii, 413.
early 1580 Banishment of Abdu-n Nabi and A. N., iii, 405.
Makhdiimu-1 Mulk.
— 4.80 Muzaffar Khan captured by rebels Badaoni, ii, 290.
and killed.
— 12.80 Raids into Panjab by officers of A. N., iii, 493.
Mirza Muhammad Hakim.
?— 1.81 Advance by M. Muhammad Hakim Comm., p. 577.
in person.
— 1.81 Bengal rebels defeated near Ajo- A. N., iii, 486.
8. 2. 81 dhya. A. N., iii, 495 ;
A. marched northwards.
Comm., p. 580.
27. 2. 81 23 Muh., 989 Execution of Khwaja Shah Mansiir. A. N., iii, 503 ;
Comm., p. 590 ;
Beale.
' The whole Hijri year 985 was included The fact has caused some confusion in
in the longer solar year, Ilahi 22 ; and the chronology, especially in the work
consequently 985 does not appear in the of Nizamu-d din.
notices of initial days of the Ilahi years.
Dite.
Event. References and
A.D.(O.S.)
Remarks.
11. 3. 81 5 Safar, 989 26th regnal year began.

ab. 12. 7. 81 A. crossed the Indus. A.N.,iu, 523.
1.8.81 Prince Murad's fight. 536.
9/10. 8. 81 10 Rajab, 989 A. entered Kabul. 546.
— 11.81 „ 540.
Revision of Sadr and Kazi depart-
ments.
1. 12.81 5 Zu-I k., 989 A. returned to Fathpur-Sikri. „ 548 n.
— 1.^2 Death of Haji Begam. 551.
Proclamation of Din Ilahi. Bartoli ; Badaoni.
beg. of 1582
11.3.82 15 Safar, 990 27th regnal year began.
15. 4. 82 A. N., iii, 410 n. ;
Attack on Daman by Kutbu-d din.
Comm., p. 626.
summer,1582 Comm., pp. 634,
Close of formal debates on religion ;
abortive embassy for Europe. 636.
5. 8. 82 Monserrate arrived at Surat. Comm., p. 636.
1582 Bursting A. N., Chalmers,
Sikri. of dam of lake at Fathpur-
ii, 289.
11.3.83 28 Safar, 991 28th regnal year began.
5.83 Aqua viva arrived at Goa. Comm., p. 637.
15. 7. 83 Aquaviva killed at Cuncolim. Comm., p. 640 ;
Goldie, p. 127.
— 9.83 Muzaffar Shah resumed style of
King of Gujarat.
— 11.83 Fort at Allahabad (Ilahabad) A. N., iii, 616 n.
founded.
1583 A suttee prevented. 595.
— 1.84 Battle of Sarkhej near Ahmadabad. .4. iV., iii, 636, 678;
— 2 Muh., 992 ■
84 .A. arrived at Fathpur-Sikri ; mar-
riage of Prince Salim. Badaoni.
11.3.84 8 Rabi' I, 992 29th regnal year began.
1584 Establishment of Tlahi era. ^. iV., ii, 19.
»> Operations generally successful
against Bengal rebels.
Death of Daswanth the artist. A. N., iii, 659.
22.12 .84
Birth of A.'s daughter, Aram Bano
Begam. 661 .
1584r-5 Inundation in the Megna delta Am, ii, 123.
(Bakla). A. N., iii, 685.
10/11. 3.85 19 Rabi' I, 993 30th regnal year began.
early in 1585 Amir Fathu-llah and Raja Todar ,. 687,699.
Mall checked revenue accounts ;
remissions of cash revenue owing
to low prices.
30.7. 85 12 Sha'ban, 993 Death of Mirza Muhammad Hakim 703.
of Kabul.
22.8. 85 A. marched northwards. 705.
28.9. 85 Fitch.
Newbery and Fitch left Fathpur-
Sikri.
•7.12.85 A. at Rawalpindi. A. N., iii, 709.
end of 1585 Arrangements for conquest of 715.
Kashmir.
? 14.2 .86 Defeat of Zain Khan and Paja E. & D., vi, 83 ;
Birbal by the Yiisufzi. A. N., iii, 732 u.
11. 3. 86 31st regnal year began.
29 Rabi' I, 994
' The year wrongly given as 991 in E. & D., v, 434,

CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE AND REIGN OF AKBAR *57
A. arrived at Lahore.
Annexation of Kashmir. A.N.,m, 748.
BadaonI, ii, 364.
Remission of revenue owing to low /4.iV.,lii, 749.
23. 8. 86 prices.to Abdullah Uzbeg of Turan,
Letter
11.3.87 11 Rabi' II, 993 32nd regnal year began. „ 753.
— 8.87 — Ram., 995 » Birth of Prince Kbusrii.
11.3.88 33rd regnal year began. Ain, i, 310.
22 Rabi' II, 996
11.3.89 4 Jum. I, 997 34th regnal year began.
- 3 & 8. 89 A. visited Kashmir and Kabul . E.&D., v, 457.
7. 11.89 A. left Kabul.
- 11.89 Death of Rajas Todar Mall and Atn,i, 333.
Bhagwan Das.
11.3.90 14 Jum. I, 998 35th regnal year began.
1590 The Khan Khanan appointed Sfl- E. & D., i, 247.
badar of Multan.
1390-1 Conquest of Sind. Raverty, Notes.
11.3.91 24 Jmn. I, 999 36th regnal year began.
— 8.91 Missions to the kingdoms of the E. & D., V, 460.
Deccan.
1391-2 Second Jesuit Mission. Maclagan, &c.
11.3.92 3 Jum. II, 1000 37th regnal year began.
The millennial year of the Hijra
(A. H. 1000 = Oct. 9, 1391, to
Sept. 27, 1592, o.s.). Millennial
coins issued.
— 8.92 A. hunting on banks of Chinab ; E. & D., V, 464.
second visit to Kashmir.
1592 Conquest of Orissa.
— 8.93 Death of Shaikh Mubarak. „ 465.
17 Zu-1 k., 1001 Ain, i, 490.
Nizamu-d din's History ends. E.&D., V, 467,
? 11 or 12. 93 early in 1002 Return of envoys from the Deccan.
12.94or2.95 Fort of Siwi taken. Raverty, Notes,
11.3.93 9 Rajab, 1003 40th regnal year began. p. 383.
— 4.93 — Rajab, 1003 Surrender of Kandahar. Raverty, Notes,
3.5.95 Arrival of Third Jesuit Mission at Maclagan, p. 68.
(prob.N.s.) Lahore. p.600n.
— 8.95 Badaoni's History ends.
Letters of J. Xavier and Plnheiro. Maclagan.
1 595-8 1004r-7 Intense famine and pestilence. E. & D., vi, 193.
11.3.96 21 Rajab, 1004 41st regnal year began.
early in 1596 Cession of Berar by Chand BibI ; Flrishta, 11, 273.
battle at SQpa on the Godavari.
11.3.97 2 Sha'ban, 1003 42nd regnal year began.
Easter Day, Fire in palace at Lahore. Maclagan, p. 71 ;
27. 3. 97 Du Jarric, ii,
(6. 4N.S.) 558.
A.'s third visit to Kashmir. Maclagan, p. 72.
7. 9. 97 Consecration of new church at 71.
Lahore.
■ Khafi Khan places the event in 997, p. 310). The Taba^cdt dates it in the 33rd
two years later (Blochmann, in Ain, vol. i, regnal year (E. & D., v, ■
Date.
Beferences
Remarks. and
.(O.S.)
Pestilenfie at Lahore. Maclagan, p. 71 .

1598 Death of Abdullah Khan Uzbeg of Vamb^ry, Hist, of
2 Rajab, 1006 ■ Bokhara.
Turan .
H.3. 98
late in 1598 13 Sha'ban, 1006 43rd regnal year began.
A. marched southwards from Lahore .
11.3.99 23 Sha'ban, 1007 44th regnal year began.
1. 5. 99 15 Shawwal, 1007 Death of Prince Murad. Beale.
— 7.99 A. left Agra.
— 2. 1600 Investment of Asirgarh began. For Asirgarh
dates see App. A.
17th cent.
11.3. 1600 4 Ram., 1008 45th regnal year began.
31.3. 1600 25 Ram. 1008 A. occupied Burhanpur.
— 5. 1600
— 6. 1600 Negotiations with Bahadur Shah.
Unsuccessful sortie of Asirgarh
7. 1600 garrison. of Prince Salim.
Rebellion
1600 See App. B.
Rebellion of Usman Khan in Ben- Ain, i, 340 ; A. N.
gal ;battle of Sherpur Atai. inE. &D.,vi,98;
Stewart, p. 188.
ni,
19.8.1600 18 Safar, 1609 Fall of Ahmadnagar. E.&D.,vi,100,144.
end of 8. 1600 Bahadur Shah kidnapped.
25. 12. 1600 Ayres de Saldaiiha became viceroy Fonseca.
of Goa.
31. 12. 1600
17. 1. 1601 QueenEhzabeth'schartertoE.I.Co.
22 Rajab, 1009 Capitulation of Asirgarh.
11.3.01 8 Sha'ban, 1009 Honours conferred on Abu-1 Fazl, &o.
15 Ram., 1009 46th regnal year began. Du ' Jarric,
28. 3. 01 Embassy sent to Goa.
53-6.
21.4.01 Formation of 3 new Subas ; Prince Ain, i, 115 ; E. &
Daniyal appointed viceroy. D., vi, 146.
4 &5.01
Return
Sikri. of A. to Agra, via Fathpur- Inscription on Bit -
land Darwaza.
late in 5. 01 Embassy arrived at Goa. Du Jarric, iii, 55.
1601 Prince Salim assumes royal title.
datesthesee prince's
For App . B .
Akbamama ends .
Negotiations with Prince Salim.
11.3.02 26 Ram., 1010 47tn regnal year began.
20. 3. 02 Dutch E. I. Co. incorporated.
12. 8. 02 Murder of Abu-1 Fazl. E. & D., vi, 154.
4 Rabi' I, 1011
(13 Beale) (Beale)
11.3.03 6 Shawwal, 1011 48th regnal year began.
early in 1603 John Mildenhall arrived at Lahore Purchas ; Ormc.
and Agra.
24. 3. 03 Death of Queen Elizabeth ; acces-
sion of James I of England.
Reconciliation between A. and
Prince Salim effected by Salima
Begam.
1 . 6. 03 1 Muh. 1012 A. H. 1012 began.
11. 11.03 Prince Salim crossed Jumna and
returned to Allahabad.
11.3.04 17 Shawwal, 1012 49th regnal year began.
Beale gives the date as S Rajab, 1005, and cites a chronogram.
Date.
Event.
A.D.(o.S.) A.H. References
Remarks.and
?3.04 Marriage of Prince Daniyal with See App. C.
early in 1604 princess of BIjapuT.
— 4.04 Death of Prince Daniyal.
20. 5. 04 X Muh., 1013 A. H. 1013 began.
29. 8. 04 Death of the Queen-mother.
1 9.11.04
t 11.3.05 Prince Salim's arrest at Agra.
28 Shawwal, SOtli regnal year began.
1013
summer, 05 Mildenhall's audience of Akbar. Purchas.
9. 5. 05 1 Muh., 1014 A. H. 1014 began.
21.9.05 20 Jum. 1, 1014 A.'s illness began. E. &D.. vi, 113.
17. 10. 05 14 Jum. II, 1014' Death of A.
APPENDIX D
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Histories, Memoirs, and Correspondence, written in

Persian or Turkish, and translated in whole or
IN PART
The Atn-i Akbari, by Abu-1 Fazl Allami. Translated from the 1. în.
original Persian ; vol. i, Calcutta, 1873, by H. Blochmann ;
vol. ii, Calcutta, 1891, and vol. iii, Calcutta, 1894, by H. S.
Jarrett. Printed for the A. S. B.
Invaluable as an account of Akbar's administrative system.
In vol. 1 the biographies of officials, compiled by Blochmann
chiefly from the Ma'asiru-l Vmard, with additions from other
sources, are most useful. Mr. Beveridge has translated part of
the Ma'Osiru-l Vmara for the A. S. B., which printed some
fasciculi and then suspended the publication. Vol. iii of the
Ain includes ' The Happy Sayings of His Majesty '
The work of Blochmann and Jarrett supersedes the imperfect,
although creditable, version by Gladwin, executed in the time
of Warren Hastings, which was dedicated to the Governor-
General in 1783, and printed in London in 1800.
The Akbamama, or 'History of Akbar', by Abu-1 Fazl. 2. A.N.
Translated from the Persian by Henry Beveridge, I.C.S. (retired).
Published by the A. S. B. in the Biblioiheca Indica, and issued in
fasciculi from 1897 to date. Vols, i and ii are complete ; vol. iii,
nearly completed, is in the press, and I have been allowed to use
most of the proofs. Irvine and Anstey published in 1907 a
» raA;»»ii(E.&D.,vi, 115) gives night, after midnight. The a. d.
12 Jum. II, and Gladwin gives 13. date, October 17/27, is certain from
But 14 works out correctly for the Du Jarric. See Ind. Ant., 1915,
week-day, Wednesday - Thursday
p. 243.
' Supplementary Index of Place-Names in pp. 89—414 of vol. ii
of Jarrett's version ' (Bibliotheca Indica, n. s., No. 1176).
The Akbarnama comes down to the early part of 1602, or the
end of the 46th regnal year. The author was murdered in August
1602. It was intended to be regarded as a part of the Ain-i
Akbari, but is practically a separate work.
Some of the most important passages are translated in E. & D.,
vi, 21-146.
The R. A. S. possesses a much condensed manuscript version
by Lieutenant Chalmers, never printed in full, but utilized by
Elphinstone, von Noer, and E. & D. Vol. i, pp. 541 foolscap,
ends at the same point as Beveridge's vol. i. Vol. ii contains
588 pages. Abu-1 Fazl's composition ends on p. 538 ; the remaining
fifty pages, dealing with the time from the 47th regnal year to
Akbar's death, being written by a continuator named Inayatu-Uah.
The historical matter in Abu-1 Fazl's book is buried in a mass
of tedious rhetoric, and the author, an unblushing flatterer of
his hero, sometimes conceals, or even deliberately perverts, the
truth.i Nevertheless, the Akbarndma, notwithstanding its grave
and obvious faults, must be treated as the foundation for a history
of Akbar's reign. Its chronology is more accurate and detailed
than that of the rival books by Nizamu-d din and Badaoni, and
it brings the story on to a later date than they do.
Z.
tnil.Tak- The Takmll-i Akbarnama, by Inayatu-llah, as noticed above,
No. 2.
A brief, dry chronicle, translated by Chalmers in manuscript,
and in large part transcribed by E. & D. and von Noer.
4. Bada- The Tdrikh-i BadOont, or Muntakhabu-t TawOrikh, that is to
oni.
say, ' BadaonFs History ', or ' Abstract of Histories ', is a general
history of the Muslim world by Abdu-1 Kadir or Kadiri, son of
Muluk Shah, and commonly known as Badaoni, because he was
a native of Badaon in Rohilkhand.^
Translated in part in E. & D., v, 482-549 ; and also in Bloch-
mann, Aln, vol. i. The A. S. B. has published a complete
version. Vol. i, translated by Lt.-Col. Ranking, did not appear
until 1898. Vol. ii, translated by W. H. Lowe and revised by
E. B. Cowell, wbich was published in 1884, contains the history
of Akbar's reign to the year a. d. 1595-6 (a. h. 1004). The
translation of vol. iii, begun by Lt.-Col. Haig, has not progressed
beyond one fasciculus, published in 1899, which consists only
of lives of Muslim saints. The index to both vols, i and ii is
printed in vol. i.
' Prominent examples of de- which are numerous,
liberate perversion are (1) the ' The name of the town and
dating of
story of Akbar's birth,; with
his naming the
(2) the District
and is optionally
written pronouncedor
either Badaon
account of the capitulation of Badayun, the semi-vowels, as
Asirgarh. It is needless to give often happens, being interchange-
instances of economy of the truth, able.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 461
Lowe's work was carelessly executed, and is consequently

disfigured by two long lists of corrections, which must be con-
sulted before any passage is quoted. His version, as so corrected,
may be accepted as generally accurate. Lowe frequently adopted
Blochmann's renderings of extracts as published in 1873, but
sometimes differs. Blochmann's interpretation in certain cases
is preferable to that of his successor.
BadaonT's interesting work contains so much hostile criticism
of Akbar that it was kept concealed during^ that emperor's life-
time, and could not be published until after Jahangir's accession.
The book, being written from the point of view taken by a bigoted
Sunni, is of the highest value as a check on the turgid panegyric
composed by the latitudinarian Abu-1 Fazl. It gives informa-
tion about the development of Akbar's opinions on religion,
which is not to be found in the other Persian histories, but
agrees generally with the testimony of the Jesuit authors. The
passages dealing with that subject were collected and translated
by Blochmann. The chronology is less precise than that of the
Akbamdma. The author was a friend of Nizamu-d din, and
based his composition to a large extent on the Tabakdt-i Akbart.
The Tabakdt-i Akbari ('Annals', lit. 'leaves', 'of Akbar'), 5. Taba-
or Akbar Shahi, also known as the Tdrikh-i Nizdnti, or ' Nizam's ■'
History ', is a history of India only, coming down to the 39th
year of Akbar's reign, a. d. 1593—4 (a. h. 1002). The author,
Khwaja Nizamu-d din Ahmad, who held the high office of First
BakhshT, died at Lahore in October 1594.
The history of Akbar's reign is translated, practically in full,
in E. & D., V, 247-^76.
The book is a dry, colourless chronicle of external events. It
completely ignores Akbar's religious vagaries,^ and seldom or
never attempts to offer reflections on criticisms of the events
and actions recorded. It omits all mention of many matters of
importance, and needs to be cautiously read, as being the work
of a successful courtier and trusted officer. The chronology is
defective, especially from the twenty-second yeai-, when the author
made a blunder in equating the regnal with the Hijrl years.
The book was much used by Firishta and later compilers, and in
its jejune way is a particularly good specimen of Muslim chronicle-
writing. Count von Noer was inclined to over-estimate its
worth.
The Tdrikh-i Firishta, or ' Firishta's History ', is a general 6. Fi-
history of India, with special reference to the states of the Deccan, rishta.
compiled by Muhammad Kasim Hindu Shah, surnamed Firishta
(Ferishta), who was bom about a. d. 1570.
The extracts given in E. & D., vi, do not concern Akbar's
• ' Nizamu-d din was a good wanderings from the fold ' (E. &
Musalman, and no allusion is D., v, 183). j
made in his pages to Akbar's
reign. The best, although free, translation of the whole work is
that by John Briggs, entitled History of the Rise of the Mahomedan
Power in India, 1829. My references are to the reprint issued
by Cambray & Co., Calcutta, 1908, in four volumes. The reign
of Akbar occupies pp. 181-282 of vol. ii of that edition. The
defects of the version by Briggs have been sometimes exaggerated.
Jarrett, a competent judge, observes that ' Briggs represents his
original with freedom, but in the main, as far as I have seen,
with truth ' (Ain, vol. ii, p. 222 «.).
Firishta based his work on previously published histories,
such as the Tabakdt-i Akbari, written in Persian, on other unpub-
lished works, on tradition, and on personal knowledge. He is
generally recognized as the best of the Indian compilers. His
book is the foundation of Elphinstone's History of India. A new
and scholarly translation, adequately annotated and indexed, is
much to be desired ; but the work would be an arduous under^t
taking, and careful collation of manuscripts would be needed in
order to secure a satisfactory text. The author usually confines
himself to mere chronicling. He does not profess to be a philosophi-
cal historian or to probe the causes of the events registered. His
account of Akbar's reign has Uttle independent value, although,
so far as the later years are concerned, he wrote as a contemporary
who had taken a small personal share in the emperor's transac-
tions in the Deccan.
7. Asad The Wikdyd, or HcMt-i Asad Beg, ' Events ' or ' Occurrences
Beg. by Asad Beg ', is an interesting and candid account of the later
years of Akbar's reign, written by an official who had been long
in the service of Abu-1 Fazl.
A complete manuscript version was prepared for the use of
Sir H. M. Elliot, but I do not know where it is now. Only
extracts from it have been printed in E. & D., vi, pp. 150-74.
They relate, from the author's personal knowledge, the unpleasant
story of the death of the lamplighter, and give the detailed history
of the introduction of tobacco into India,
The publication of a complete version is desirable, the narrative
being obviously truthful.
8. Nuru-1 The Zvibdatu-t Tawdrikh, or ' Cream of Histories *, by Shaikh
Hakk. Niiru-1 Hakk, is a general history coming down to the end of
Akbar's reign.
A few passages concerning that reign are translated in E. & D.,
vi, 189-94. They include the only distinct notice given by any
Muhammadan historian of the terrible famine which desolated
Northern India for three or four years from a. d. 1595 to 1598.
9. Alft. The Tankh-i Alfi, or ' History of a Thousand Years ', was
compUed by Maulana Ahmad and other authors, in pursuance
of orders issued by Akbar in a. d. 1582 (a. h. 990), when the
millennium of lunar years by the Hijri reckoning was drawing
to a close. Akbar believed that the religion of Islam would not
BIBLIOGRAPHY 463
survive the completion of the millennial period, and many

