Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Akbar

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

  • 99 Accesses

Synonyms

Abu al-Fath Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar; Akbar I; Akbar the Great; Jalal al-Din Muhammad Akbar; Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar

Definition

Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar (1542–1605) was the third ruler of the Mughal Empire.

Introduction

Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar (1542–1605) was the third ruler of the Mughal Empire, an Islamicate dynasty that controlled parts of the Indian subcontinent for over 300 years (1526–1857). Akbar inherited a small, fledgling kingdom and by the end of his 49-year reign (1556–1605) had expanded imperial power across much of north and central India. He developed sophisticated systems for administering his vast polity and supported a diverse class of noble elites. Akbar is also notable for his extensive patronage of literature and the arts and cultivating a polyglot court culture.

Sources on Akbar

Akbar features among the most well-documented figures in Indian history, and many texts in different languages record aspects of his life. He personally commissioned several...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 449.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 599.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Abū al-Fażl ibn Mubārak (1985) Ā’īn-i Akbarī (ed: Blochmann H). Biblio Verlag, Osnabruck. English edition: Abū al-Fażl ibn Mubārak (2010) Ā’īn-i Akbarī (trans and ed: Blochmann H, Jarrett HS, Phillott DC, Sarkar J). Asiatic Society, Calcutta

    Google Scholar 

  2. Abū al-Fażl ibn Mubārak (1873–1887) Akbarnāmah (ed: Abd-ur-Rahim M). Asiatic Society, Calcutta. English edition: Abū al-Fażl ibn Mubārak (2010) Akbarnāmah (trans: Beveridge H). Low Price Publications, Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  3. Abū al-Fażl ibn Mubārak (1998) Mukātabāt-i-‘Allāmī (Inshā’i Abu’l Faẓl): letters of the Emperor Akbar in English translation (trans: Haider M). Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  4. Alam M (2004) The languages of political Islam: India 1200–1800. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  5. Alam M (2009) The Mughals, the Sufi Shaikhs and the formation of the Akbari dispensation. Modern Asian Studies 43(1):135–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Alam M, Subrahmanyam S (eds) (1999) The Mughal State, 1526–1750. Oxford University Press, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  7. Alam M, Subrahmanyam S (2012) Writing the Mughal World: studies on culture and politics. Columbia University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  8. Ali MA (1992) Translations of Sanskrit works at Akbar’s court. Soc Sci 20(9/10):38–45

    Google Scholar 

  9. Ali MA (1997) The perception of India in Akbar and Abū’l Faẓl. In: Habib I (ed) Akbar and his India. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  10. Asher CB (2004) A ray from the Sun: Mughal ideology and the visual construction of the divine. In: Kapstein M (ed) The presence of light: divine radiance and religious experience. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  11. Asher CB (1992) Architecture of Mughal India. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  12. Asher CB, Talbot C (2006) India before Europe. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  13. Badā’ūnī AQ (1983) Muntakhab al-Tavārīkh (eds: Lees WN, Ali MA) Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück. English edition: Badā’ūnī AQ (1976–1978) Muntakhab al-Tawarikh (eds and trans: Ranking GSA, Haig W, Lowe WH). Karimsons, Karachi

    Google Scholar 

  14. Bailey GA (1997) The Lahore Mirat al-Quds and the impact of Jesuit Theatre on Mughal painting. South Asian Stud 13(1):31–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Bailey GA (1998) The Jesuits and the Grand Mogul: renaissance art at the Imperial Court of India, 1580–1630. Freer gallery of art, Arthur M. Sackler gallery. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  16. Balabanlilar L (2012) Imperial identity in the Mughal Empire: memory and dynastic politics in Early Modern South and Central Asia. I.B. Tauris, London/New York

    Google Scholar 

  17. Beach MC (1981) The imperial image: paintings for the Mughal court. Freer gallery of art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  18. Beach MC (1987) Early Mughal painting. Harvard University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  19. Blake S (1995) The Patrimonial-Bureaucratic Empire of the Mughals. In: Kulke H (ed) The State in India 1000–1700. Oxford University Press, Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  20. Busch A (2011) Poetry of Kings: the classical Hindi literature of Mughal India. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Book  Google Scholar 

  21. Busch A (2012) Portrait of a Raja in a Badshah’s World: Amrit Rai’s biography of Man Singh (1585). J Econ Soc Hist Orient 55:287–328

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Chaghatai MA (1994) Mirat al-Quds: an illustrated manuscripts of Akbar’s period about Christ’s life. Lahore Museum Heritage pp 179–188

    Google Scholar 

  23. Chaudhuri JB (1942) Muslim Patronage to Sanskritic learning. Pracyavani, Calcutta

    Google Scholar 

  24. Correia-Afonso J (ed) (1980) Letters from the Mughal court: the first Jesuit mission to Akbar (1580–1583). G.S. Prakash, Anand

    Google Scholar 

  25. Dale SE (2004) The garden of the eight paradises: Bābur and the culture of empire in Central Asia, Afghanistan and India (1483–1530). Brill, Leiden

    Google Scholar 

  26. Damrel DW (2000) The ‘Naqshbandi reaction’ reconsidered. In: Gilmartin D, Lawrence BB (eds) Beyond Turk and Hindu: rethinking religious identities in Islamicate South Asia. University Press of Florida, Gainesville