Muhammadans looked for the appearance of an inspired Mahdi
or Guide, who should reform religion.
The more important passages concerning the reign of Akbar
are translated in E. & D., v, 167-76. They include descriptions
of the sieges of Chitor and Ranthambhor. No complete version
exists and manuscripts of the work are rare.
An Akbarnama by Shaikh Illahdad FaizI Sirhindi, i. e. " of 10. Sir-
Sirhind ', is said to be copied for the most part from the work hindi.
of the same name by Abu-1 Fazl (ante. No. 2), and the TabakOl-i
Akbarl {ante. No. 5). The extracts translated in E. & D., vi,
116-46, include a detailed version of the falsified official story of
the fall of Aslrgarh.
A tract called AnfiVu-l Akhbdr, or ' The most useful Chronicle ', n . An-
by Muhammad Amin (E. & D., vi, 244-50) supplies a condensed fa'u.
summary of the events towards the close of Akbar's reign, not
quite correct.
The Tankh-i SaMtin-i Afdghana, or ' History of the Afghan 12.
Sultans ', written about a. d. 1595 or a little later, by Ahmad Ahmad
Yadgar, ends with the death of Hemu. The book is a good Yadgar.
authority for the battle of Panlpat in a. d. 1556 and the connected
events.
The Mukhtasar, or * Summary ', also called the Tdrlkh-i 13.
Humdyun, or ' History of Humayun ', was written about Bayazid-
A. D. 1590 for the use of Abu-1 Fazl by Bayazid Sultan, a Biyat
or Byat Mughal, who held the office of Mir Saman or Bakawal
Begl under Humayim, a post of much responsibility in days when
attempts to poison kings were common. The author served under
Munim Khan early in Akbar's reign, and gives long lists of officers
and many details about affairs in Bengal and Kabul.
A nearly complete translation by Erskine, which might be
printed almost as it stands, is in the British Museum (Add. MS.
26610). See Rieu, Catal., Pref., p. xx.
A full abstract of the contents, sufficient for my purpose, is
given by H. Beveridge in J.A.S.B., part i, vol. Ixvii (1898),
pp. 296-316. The treatise is described by Beveridge in his
translation of the A. N. (ante, No. 2), vol. i, p. 29 n. ; and is
frequently quoted by Raverty in his Notes on Afghdnistdn. See
especially pp. 92, 102, 677 n., and 679. Raverty justly considered
' the Byat ' ' very trustworthy '. His work has been utilized
also by Mrs. Beveridge in her commentary on Gulbadan Begam
(post. No. 19). The treatise is chiefly useful for the settlement
of minute particulars such as rarely require notice in this
work.
A short tract entitled variously in Persian as Tazkiratu-l 14. Jau-
Wdlddt, ' Record of Events ' ; Humdyiin Shdhi, or Tdrlkh-i har.
HumdyHn, ' History of Humayun ', was composed by Jauhar,
who ia his youth had been a personal attendant on Humayiin
in the capacity of ewer-bearer. The author wrote out his
reminiscences in a. d. 1587 (a. h. 995), probably in response Vo
Abu-1 Fazl's request for materials for the AkbarnOma. He must,
of course, have made use of notes recorded at the time of the
events described. Mr. Beveridge informs me that the text exists
in two forms, namely, the original memoirs (Brit. Mus. Add. MS.
16711) and an edition modified by Shaikh Ulahdad Faizi Sirhindl
in Brit. Mus. Or. 1890 (see ante. No. 10).
Some passages have been translated in E. & D., v, 136—49,
but they do not refer to Akbar. The whole work, under the
title Private Memoirs of the Moghul Emperor HumdyUn, was
translated by Major Charles Stewart (Or. Transl. Fund, quarto,
London, 1832), whose version, although a little free, is understood
to be generally faithful. An independent rendering of the passages
relating to the birth of Akbar is given by Kaviraj Shyamal Das
in J. A. S. B., part i (1886), vol. Iv, p. 81.
Jauhar's memoir is of high importance as giving an account
of the birth and marriage of Akbar, which in my judgement is
thoroughly trustworthy, although inconsistent with the official
story. In particular, I believe that Akbar was born on the date,
equivalent to November 23, as stated by Jauhar. See my dis-
cussion of the subject, ' The Date of Akbar's Birth ', in Ind.
Ant., 1915, pp. 232-44.1
15. 'All The Travels and Adventures of the Turkish Admiral AH Rats
Rais. in India, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Persia, during the years
1553-1556, is a small tract, badly translated and annotated by
Arminius Vambery, London, Luzac & Co., 1899.
So far as Akbar is concerned, it is of interest only as showing
how the author helped in the arrangements for concealing the
death of Humayiin until Akbar's succession was assured. The
original language is Turkish.
le.Shaikh The book entitled' Wdkidt, ' Events ', is a collection of letters
Faizi. written by Shaikh Faizi, the elder brother of Abu-1 Fazl, and is
said to be of slight historical importance. One letter, concerning
negotiations with the Deccan states, is translated in B. & D.,
vi, 147-9. Sir H. M. Elliot had a manuscript translation of the
whole prepared, which is not accessible.
17. Jahan- The genuine memoirs of Jahanglr have been translated and "
^"' ■ ■ adequately annotated, under the title The Tuzuk-i Jahdnglrl, or
Memoirs of Jahdngir, translated by Alexander Rogers, I.C.S.
(retired), and edited by Henry Beveridge, I.C.S. (retired) ; pub-
lished by R. A. S., London, vol. i, 1909 ; vol. ii, 1914. The
translation is based on the text printed by Sayyid Ahmad at
Ghazipur in 1863, and at Aligarh in 1864, after correction result-
ing from the collation of many manuscripts. Portions of the
work are also translated in E. & D., vi. See Rieu, Catal. of
' The paper as published is later in a list of errata. I did not
disfigured by misprints, corrected receive a proof.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 465
Persian MSS. in BHt. Mm., i, 253. The first volume deals
with twelve years of the reign. The second carries on the
story for seven years more, when the emperor ceased to record
his history.
Both volumes give much important information concerning
Akbar, and constitute a new source as yet almost unused.
The work entitled Memoirs of the Emperor Jahangueer, written
by himself, and translated by Major David Price, printed for the
Oriental Translation Committee, John Murray, &c., 1829, does
not deserve to be considered an authority. The translation was
made from a single defective manuscript of an edition of the
Memoirs, obviously garbled and interpolated. Many of the
statements are absolutely incredible, and numbers have been
exaggerated throughout. The book should not be quoted for
any purpose, but should be simply ignored as being mislead-
ing. Prior to the publication of the version of the genuine
memoirs by Rogers and Beveridge, Price's translation was
commonly quoted, and is responsible for much false current
' history '.
The Ma'dsir-i Jahangiri, 'Memoirs of Jahanglr ', by Khwaja 18. Ma'd-
Kamgar Ghairat Khan, a contemporary official, was largely **''■* ■'•
used by Gladwin in his History of Hindostan, 4to, 1788, post, D,
No. 6. About one-sixth of the work is devoted to the proceed-
ings of Jahanglr previous to his accession (E. & D., vi, 441).
The only extract relating to that time translated by E. & D.
(ibid., 442-4) relates to the murder of Abu-1 Fazl, and is substan-
tially identical with the explanation offered by Jahanglr himself.
The History of HumdyUn (Humdyun-Ndma) by Gulbadan 19- Gul-
Begam (Princess Rose-body), translated, with introduction, notes, "^"^.n.
illustrations, and biographical appendix, and reproduced in
the Persian from the only known manuscript in the British
Museum, by Annette S. Beveridge, M.R.A.S. Published by the
R.A.S., London, 1902.
This excellently edited work, comprising both text and transla-
tion, isa valuable authority for Akbar's early life. The biographical
appendix gives the lives of many ladies connected with the courts
of Akbar and his father. The unique manuscript is incomplete
and ends with the blinding of Mirza Kamran.
The Dabistanu-l Mazdhib, or ' School of Manners ', was written 20. Da-
about sixty years after Akbar's death by an unnamed author "istan.
of strong Pars! tendencies,'^ from notes collected in either 1643 or
1648. The text was printed at Calcutta in 1809 and at Bombay
in 1856.
• The book is anonymous. The ascription to Muhsin Fani (for
name of the author is given as whom see Beale, s.v.), first made
Muhsin Fan! by Cunningham, His(. by Sir William Jones, has been
o/ «Ae iSiMs, 2nd ed., pp. 33 n., 57 n. disproved (Modi, A Glimpse into
He was acquainted with the Sikh the Work of the B. B.R.A. Society,
Guru, Hargobind. The erroneous Bombay, 1905, p. 127).
1846 H h
Translated by Shea and Troyer, 3 vols., 8vo, Or. Transl,

Fund, London, 1843. The Bodleian has a copy.
The book contains stories about Akbar's religious vagaries.
The few matters of interest are collected in the extracts translated
by Blochmann in Am, vol. i, pp. 210 foil.
Jesuit Accounts, 1582-1605

The Jesuit publications are so numerous that a full biblio-
graphical account of them would occupy a large space. Ample
details will be found in the works of Sommervogel and other
modern Jesuit writers. A good summary is given by Maclagan,
and the Rev. H. Hosten has added much new information.
A great amount of manuscript material awaits publication. All
the early Jesuit books are either scarce or rare, and some of
them are almost inaccessible. They are written in the Portu-
guese, Spanish, Italian, French, and Latin languages. The only
one completely translated into English is Monserrate's brief tract,
Relaqam do Equebar, No. 2 below.
1. Com- Father Hosten' s researches have proved that all narratives of
men- the First Mission rest primarily on the testimony of Monserrate,
tarius. whose writings were known to Wilford, but had been lost sight
of. The Commentarius, his principal work, was rediscovered in
St. Paul's Cathedral Library, Calcutta, in 1906. The autograph
manuscript, which contains nearly 300 pages of Latin written
in a minute hand, with many corrections, has been deciphered
and well edited by Father Hosten. The title is :
' Mongolicae Legationis Commentarius, or " The First Jesuit
Mission to Akbar ", by Father Anthony Monserrate, S.J.,
Latin Text ; published in Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
quarto, vol. iii. No. 9, pp. 518-704 ; Calcutta, 1914.'
The editor hopes that his work will form the beginning of
a series to be entitled ' Jesuit Letters and allied Papers on Mogor,
Tibet, Bengal, and Burma '. The Rev. Father Felix, O.M.C., has
published a valuable collection of Mogul farmdns, &c., in favour
of the Jesuit missionaries in J. of Panjab Historical Society,
vol. V, part i, extra No., 1916. The term ' Mogor ' in the old
books means the Mogul empire, as distinguished from ' India ',
which was usually understood by the missionaries to signify
Portuguese India.
The Commentarius is the most valuable of the new authorities
made accessible since the beginning of the twentieth century.
The author was an accomplished scholar and conscientious
observer. His book is full of novel matter, recorded from day 1o
day in good Latin during two years and a half. The editor's
marginal headings supply the lack of an English translation to
BIBLIOGRAPHY 467
a certain extent. The detailed account of the war with Muham-
mad Hakim of Kabul in 1581 is especially important. See
H. Beveridge, Whiteway, and Hosten, ' Notes ', in J. d> Proc.
A. S B., vol. xi, N.s. (1915), pp. 187-204.
The Relagam do Equebar, a short tract abstracted by the 2. Rela-
author from the Commentarius, has been edited and translated f""*-
by Father Hosten in J. & Proc. A.S.B., 1912, pp. 185-221,
under the title ' Father A. Monserrate's Account of Akbar
(26th Nov. 1582) '. It gives a vivid personal description of
Akbar, which forms the basis of the writings on the subject by
Peruschi and other authors.
The following papers by Father Hosten and other learned 3. Various
priests, with their lay ashelpers, deal with Monserrate and the *"*"°''s-
First Mission, as well with subsequent events. All include
much matter not previously published.
1 . ' The Marsden MSS. in the Brit. Mus.', by W. F. Philipps and
H. Beveridge, edited by Rev. H. Hosten, S.J. (J. <fc Proc. A.S.B.,
1910, pp. 437-61).
2. ' List of Jesuit Missionaries in " Mogor " (1580-1603) ', by
Rev. H. Hosten, S.J. (ibid., pp. 527-42).
3. ' List of Portuguese Jesuit Missionaries in Bengal and
Burma (1576-1642) ', by Revs L. Besse, S.J., and H. Hosten, S.J.
(ibid., 1911, pp. 15-35).
4. ' Father A. Monserrate's Description of Delhi (1581) ;
Firoz Shah's Tunnels ', by same (ibid., pp. 99-108).
5. ' On the Persian Farmans granted to the Jesuits by the
Moghul Emperors ; and Tibetan and Newar Farmans granted
to the Capuchin missionaries in Tibet and Nepal ', by Rev.
Fr. FeUx, O.M.C. (ibid., 1912, pp. 325-32). The author has in
his possession a ' vast amount of unpublished materials ', and
proposes to print many documents.
The earliest printed authority for the missions, with the 4. Perus-
exception of the Annuae Idterae for 1582-3 in the British Museum, '^^^•
is the very rare little tract in Italian by John Baptist (Giovanni
Battista) Peruschi, entitled Informatione del Regno e Stato del
gran Hi di Mogor. My copy (71 pages) was printed at Rome by
Luigi Zannetti in 1597. Another issue bearing the same date
appeared at Brescia ; and subsequently French, German, and
Latin translations were published. The book deals with all the
three missions. Peruschi's work is also reprinted in the collec-
tion formed by John Hay of Dalgetty, entitled De Rebus Japonids,
Indicts, et Peruanis epistolae recentiores . . . in unum librum
coacervatae, published at Antwerp in 1605. Hay's collection also
includes the letters printed by Oranus, the Nova Relatio by
Father Pimenta, and other papers, which I have consulted.
Most of the bibliographical details, which are too complicated
for insertion here, will be found in Maclagan. Copies of Hay
are in the Bodleian and Indian Institute Libraries at Oxford.
Hh2
468 AKBAR THE GRIÂT MOGUL
S.Bartoli. One of the most useful Jesuit publications, and one slightly
more accessible than most of the others, is the compilation by
Father Daniel Bartoli, S.J., originally printed in 1663. I possess
and have used the edition (5th), comprising part of the book,
which was published by Salvioni at Rome in 1714, under the
title Missione al gran Mogor del Padre Ridolfo Aquaviva. The
volume is beautifully printed, and gives a long list of early
authorities on the life of Aquaviva. It does not deal with the
later missions. It is based on the writings of Monserrate, Peruschi,
and others, and is well written.
6. Du All writers on the subject of the Jesuit Missions must rely
Jarric. chiefly on the great work by Father Pierre du Jarric of Toulouse,
with a long title, Histoire des choses plus memorables ... en
Vestablissement et progrez de la foi Chrestienne et Cafholique, et
principalement de ce que les Religieux de la Compagnie de Jisus
y ont faict et enduri pour la mesme Jin ', &c. The original French
edition, published at Arras in 1611, brings the narrative down
to 1600. The third part, extending to 1610, was published in
1614.
A Latin version, entitled Thesaurus Rerum Indicarum, &c.,
was made by M. Matthia Martinez, and published at Cologne,
vols, i and ii in 1615, and vol. iii, extending to 1612, in 1616.
The work in French, especially part iii, is almost inaccessible.
The Bodleian has only parts i and ii in a single volume.
The complete Latin version in three volumes is slightly less
rare, both the Bodleian and the India Office Libraries possessing
good copies. I have used chiefly the India Office copy, which
I was permitted to borrow. My references are to it. Vol. i does
not concern the history of Akbar.
In vol. ii, chaps, viii to xvi (pp. 492-576) describe the
Mogul empire, all the three missions, and Akbar's inquiries con-
cerning China. The statement that Akbar was an epileptic is
on p. 498. Chap, xii gives an account of the abortive Second
Mission (1590-1), which is fully dealt with in English by Maclagan
and in this work. The portion of the third volume which chiefly
concerns the history of Akbar consists of book i, chaps, iv-xv,
pp. 38-137. Chap, iv gives the true account of the fall of
Aslrgarh, hitherto unnoticed by modern historians, with one
partial exception. Chap, xv, entitled ' Mors regis Echebaris,
qui vulgo Magnus Mogor ', presents the most authentic existing
narrative of the emperor's last days, and fixes the date of his
death as October 27, new style, or October 17, old style.
Count von Noer, who made considerable use of vols, i and ii
of Du Jarric, had never seen vol. iii, which is now freely utilized
for the first time in this work.
Whenever a reasonably accurate and complete history of
Jahanglr's reign comes to be written, the historian must rely
largely on chaps, xvi-xxiii, pp. 137-201, of the Thesaurus, vol. iii.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 469
which are practically unknown. Chap, xxviii, pp. 354-68,

gives a curious and interesting account of Christianity in the
later empire of Vijayanagar (Chandragiri). Chaps, xxiv and
XXV, pp. 201-26, are devoted to the adventures of Father Benedict
of Goes in Tibet and China. He was the colleague of Jerome
Xavier on the Third Mission for several years.
Du Jarric is a thoroughly conscientious and accurate writer
who reproduces faithfully the substance of the original Jesuit
letters, of which considerable portions remain unpublished.^
He made use of a work by Father Luis de Guzman, S.J.,
published in 1601, and written in Spanish, entitled Historia de
las Missiones, &c. I have looked through the Bodleian copy of
Guzman without finding anything that is not in other books.
Father Guzman's treatise, according to Maclagan, is ' our first
general history of the Missions '. The story stops at the year 1599.
Du Jarric, however, relied more on the comprehensive treatise
by Father Fernam Guerreiro, S.J., published at Lisbon in three
parts, and covering the period 1600-7. It is entitled Relagam
annul das cousas quefezeram os padres da Companhia de Jesus, &c.
The book, in all its forms, is of extreme rarity.
The library of All Souls College, Oxford, has the Spanish
translation of the first part, dealing with 1600 and 1601, made
by Father Antonio Cola90, S.J., Procurador General, published
by Luys Sanchez at Valladolid in 1604 and containing 682 pages
of text. Chap, ii deals with the religious organization of the
Northern Province, including ' Mogor '. Pp. 14-35 deal with
the Third Mission much less fully than Du Jarric does. On p. 16
the author alleges that Akbar was induced by his extreme pride
and arrogance to accept worship as God (es tan soberuio y arrogate,
que consiete ser odor ado come dios). The fall of Asirgarh (p. 24)
is briefly ascribed to corruption and lavish expenditure of money
(mucho dinero e sobornos). The letter to Aires de Saldagna is on
p. 33.
The same library possesses part ii, relating to the years 1602
and 1603, published at Lisbon by lorge Rodrigues in 1605 :
143 leaves = 286 pages. Chaps, v-viii of book iii concern the
Third Mission, and appear to have been translated completely
by Du Jarric. I have not seen part iii, 1604-7, but Father
Hosten cites the book as having been published at- Lisbon, mdcix,
by Pedro Crasbeeck.
Father Hosten hopes to produce a translation of the whole
work, so far as it concerns the Mogul empire, at some time, if
the state of his health should permit.
1 The valuation of Du Jarric's lished material. De Laet (p. ||)
merits rests, not only on my gives a summary of Benedict's
personal opinion, but on the route via Kashgar and Yarkand
expert judgement of Father to the Great Wall, probably from
Hosten, who has studied much Du Jarric.
of the immense mass of unpub-
These observations may suffice to convince the reader of the
extraordinarily high value of Du Jarric's little-known work,
which I have found to be most illuminating.
7. De 'In 1710 a Jesuit Father, Francisco de Sousa (or Souza),
Sousa. published in Portuguese at Lisbon an account of the Missions
which were carried on in the Province of Goa between 1564 and
1585. His book is called Oriente conquistado a Jesu christo
pelos padres da Companhia de Jesus da Promnda de Goa, and
pages 146-172 of the second volume deal with the first Mission
to Akbar. In the preface to his second volume he gives as his
authorities (a) a MS. history by Father Sebastiano Gongalves,
Professor at Goa in 1593 ; (6) Bartoli's work. No. 5 above ;
(c) the " History of the Company " ; and (rf) other documents,
" da nossa Secretaria da Goa " ' (Maclagan, p. 46). The original
edition is extremely rare, and a copy does not seem to exist in
Oxford.
A reprint is obtainable from B. X. Furtado & Sons, Bombay,
in two vols., price 13s. including postage. Vol. ii gives
sundry details not to be found elsewhere, e. g. concerning the
route of Aquaviva's party from Surat to Fathpur-Sikri. The
more important passages relating to Akbar's reign have been
translated and cited by Goldie and Hosten, which I have been
content to use. The India Office Library possesses only the first
volume of the reprint, 541 pp., royal 8vo, issued from the
Examiner office, in 1881. That volume, which is mainly con-
cerned with St. Francis Xavier, and comes down only to 1563,
does not touch on the events of Akbar's reign.
8. Mac- The treatise by [Sir] B. D. Maclagan entitled ' The Jesuit
lagan. Missions to the Emperor Akbar ' (J. A. S. B., part i, vol. Ixv
(1896), pp. 38-113), already cited, deserves more detailed notice.
It is a thorough and satisfactory piece of work, dealing adequately
with the material available at the time of publication. The
author supplies a good summary bibliography of the rare Jesuit
publications ; full narratives of all the three missions, illustrated
by copious translated extracts from the documents ; observa-
tions on the results of the missions ; and a note on the Persian
works by Jerome Xavier. Maclagan's work is the indispensable
guide to the subject, and will give most students all that they
require. Some of the documents published by him are not
accessible elsewhere in print. Monserrate's, Goldie's, and Father
Hosten's works were not available when he wrote.
9. Goldie. Father Francis Goldie, S.J., has published a valuable little
book entitled The First Christian Mission to the Great Mogul
(Gill & Son, Dublin, 1897, price Is. 6d.), which gives quotations
from De Sousa (No. 7, ante) and much information not to be had
elsewhere. The author, of course, writes from the Roman Catholic
and Jesuit point of view. His publication of the Portuguese text
and English translation of Aquaviva's letter dated September 27,
BIBLIOGRAPHY 471
1582 (Marsden MSS. Add., B.M., No. 9854), is of special value.

The independent version of the same letter published by Maclagan
(pp. 56-8) is slightly less complete and accurate than that given
by Goldie.
Eakly European Travellers and Authors other than

Jesuits
The only lay European traveller known to have visited Akbar's i. Fitch,
dominions, and to have recorded his impressions at any con-
siderable length is Ralph Fitch, who left England in 1583 and
returned in 1591. In the company of John Newbery and William
Leedes he arrived at Agra and Fathpur-SikrI in September 1585.
Newbery started soon afterwards for Persia and was never heard
of again. Leedes remained in Akbar's service as a jeweller, but
unfortunately has left no record of his experiences. Fitch pro-
ceeded to Bengal, Burma, and other lands, which he described
in meagre notes. His narrative was printed in Hakluyt's Prin-
cipall Navigations, 1599-1600, vol. ii, part i ( = ed. MacLehose,
1904, vol. V. pp. 465-505, in Hakluyt Soc., Extra Series). Queen
Elizabeth's letter to Akbar is on p. 450 of MacLehose's edition.
Fitch's story has been reprinted and edited by J. H. Riley,
under the title Ralph Fitch, England's Pioneer to India, Burma, &c.
(Unwin, London, 1899), which edition is quoted in this work.
The second part (pp. 92-100) gives a cursory and disappointingly
slight description of Northern India under Akbar in 1585. The
traveller seems to have seen Akbar, but says nothing about an
interview with him.
The first edition of the well-known compilation by the Rev. 2. Pur-
Samuel Purchas appeared in 1613, under the title Purchas his chas.
Pilgrimage, or Relations of the World, &c., as a small folio, now
rare, of which I possess a copy. Book v, chap, vi, pp. 405-7,
gives a summary account of Akbar's empire compiled from the
writings of Ralph Fitch, the Jesuits Oranus and Du Jarric {ante,
B, Nos. 4 and 6), besides other authors.
Chapters vii, viii, and ix describe Cambay (Gujarat), the Indian
nations of the western coast, and the customs of the Brahmans,
as recorded by Fitch, van Linschoten, and various travellers.
The compiler's later work, Purchas his Pilgrimes (1625), con-
tains notices of John MUdenhall and certain other travellers
who visited India shortly before or soon after Akbar's death,
but did not publish books. The best edition is that by MacLehose,
1905, under the title Hakluytus Posthumus or Purchas his Pil-
grimes. Two letters of John Mildenhall are given in vol. ii,
pp. 297-304. The first, without date, describes his journey
from Aleppo to Kandahar. The second, dated October 3, 1606,
from Kaswin (Casbin) in Persia, recounts the exertions he made
to obtain trade privileges from Akbar. Mildenhall reached Agra
in 1603 and was there for about three years. See Maclagan,
p. 93 n., quoting Orme, and ante, chap. x.
The text of the account of India by Purchas in the Pilgrimes
was reprinted along with van Linschoten's Travels in Western
India, by Talboys Wheeler in Early Travels in India, first series,
8vo, Calcutta, 1864.
3. Terry. The Rev. Edward Terry, who in his youth was chaplain to
Sir Thomas Roe, the ambassador of James I to Jahanglr, lived
with his patron during the greater part of his embassy for more
than two years, from 1615 to 1618, and committed his impres-
sions to writing soon after his return. In 1622 he submitted his
papers for the perusal of the Prince of Wales.i The first edition,
entitled A Voyage to East India, now rare, was not published
until 1655. The second edition, of which I possess a copy, was
issued in 1777, and is scarce. It contains a scandalous story
about Prince Salim, and the tale of the death by poison of ' that
wicked king ', Akbar (p. 408). Section xxx (pp. 418-28) deals
with the Jesuits and the Third Mission, and is of value as proving
that the missionaries were used for political purposes to some
extent. Terry states expressly that Father Corsi ' lived at that
court as an agent for the Portuguese '.
He gives Corsi a good character. Terry's work is valuable for
the notes on the social condition and morals of the people. The
chaplain was a good observer, and sympathetic.
4. Roe. My references are to the best edition, namely. The Embassy
of Sir Thomas Boe to the Court of the Great Mogul, 1615-1619,
as narrated in Ms Journal and Correspondence, edited from con-
temporary records by WUliam Foster (2 vols., Hakluyt Society,
1899, paged continuously). Roe's statements about Akbar are
not numerous. He possessed much information about the
history of the country and ' the many practises in the time of
Ecbarsha ', and observed that he ' could deliver as many rare
and cunning passadges of state, subtile evasions, policyes, answers,
and adages as I beUeve for one age would not be easely equald '.
But he feared that the subject would not interest his readers,
and so, unfortunately, refrained from printing what he knew
(p. 281). He expresses a favourable opinion of Akbar's character
as being that of ' a Prince by nature just and good ' (p. 312),
and gives clear proof that Jerome Xavier had become a political
and commercial agent for the Portuguese. See especially p. 341.
Jerome Xavier is usually described as being the nephew of St.
Francis Xavier. But really he was the saint's grand-nephew,
' Terry went out to India on Thomas Roe sent to Surat for
his own account in a fleet of six Terry, who stayed with him to
ships, which sailed February 3, the end and returned to England
1615. When John Hall, the with him, Terry became rector
original chaplain of the embassy, of Greenford in Middlesex title
died at the Mogul court. Sir and p. 54).
BIBLIOGRAPHY 473
being the grandson of a sister of St. Francis (Foster's note, p. 313).

Appendix A (B.M. Add. MS. 6115, f. 256) gives a summary
description of the chief cities in the Mogul Empire, the names
being taken from the ' king's register ', which is of interest,
according to Mr. Foster, as being ' the first attempt to supply
to European readers an account of the political divisions of the
Mogul empire ' ; but, when Mr. Foster wrote, the earlier work
of Monserrate had not been recovered. The longest notice is
that of Chytor (Chitor). The list of cities is given by Terry also.
John de Laet (Joannes Laetius), an industrious and voluminous 5. jje
Dutch author, did much good service in his day; by compiling Laet.
from the best authorities well-digested accounts of various
foreign lands .1
His scarce little book entitled De Imperio Magni Mogolis, sive
India Vera, commentarius e variis auctoribus congestus, published
by Elzevir at Leyden in 1631, long ranked as the best general
account of India, and was utilized by many authors, who did
not always disclose the source of their information. The book
is still a valuable authority for the history of Akbar's reign.
There are two distinct issues, both bearing the same date, 1631.
I possess good copies of both, which are also represented in the
India Ofiice Library. The original issue has 299 pages text ;
the second issue, owing to better printing, has only 285 pages
text; and at the end of p. 278 includes a paragraph, not in the
original edition, imputing incest to Shahjahan immediately after
the death of Mumtaz Mahall. As she died in July 1631, the
reprint must have been issued either in 1632 or in 1633. It
probably appeared late in 1632. References to the work should
specify the issue quoted, because the paging differs. See my
article on the book in Ind. Ant., November 1914.
De Laet's work deals with events to 1628. It consists of two
parts, namely, ' Descriptio Indiae ' (pp. 1-162 of second issue) ;
and the ' Fragmentum Historiae Indicae ' (pp. 163-285, ibid.,
including preface). The ' Descriptio ' is a good compilation from
the works of Sir Thomas Roe, Purchas, Peter Texeira, and other
authors, including some statements of which the source is obscure.
The geographical detaUs were discussed by E. (now Sir Roper)
Lethbridge in an article entitled ' Topography of the Mogul
Empire ' {Calcutta Review, October 1870, and January 1871).
The ' Fragmentum ' was contributed by Peter van den Broecke,
chief of the Dutch factory at Surat in 1620 and subsequent
years. His Dutch text was translated into Latin. It is based
on a genuine chronicle of the empire, presumably written in
Persian (quod i genuino illius Begni Chronica expressum credimus).
The portion of the ' Fragmentum ' dealing with the reigns of
Humayiin and Akbar was translated by Lethbridge under the
title ' A Fragment of Indian History ' (Calc. Rev., July 1873,
> Lethbridge spells ' De Laet ', but the author writes ' de Laet '.
pp. 170-200). The promised continuation of the version never

appeared. The rendering is not free from errors. Two serious
mistranslations spoil the important paragraph dealing with the
death of Akbar and the succession of Prince Salim. Both parts
of the book are valuable. The account of Akbar's treasure in
chapter vii of the ' Descriptio ' is official, and independent of
the equally official inventory given by Manrique from a different
source. The two lists agree substantially. See my article, ' The
Treasure of Akbar ' (J. R. A. S., 1914, pp. 231-43). Another
copy of the treasure inventory (as pointed out by Father Hostene
is given in the Dutch black-letter tract (73 pages), entitled General)
Beschrybinge van Indien, Amsterdam, 1648, by J. van Twist,
sometime chief (overhooft) of the Dutch ' factories ' at Ahmadabad,
Cambay, and Bharoch (Broach). The work is in the India Office
Library.
The ' Fragmentum ', although not correct on all points, con-
tains certain statements of considerable importance, and deserves
to be used critically as one of the early authorities for the history
of Akbar.
6. Her- Sir Thomas Herbert, as a young man, travelled in the East
bert. froui i626 to 1629. He was at Surat in 1627, and never went
far into India from that port. The ffi:st edition of his book
appeared in 1634, the second in 1638, and the third in 1664.
The fourth and best edition, which I possess and have used,
was published in 1677 with his final corrections and additions,
under the title Some Years Travels into divers parts of Africa and
Asia the Great, &c.
Pages 58-99 of the fourth edition are devoted to a narrative of
historical events in India during fifty years, without specifica-
tion of authorities. The history of Akbar's reign (pp. 62-72)
has no independent value, being based on the books by de Laet
(ante, No. 5), and other authors. Several modern writers, espe-
cially Talboys Wheeler, have immensely exaggerated the value
of Herbert's volume, being under the impression that he had per-
sonal knowledge of the interior of India. As a matter of fact, he
never moved farther than a few miles from Surat, and his personal
observation was confined to that port and its neighbourhood.
7. Man- The Itinerario de las Missiones qui hizo el padre Fray Sebastian
rique. Manrique, Roma, 1649 and 1653, is one of the most authoritative
and valuable of the works by early travellers. Both issues are
extremely rare. I have never known a copy to be offered for
sale. Both are in the British Museum ; while at Oxford, the
Bodleian has the original edition, and All Souls College Library
has the reprint, which differs in the title-page only. Unfortunately
the Spanish text has never been translated completely, and the
contents are known to historical students only from extracts .'^
' Sir E.D.Maclagan has published ingtothePanjabin J.Pan/a6HM<.
a translation of the chapters relat- Soc, vol. i, pp. 83-106, 151-66.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 475
The author's principal contribution to the history of Akbar is

the inventory of the treasure left at his death, copied about
1640 from an official record in the archives at Rajmahal, then the
capital of Bengal. The list agrees substantially with that taken
independently by de Laet from another similar document in
some other office. See above, No. 5.
The Voyages and Travels of John Albert de Mandelslo . . . into 8. Man-
the East Indies; 2nd edition, corrected and translated by delslo.
John Davies, London 1669, of which I possess a copy, is a work
with an undeserved reputation. It is bound up with the much
more important book by Olearius, entitled The Voyages and
Travells of the Ambassadors. The bibliography of Mandelslo,
and the value of his so-called travels have been exhaustively
discussed in my paper on the subject in J. R. A. S., April 1915,
pp. 244-54. Mandelslo paid a brief visit to Agra in 1638, in the
reign of Shahjahan. The meagre notes which proceed from his
pen are almost worthless. His inventory of Akbar' s treasure
(p. 37), which seems to be copied by one of his editors from
either de Laet {ante. No. 5) or Manrique (ante, No. 7), is of no
independent value. The book, as edited by Olearius and de
Wicquefort, was intended for the general reader, and is a good
compilation, but nothing more.
The volume of Travels in the Mogul Empire, a. d. 1656-1668, 9. Ber-
by Frangois Bernier, is a justly celebrated work and a first- °'^'^*
class authority for the reigns of Shahjahan and Aurangzeb. The
latest edition in English is that by Archibald Constable and
V. A. Smith (Oxford University Press, 1914).
The only material reference to Akbar's reign is to be found
in the story of Jaimall and Patta of Chitor (p. 256), told in
connexion with the Delhi elephants.
Niccolao Manucci, Storia do Mogor, or Mogul India (1653- 10. Ma-
1708), translated with introduction and notes, by William nucci.
Irvine. Four thick, volumes, 1907, 1908, published by John
Murray, London, in the Indian Text Series of the Government
of India, under the supervision of the Royal Asiatic Society.
Manucci's gossiping observations principally concern the reign
of Aurangzeb, and, when resting on his personal knowledge, are
valuable. In volume i, pp. 120-51, the author professes to give
the history of the reign of Akbar, but the story is made up almost
wholly of legendary and fabulous anecdotes. Its principal
interest lies in the proof it offers that a legend had grown up
round the name of Akbar in the course of a century .i The tale
1 The legend began to grow queens, and then ' caused the
much earlier. Tom Coryate, writ- head, by vertue of his Exorclsmes
ing on October 31, 1616, only and conjunctions, to be set on
eleven years after the emperor's again, no signe appearing of any
death,
cut off tells
the ahead
storyof that
one Akbar
of his stroke
&c., ed.with
1776,his vol.
Sword
iii, 'not
(Crudities,
paged).
of the emperor's death by poison, which is found in so many

early authors, appears on p. 150.
Manucci's most important contribution to the real history of
Akbar is the statement that the Jats rifled the tomb of the emperor
and burnt his bones (ii, 319-21). That statement, I beUeve, is
true. See Irvine's index, s. v. Akbar.
Irvine's work supersedes generally the earlier publication by
Catrou, which appeared in various editions, French, Italian, and
English, from 1705 to 1826.1 But Catrou still may be cited for
certain small matters not in Manucci. The Frenchman made
use of other authorities to some extent. I have consulted the
quarto French edition of 1715 in the India Office Library. The
Bodleian has only the English version of 1709.
D
Later European Authors
1. Tod. The Annals and Antiquities of Bajasthan, by Colonel James
Tod (two vols., large quarto, 1829-32), now almost unprocurable,
may be consulted in the principal libraries. Reprints issued by
Higgmbotham of Madras in two volumes, large octavo (1873 and
1880), and another at Calcutta in 1894, have become scarce.^
Tod's work is most conveniently read in the ' Popular Edition '
(two thick 8vo volumes, George Routledge & Sons, London,
1914), at the low price of 10s. My references are to that edition.
The special value of Tod's book for the historian consists in its
preservation of RajpQt tradition, oral and written, which is not
available elsewhere. In that respect it ranks as an original
authority. The most important passages concerning the history
of Akbar are those dealing with the siege of Chitor, the war with
Rana Partab Singh, and the story of Akbar's death by poison,
as related in the Annals of Bundi (Boondee). Tod requires to
be read with caution. His style is loose and careless, and at times
his statements are contradictory. Some of his assertions of fact
are demonstrably erroneous. But his book is great enough to
survive all criticism. His account of Akbar's policy, written
from the Rajpiit point of view, serves as a corrective to the
narratives of the Muhammadan historians.
2.Elphln- Elphinstone's History of India (1841) is too well known to
stone. need much comment. The fifth edition by E. B. Cowell (1866)
' List of editions in Irvine, accurate '. A Hindustani (Urdu)
op. cit., p. xxvi. All the editions version was published in two
are rare, or at least scarce. large quarto volumes at the
^ The reprint of 1873 is marked Nawal Kishor Press, Lucknow,
■ second edition ', and that of 1877. A condensed edition of the
1 880 ' third reprint ' ; I have not ' Annals of Mewar ', by C. H.
seen the Calcutta reprint, which Payne, was issued by Routledge
is said by Payne to be ' less & Sons (n.d., about 1913).
BIBLIOGRAPHY 477
has been little altered in later reprints. The narrative of Akbar's
reign, abstracted from the Muhammadan historians, is mostly
accurate so far as it goes, but it does not go very far. The story
of Akbar's last days and death, being based on the spurious
edition of Jahangir's Memoirs translated by Price, is fictitious for
the most part. Elphinstone ignored the Jesuit accounts, which
were known to his editor only from the poor compUation entitled
Murray's Discoveries in Asia. Those accounts, which had
appeared in many editions, reprints, and translations during
the seventeenth century, were practically forgotten in the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries until Bumell and von Noer
rediscovered Du Jarric, and the Count in 1880 drew attention
to a portion of the Jesuit's work.i
The History of Bengal, by Major Charles Stewart (4to, 1813), 3. Stew-
based on the works of Muhammadan historians, printed and art.
manuscript, is useful as giving a connected view of events in
Bengal during the reign of Akbar. Bengal in the Sixteenth Century,
by J. N. Das Gupta (Univ. of Calcutta, 1914), is disappointing.
The book by Count von Noer, published in German under the 4. Von
title Kaiser Akbar (1880, 1885), was translated into English, Noer.
with additions, corrections, and notes, by Annette Beveridge
(Calcutta, Thacker, 1890) under the title The Emperor Akbar.
It is the only considerable modern work in any language
devoted solely to Akbar's reign, and in spite of its many defects
is of value. Its chief merit lies in the use made of the Jesuit
authorities, especially Du Jarric, whom Elphinstone and almost
all other English historians had neglected. The author was
a panegyrist of his hero as undiscriminating as Abu-1 Fazl himself.
The Notes on Afghanistan (folio, 1888), by Major Raverty, are 5. Ra-
known to serious students of Indian history as a mine of out- verty.
of-the-way information from which it is not easy to dig out
what is wanted. The references to the history of Akbar's
time are numerous, and the account of the annexation of Sind,
Kandahar, and Balochistan is particularly helpful. The book
is rarely met with in a complete form (pp. 734). My copy,
presented by the author, is enriched by certain manuscript
corrections in his hand. A large part of the work as written was
not printed, and the index is an imperfect office compilation,
very different from the elaborate analysis designed by the
author.2
The History of Hindostan during the reigns of Jehdngir, Shah- 6. Glad-
jehan, Aurangzebe, by Francis Gladwin, vol. i, all published,
and 1788, ^"°'
Calcutta, small quarto, pp. xiii and 132.
> An exception should be made " Most of Raverty's MSS., in-
in favour of Orme, who used both eluding a voluminous ' History of
Hay's collection
Thesaurus and Du
in Historical Jarric's by
Fragments, Hlratthe(Herat) ', have Library.
India Office been acquired
1805.
The first volume deals with the reign of Jahangir. The intro-
ductory chapter gives a good connected account of Prince Sallm's
rebellion, taken from the Ma'dsir-i Jahdngirf {ante, A, No. 18).
7 . Irvine, The Army of the Indian Moghuls, its Organization andAdministra-
Army. ^^^^ (Luzac, 1903), by William Irvine, is an extremely careful
although dry presentation of the subject, based on close study
of a large number of Persian works, printed and manuscript. It
professes to treat more particularly of the army of the later
Moguls, the reader being referred to a German work by Dr.
Paul Horn, entitled Das Heer- und Kriegswesen des Gross-Moghuls,
160 pp. (Brill, Leiden, 1894), for a discussion of Akbar's organiza-
tion. But Irvine's book gives all the essential information
needed about the army of Akbar, and is indispensable for a right
understanding of the rmmsahdar system. Horn's book, a copy
of which is in the India Office Library, supplies little additional
matter serviceable to the biographer of Akbar.
8. Modi. The Parsees at the Court of Akbar and Bastur Meherjee Rdnd,
by Jiwanji Jamshedji Modi, Bombay, 1903, is a book deserving
separate mention as being a fully documented discussion of the
relations of Akbar with the Parsees. The author refutes con-
clusively certain erroneous opinions advocated by Karkaria in
his paper, ' Akbar and the Parsees ' (J. Bo. Br. R. A. S., 1896).i
9. Beale. T. W. Beale, An Oriental Biographical Dictionary, ed. H. G.
Keene (Allen & Co., 1894). This work, indispensable in a way,
contains so many blunders that it must be used with the utmost
caution. The short article on Hamlda Bano Begam, for example,
confounds her with Haji Begam, and so is mostly erroneous.
E
Monuments, Inscriptions, and Coins
1. Monuments and Inscriptions
l.A.S.R. Reports of the Archaeological Survey of India, 1871-87, Svo,
written or edited by Sir Alexander Cunningham, with General
Index by V. A. Smith, 8vo, Calcutta, 1887. For references to
Akbar see general index. Volume iv, a ' Report on Agra with
notices of some of the neighbouring places ', by A. C. L. Carlleyle,
is almost worthless.
2. A. S., The Annual Reports of the Archaeological Survey of India,
Annual. New Imperial Series, large quarto, from 1902-3 to date, edited
and partly written by Sir J. H. Marshall, CLE., Director- General
of Archaeology, contain much accurate information about the
' Other papers by Karkaria Death of Akbar, a Tercentenary
are :— ' The Religion of Akbar ' Study ' (ibid., October 1906) ;
(As. Q^. Rev., January 1898) ; and ' Akbar's Tomb at Secundra '
' Akbar, his Religious Policy ' (ibid., January 1908). They are
{Calc. Rev., January 1906) ; ' The not of much value.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 479
buildings and art of Akbar's time. Unfortunately there is no

index to any of the volumes.
The more import;ant articles concerning Akbar are the follow-
ing :—
Report for 1902-3, published 1904—' JahanÎ MahaU and
Salimgarh ', by the Dfa-ector-General, pp. 61-8.
Bepofrt for 1903-4, published 1906—' The Agra Fort and its
Buildings ', by Nur Baksh, pp. 164-93.
Report for 1905-6, published 1909 — ' Restoration of two
Elephant Statues at the Fort of Delhi ', by J. H. Marshall,
pp. 35^2. The subject of the article is connected with the story
of the siege of Chitor.
Report for 1907-8, published 1911— ' The Akbari Mahall in
Agra Fort ', by R. F. Tucker, pp. 8-22 ; and ' Takht-i Akbari
at Kalanur', by the same, pp. 31, 32. That article describes
and illustrates the scene of Akbar's accession ceremony. Many
other articles should be consulted in order to exhaust the informa-
tion recorded about Akbar's buildings.
E. W. Smith, The Moghul Architecture of Fathpur-Sikri, 3. Smith,_
described and illustrated ; in four parts or volumes, large quarto ^«'*P«»'- '
(Government Press, Allahabad, 1894-8), which are all reckoned ^^^'
as forming vol. xviii of the New Imperial Series of Archaeological
Reports.
This work is a magnificently illustrated monograph, prepared
with extreme care and technical skill. It describes minutely the
principal blocks of the buildings, but a supplementary volume
might be added with advantage to deal with the less important
structures.
E. W. Smith, Akbar's Tomb, Sikandarah, near Agra, described 4. Smith,
and illustrated ; quarto (Allahabad Government Press, 1909, Akbar's
being vol. xxxv of the Archaeological Survey Reports, New -^°™'-
Imperial Series.
A valuable and well-illustrated posthumous monograph, edited
by W. H. NichoDs, J. H. Marshall, and J. Horowitz. It includes
texts and translations of the inscriptions. The execution is
similar to that of the work on Fathpur-Sikri.
E. W. Smith, Moghul Colour Decoration of Agra, described and 5. Smith,
illustrated ; quarto (Allahabad Government Press, 1901), being Colour
vol. XXX
The of the
author did New Imperial
not live Series
to write the ofpromised
the Archaeological
second part.Survey,
The mq^ °™"
volume forms a companion to Nos. 3 and 4 above, both published
later. Plates i and Iviii-lxiii illustrate the tomb of Akbar. The
book is admirably executed, like all the accomplished author's
work.
Syad Muhammad Latif, Agra, Historical and Descriptive, with 6. Latif.
an account of Akbar and his Court and of the modern City of Agra ;
8vo (Calcutta, 1896).
The historical portion has been compiled from the Persian
chronicles with some help from the Jesuit accounts as presented
in Maclagan's essay. The statements of historical fact are not
invariably accurate, but in some cases the author's local know-
ledge has enabled him to correct other writers and to insert a few
particulars not available elsewhere. The illustrations are crude,
and the book, as a whole, falls far below the standard required
by good scholarship.
7. Fergus James Fergusson, History of Indian and Eastern Architecture,
son.
revised and edited with additions by James Burgess, 1910 (John
Murray). Fergusson's observations, although necessarily now
open to some adverse criticism, possess permanent value. They
have been reproduced without substantial change in the new
edition, which has not been fully brought up to date.
8. H.F.A. Vincent A. Smith, A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon
(Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1911).
The plan of the book does not permit of detailed treatment
of the art of a single reign, but various chapters contain much
information about the architecture and other forms of art in the
time of Akbar, with a few selected illustrations.
9. Horo- J. Horowitz, Epigraphia Indo-Moslemica (Calcutta, Superin-
witz.
tendent of Government Printing, India, 1909-10) ; issued
uniform with the Indian Antiquary. The volume was designed
to include, with certain specified exceptions, * all the Muhammadan
inscriptions of India written prior to a. h. 1274 (a. d. 1857) and
published between 1788 (the year in which the first volume of
the Asiatick Researches made its appearance) and 1910 '. The
author, who has aimed at ' bibliographical completeness ', gives
full references and a chronological index. The inscriptions of
Akbar's reign, as catalogued, range between a. h. 963 and 1014.
The omission of the Asirgarh inscriptions is due to the fact that
they do not appear to have been published.
10. Sun- A few scattered references to buildings erected either by
dry refer Akbar or during his reign, and to inscriptions, may be found in
ences. various publications. E. g. the I. G. (1908) mentions the fine
mosque at Merta (MIrtha) in Rajputana, and an inscription said
to be dated a. d. 1583 on a mosque of earlier date at Bhilsa,
which is not in Horowitz. The Sati Burj at Mathura was erected
in 1570, and the temples at Brindaban are a little later (Growse,
Mathura, third ed., 1883, p. 148, and chap. ix). The eclectic
architectural style of the reign is discussed, ibid., p. 172. Some
corrections of E. W. Smith will be found in Progr. Rep. A. S.,
N. Circle, 1905-6, p. 34. The Nandan Mahall in the Yahiaganj
ward of Lucknow, being the tomb of Shaikh Abdu-r rahim,
a mansabdar of 700 {Ain, vol. i, p. 470, No. 197), is described in
Pioneer Mail, February 23, 1912, The tombs of the Shaikh's
father and wives adjoin. These buildings are not mentioned in
BIBLIOGRAPHY 481
any of the archaeological books. For tomb of Muhammad
Ghaus at Gwalior see A. S. R., ii, 369 ; I.G.; and GrifBn,
Famous Monuments of Central India.
The long and interesting Sanskrit inscription on the Adishvar
temple on the Satrunjaya hill, commemorating Akbar's dealings
with the Jains, was recorded in a. d. 1590 (Ep. Ind., ii, No. xii,
p. 50, text— No. 308 of Kielhom's lAst in Ep. Ind., v, 44), The
text and translation are partially reproduced in Jaina-shOsana,
Benares, Vira S. 2437= a. n. 1910, p. 124.
2. Coins
Edward Thomas, The Chronicles of the Paihan Kings of Delhi, i.

illustrated by coins, inscriptions, and other antiquarian remains Thomas,
(London, Trubner, 1871).
The Chronicles, notwithstanding their erroneous title, include
much accurate information about the coinage and history of
Akbar's reign ; see index, s. v. Akbar.
The tract entitled The Revenue Resources of the Mughal
Empire in India, from a.d. 1593 to a.b. 1701: a Supplement to the
Chronicles ; same publisher and date ; makes an attempt to
estimate the revenues of Akbar and his successors, as calculated
from various sources. The results are far from certain.
Stanley Lane-Poole. The Coins of the Mogul Emperors of 2. B. M.
Hindustan in the British Museum (London, printed by order of Catal.
the Trustees, 1892).
This work gives an admirable technical account of Akbar's
coinage, as known at the date of publication. The general
historical introduction, which is well written, was issued separately
in a small edition by Constable & Co.
Four of the coins in this catalogue were republished in H. F. A.,
Plate xcviii. Figs. 2-5.
When the catalogue was prepared the British Museum possessed
very few of Akbar's copper coins. The subject of his copper
coinage has been worked out in the later publications now to be
noticed. The British Museum collection has been largely increased
of late years in all the main kinds of Akbar's issues.
H. Nelson Wright, A Catalogue of the Coins in the Indian 3_ i.M.
Mtiseum, Calcutta, including the Cabinet of the Asiatic Society Catal.
of Bengal ; vol. iii, Mughal Emperors of India. Published for
the Trustees of the Indian Museum (Clarendon Press, Oxford,
1908).
This handsome and well-illustrated volume gives a specially
full account of the mints, including those of Akbar. It supersedes
an earlier crude compilation by C. J. Rodgers — Catalogue of the
Coins in the Indian Museum ; part ii, The Mogul Emperors of
India, <&c. (Calcutta, 1894).
R.
,„„ B. Whitehead, Catalogue of. Coins in the Panjdb Museum, *• P- M.
Catal.
1815 J j
Lahore ; vol. ii, Coins of the Mughal Emperors, pp. cxv+442,
with 21 plates and a folding map. Published for the Panjab
Government at the Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1914.
This -work, quite equal in execution to Nos. 2 and 3 above,
supersedes Rodgers's rough list entitled Catalogue of Coins in the
Lahore Museum^- published by orders of the Panjab Government
(Calcutta, printed at the Baptist Mission Press, 1891; thin
quarto, without illustrations).
S. The more important separate papers on Akbar's coinage include
the following :
C. J. Rodgers, ' Copper Coins of Akbar ' (J. A. S. B., part i
(1880), p. 213, and ibid., 1885, p. 55) ; ' Rare Copper Coins of
Akbar' (7nd.4n<., 1890, p. 219); ' Mogul Copper Coins ' (J.A.S.B.,
part i, vol. Ixiv (1895), pp. 172, 191).
Vost, ' On Some Rare Muhammadan Coins ' (ibid., p. 40) ;
' The Dogam Mint ' (ibid., p. 69).
L. White King, ' Novelties in Moghal Coins ' (Num. Chron.,
1896, pp. 155-82).
M. L. Dames, ' Some Coins of the Mughal Emperors ' (Num.
Chron., 1902, pp. 275-309). The author adds 29 mints of Akbar
to the 24 in the B. M. Catalogue (p. 277).
G. P. Taylor, ' On the Date of the Salinu Coins ' (J. A. S. B.,
1904, Num. Supplement, pp. 5-10) ; ' Akbar's Copper Coins of
Ahmadabad ' (ibid., pp. 103-9).
Whitehead, ' The Mint Towns of the Moghal Emperors of
India ' (J. & Proc. A. S. B., 1912, pp. 425-53).
A connected account of the coinage of Akbar as a whole
remains to be written, and the task of writing it is one well
worth doing.
F
Portraits, Drawings, anb Paintings
Three The works of pictorial art directly illustrative of the biography
classes of and history of Akbar, excluding romantic and other fancy com-
historical positions which concern merely the technical development of art,
g^jjj ^ niay be conveniently divided into three classes, namely : (1)
paintings. Portraits of the emperor, either alone or in small groups of
figures ; (2) similar portraits of his friends and contemporaries ;
(3) complex compositions representing court scenes, battles,
sieges, hunting expeditions, or sundry historical incidents ; and
frequently including the figure of Akbar himself at various ages.
Those three classes taken together give a marvellously complete
visual presentation of Akbar as he lived, moved, and had his
being ; of his friends, councillors, and contemporaries generally,
' This is the title as corrected Coins in the Government Museum,
by the author in my copy. The Lahore.
printed title is Catalogue of the
BIBLIOGRAPHY 483
exactly as they appeared in life ; and of numberless historical

occurrences. In fact, the works still available, notwithstanding
destruction on an enormous scale, are sufficient for the prepara-
tion of a ' Pictorial History of the Reign '. Limitations of
space and cost preclude the insertion of a large number of illustra-
tions in this work. Adequate pictorial representation of the
persons and events of the reign would require a large volume to
itself. It is impossible here to go into minute detail, but some
readers may be grateful for indications of drawings and paint-
ings suitable to help them in realizing the India of the second
half of the sixteenth century, more vividly than the few selected
examples in this volume can enable them to do.
1. Portraits of Akbar, separately or in small groups of figures

I do not profess to give an exhaustive catalogue of extant Portraits
portraits of Akbar. The following notes are confined to brief oi Akbar.
mention of the more remarkable of those which have come to
my notice after a considerable amount of research.
The public collections in London at the British Museum and
India Office possess many, some of which are excellent.
In the British Museum the MS. Add. 18801 (Catal. Persian
MSS., p. 778), which was consecrated by one Ashraf Khan as
a pious donation (wakf) in 1661-2, is one of the choicest treasures
of the Library. No 10 (anonymous) is an interesting portrait
of Akbar standing with his eldest son, Prince Salim, then a child,
beside him.
Folio 4 of MS. Add. 22470, a picture representing Akbar on
his throne hearing a woman's petition, is a gallery of named
portraits, each of the principal courtiers being labelled in minute
characters. The volume was plundered from Hafiz Rahmat's
camp during Warren Hastings's Rohilla war, and so passed into
the library of the Kings of Oudh. It came to the British Museum
in the mutiny year, 1858. The excellent anonymous portrait of
Akbar, aged about sixty, and standing leaning on his sword
(Add. 21928, folio 4 a), has been reproduced in H. F. A., Plate
cxxii, and also in Hakluyt's Principal Navigations, ed. MacLehose,
vol. V, facing p. 16.
The Johnson Collection in the India Office Library, formed
by the banker of Warren Hastings, comprises 67 portfoUos or
volumes, varying widely in shape, size, and value.
Volume xviii offers two portraits of Akbar. That on folio 1
represents him as a young man, seated, with a falcon perched on
his finger. On folio 4 he is shown standing, as a boy (Khurdsdl),
about fifteen years of age. (See frontispiece of this work.)
Volume Ivii, a collection of 53 portrait sketches presented to
the Library in 1816 by Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton, includes like-
nesses of Abu-1 Fazl, Raja Birbal, and Raja Man Smgh, &c.
No. 1 is a tiny pencil sketch of Akbar in early manhood.
ii2
The MSS. in the Bodleian at Oxford have several good portraits.
Ouseley, Add. 173, No. 10, exhibits the emperor as an elderly
man, with strongly marked face-lines, seated on a hexagonal
throne. No. 11 in the same MS. is a small vignette of Akbar at
an earlier age, and plainly dressed.
MS. Pers. b 1 (probably the missing Ouseley, Add. 168) has
a good portrait of Akbar as a man about thirty years of age,
standing, leaning on his sword. The portrait of the emperor
with a hawk on his wrist (Oaford Stud. History) is from a Bodleian
MS., the reference to which I have lost.
In Indian Drawings, ii, 25, Dr. Coomaraswamy has published
a remarkable outline drawing of Akbar, Jahangir, and Shahjahan
together. The group seems to have been made up in Shahjahan's
time by tracing the features from contemporary portraits.
The Victoria Memorial collection at Calcutta has three portraits
of Akbar separately, Nos. 196, 198, 1204. No. 1065 shows him
with Jodh Bal and another lady. No. 195 is a picture of late date,
called the Nauratna Darbar, or ' Nine- Jewel Court ', showing him
in the company of his ' nine jewels ' or choice friends. The
portrait of Akbar, unfortunately, is not genuine. In No. 1067
the emperor is seen hunting with Mahabat Khan.
Reproductions of other portraits of Akbar will be foimd in
various books, e. g. Irvine's Manucci, vol. i ; Beveridge's Gulbadan
Begam ; Loan Exhibition of Antiquities, Coronation Durbar, 1911
(Arch. Survey, n. d., but 1915), &c.
2. Portraits of Akbar' s friends and contemporaries

Portraits
of con- I have not noted any separate portraits of the emperor's
friends in the British Museum MSS.
tempo-
raries. The sketches in vol. Ivii of the Johnson Collection, already
mentioned, include some worthy of reproduction. The best is
No. 44, a slightly tinted sketch of Tansen, the musician. A good
full-length portrait on a small scale of the same personage is
included in a picture of Jahan^r's time belonging to the Royal
Asiatic Society, and hung on the staircase.
The Delhi Museum has a portrait (H. 17 ; size 12" x 7j") of
Abu-1 Fazl seated (Catal., 1908, p. 11). No Akbar pictures have
been acquired by the Museum since.
The caricature figure of the Mulla, nicknamed ' Du-piyaza '
(one of the Nauratna), recurs more than once in the London
albums.i Dr. Coomaraswamy has published a good outline
drawing of the subject in Indian Drawings, vol. i (1910), Plate 1.
For another reproduction see Loan Exhibition of Antiquities,
Coronation Durbar, 1911 (Arch. S. India, n. d., but 1915),
with spices added (Ain, vol. i,
the' Du-piyaza
name of a(' two-onions
dish made ')with
was
p. 60), which the Mulla loved.
2 sers of onions to 10 of meat.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 485
Plate liii c. The Mulla, a native of Arabia, came to India in
the train of one of Humayun's generals, and obtained Akbar's
favour as a wit and eccentric. His name does not seem to be
recorded (ibid., p. 122). Many portraits of Akbar and his friends
are included in that volume.
Detached portraits of Akbar's friends seem to be scarce, but
several examples exist of crowded pictiues in which the individual
courtiers are labelled. The picture of the ' Nauratna Darbar '
in the Victoria Memorial Collection has been already mentioned.
3. Complex compositions
The most conspicuous series of complex compositions is that Complex
formed by the 117 pictures from the Akbamdma, now well exhibited oomposi-
at South Kensington in the Indian Section of the V. & A. Museum, *'°"^-
which form a pictorial history of the greater part of the reign.
They include many portraits of Akbar, at least from the age of
eighteen. A list of the subjects prepared by Mr. H. Beveridge
is in the office, and all the exhibits are adequately labelled.
Plates 4-12 of Colonel Hendley's article, ' War in Indian Art '
(J. I. A. I. for April 1915), reproduce pictures from this series
representing the sieges of Chitor and Ranthambhor, and the sur-
render of Gagraon in Kota (1560). The last-named composition
(Plate 12) has a good likeness of Akbar on horseback, wearing
moustaches, but no beard.
Another interesting series of pictures, partly dealing with the
same subjects, is in the unique MS. of the Tarikh Kh&ndan-i
Ttmuria in the Khuda Bakhsh Library, Patna, communicated to
me by Khan Sahib Abdu-1 Muktadir and Mr. C. A. Oldham, I.C.S.
The albums in the British Museum and elsewhere contain
various pictures showing Akbar holding court. In the Victoria
Memorial Collection, Nos. 853, 855, and 987 are darbar or court
scenes. No. 850 depicts a water fete on the Jumna, and No. 851
represents the emperor listening to the arguments of Hindu and
Muhammadan divines.
It is unnecessary to go farther into detail. What has been Refer-
said may serve to convince the reader that the pictorial record ^nces.
of Akbar's reign supplies an illuminating commentary on the
text of the books, and that it should not be neglected by the
biographer or historian. References to the literature of the
subject will be found in H.F.A. up to 1911. The principal
publication since that date is the costly work by F. R. Martin,
The Miniature Painting and Painters of Persia, India, and Turkey
(Quaritch, 1912), which ranks high as a discussion of the art
of Persia and Turkey, but deals inadequately with the Indian
branch of the subject.
Art critics usually find the works of the reigns of Jahangir and
Shahjahan more attractive than the productions of Akbar's age.
G
Literature
Litera- Literature, regarded as a form of art, and written in both the

^^^' Hindi and the Persian languages, shared in the stimulus adminis-
tered to human activity of all kinds by the vigorous and successful
government of Akbar.
The principal authority on the Hindi literature of Akbar's
age is Sir George Grierson, K.C.I.E., who has published :
1. ' The Modem Vernacular Literature of Hindustan ' (J.A.S.B.,
part i, for 1888, Special Number, Calcutta, 1889).
2. ' Notes on Tulsi Das ', being five papers in Ind. Ant.,
1893, vol. xxii, correcting and amplifying No. 1 in many points.
3. ' TulasI Dasa, Poet and Religious Reformer ' (J. B. A. S.,
1903, pp. 447-66).
Sir George gives further information in a letter dated January 30,
1916, in which he mentions two valuable works on the subject
in Hindi, namely :
' An excellent History of Hindi Literature in Hindi, called the
Mi&ra bandhu Vinoda in 3 vols., by Syam Bihari Misra and two
other Mi^ras ' ; and Hindi Navaratna, an account in about
400 pages of the nine chief Hindi poets by the same authors.
The standard printed edition of the Ram-charit m&nas is that
pubUshed by the Nagari Pracharini Sabha (Benares, 1903).
The articles by Sir C. J. Lyall, K.C.S.I., on 'Bihari Lai',
' Tulsi Das ', and ' Hindostani Literature ' in Encycl. Brit.,
11th ed., were written in consultation with Sir George Grierson,
and are excellent summaries, subject to correction in two or
three small points.^
Much information about the Persian literature will be found
in Blochmann, Ain, vol. i, and in E. & D., vols, v and vi.
Dr. P. W. Thomas has pointed out to me that the Mackenzie
Collection, India Office, includes a Sanskrit history of part of
Akbar's reign, written in prose and verse by Mahasa Thakur,
apparently about 1650 (Bggeling, Catal. Sanskrit MSS., part vii,
1904, 1573, No. 4106). The library number is 2275 : the MS.
contains 228 folios, measuring 12^ by 5 inches.
The Padshahnamah mentions Mahes Das Rathor, sonof
Dalpat Singh, who was son of Rai Rai Singh 6f Bikaner {Ain,
vol. i, 339). That Mahes Das may well be the author of the MS.
1 Grierson prefers the spelling Hindostani to Hindustani.
INDEX
Abdu-l Kadir, Badaoni, historian, mints, 157 ; on A.'.s fit of ecstasy,
see Badaoni. 158 ; on the Hajl, 161 to. ; on
Abdullah, A.'s envoy to Goa religious disputants, 162 ; gives
(identity uncertain), 169 ; Khan : names of Jain teachers, 166 ; on
(1) a Persian Shia, 205; (2) finan- A. and Islam, 178; on A.'s hy-
cier (seems to be different), 369 ; pocrisy, 181; on Shah Mansur,
(3) NiyazI, Shaikh or Miyan, 131 ; 191 TO. ; superintended his execu-
(4) Saiyid, 145, 146 ; (5) Uzbeg, tion, 195 ; in risk of his life, 198
in Malwa, 69, 73, 74 ; (6) Uzbeg, TO. ; on A.'s attack on Portuguese,
nder of Transoxiana or Turau, 202 TO. ; on office of Sadr, 207 to. ;
10 «., 59 TO. ; embassy from, 104 ; father of, 212 to. ; on A.'s mira-
A.'s letter to, 265 n. ; career and cles, 217 ; on ordinances of Divine
death of, 270. Faith, 218 ; on members of same,
'Abdu-l Latif, Mir, A.'s tutor, 41, 44. 221 ; high priest of the same,
'Abdu-l 222 ; claimed command against
Khan I.Majid, Khwaia, see Asaf the YusufzT, 235 ; his brother
'Abdu-n Nabi, Shaikh, 75, 161, 183. Faizi, 247, 307 ; on himself, 252 to. ;
'Abdu-r rahim : (1) Khan, Mirza, ordered to translate Gospel, 255 to.;
Khan Khanan, son of Bairam, 46, on Gujarat, 265 re.; on fall of Asir-
118, 208, 266; married to garh, 282 to., 284, 297, 298 ; on
daughter of Prince Daniyal, 316 ; A.'s ambition, 287 to. ; on rebel-
works of, 417, 423 ; (2) Shaikh, lion of 'Usman Khan, 302 re. ;
manadbdar, 480. mm:der of, 305, 458 ; life and
'Abdu-r rahman, son of Abu-1 Pazl, character of, 307 ; appetite of,
310. 309 ; autobiography of, 310 to. ;
'Abdu-s Samad, Khwaja, artist, 31 Blochmann's biography of, 344
TO., 41, 156, 157, 427. TO. ; Secretary of State, 359 ;
Abu-1 Path, hakim, 233. purity of works of, 416 ; style of,
Abu-I Fazl, correspondence of, 2 ; 417 ; presented at court, 454 ;
Ain-i Ahbari of, 4, 459 ; Akbar- historical matter in works of, 460 ;
nama of, 6, 460 ; gives a wrong portraits of, 483, 484.
date, 15 to. ; wrote fictitious ver- Abu-1 M'aali, 29, 31, 64.
sion of naming A., 19 ; tells a Abu, Mount, occupied, 155.
story, 21 ; took much pains in 'Adali = Muhammad Shah 'Adil
writing, 22 to. ; on death of Hu- Sur, q.v.
mayun, 30 n. ; on death of Adana Khan, Siiltan, 26.
'Adali, 34 to. ; on Tardi Beg, 35 ; Adham Khan, 20, 21, 43, 50, 51, 55,
sometimes brutal, 37 to. ; on A.'s 59-61, 340.
toleration, 41 to. ; praises Maham Adii^vara temple at Palitana, 167.
Anaga, 44; took pains to fix 4gfareTOM«=Muhammadan, 216 to.
chronology, 55 to. ; influence of, Agnikula, Eajput clans, 92 re.
66, 216 ; on Bam Durgavati, 69 ; Agra, famine at, in 1555-6, 31 , 37 ;
could write simply, 72 to. ; on the occupied by Hemu, 35 ; occupied
Agra fort, 76 ra. ; on the fight at by A., 39 ; then a town of small
Thanesar, 78 ; on siege of Chitor, importance, 41 ; A. hunting near,
81 ; on Bundi, 99 ; tells story of 57 ; Persian embassy at, 59 ; A.
drunken freak, 114 ; on meaning moved from Delhi to, 65 ; Nagar-
of toTO*a,139 TO. ; on Karoris, 141 ; chain near, 75 ; rebuilding of fort
on the epidemic at Gaur, 144 ; at, 76, 347 ; statues of Rajput
on the Bana of Chitor, 151 ; on chiefs at, 95; guide-books of.
96 n. ; A. returned to, 97 ; Sikri 19 ; nurses and foster-relatives
west of, 102 ; Eitch on, 107 ; Jain of, 20 ; infancy of, 21 ; tutors
Suri at, 167 ; Sadr oface at, 207 ; and truancy of, 22 ; early dangers
A. went from Agra to Allahabad, of, 24 ; appointed to Ghazni, 25 ;
224 ; Fitch, &o., at, 228, 471 ; A. Munim Khan guardian of, 28 ;
moved from Lahore to, 271 ; A. declared heir apparent, 29 ; en-
returned from Decoan to, 287 ; thronement of,30 ; task of, 31 ;
Father Machado at, 290 ; John at Jalandhar, 33 ; at Panipat,
Mildenhall at, 293, 472; Raja 38 ; earned title of Ghazi, 39 ;
Man Singh at, 302 ; Jerome defeated Sikandar Sur, 40 ; at
Xavier's letter from, 314 ; death Agra, 41 ; illiterate, 41, 337 ;
of A.'s mother at, 317 ; Prince annexed Gwalior and Jaunpur,
Salim'a arrest at, 318-20, 328-32 ; 42 ; dismissed Bairam Khan, 44 ;
treasure at, 347 ; architecture at, evil counsellors of, 45 ; protected
433, 479 ; later capital of A., 437 ; 'Abdurrahlm, 46 ; generosity of,
Cole on buildings at, 446 n. ; 48 ; censured Adham lOian, 51 ;
Mandelslo at, 475. personal prowess of, 52 ; like
Ahadi, a gentleman trooper, 364. Alexander of Macedon, 52, 54,
Ahmadabad, a noble city, 110, 395 ; 126, 339 ; appointed Pir Muham-
battle of, 119. mad to Malwa, 55 ; dominions of,
Ahmadnagar, kingdom, 32 ; mission in 1561, 56 ; first visited Ajmer j
to, 246 ; sieges of, 266, 272, fall married princess of Amber, 57 ;
of, 277, 313 ; Suba, 286. executed Adham Khan, 60 ;
Ahmad Yadgar, historian, 463. delighted in music, 61, 422 ;
Ain-i AJchari, unique compilation spiritual change in, 62 ; remitted
of official matter, 4, 459 ; treats pilgrim taxes, 65 ; wounded at
of musicians, 7762 ;n. on
; on Delhi, 65 ; remitted jizya, 66 ;
architecture, theAkbar's
tanJca,
punished
ordered attack Khwaja Mu'azzam, 67
on Gondwana, 69 ;;
139 n. ; on A.'s coinage, 157 n. ;
on the Subaa, 189, 372 ; on Pael, aggressive policy of, 70 ; dis-
197 n. ; on the Divine Faith, 218 simulation of,73 ; fought Uzbeg
/I. ; on Suba of Multan, 244 n. ; rebels, 74, 79 ; twin sons of, 75 ;
on the empire, 287 n. ; on Abu-1 rebuilt Agra fort, 76 ; played
Fazl's wives, 309 n. ; on Abu-1 polo, 77 ; at Thanesar, 78 ;
Fazl's autobiography, 310 n. ; plundered Benares, 80 ; attacked
on flesh food, 335 n. ; on fruit, Chitor, 80-90 ; shot Jaimall, 88 ;
336 n. ; on poppy cultivation, ordered massacre, 90 ; erected
337 n. ; on A.'s grasp of detail, statues to Jaimall and Patta, 93 ;
337 n. ; on A.'s illiteracy, 338 n. ; made pilgrimage to Ajmer, 96 ;
on A.'s austerities, 343 n. ; on repressed the Atka Khail, 97 ;
secret assassination, 344 n, ; on took Ranthambhor, 98 ; won
A.'s theology, 350 n. ; on royalty, Kalanjar, 101 ; sons and daugh-
352 n. ; on autocracy, 354 n. ; ters of, 102 ; founded Fathpur-
on kitchen department, 357 n. ; on Sikrl, 104 ; attacked Gujarat,
mansahdars, 364 n. ; on imperial 110 ; drunken bout of, 114 ; re-
camp, 368 n. ; on Kantingos, 370 turned toAgra, 116 ; made second
n. ; on ' settlement ', 373 n. ; on expedition to Gujarat, 117 ;
faujddr, &c., 383 n. ; on the planned administrative reforms,
King's council, 384 n. ; statistics 121 ; made war on Bengal, 124 ;
in, 386 foil. ; autobiography of took Patna, 127 ; built House of
author in, 417. Worship, 130 ; held debates on
Ajanta, paintings at, 429. religion, 133, 161 ; sent pilgrims
Ajmer, shrine at, 57, 96 ; buildings to Mecca, 135 ; first met Euro-
at, 103, 433 ; A.'s last pilgrimage peans, 136 ; made further re-
to, 181 ; residence of Man Singh, forms, 138 ; appointed Kwroris,
301 ; SiSia, assessment of, 378 n. 139 ; his policy in Rajputana,
Akbar, state papers of, 3 ; authori- 148 ; reorganized mint, 156 ;
ties for reign of, 5-8 ; a foreigner religious ecstasy of, 158 ; a
in India, 9 ; pedigree of, 9 n. ; mystic, 160, 348 ; adopted Parsee
birth of, 14 ; sent to Kandahar, rites, 164 ; acted on Jain teach-
16 ; at Kabul, 18 ; birthday of, ing, 167 ; sent for Christian
INDEX
489
priests, 169 ; received first Jesuit ligion, 351 ; had personal force
misBion, 174 ; preached, 176 ; of character, 352 ; a bom king
issued Infallibility Decree, 178 ; of men, 353, 386 ; his genius for
hypocrisy of, 181 ; banished organization, 354, 360 ; his origi-
opponents, 183 ; hostile to Islam, nality, 355 ; his court a camp,
185, 204; in imminent danger, 357 ; ministers of, 358 ; harem
187, 190, 201 ; marched against of, 359; army of, 360, 478;
his brother, 193 ; executed Khwa- official nobility of, 363; hostile to
ja Shah Mansur, 194 ; entered jdgir system, 365 ; weak military
Kabul, 200 ; projected embassy organization of, 367 ; unwieldy
to Spain, 204 ; ended religious camp of, 367 ; early fiscal mea-
debates, 205 ; revised Sadr and sures of, 369 ; Svhas formed by,
Kazi departments, 207 ; promul- 371 ; revenue ' settlements ' of,
gated Din IlaJii, 211 ; issued 373-9 ; executive administration
fantastic regulations, 219 ; am- of, 380 ; judicial officers of, 381 ;
bitious designs of, 223, 264; gave public audiences, 383 ; in
built Allahabad fort, 224 ; pre- council, 384 ; man of, 390 n. ; great
vented a suttee, 226 ; took Wil- cities in reign of, 395 ; famines
liam Leedes into service, 228 ; and calamities in reign of, 397-9 ;
movedtoPanjab, 231 ; appointed cultivated area in time of, 401 ;
Raja Birbal to command, 235 ; loved gardens, 402 ; did not use
accused of intended perfidy, 240 ; tobacco, 409 ; manufactures and
annexed Kashmir, 240 ; visited trade in reign of, 410-12 ; porce-
Kashmir, 243 ; attacked Sind, lain and glass of, 412 ; degree of
244 ; sent missions to Deccan, security in reign of, 412 ; bridges
246 ; made second visit to Kash- and roads of, 413 ; indebted to
mir, 247 ; began Deccan war, Sher Shah, 414 ; Indo-Persian
249 ; invited second Jesuit mis- literature of reign of, 415, 486 ;
sion, 250 ; interested in compara- Hindi poetry in reign of, 421, 486 ;
tive religion, 255 ; Mahdist hopes interested in Sanskrit literature,
of, 256 ; gained Kandahar, 258 ; 423 ; library of, 424, 430 ; pre-
invited third Jesuit mission, 259 ; ferred nasta'Uh script, 425 ; en-
received the mission with honour, couraged art, 426 ; jportrait of
261 ; made third visit to Kash- A. as a boy, 427 ; introduced
mir, 268 ; moved from Lahore to Persian technique, 429 : portrait-
Agra, 271 ; occupied Burhanpxir, ure, art of, 430 ; architecture of,
272 ; invested Asirgaih, 273 ; 431^7, 479 ; used King's Gate,
received surrender of Asirgarh, throne pillar of, 444 ; a man of
282 ; perfidy of, 284 ; his fortu- large ideas, 444 ; saw vision at
nate star waned, 287 ; sent Mathura, 445 ; foimded a na-
embassy to Goa, 288 ; permitted tional Indian style, 446 ; chro-
conversion of Musalmans, 290 ; nology of, 448-59 ; bibliography
gave audience to Mildenhall, 293 ; of, 459-86 ; inquired about
his relations with Europeans,
China,
of, 472 468 ; treasure ; Sir T.of,Roe's474 ;opinion
legend
296 ; returned to Agra, 303 ; re-
solved to fight Sal&Q, 304 ; his of, 475 ; Bengal in reign of, 477 ;
grief for Abu-1 Pazl, 307 ; recon- Coimt von Noer on, 477 ; in-
ciled with Salim, 310 ; at his scriptions of,480 ; coins of, 481 ;
mother's death-bed, 317 ; arrested portraits of, 483 ; Sanskrit his-
Salim, 319 ; his fatal illness, 320 ; tory of, 486.
his death, 323 ; manner of his Akbamagar=Rajmahal, q.v., 145 n.
death, 325 ; his f imeral and tomb, Ahharnama: (1) by Abu-1 Pazl,
327 ; personal description of, leading authority for the reign,
333 ; dress of, 334 ; diet of, 335 ; 6, 460 ; on date of A.'s birth, 14
used intoxicants,. 336, 406 ; me- n., 15 n. ; records anecdote of
lancholy and epileptic, 339 ; pas- ' full moon ', 19 n. ; corrected by
sionate, 340 ; artful, 341 ; just, A., 22 n. ; on death of Humayun,
344 ; ambition his ruling passion, 30 n. ; on reign of 'Adali, 34 n. ;
346; fiscal policy of, 347; re- on Tardi Beg, 36 n. ; on famine,
ligious development and mysti- &o., 38 n., 267 n. ; on 'Abdullatif,
cism of, 348 ; invented new re- 41 n. ; on siurender of Chunar,
55 ». ; on crime of Adham Khan, Amim-l Umara, title, 365, 428.
59 n. ; on the jauhar, 72 n. ; on Anandapura=Varnagar, 84.
Agra buildings, 76 n. ; on Tha- Anfau-l Akhbar, history, 463.
nesar fight, 79 n. ; on the Rana, Anhilwara, 46, 118.
82 n. ; on Bundl, 99 n. ; on Animals, prohibition of slaughter of,
Kalanjar, 101 n. ; on Fathabad, 167.
105 n. ; on A.'s drunken freak, Annuae Literae, of Jesuits, 467.
114 71.; on Balisna, 118 ». ; on Anuptalao tank, 159.
Karoris, 139 ». ; on death of Anushirwan=Niishirvan, 84.
Daud, 146 n. ; on battle of Go- ApioiuB, epicure, 405.
gunda, 152 n. ; on mints, 157 n. ; Aquaviva, Father Ridolfo, 170, 202,
on the Haji, &c., 161 n. ; on re- 204, 468 ; death of, 206.
ligious disputants, 164 n. ; on Aram Band Begam, daughter of A.,
A.'s preaching, 177 n. ; on A.'s 103, 225.
hypocrisy, 182 n., 343 n. ; on Aravalli hills, 92.
Bengal rebellion, 187 n. ; on Archaeological Survey of India, 474.
' settlement ', 189 n., 230 n. ; on Architecture of A.'s reign, 431-47.
KabiJ campaign, 191 foil. ; on war Ardeshir, part compiler of the Far-
with Portuguese, 202 n. ; on Kazi hang -i Jahangin, 166 n.
department, 207 n. ; on Fathpur Arghiin clan, 245 n.
lake, 223 n. ; on conquest of Arjun Singh, Sikh guru, 237, 379 n.
Deccan, 224 n, ; on marriage of Army, of A., 360-2.
Prince Salim, 225 n. ; on suttee, Arrack, consumed by A., 336.
&o., 226 n. ; on Muhammad Artillery, of A., 366.
Hakim, 231 n. ; on Kashmir, 232 Asad Beg, historian, 305, 307, 462 ;
foil. ; on Todar Mall, 243 n. ; introduced tobacco, 407.
pictures in, 428 ; supplement to, Asaf Khan : (1) 69, 78 ; (2) 151,
460 ; at S. Kensington, 485 ; (2) 157 ; (3) banquet given by, 403.
by Shaikh Ulahdad Faizi Sirhindi, Asirgarh, fortress, described, 272-5 ;
463.
siege of, 276-86 ; inscription at,
Ak Mahal=Rajmahal, q.v., 14:5 n., 282 n. ; capitulation of, 297-300,
242. 313.
Askari Mirza, 16, 17, 21, 24, 25.
'Alau-d 6ia Khilji, Sultan, 90, 93,
124 ; planned a new religion, 209- Assafoetida, trade in, 109 »., 410.
11. Assassination, or secret execution,
Alau-1 Mulk, Kotwal, 210, 212. 343.
AlberunT, author, 4. Assessment of A., severe, 377.
Alcoran, a blunder for minar, 253. Assumption, festival of, 253 n,, 261.
Alexander the Great, compared Atgah or Atka, 20, 97.
with A., 52, 54, 128, 339. Atharva Veda, translated, 423.
Alfi era, 220. Atka Khail, 97.
'All Akbar JamI, Shaikh, 13. Attock, A. at, 233, 235.
'All Kuli Khan=Khan Zaman, q.v. Aurangzeb, death of, 3 ; at Chitor,
'All Masjid, A. at, 201. 92 ; policy of, 354.
Allahabad fort founded, 224. Autocracy, 354.
Allahu Autocrat, the Indian, 386.
177. Akhar, ambiguous phrase,
'Azam Khan, Mirza 'Aziz Koka, 97,
Allahvardi ('Alivardi) Khan, in 111, 138, 187, 294, 321; joined
Bengal, 247. Divine Faith, 248 ; at court, 291 ;
Amarkot, see 'Umarkot. intrigues of, 320.
Amar Singh, Rana, 95, 148 »., 153,
311. Baba Kapur, sect of, 336.
Ambalaoatta, printing press at, Baba Khan Kakshal, 186.
425. Babur, 9, 10 m., 11-13, 18, 32, 355 ;
Amber=Jaipur, q.v. loved
423. gardens, 402 ; Memoirs of,
Ambergris, perfume, 405.
Ambition of A., 346. Badakhshan, 23, 24, 33, 131, 144;
Amboyna, massacre of, 296. A.'s designs on, 223.
'.dmii=karori, q.v. 139, Badalgarh, old fort at Agra, 76.
Amir-i 'Azam, the great nobles, 365. Badaoni, as historian, 6, 460 ; at
Amir Fathullah of Shiraz, 230. court, 125 ; at battle of Haldi-
491
INDEX
ghat, 152 ; a Mahdist, 257 ; as Bhagalpur, 128.

translator, 423. Bhagwan Das, Kaja, 58, 88, 98, 110,
Badru-d din, title, 14, 18, 19. 112, 212, 239, 241, 242.
Bagla (Bakla, or Bogla), sarkar, Bhakhar (Bhakkar)=: Bakhar, q.v.,
399 71.
14, 244 n.
Bahadur Khan Uzbeg, 55, 80; Bhanuchandra Upadhyaya, Jain
Shah (1) of Gujarat, 90; (2) of teacher, 166, 167.
Khandesh, 276-84, 297-300 ; (3) Bhatha, included Eiwa, 62, 100.
Sultan of Ahmadnagar, 266. Bhera (Bihrah, Bahirah), 158.
Bahau-d din, overseer, 436. Bhil tribes, 174.
BahloU coin, 388 n. Bhilsa, mosque at, 480.
Bahmani empire, 56. Bhimbhar, 240, 243.
Bairam Khan, 20, 28-31, 33, 42-8, Bhonsla Bajas, 85.
356. Biana (Bayana), 45.
Bakarganj District, 399 n. Bibi KMnam, tomb of, 435.
Bakhar, fortress in Sind, 244, 245 n. Bible, debates about, 205.
Balchshi, duties of, 358.
Bakhshi Bano, half -sister of A., 18. Biblioâphy,
Bidar, 459-86.32.
independent,
Bakhtu-n nisa, half-sister of A., Bigha of A., 164 n., 373.
200 w. Bihar, rebellion in, 185, 190 ; a
Balisna, town, 118. suia, 189.
Baloohistan, independent, 32 ; an- Bihar (Bihari, Bhar, Bahar) Mall,
nexed, 244, 258. Raja, 57, 362, 434.
Bandar, a port, 411 n. Bihzad of Herat, artist, 427.
Bandel, church at, 136 n. Bijapur, independent, 32 ; princess
Banjar, land uncultivated for five converted, 171 ; A.'s designs on,
years, 374. 224, 246, 265 »., 287; princess
Banjaras, 362. married, 313 ; tobacco brought
Bantam, trade with, 296. from, 407.
Bappa Rawal, 84, 90. Bikaner,
447. 251 ; modem buildings in,
Baramula, in Kashmir, 239, 243,
247.
Bikramajit, title of Hemu, 37.
Barha, Sayyids (Saiyids) of, 87, 322. Binders, 431.
Baroda, robbers at, 413. Birar
145. : (1) Berar, q.v. ; (2) village,
Bartoli, quoted, 212 n. ; author of
Missione al Gran Mogor, 468. Birbal, Raja, 101 n., 165, 221 ; on
Basu, Eaja of Mau, 319, 331. Yusufzi expedition, 233 ; life and
Baths, Turkish, 445. death of, 235-7 ; House of, 443 ;
Bayazid : (1) Baz Bahadur of Mal- portrait of, 483.
wa, 91 ». ; (2) ruler of Bengal, Bir Narayan, Raja, 72.
124; (3) Roshani leader, 238; Bir Singh Bundela, 305-7.
(4) Sultan Biyat, historian, 463. Biiikchi, accountant.
Baz Bahadiu:, Sultan of Malwa, Blochmann,
459. transl. Ain-i AUbari,
49, 57, 59, 81, 141 ; as mansahdar,
362 ; as a singer, 422. Block-printing, 425 n.
Beale, Or. Biogr. Dictionary, 478. Boars, made to fight, 262,
Beards, order for shaving, 257. Boats, bridges of, 413.
Benares, plundered, 80; cotton Bodleian library, portraits in, 484.
goods trade at, 410. Bokhara, 270.
Benedict, Father, S. J., of Goes, 259, Bombay (Bombaim), a Portuguese
268, 280, 290, 469. settlement, 56.
Bengal, independent, 32 ; conquest Books, in A.'s library, 424, 425.
of, 124-30, 143-6 ; kings of, 147 ; Boondee, see Bundi.
rebellions in, 185, 190 ; ' settle- Brdkmakahairi defined, 85 n.
ment 'of, 375 ; marts in, 410. Brampoor, corruption of Burhan-
Bengali Mahall, at Agra, 76.
Berar (Birar), independent, 32 ; pur, q.v.,regulations,
Branding 246 n. 121, 138, 366,
Siiba, 286. 371.
Bender, Travels, 475. Bridges, few permanent, 413.
Beveridge, H., translator, 459, 464, Briggs, transl. Firishta, 462.
465 ; Mrs. A., translator, 465, 477. Brindaban, temples at, 445.
British Museum, portraits in, 483. Chinese pottery, 412 ; influence on
Broecke, Peter van den, author and art, 431.
historian, 7, 473. Chingiz (Chinghiz) Khan, 9, 10 ;
Buddhism, not studied by A., 338. code of, 57.
Buddhists, took no part in debates, Chitor, Eana Sanga of, 12 ; descrip-
162 m. tion and siege of, 81-96 ; later
Bukkur=Bakhar, q.v., 244 n. events concerning, 149, 151, 153.
Buland Darwaza, date and inscrip- Chitrakut, 418.
tion of, 106, 286, 288, 441. Cholera, 398.
Biiliyas Pass, 239. Christianity, A.'s attitude towards,
Bundl, the Hara capital, 98 ; Annah 136, 253, 256, 351.
of, 325. Christmas, celebration of, 269.
Burhanpur, capital of Khandesh, Chronograms, 107 n., 416.
246 ; occupied by A., 272, 341 ; a Chronology of A., 448-59.
rich town, 395 ; cotton manufac- Chunar (Chanar), fortress, 33, 55.
tures at, 410. Circumcision, ceremony of A., 18,
Burhanu-l Mulk (Burhau Shah), of 19 ; rules about age for, 254, 382.
Ahmadnagar, 247, 248, 266. Cochin, Raja of, 224.
Burial, A.'s orders about, 219. Coinage of A., excellent, 157, 388.
Bwtea frondosa, dhak or palas tree, Colgong (Khalgaon), 129.
77 ». Collector of revenue, 381, 383 n.
Butsar, village, 203. Comet, of 1577, 156.
Buxar, on Ganges, 74. Commentarius of Monserrate, 7, 466.
Comorin, Cape, 32.
Cdbaya, garment, 108 »., 334. ' Comparative
Cabral, Antonio, at Surat, 113, 136 ; terest in, 255.Religion ', A.'s in-
at Fathpur-Sikrl, 137. Cookery, Indian, 404.
Calligraphy, 425. Coruwallis, Lord, 375.
Cambay, A. at. 111. Corsi, Father, S.J., 288, 472.
Camels, slaughter of, forbidden, 382. Coryate, Tom, traveller, 392, 413,
Camp, imperial, 367. 475 n.
Canning, factor of E. I. Co., 294, Cotton manufactures, 410.
295 ». Council of A., 384.
Capuchin missionaries, 467. Cows, slaughter of, forbidden, 220.
Caravans, 416. Crops, various rates on, 375.
Carpets, manufacture of, 410. Cultivation, area under, 400, 401.
Catrou, Hisioire Genirale, 255 n., Customs duties, 411.
476.
Celadon porcelain, 412.
Ghachar, land left fallow for three or Dabistarm-l Mazdhib, 465.
four years, 374. Dacca
410. District, fine cloths made in,
Chagatai Turks, 9, 10.
Chakdara in Suwat, 233. Dakhili troopers, 364.
Chalmers, transl. Ahharnama, 460. Dam, copper coin, 139 n., 388.
Chand, fort, 266 ; Bibi, of Ahmad- Daman, Portuguese port, 56, 137,
nagar, 266, 270, 272. 172 ; attack on, 202.
Chandel dynasty, 69. Damascus, Umayyid mosque at,
Chandragiri, kingdom of, 224, 469. 435.
Chandragupta Maurya, 127 ». Dames, M. L., on Mughal coins, 482.
Charter, the E. I. Co.'s first, 295. Daniyal, Prince, birth of, 103, 110 ;
Charvaka atheists, 162 n. in Deccan, 249, 286, 299 ; mar-
Chaudha/ri, headman, 156. riage of, 313 ; death of, 314, 316,
Chauhan clan, 89, 98. 330-2.
Chaul, port, 56, 172, 280. Dourabnamah, story-book, 427.
Chauragarh, fortress, 71. Daraan, defined, 383.
Chausa, battle of, 12 ; ferry at, 126, Dastur, defined as a revenue term,
143. 372 TO.
Cheetahs (chita), hmiting leopards, Dastiir Meherjee Rana, Parsee
339. teacher, 163, 164.
China, root, 409 ; porcelain from, Dasturu-l 'amal, defined, 372 n.
412 ; Jesuit mission to, 260, 469. Daswanth, artist, death of, 226, 429.
INDEX 493
Daud (David), King of Bengal, 124, niahdad,- Sirhindi, historian, 273

127, 129, 130, 143, 144r-6. n., 283, 285, 297, 463.
Debalpur (Deobalpur), in Panjab, Famine of 1555-6, 37, 397 ; in Gu-
97 n., 244.
jarat, 1673-4, 130, 397 ; of 1583-
Deooan, independent, 32; A.'a de- 4, 397 ; of 1595-8, 267, 398.
signs on, 224, 246, 264, 287. Famines, generally, 395-7.
Decennial ' settlements ', 188, 371. Farhang-i Jahangiri, dictionary of
Derweish Mujeed, Persian penman, old Persian, 166 n.
42.
Farid, Shaikh, of Bokhara=Mur-
Dhak tree, Butea frondosa, 77 n. taza Khan, q.v., 318, 322, 399.
Dholpur, 174 ; gate of Pathpnr- Faridun of Kabul, 231.
Sikri, 440. Famikh, Beg, artist, 231, 431.
Dias, Father Peter, S.J., 136 n. FarukI dynasty of Khandesh, 246.
Diet of A., 335. Fathpur-SikrI, battle of Khanua
Digambara Jains, 167 n. near, 12 ; foundation of, 104 ;
Din237.
Ilahi, A.'s new religion, 209-22, Buland Darwaza at, 106 ; history
of, 107-9 ; A. returned from Gu-
Dipalpur= Debalpur, q.v., 244 n. jarat to, 119, 120 ; plan of, 132 n.,
Diu, Portuguese possession, 56. 438, 439 ; A. marched from, 145 ;
'Divine Faith' = Dm IWii, q.v. arrival of first Jesuit mission
Diwan, finance minister, 358. at, 174 ; A. preached at, 176 ;
Diwan-i Khass, at Fathpur-Sikri, Father Aquaviva at, 202, 206;
444. lake burst at, 222 ; stay of Fitch,
Dome, kinds of, 435. &c., at, 228, 395, 441, 471 ; Kash-
Dost Muhammad of Kabul, 304. mir prince at, 232 ; inscription on
Du Jarric, trastworthy historian, 7, Buland Darwaza at, 286, 288;
277, 298, 468. Prince Salim at, 311, 314, 315;
Du-piyaza, Mulla, 359 n., 484. prodigious sums spent on, 347 ;
DurgavatT, Rani, 69, 71. gardens at, 403 ; carpets made at,
Dutch B. I. Company, 296. 410 ; art at, 426 ; frescoes at,
431 ; complex of edifices at, 432 ;
' Jodh Bai's Palace ' at, 433 ; a
East India Company, first charter reflex of A.'s mind, 436 ; dates of
of, 295 ; Dutch, 296. buildings at, 437 ; gates of, 440 ;
Ebony, inlay, 442, 443. Great Mosque at, 441 ; tomb of
Eclectic style of architecture, 445, Shaikh Salim Chishti at, 442 ;
446. decoration at, 443 ; meaning of,
Education, Abu-1 Fazl on, 386. 444 ; books describing, 479.
Eklinga temple, 93. Fatiha, quoted, 177 n.
Elephants, A:'s skill with, 52, 339 ; FaujdSr, duties of j 381, 383 ».
hunts of, 73 ; executions by, 80, Felix,
467. Rev. Father, work of, 466,
382; fighting, 126, 361, 366;
wild, 400, 401 ; statues of, 94-6. Female armed guards, 359.
Elizabeth, Queen, reign of, 1 ; letters Fergusson, Indian
to A., 229, 292 ; granted charter chitecture, 480. and Eastern Ar-
to E. I. Co., 295. Finance minister, 358.
Elphinstone, History of India, 476. Fire-worship, 164.
Enslavement of prisoners forbidden, Firishta (Ferishta), historian, 313,
59. 461.
Epigraphia MosUmica, 480. Firoz Shah Tughlak, policy of, 356 n.
Epilepsy of A., 160, 339. Fiscal measures of reign, 369 foil.
Era, Hijri, 256 ; Bah! (year), 448. Fish, cheapness of, 393.
Eunuchs, guarded harem, 359. Fitch, Ralph, traveller, 7, 107-9,
Exports, 411. 228, 297, 410, 437, 441, 471.
Flaying alive, 345.
Flogging, 382.
Foster-relatives, 20.
Faizi : (1) Shaikh, brother of Abu-1 Frescoes, 431.
Pai, ode by, 82 n. ; at court,
125 ; flattered A., 177, 178 ; en- Fruit, liked by A., 336.
voy to Khandesh, 247 ; letters of, FuluB, coin, 388.
2,464; his poetry, 416; (2) Shaikh Funeral of A., 327.
Gadai, Shaikh, 42-4, 47. Gims, made by A., 337.
Gakhar clan, 26, 61. Guzman, Father, Jesuit author, 469.
Gardens in Lidia, 402, 403 n. Gwalior, fortress, surrendered, 42 ;
Garha Katanga = Gondwana, q.v. halting-place, 174 ; musical edu-
Gaur, capital of Bengal, 123, 143 ; cation at, 422 ; tomb of Muham-
pestilence at, 144 ; building at, mad Ghaus at, 435, 481.
147 re.
Oca, yard measure, 373. Haidar 'All, illiterate, 41, 338 n.
' Gedrosia ', Monserrate's name for Hairan, horse, story of, 160, 161 n.
Gujarat, q.v., 174 n. Haji Begam, on pilgrimage, 75 ; built
Ghaghra (Gogra) river, battle of, 12. tomb of Humayiin, 103, 434;
Ghazi, title, 39. death of, 125.
Ghazi Beg Mirza, 32S. Hajipur, taken, 127.
Ghazipur District, assessment of, Hakim, (1) 'Ali, physician, 321 ; (2)
378 ; prices in, 393 ; cultivated Humam, 5Cr Bakawal, 357 n.,
area of, 401. 359 ; (3) -ul Mulk, traitor, 196 n.
Ghazni, 12, 25, 238. Haldlghat pass, 151 ; battle of, 152.
Ghoraghat region, 143. Hamida Bano Begam, A.'s mother,
GJiori, celadon ware, 412. 13, 18, 20 n., 43, 125, 134 ; death
Gisu (Gesfl) Khan = Keshu, q.v of, 317, 329, 332.
Gladiators, 340. Hamzaban, commandant of Surat,
Gladwin, historian, 465, 477. 114.
Glass vessels of A., 412. ' Happy
Goa, A.'b letters to, 169, 249 ; A.'s Hara clan,Sayings
98. ' of A., 4, 459.
last embassy to, 288 ; printing Harem, imperial, 359.
press at, 425. Hargobind, Sikh guru, 465 n.
Gobind Das, architect, 446. Haribans, artist, 428 n.
Gobind Deva, temple at Mathura, Hariinu-r Rashid, 54.
446. Hasan and Husain, 75.
Goes, town in Portugal, 259 n. Havell,
444 n.Mr., theories of, 9 n., 435 ».,
Gogra river, see Ghaghra.
Gogiinda (Kokandah, &c.), fortress, Hawking, 339.
150, 151 ; battle of, 152. Hawkins, Captain William, 296.
Gold coinage, mints of, 157. Hay, John, of Dalgetty, compiler of
Goldie, Father P., S.J., First Chris- Jesuit books, 467.
tian Mission, 470. Hazara District = Pakhli, 247.
Golkonda, independent, 32 ; mis- ' Hector,' a ship, 296.
sion to, 246 ; A.'s designs on, 287. Hemu, 32, 34-40.
Gondwana, independent, 32 ; con- Hendley, Col., on Indian art, 485.
quest of, 69, 71. Henry IV of France, 1.
Gothic architecture, 447. Herat, 17.
' Grab ' iOhurab). kind of ship, 246 n. Herbert, Sir Thomas, authority of,
Grierson, Sir G., on Tulsi Das,' 419, 320 »., 326 »,, 474.
486. Hijri era, 256, 448.
Grimon, Leo, sub-deacon, 249, 250, Hihnand river, 17.
252, 256. Hindal, Prince, 13, 24, 25.
Growse, translated Tulsi Das, 418. Hindostani literature, 486.
Guerreiro, Edafdm, 262 n., 289 n., Hindu Kush, 23.
469. Hindu-Muhammadan architecture,
Guhilot clan, 84. 432, 446.
GSjar Khan, general, 129. HiravijayaSiiri, Jain teacher, 166-8.
Gujarat, independent, 32 ; memo- Histories, Muhammadan, 5.
rial of conquest of, 106, 441 ; de- Horn, Dr., on Mogul army, 478.
scribed, 110; campaigns in, 110- Horowitz, Mpigraphia Moslemica,
21 ; famine in, 130, 397 ; Jains in, 480.
167 ; Muzaffar Shih, ex-king of, Hosten, Rev. H., works of, 466, 467,
208, 248. 469, 470.
Gulbadan Begam, A.'s aunt, 134 ; ' House of Worship,' 181, 205, 432.
Memoirs of, 135, 465 ; on pil- Humayiin, A.'s father, 9, 12-30, 33,
grimage, 203 ; in camp, 368. 47, 355 ; sword of, 323 ; tomb of,
Gumti river, 126. 434.
495
INDEX
Evmayun-Nama,, history, 465. Jagat

242 ».Singh, father of Man Singh,
Husain Kuli Khan = Khan Jahan,
Jagir, moaning of, 121, 371, 373 n.
q.v. Jagvrdar, 365.
'Ibadat-Khana, 130, 444 n. Jahanbani, posthumous title of Hu-
Ibrahim, (1) Lodi, Sultan, 11 ; (2) mayun, 21.
Khan Sur, 33, 34; (3) Husain Jahangir, emperor, on customs of
]VErza, 111, 116. Chingiz, 10 ; on Agra fort, 76 n. ;
Idar, occupied, 166. resided in Jahangiri Mahall, 77;
Ikhtiyaru-1 Mulk, rebel, 119. ordered statues of Rana Amar
Ilahabad (-bas) = Allahabad, q.v., Singh and Karan, 96 ; on Maha-
224 m. bat Khan, 149 n. ; on Din IlaM,
nahi era or year, 31 n., 329, 448 ; 218 n. ; at Fathpur lake, 223 n. ;
seat, 221. on death of his wife, 225, 312 ;
Images prohibited, 426. tribal wars of, 238 ; lost Kanda-
Imams, the, 76 n. har, 258 ; expressed reverence for
Imports, 410. his father when dead, 327 ; on
India, destruction of records in, 3 ; his brother Daniyal, 331 ; held
Muslim dynastic chronicles in, 6 ; gladiatorial shows, 340 n. ; con-
Timurid dynasty of, 10 ; Babur tinued A.'s policy, 364, 421 ; his
in, 11 ; in 1556, 31 ; illiteracy in, words recorded, 383 n. ; appeared
41 ; in 1561, 56 ; a poor country, three times a day, 384 ; value of
66 ; Monserrate's map of Nor- rupee in reign of, 391, 392 ; great
thern, 172 ; Muhammad Hakim's cities in reign of, 395 ; prohibited
invasion of, 190 ; first intercourse tobacco, 409 ; connoisseur in art,
of England with, 227, 229; 428 ; free-handed, 431 ; made
Ogilby's description of, 277 n. ; new plan of A.'s mausoleum, 433 ;
A. planned conquest of, 287 n. ; built palace in Agra fort, 433 ;
Portuguese, 289 ji., 466 ; early improved tomb of Shaikh Salim
English residents in, 296 n., 471 ; Chishti, 442; Memoirs of, 464,
Ewrh/ Travels in, 324 n. ; ptmish- 465,477; Du Jarric on, 468 ; Sir
ments in, 344 n. ; copper coins in, T. Roe and Terry on, 472 ; Glad-
388 ; indigenous art of, 429 ; con- win on, 477 ; outline drawing of,
quered her conquerors, 434 ; his- 484 ; art of reign of, 485.
tories of, 463, 476 ; Archaeologi- Jahangiri MahaU, 77, 433.
cal Survey of, 479 ; Office Library, Jaimall Rathor, 88, 93-6.
483.
Jains
264. at court of A., 162 n., 166-8,
Indigo, exported, 411.
Indo-Persian literature, 415 ; pic- Jalala, Rosham leader, 238.
torial art, 426. Jalalabad, on Kabul river, 28, 199.
Indus, A. crossed the, 199, 201. JaZaK rupees, 157.
Infallibility decree, 1, 179, 214. Jalalu-d din, name or title, 19.
Infantry, of A., 366. Jalandhar (Jullunder), 33, 40.
Informatione of Peruschi, 467. Jamalu-d din Husain, 5Cr, 166 n.,
Initiation in Din IlSM, 217. 313.
Inlay, 442, 443. James I of England, prohibited to-
Intemperance, 114; rare in India, bacco, 409.
406.
Jani Beg, Mrza, 245, 299.
Inundation in 1584-5, 399. Jarib, measuring rod or chain, 373 n.
Irvine, W., edited Manucci, 475 ; on Jarrett, transl. Ain-i Akhari, 459.
Mogul army, 478. Jats, desecrated A.'s tomb, 328.
Ishar Das Nagar, historian, 328 n. Jauhar, (1) memoir writer, 15, 16, 17,
Islam, A.'s persecution of, 267, 353. 19, 26, 463 ; (2) holocaust of Raj-
Islam Shah Sijr, 28, 33. put women, at Chauragarh, 72 ;
Ismail, Shah of Persia, 156. derivation
88. of, 72 n. ; at Chitor,
'Itimad Khan, financier and Viceroy
of Gujarat, 61, 208. Jaunpur, annexed, 42 ; Uzbeg rebels
liinerario of Manrique, 474. at, 74 ; great bridge at, 143 n.
Jenghiz Khan, see Chingiz.
Jagad-gwu, title, 167. Jesuit writings, 5, 6, 466-71 ; mis-
Jagatai, see Chagatai. sions to A., first, 170-6, 206;
second, 249-56; third, 259-65; Khanam
102. Sultan, daughter of A.,
influence,. 314.
Jesus, saying attributed to, 286. Khandesh, Sultan of, 32 ; mission
Jharokha, window, 383. to, 246 ; custom of royal family
JhusI, Hindu fort, 224 n. of, 278; Subaof, 286.
,Jiji Anaga, 20, 97. Khandwa, town, 273 n.
Jital, coin, 388. Khau-i 'Azam='Aziz Koka Mirza=
Jizya tax, remitted generally, 65 ; 'Azam Khan, q.v.. Ill, 187, 248 n.,
and in Kathiawar, 167. 321.
' Jodh Bai's palace,' 433. Khan-i Kalan, 111.
Johnson collection of drawings, 483. Khan Jahan, Governor of Panjab,
Jun, town, 15. 98, 116; Governor of Bengal,
Junaid, uncle of Baud, 146. 144-6 ; died, 184.
Justice of A., 344.
Khan Khanan, title of 'AbdurraWm
Mirza, q.v., 208, 365 ; in Deccan,
Kabul, 12, 16, 24, 25. 28 ; A. at, 247, 249, 251 ; tomb of, 435.
200 ; trade of, 395. Khanua (Khanwah), battle of, 12.
Kafiristan, 23. Khanzada Begam, 18.
Kalanaur, (1) in Gurdaspur District, Khan Zaman ('All Kuli Khan Uzbeg),
30, 33, 34, 35, 198 ; (2) in Eohtak at Panipat, 38 ; did homage, 55 ;
District, 31 u. rebelled, 74, 77, 78 ; killed, 80 ;
Kalanjar, surrendered, 100; jagir oi founded Zamania, 124.
Eaja Birbal, 237. Khuda Bakhsh library, 485.
Kala Pahar, general of Daud, 146. Khusrau, Amir, poet, 416.
Kalima, formula of Muslim creed, Khusru, Bagh at Allahabad, 229 ; I,
216 ».
King of Persia, 84 ; Prince, birth
Kamargha, a battue hunt, 78, 158. of, 241 ; mother of, 312 ; later
Kamgar Ghairat Khan, Khwaja, history of, 316, 318, 320, 321, 322.
historian, 465. Khufba {Khufbah), defined, 77 ; re-
Kamran, Prince, 12, 13, 16, 24^7. cited by A., 176.
Kamrup = Assam, 140. Khwaja, (1) Hasan of Badakhshan,
Kanauj, battle of, 12, 20.
202;mad of(2)
Kabul,Jahan=Dost
304 ; (3) (?)Muham-
Sultan
Kandahar, 12, 16-18, 22 ; annexed,
258. Hamid, 288.
Kangra, failure to take, 116. Khyber (Khaibar) Pass, Prince
Kanuugos, 77 ; their duties, 370, Salim in, 199 ; battle in, 236.
372. ICibchak, fight at, 25.
Kanwaha, see Khanua. KJka Rana=Partab Singh, Rana,
Kara (Karra), on Ganges, 55, 80.
Karakar Pass, 233-6. q.v., 148 n.
King, L. W., on Moghal coins, 482.
Karan, son of Rana Amar Singh, 95. Kings, A.'s views on, 352.
Karkaria, papers by, 478. Kishm, in Badakhshan, 24.
Karons, 139-41, 371, 377. Kitchen department, 357 n., 359.
Kashmir, a Himalayan state, 32, 56 ; Konkani language, 171, 227, 231 n.
threatened, 232, 233, 239; an- Koran, and Bible, 205 ; commen-
nexed, 240 ; first visit of A. to, taries on, 415.
243 ; second visit of A. to, 247 ; Kotwal, duties of, 381, 383 n.
third visit of A. to, 267 ; assess- Krishna (Kistna) river, 32, 56.
ment of, 378 n. ; famine in, 397 ; Kukarmanda, town, 174.
shawls, 410. Kufic script, 425.
Kasim Khan, Mir Bohr, engineer, Kulij Khan, viceroy at Lahore, 290,
at Chitor, 87 ; treason of, 197 ; 302, 353 n.
in Kashmir, 239, 240 ; at Kabul ; Kumbhalmer
150. (Komulmer), fortress,
243 ; built bridges of boats, 413.
Kaswin (Kaz vin) , |in Persia, 293, 47 1 . Kumbha, Rana, 84.
Kathiawar, Jains in, 167. Kutbu-d din Koka or Kokaltash,
Kautilya, author, 369. 202, 203, 208, 303, 442.
Kazi, principal, 207 ; duties of, 381.
Kazvin = Kasmn, q.v., 17. Lactation, prolonged, 20.
Keshu Khan, 244.
Laet, John de, on A.'s library, 424
Khalsa, crown lands, 365, 371. ■n. ; Descriptio Indiae, 473.
INDEX 497
Laharpur, birthplace of Todar Mall, Malwa, independent, 32 ; conquest
242.
of, 49-52, 55-7, 59.
Lahore, pestilence and fire at, 268 ; Man, or ' maund ', a weight, 389.
riches
433. of, 395 ; A.'s buildings at, Man Bai, wife of Prince Salim, 225.
Mandal
153. (Mandalgarh), town, 97, 151,
Lai Kalawant, Hindi poet, 422.
Larkanah District, Sind, 245 n. Mandar tribe, war with, 233.
Latif, S. M., Agra, 479. Mandavn, a market, 411 re
Lead, trade in, 410. Mandelslo, J. A. de. Travels, 475.
Leedes (Leades), William, jeweller, Mandla, in Jabalpur District, 71.
109, 227, 297, 471. Mandu, city, 73, 75, 174.
Leioton (Leitanus), Father Edward, Manikpur ferry, 79.
S.J., 254. Mankarwal village, 80 n,
Lethbridge, Sir B., on de Laet, 473. Mankot, fortress, 40.
Library of A. at Agra, 423-5. Manrique, Fray S., copied official
LildvaU, translated, 423.
Linschoton, van. Travels, 472. papers, 3 ; 474.
Itinerario, on A.'s library, 424 n. ;
Lions in India, 401. Mansabda/r, defined, 141 ; grades of,
Literature, Hindi and Indo-Persian, 361-5, 371.
415, 486. Man Singh, (1) Kachhwaha, Kunwar
LodI Khan, minister of Baud, 125. and Baja, employed in imperial
Loudon, population of, 108 n. service, 57, 65 ; at Rauthambhor,
' Long Walk ' of trees, 413. 98, 99 ; at Samal fight, 112 ; at
Lucknow, buildings of A.'s time at, Surat, 114 ; accompanied A. to
480.
Bihar, 126 ; at battle of Haldi-
Lyall, Sir C. J., on Hindostani litera- ghat, 151 ; A. annoyed with, 153 ;
ture, 486. in charge of Indus province, 201 ;
on the Din Ilaki, 213 ; his adop-
Ma'dsir-i JahdngM, 465, 478. tive sister married to Prince Salim,
Ma'asiru-l Vmara, 4S9. 225, 241, 312 ; sent in advance
Macchiwara, battle of, 46. towards Kabul, 231 ; in charge
Maohado, Father, S.J., 290. of the Kashmir princes, 240 ;
Maclagan, E. D., on Jesuit missions, governor of Bihar, &o., 241 ;
470. honours of, 242 ; resided at Aj-
Madad-i ma'ash, defined, 207. mer, 301 ; at Agra, 302 ; favoured
Madrasah, a Muslim school, 387. Khusrii, 320, 321, 322; poison
Mahabat Khan, origin of, 149 n. story of, 325 ; built temple of
Mdhabharaia, translated, 423, 424. Gobind Deva at Mathura, 446;
Maham Anaga, 20, 21, 43, 48, 49, portrait of, 483 ; (2) Tomar, Raja
51, 59-61, 66, 369. of Gwalior, 422, 423 n.
Mahasa Thakur, author of Sanskrit Mansiir, Khwaja Shah, treason and
history of A., 486. execution of, 193-7.
Mah Chuchak Begam, 64. Manucci, N., on A.'s tomb, 328 n. ;
Mahdi, belief in, 220. Storia do Mogor, 476.
Mahdist hopes, 256, 257. Manufactures in A.'s empire, 410.
Mahesh Bas, (1) original name of Map by Monserrate, 172.
Raja BIrbal, q.v., 236, 237 n. ; Marathas called Sevajee, 328 n,
(2) (Mahes) Rathor, 486. Marsden MSS. in B.M., 467.
Mahi river. 111. Marshall, Sir J. H., publications of,
Mahmud Bigarha, Sultan of Guja- 478.
rat, 309. Martin, F. R., Miniature Painting,
Mahoba, Chandel dynasty of, 69. 485.
Mahomet = Muhammad, R:ophet, Marwar = Jodhpur, q.v.
q.v., 175. Maryam
Majnun Khan Kakshal, 100. mother,- makani,
58, 310, 317title of A.'s
n., 368.
Makhdumu-1 Mulk, 161 ; end of, Maryam-zamani, title of Jahangir's
183. mother, 58.
Makran (Mekran), annexed, 258. Mas'ud Husain Mirza, 116.
Maktiib Khan, librarian, 430. M'asiim Khan, (1) of Kabul, 186 ;
Malakhand Pass, 233-6. (2) FarankhudI, 186, 188 »., 223 n.
Malandarai Pass, 233-6. Mathura, tigers at, 64 ; A.'8 vision
1845 K
at, 349 n. ; buildings at, 434, 445, Monserrate, Father A., S. J., 7, 171 1
446. 175, 193-200, 202, 205, 206,
Mavilana Alimad, historian, 462. 215 ; works of, 466.
Maurice, Emperor of Byzantium, Mori clan at Chitor, 84.
253 n. Mosques, destroyed by A., 253.
Maurya standing army, 360 ; ad- Mother-of-pearl inlay, 442, 443.
ministration, 396. Mu'azzam, Khwaja, 13 n., 20 re., 29,
Measurement, units of, 373. 64, 67, 340.
Meat, A.'s distaste for, 335. Mubarak Khan, murderer of Bai-
Mecca, pilgrimage to, 113, 134 ; ram, 46 ; Shaikh, 116, 178, 212 n.,
ships bound for, 203 ; flight of 214, 248, 307.
the Prophet from, 256. Mubariz Khan, 34 n.
Medina, flight of the Prophet to, 256. Muhammad, Akbar, 14, 19, 179 ;
Megna delta, 399. Amin, historian, 463 ; bin Tugh-
Menezes, Dom Diego de, viceroy of lak. Sultan, 123 ; Ghaus, tomb of,
Goa, 137. 435, 481 ; Hakim, Mirza, of
Mer tribe of Gujarat, 84. Kabul, 33, 40, 75, 77, 185, 186,
Mewar, Ranas of, 84 ; glories of, 190-7, 200 ; death of, 231 ; Hu-
154.
sain, (1) Mirza, 117, 119 ; (2) calli-
Mewat territory, 40. graphist, 426 ; Kasim Khan, Mir
Mildenhall (Midnall), John, story of, Bahr, engineer, 196 n., 197, 201,
7, 292-5, 297, 471. 413 ; Kuli Khan Barlas,129 ; the
Milk, price of, 391. Prophet, revelation of, 215 ; hos-
Minar {manar), 253. tility ofA. to, 254, 262 ; flight of,
Ming period ware, 412. 256 ; Shah 'Adil (or 'AdU Shah),
Miniatures, 426, 485. Sur king, 28, 33, 40, 50 ; Shah of
Ministers, principal, 358. Delhi, 109 ; Sultan, 9 n. ; Yazdi,
Mint reorganized, 156. Mulla, 185, 186, 188.
lEr Abu Turab, 182. Muhammadan, histories, 5 ; A. not
Mir 'Adl, duties of, 381, 383 ». a, 204 ; law, 220 ; governments,
Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, architect, 103, 397 ; temperance, 407 ; poets,
434. 416 ; architecture, 434. (See
'Muslim'.)
Miran Bahadur = Bahadur Shah of
Khandesh, q.v., 275. Muhammadans, hardships of, 168,
353.
Mir138,'Arz
359.{ Arzi), lord of requests, Muhsin Fani, 465 n.
Miratu-l Kvds, by Jerome Xavier, Muinu-d din, Khwaja, saint, 57, 96,
291. 102.
Mir Haji, leader of pilgrims, ap- Mukarrib Khan of Asirgarh, 279, 299.
pointed, 135. Mukktaswr of Bayazid, 463!
MTr Muhammad Khan Atka, 111. Mulla Du-piyaza, 359 n., 484.
Mir258.Muhammad M'asum, 245 »., Mullas, punished, 188.
Multan, Suba, 244.
Mirtha (Merta), fortress taken, 59, Mungir (Monghyr), 128, 187.
82 ; mosque at, 434, 480. Mun'im Khan, Khan Khanan, 28,
Mirza Jani of, Sind, 215 ; death of, 33, 51, 55, 59, 61, 77, 124-8, 143,
416 ; Sulaiman, 144. 144 ; bridge of, 413.
Mirzas, the, cousins of A., and rebels, Muntahhahu-t
460. Tawarikh of Badaoni,
78, 97, 111, 116, 119, 120.
Mission, first Jesuit, 170-6, 206; Murad, Sultan, prince, birth of, 103 ;
second, 249-56 ; third, 259-65. pupil of Jesuits, 175, 193, 204 ;
Missionaries, letters of, 7 ; list of on active service, 198 ; in the
Portuguese, 467. Deccan, 266, 269, 270 ; died, 271.
Missions, the three Jesuit, 467. Murtaza Khan = Shaikh Farid Bo-
Miyan lAl = Lai Kalawant, 422. khari, q.v., 267 ; at Agra, 318,
Modi, J. J., Parsees at the Court of 322.
A., 165 «., 478. Musalmans
185. of Bihar and Bengal,
' Mogor ', meaning of, 466.
Mongol = Mogul or Mughal, 10 ; re- Music, A.'s taste for, 61, 340, 422.
ligion, 210 n. Musicians at court, 422.
' Monotheism, Divine ', of A., 134. Muslim, saints, 102, 181, 460;
INDEX
499
calendar, 132 ; doctors, 161, 178 ; Nurses of Akbar, 20.
law, 179 ; ritual, 201 ; formvda Nuru-1 Hakk, Shaikh, historian,
of the faith, 204 ; religion, 290 ; 267 n., 462.
A. at one time a rationalizing, Nushirwan, king of Persia, 84.
348; schools, 387. (See 'Mu-
hammadan '.]
Musters, false, 365. Oaths, of little aecoimt, 380 n.
Mutilation, punishment of, 380, Ogilby, Asia (1673), 277 n.
382. Oldham, Wilton, revenue expert,
375.
Mutton, price of, 391.
Muttra = Mathura, q.v. Old style, 324 »., 329.
Muzafiar Husain, Mrza, 156 ; Khan Olearius, Voyages and Traveh of the
Turbati, 121, 184, 186, 188, 369, Ambassadors, 475.
370 ; Saiyid, envoy to Portuguese, Omar ('Umar), KhaUf, 66.
205 ; Shah, king of Gujarat, cap- ' Omrah ', coixuption of 'umara, 365.
tured, 111 ; death of, 208, 248. Opium, trade in, 109 n., 410 ; post
Mystic, A. a, 160, 348. infusion of, 115 ; used by A., 336 ;
Mystics often intensely practical, consumption of, 406, 407.
349. Oranus, Jesuit author, 467.
Ordeal, Hindu trial by, 345.
Ordinances, special, 382.
Nadim Ehan Kukaltash (Koka), Oriente Conquistado, by de Sousa,
20 ». 170 n., 174 n., 470.
247.
Ndgaraka, duties of, 382. Orissa, independent, 32 ; annexed,
Nagarchain, hunting lodge, 76, 77,
432. Oxen, prohibition of slaughter of,
Nagari, near Chitor, 86 n. 382.
Nagarkot = Kangra, q.v. Oxus river, 10.
Nagaur, huUdings at, 104.
Ka£rwala = AnJbirwala, g.v^ Padmini, princess, 90 n.
Nandod (Nadot), battle of, 208. Fainting, in reign of A., 428-31.
Naqgarah [nakkara) hkanah, musi- Paisa, coin, 388.
Paithan on Godavari, 313.
cians' gallery, 368. FaMili
Namaul, town, 156. 247. = Hazara District, 243 ».,
Nar Singh, misreading for Bir
Singh, q.v., 306 n. Palds tree, 77 n.
Narwar, town, 52, 73, 174. Palitana in Kathiawar, 167.
Nasta'lik script, 425. Pandua, buildings at, 147 n.
Panipat, first battle of, 11, 13 ;
Nauratna (nava/ratna), " nine jewels ', second battle of, 38-40 ; town,
(1) A.'s nine friends, 359 n., 484 ; 194.
(2) nine Hindi poets, 486.
Nausari, Parsee centre, 163, 164 n., Panjab, fertility of, 395.
165, 172. Panj Pahan mounds, 127.
Nepal, missionaries in, 467. Pantheistic ideas, 133.
Newbery (Newberie), John, mer- Paravii, land left fallow, 374.
chant, 109, 227, 229, 297, 471. Pargama (pergunnah)
Newstyle, 324«., 329. 139; defined, 400. = ' barony ',
Nicotiana, genus of tobacco plants, Pami Afghans, 258.
409. Paronkh, fight at, 63.
Nimkhar, in Oudh, 74. Parsee religion, 162 ; tower of si-
Mzamu-d din, (1) Ahmad, historian lence, 257 ; relation with A., 2,
and Bakhshi, 6, 208, 245 n., 249, 163, 478.
461; (2) Auliya, Shaikh and Parshad, Bana of 'Umarkot, 14.
saint, 65. Partap Singh, Bana of Mewar, 92,
Noer, Osunt von, Kauer Akbar, 6, 147-54, 311.
477. Parviz, Prince, 314, 318, 329.
Koronha, Dom Antonio de, Portu- Pat in Sind, 1.3.
guese viceroy, 136. Patau (Pattan) in Gujarat, 46, 118,
Notes on Afghanistan by Eaverty, 261 ; cotton cloths made at, 410.
463, 477. Patna taken, 127.
Nurjahan, empress, 115. Patta Eathor, 88, 93-6.
Paul, order of = Jesuits, q.v., 169 n. Post, infusion of opium, 115.
Payal (Pael), town, 197. Potatoes, 403.
Pegu, 109. Prayag
224. (Payag) = Allahabad, q.v.,
Penalties in use, 382.
Pereira, Father Julian, 136. Price, Major, transl. spurious Me-
Perez, Dominic, interprets, 174. moirs ofJahangzr, 465.
Persepolis, 17. Prices, regulation of, 382 ; low in
Persia, Humayun in, 17 ; Kazwin A.'s time, 389 ; compared with
in, 293 ; monarchy in, 352 ; modem, 393.
domes in, 444. Printing in India, 425.
Persian, historians, 5, 7, 459 foU. ; Purchas, Pilgrimes, and Pilgrimage,
A.'s mother a, 10 ; language 471.
spoken at A.'s court, 11 ; Sflfi
poets, 348 ; bureaucracy, 357,
362 ; land revenue, 378 ; paint- Queens, Rajput, 89 ; A.'s seal kept
ers, 426. by one of the, 290 n.
Peruschi, Jesuit author, 250 n., 467. Quetta, 16, 245 »., 258.
Peshawar, Humayun built fort at,
28 ; burnt, 199.
Pestilence, in Gujarat, 130 ; at Bachol, printing press at, 425.
Gaur, 144 ; dogs the steps of Sags, musical, 62.
famine, 396, 398. Ba'iyatwari, see Syotwaree.
Peter the Great, compared with A., Raja 'All 270.
Khan of Khandesh, 246 ;
337. kiUed,
Petitions, presentation of, 383. Rajapur, 418.
Pictorial art, Indo-Persian, 426. Rajmahal, official records at, 3 ;
Pictures, Christian, 17,5 ; signed, Hills, 129 ; battle of, 145 ; Man
428; by Hindu artists, 430. Singh's official capital, 242.
Pigeon flying, 21. Rama, hero, 418.
Pigeons kept by A., 339. Bamayan, Hindi poem.
Pilgrimage to Mecca, 113, 134. Bamayana
423. of Valmiki, translated,
Pilgrim taxes remitted, 65.
Pimenta, Father, Jesuit author, 467. Ramchand, Raja of Bhatha, 62,
Pinheiro, Father, S. J., 221, 259, 261, 100.
288, 290, 291; as diplomatist, RamAarit-tnanas, Hindi poem, 418,
322 ». 486.
Pir Muhammad Shirwani, 36 »., 40, Ram Das (Ramdas), (1) Kachhwaha
45, 47, 49-51, 55, 57, 73. Raja, 322 ; (2) musician, 421.
Pir Panjal (Pantsal) range, 240, 243. Ranjit Singh, illiterate, 41, 338 n.
Plague, bubonic, 398. Ranthambhor, fortress, 42, 98, 485.
Rathor clan, 89.
Plantyn's Bible, 175.
Poets or versifiers, 415. Raverty, Notes on Afghanistan, 463,
Poisoning, stories of, 294, 301. 477.
Pokharan, town, 251 n. Ravi river, bridged, 198; forded,
201.
Polaj, land continuously cultivated,
374. Bazmnama, the Mahahharata in
Police in A.'s time, 412. Persian, 424.
Polo, game, 77, 339. Record-rooms, 1, 138.
Pope, the, projected mission to, 204 ; Belofam
467. do Equâr, by Monserrate,
A.'s interest in, 288.
Poppy, cultivation of, 336. Remissions of revenue, 377.
Porcelain, Chinese, 411. Revenue system of A., 375 ; amount
Portraits, 8, 430 ; of A., 482-4 ; of of A.'s, 379.
his friends, 484. Rhinoceros, distribution of, 400, 401.
Ports, 410, 411. Riwa = Bhatha, 62, 100.
Portuguese, power, 32, 56 ; of Cam- Roads, not good, 413.
bay, 111 ; of Surat, 113, 136 ; Rodgers, rough catalogues of coins
A.'s hostility to the nation, 263, by, 481, 482
265, 297 ; officers at Aslrgarh, Roe, Sir T., and Tom Coryate, 392 ;
278, 283; clothes worn by A., at Mandu, 413 ; The EnAassy,
334 ; missionaries, list of, 467. 472.
INDEX 501
Rogers, transl. genuine Memoirs of Sanyasis, fight of, 78.

Jahan^, 465. Sarais on main roads, 414.
Rohri = Rurhi, q.v., 244 n. Sarangpur, battle of, 50 ; Jesuits at,
Rohtas, fortress, (1) in Bihar, 123, 174.
155 ; (2) in Panjab, 123 «., 192, Sarhind, see Sihrind.
198, 243, 247. Sarkar, defined, 381.
Roshaniyya sect, 238. Sarkhej, battle of, 208.
Rukaiya Begam, 25. Samal, fight at, 112, 242.
Rupee, exchange value of, 379 n., Satgaon, near Hugli, 109 n., 129,
389, 391. 136 ; trade and customs duties of,
Riipmati, concubine of Baz Baha- 410, 411.
dur, 50, 57. Sati Burj at Mathura, 434, 480.
Rurhi, on Indus, 244 n. Satpura hills or range, 174, 272.
Russian slaves redeemed, 206. Satrunjaya, Jain holy hill, 167, 481.
Byotwaree revenue system, 375. Sayurghal, defined, 207.
Sayyid, defined, 132.
Sayyidpur, town, 126.
Sabarmati river, 119. Schools, 387.
Sabians, Christians of St. John, Security of life and property, 412.
162 m. Seer (sir), a weight, 389.
Sadr-i Sudur, office of, 42, 207, 358. Settlement Department, 355.
Sadr Jahan, Mir or Miran, 221, ' Settlements ' of land revenues, ]88j
222 n., 304 n., 318, 320 n., 329. Shadman, inroad of, 192, 196 n.
SafEron cultivation, 239. Shahabad, in Kamal District, 194.
Sagarji, Rajput, 149. Shah 'Abbas of Persia, prohibited
Sahib-i hal, defined, 131. tobacco, 409.
Shahbaz Khan Kambu, 138, 155,
Saiyid (Sayyid) 'Ali, Mir, 41. 187 301
Sakhar (Sukkur), on Indus, 244 n.
SaldaSha, Ayres de, Portuguese Shah Beg (Khan), 258, 406.
viceroy, 289. Shah Begam, wife of Prince Salim,
Salim, (1) Prince, became emperor 225, 312.
Jahangir, 77 ; birth of, 102, 104, Shahjahan, 12, 46, 95 ; regained
105, 107 ; palace of mother of, and lost Kandahar, 258 ; policy
106 ; circumcised, 125 ; not at of, 354.
battle of Gogunda, 151 ; on Shah Knli Mahram, 39, 144, 192.
Kabul expedition, 193, 199 ; mar- Shah Mansur, Khwaja, 155, 156,
riage of, 225 ; reverenced the 184, 187, 188, 190, 191 n., 192.
Virgin Mary, 253, 261, 292; ShahrukM coin, 26 n.
attentive to Jesuits, 264, 291 ; Shahrukh Mirza, of Badakhshan,
nearly killed by lioness, 269 ; in 270.
rebellion, 277, 286, 287, 288, 303 ; Shah Shuja, 137 n.
met Mildenhall, 294 ; weary Shaikh, defined, 132.
waiting for crown, 301 ; arrested Shaikh, Ahmad Sufi, 218 n.
by A., 319, 328-32 ; his servants Shaikh Farid Bokhari, 267, 273 «.,
275.
quarrelled with Khusru's, 321 ; Shaikhu-1 Islam = Salim Chishti,
his succession disputed, 322 ;
flayed a man alive, 382 n. ; scan-
dalous story about, 472 ; succes- Shal-Mastan
q.v., 132. (Mastang), 16.
sion of, 474 ; Gladwin on, 478 ; Shamanism, 210 n.
Salimi coins of, 482 ; portrait of, Shamsu-d din Muhammad, 20, 55,
483; (2) Chishti, Shaikh, 102, 59, 60, 97.
104, 105; tomb of, 442; (3) Sharif, Amlru-l Umara, 157 n.
Shah = Islam Shah Sur, q.v. Sharif Khan, vizier, 428.
Salima Sultan Begam, 40, 102, 135, Shad symbol, 217.
310. Shergarh fortress, 155.
Salivahan, Raja, physician, 319, Sher Mandal, building, 29.
331. Sherpur Atai, battle of, 302.
Salt, Range, 26 ; trade in, 410. Sher Shah, 12, 28, 29, 121, 123;
Samarkand, tombs at, 435. roads of, 414.
Sanga, Rana, 12, 85. Shia, Sultans of Deccan, 270 ; sect
Sanskrit history of A., 486. of Persia, 17, 42, 426.
Shihabu-d din (Shihab Kban), 43, Sugar, trade in, 410.
60, 93, 98, 120, 121 n, 168 n., 208, Suicide, on death of a relative, 280 m.
369, 371. Sukkur = Sakkar, q.v., 244 to.
Shuja'at Khan of Malwa, 49. Sulaiman, (1) Kirani (Kararani), of
Shukru-n nisa, daughter of A., 103. Bengal, 123, 131, 453 m. ; (2)
Sibi (Siwi), 245 n., 258. Mirza, of Badakhshan, 33, 131, 144.
Siddhichandra, Jain, 167. Sultan (Sultanam) Begam, 16.
Sidi 'All Bais, admiral, 30. Sultan Khwaja, Mir Haji, 135.
Sihrind (Sirhind), battle of, 28, 34. Sultanpur, (1) near Bilahri in Oudh,
Sihwan (Sehwan), fortress, 245. fight at, 187 TO. ; (2) in W. Khan-
Sijdah, ceremony, 220. desh, 174.
SJândara (Secundra), tomb of Sun worship, 162 to., 164, 165, 237.
Maryam-zamani at, 58 ; mauso- Sunargaon, port and manufactures
leum of A. at, 328, 433. of, 229, 410.
Sikandar ELhan, rebel, 81 ; Sur, 30, Sung period ware, 412.
34, 37, 43. Siipa, battle of, 270, 360.
Sikhs and Baja Birbal, 237. Sur kings, 31, 33.
Silver largely imported, 411. Surat, siege of, 113 ; murder of
Sind, desert, 13 ; independent, 32 ; Portuguese at, 203, 205 ; harbour,
conquest of, 244, 246. 410.
Sipahsalar = subadar, q.v., 190, 380. SurDas, poet, 421,422.
Sirhind = Sihrind, q.v., 197. Sur j an Eao, 99.
Siionj, in Tonk State, 174, 305. Suttee {aati), prevented, 226 ; par-
Sisodia royal house, 85, 89. tially prohibited, 382.
Sistan (Seistan), 17. Smear rank, 364.
Sita, heroine, 417. Suwat (Swat) river, 233.
Siwistau, 245 n.
Slaughter of cattle, 382.
Smith, E. W., works of, 479 ; V. A., Tahakat-i Akhari, 461.
History of Fine AH, 480. Tabarhindh, fortress, 45.
Smoking, custom of, 409. Tahmasp Shah, of Persia, 59, 156.
Soils, classification of, 374. Takmil-i Ahbarnama, 327 to., 460.
Sonpat, town, 194, 196. Talikota, battle of, 224.
Sorath, Sarkar, ports in, 411. Taloda, town, 174.
Sousa, de, Oriente Conquietado, 170 Tamerlane, see Timiir.
n., 174 TO., 470. Tanab=jarib or measuring-chain,
Spain, projected embassy to, 204. 373 TO.
Spice Islands, trade with, 296. Tanda (Tanra), former capital of
Spies, or detectives, 382. Bengal, 123, 144 to. ; cotton mart
Spitilli, Jesuit author, 260 n. at, 410.
^rinagar, capital of Kashmir, 240, Tanicah (tanka), value of, 139 to.
243. Tansen, Miyan, singer and musician,
Staff of a SUba, 189. 50, 62, 100, 359 to. ; at Gwalior,
State papers,_3. 422 ; portraits of, 484.
Statistics of Ain-i Ahhan, 387. Tapti river. 111 ; valley, 246.
Stevens (Stephens), Eev. Thomas, Tardi Beg Khan, 14, 16, 35, 43.
S.J., 227, 228, 296. Tarikh-i Alfi, history, 257, 462.
Stevenson, Mrs., The Heart oj Tarikh-i Humayun, 463.
Jainism, 168 to. Tarikh-i Khandhn-i Tim/uriyah, MS.,
Stewart, Major C, transl. Jauhar, 79 TO.
464 ; wrote History of Bengal, Tarikh-i Ma'asUrm, 245 to.
477. Tarikh-i Salatin Afaghana, 463.
Story, James, painter, 227, 228. Tarkhan, title, 245 m,
StUpa, Jain, 168. Tatta= Thathah, q. v., 244 to.
Style, old and new, 174 to. Tauhid llahi— Dm Ilahi, q.v., 215.
Svetambara Jains, 162 n., 167 to. Tavires, Pietro, 137.
Sweet potato, 403. Tazhiratu-l Wakiat, 463.
Sabadar, defined, 380. Teliagarhi Pass, 129, 144, 145.
Subaa, twelve formed, 189, 371 ; in- Temperance in India, 406.
creased to fifteen, 380. Terry, Eev. E., at Mandii, 401 ; on
Sufi schools, 133 ; poets, 338, 348. Asaf Khan's banquet, 403 ; on
INDEX
503
general sobriety, 406 ; on low Udai Singh, (1) Bana of Chitor, 85,
customs duties, 411 ; usua,lly tra- 88,
226. 91, 92, 147 ; (2), Mota Raja,
velled safely, 413 ; A Voyage to
East India, 472. Ujjaln, city, 174.
Thanesar, fight at, 78; halting- ' Ulama,
place, 194. 162. defined, 132 ; quarrels of,
Thar and Parkar District, 13 n. 'Umara, defined, 365.
Thasra, town, 112 n. Umarkot, birthplace of A., 13, 15,
Thathah, in Sind, 14, 244, 245. 18, 244 n.
Thesaurus Merum Indicarum, by Du 'Umar Shaikh, 9 n.
Jarric, 468. Unanagar
168. (Unnatpur) in Kathiawar,
Thomas, E., on coinage and revenue
of A., 481. Urasa=Hazara District, 244 n.
Thomason, Directions to Collectors, Urdu language, 11.
376. 'Usman Khan, rebel, 302.
Throne pillar, 444 n. Uzbegs, 10, 223, 224, 246.
Tibet, Jesuit missions to, 259, 290,
467, 469.
Tibetan block-printing, 425 n. Vakil, or prime minister, 358.
Tieffenthaler, Father, 92. Valabhi, Bajas of, 84.
Timiir, illiterate, 338 n. ; tomb of, Varnagar, town, 84.
435. Vaz, Father Anthony, S.J., 136 n.
Tobacco, introduction of, 407 ; in Vega,
British India, 409. 254. Father Christopher di, S.J.,
Tod, Annals and Antiquities of Ba- Venice glass, 412.
jasthan, 7, 90, 476. Victoria Memorial collection, 485.
Todar Mall, (1) Baja, first mention Vijayanagar kingdom, 32, 56 ; fall
of, 74 ; at siege of Chitor, 87 ; at of, 224; harem at, 360 ra.
Surat, 113 ; made ' settlement ' Vijayasena Siiri, Jain, 166.
of Gujarat, 120, 370 ; in finance Virgin Mary, picture of, 253 ; devo-
department, 121 ; A.'s beat gen- tion of A. to, 261, 269 ; devotion
eral, 125 ; on service in Bengal, of Prince Salim to, 290.
128, 144 ; refused to sign treaty, Vizier, or finance minister, 358.
130, 143 ; reforms of, 139, 140 ; Vost, on rare coins, 482.
at battle of Rajmahal,146 ; gover-
nor of Gujarat, 155, 156 ; in
charge of Bengal mint, 157 ; be- Wages in A.'s reign, 388 foil.
sieged in Mungir, 187 ; sup- Wdjibu-Farz defined, 372 n.
pressing rebellion in Bengal, 189 ; Wahiat, letters of Shaikh Faizi, 464.
death and character of, 242, 457 ; Wall, custom of breaking, at funeral,
327.
principles of ' settlement ', 372 ; Waterworks, 445.
(2) merchant, 417 n.
Toleration of A., 421. Wazir JamS, rebel, 185.
Towns, of A.'s empire, 394. Weights and measures regulated,
382 n.
Transo2Uana, A.'s designs on, 246,
271, 287. Wheat, price of, 390 foil.
Treasure left by A., 347. Whitehead, GcUalogue of Coins in
Treasury arrangements, 376. Panjab Museum, 481.
Tukaroi, battle of, 129, 143. Wicquefort, de, edited Mandelslo,
Tulsi Bas, poet, 418-21, 486. 475.
Tungabhadra river, 32, 56. Wikaya of Asad Beg, 462.
Turan = Transoxiana, q.v., 246, 271. Winter, the rainy season, 279 n.
Turk! language, 11. Witnesses, disregarded, 380 n.
Turks, 9, 10. Wright, H. N., Catalogue of Mughal
Tutors of A., 21. Coins, 481.
Tui/iil = jdgir, q.v., 207 n.
Tuzuh-i Jdhangm, 464.
Twist, J. van, on A.'s treasure, 474. Xavier, (1) Saint Francis, 259 ;
(2) Father Jerome, 259, 261, 268,
Udaipur, new capital of Mewar, 86, 275-7, 280-5 ; works by, 291 ;
150. intrigues of, 291 n, ; letter of.
314, 329; on A.'s death, 323; Zabiilistan, A.'s designs on, 287 n.
Persian writings of, 470 ; a politic- Zain Khan Kokaltash, 233, 241.
al agent, 472. Zamania, town, 124.
Yahiaganj ward, Lucknow, 480. Zai rank, 364.
Yakub Khan of Kashmir, 239. Zoroastrianism, Iranian, 10 ; in-
Yiisuf Khan, Sultan of Kashmir, fluence on A. of, 162-5.
231, 239, 240, 241 n. Zvhdatu-t Tawankh, a history, 462.
Yusuf zi tribe, wars with, 232-6, 238i
Printed in England at the Oxford University Press

Cu 31924024056503

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Cu 31924024056503

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Cu 31924024056503

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

DS

PRESIDENT WHITE LIBRARY

3 1924 024 056 503

There are no known copyright restrictions in

'the EARLY HISTORY OP INDIA '

TrXeoi' ^/AtoT) TravTos. — Heiiod

I. Akbar's Ancestry and Life before his Acces-

IX. Wars on North-western Frontier ; Annexa-

Badaoni. — Tarikh-i Baddonl, or Muntalchabu-t Tawarikh, by 'Abdu-1

Dabistan. — Dabistdnu-l MazShib, transl. Shea and Troyer, 1843.

E. & D. — Tlie History of India as told by its own Historians, by Sir H. M.

I. G. — Imperial Gazetteer of India (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1907, 1908).

J. A. S. B. — Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta.

Latif. — Agra, Historical and Descriptive, by Syad Muhammad Latif,

O. S.— Old style.

R. A. S. — Royal Asiatic Society, London.

Shaikh Faizi. — Wakiat, by Shaikh Faizi, in E. & D., vi.

Tabakat. — Tabakdt-i Akbari, by Khwaja Nizamu-d din Ahmad, transl.

U. P. — ^United Provinces of Agra and Oudh.

von Noer. — The Emperor Akbar, by Count von Noer, transl. A. S.

Yule and Burnell. — Glossary of Anglo-Indian Words (Hobson-Jobson),

The historian who undertakes to deal with the Hfe, Paucity

' ' As a finished diplomatist, I have not felt bound to under-

elaborate system for the transaction and record of business.

and second volumes (Books I-III), which describe the court

we must not look for the philosophy of history, for explana-

most of the languages of Europe. During the eighteenth

Archaeo- archaeological evidence, comprising monuments, inscriptions,

AKBAR'S ANCESTRY AND LIFE BEFORE HIS ACCESSION;

Akbae was a foreigner in India. He had not a drop of Akbar a

Chagatai or Jagatai, the second son of Chingiz.^ The blood

' Sir Ch. Elliot in Encycl. Brit., Mahommed Shaibani or Shahi

elements in his nature were kept so much in the background

March 16, 1527, at Khanua,i a few miles from Sikri, where

and extended by Akbar. Neither Babur nor Humayun did

The local Hindu chief, Rana Parshad, received the starving

puzzled how to celebrate an occasion which in happier

adventures in detail, except in so far as they concern the

tains after much privation, and marched towards the Akbar in

comfortably. Little Akbar, accompanied by his half-

logical grounds to Thursday, and Rajab 5 had the merit of

influence of his foster-relatives, as soon as he felt strong

' Be of good cheer, for the celestial light of the khildfat

studies laid an intellectual foundation for the unorthodox

Stan. He accordingly marched into the province and made

for an expedition to Balkh. That expedition, which took

» Askari was the younger full Hindal was Muhammad Nasir or

Capture In the autumn (September) of 1553 (a. h. 960) Sultan

perforin the business". The King repUed in the same

' When we arrived, his Majesty was sitting, facing the

Maali, each of whom wished to be acknowledged as the

Delhi on February 11, three days before the enthronement

Akbar and the Protector appear to have stayed at Kala- Attempt

When Bairam Khan formally proclaimed Akbar at

taking action without permission, which he could not have

' The King felt bound to approve of this severe measure.

' the while

Hemu's soldiers at once scattered in various directions and

taken with the family of Hemu, whose aged father was

In October 1558 Akbar and the court, travelling down

Abdullah Khan Uzbeg.^ who was sent to Malwa in super- ''^"*®-