    Google Scholar 

  27. Ernst CW (2010) Fayzi’s illuminationist interpretation of Vedanta: The Shariq al-ma‘rifa. Comp Stud South Asia, Africa Middle East 30(3):356–364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Ernst CW, Lawrence BB (2002) Sufi Martyrs of love: the Chishti Order in South Asia and beyond. Palgrave Macmillan, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  29. Faruqui M (2005) The forgotten prince: Mirza Hakim and the formation of the Mughal Empire in India. J Econ Soc Hist Orient 48(4):487–523

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Habib I (1982) An Atlas of the Mughal Empire: political and economic maps with detailed notes, bibliography and index. Oxford University Press, Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  31. Habib I (1999) Introduction: commemorating Akbar. In: Habib I (ed) Akbar and his age. Northern Book Centre, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  32. Hardy P (1985) Abul Fazl’s portrait of the perfect Padshah: a political philosophy for Mughal India – or a personal puff for a pal? In: Troll CW (ed) Islam in India, studies and commentaries, vol 2, Religion and religious education. Vikas, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  33. Husain A (1999) The Nobility under Akbar and Jahāngīr: a study of family groups. Manohar, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  34. Jahangir (1980) Jahāngīrnāmah (ed: Hashim M). Tehran: Bunyad-i Farhang-i Iran. English edition: (1999) The Jahangirnama: Memoirs of Jahangir, Emperor of India (trans: Thackston WM). Freer Gallery of Art and Oxford University Press, Washington, DC/New York

    Google Scholar 

  35. Khan IA (2003) The nobility under Akbar and the development of his religious policy, 1560–80. In: Eaton R (ed) India’s Islamic traditions: 711–1750. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  36. Khan IA (1999) Seventeenth century assessment of Akbar. In: Khan IA (ed) Akbar and his age. Northern Book Centre, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  37. Lal R (2005) Domesticity and power in the Early Mughal World. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  38. Lefevre C (2011) In the name of the fathers: Mughal genealogical strategies from Bābur to Shāh Jahān. Relig South Asia 5(1/2):409–442

    Google Scholar 

  39. Mehta S (1999) Akbar as reflected in the contemporary Jain literature in Gujarat. In: Khan IA (ed) Akbar and his age. Northern Book Centre, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  40. Moin AA (2012) The Millennial Sovereign: sacred kingship and sainthood in Islam. Columbia University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  41. Moosvi S (1987) The Economy of the Mughal Empire, c. 1595: a statistical study. Oxford University Press, Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  42. Moosvi S (ed) (1994) Episodes in the life of Akbar: contemporary records and reminiscences. National Book Trust, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  43. Moosvi S (1999) Making and recording history – Akbar and the Akbar-nāma. In: Khan IA (ed) Akbar and his age. Northern Book Centre, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  44. Niẓām al-Dīn Aḥmad (1992) Ṭabaqāt-i Akbarī (trans: De B). Low Price, Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  45. O’Hanlon R (2007) Kingdom, household and body: history, gender and imperial service under Akbar. Mod Asian Stud 41(5):889–923

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Pirbhai MR (2009) Reconsidering Islam in a South Asian context. Brill, Leiden/Boston

    Book  Google Scholar 

  47. Prasad P (1997) Akbar and the Jains. In: Habib I (ed) Akbar and his India. Oxford University Press, Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  48. Qandahārī MA (1962) Tārīkh-i Akbarī (eds: Dihlawi AA, Nadwi M, Arshi IA). Hindustan printing works, Rampur. English edition: Qandahari, MA (1993) Tārīkh-i Akbarī (trans: Ahmad T). Pragati, Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  49. Rezavi SAN (2008) Religious disputations and imperial ideology: the purpose and location of Akbar’s Ibadatkhana. Stud Hist 24(2):195–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Richards JF (1998) Formulation of imperial authority under Akbar and Jahangir. In: Alam M, Subrahmanyam S (eds) The Mughal State 1526–1750. Oxford University Press, Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  51. Richards JF (1993) The Mughal Empire. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  52. Rizvi SAA (1975) Religious and intellectual history of the Muslims in Akbar’s reign: with special reference to Abu’l Fazl. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  53. Robinson F (1997) Ottomans-Safavids-Mughals: shared knowledge and connective systems. J Islamic Stud 8(2):151–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Sangari K (2000) Tracing Akbar: hagiographies, popular narrative traditions and the subject of conversion. In: Chandhoke N (ed) Mapping histories: essays presented to Ravinder Kumar. Tulika, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  55. Sarma SR (2000) Jyotiṣarāja at the Mughal Court. In: Gangadharan N, Sarma SAS, Sarma SSR (eds) Studies on Indian culture, science and literature: being Prof. K.V. Sarma felicitation volume presented to him on his 81st birthday. Sree Sarada Education Society Research Centre, Chennai

    Google Scholar 

  56. Schimmel A (2004) The Empire of the Great Mughals: history, art and culture (trans: Attwood C, ed: Waghmar BK). Reaktion Books, London

    Google Scholar 

  57. Seyller JW, Thackston WM (2002) The adventures of Hamza: painting and storytelling in Mughal India. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  58. Siddiqui IH (1999) Inshā’-i Faiẓī: a source for information on Akbar’s reign. In: Khan IA (ed) Akbar and his age. Northern Book Centre, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  59. Stevens P, Sapra R (2007) Akbar’s dream: Moghul toleration and English/British orientalism. Modern Philology 104(3):379–411

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Streusand DE (1989) The formation of the Mughal Empire. Oxford University Press, Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  61. Subrahmanyam S (2003) Turning the stones over: sixteenth-century Millenarianism from the Tagus to the Ganges. Indian Econ Soc Hist Rev 40(2):129–161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. Taft FH (1994) Honor and alliance: reconsidering Mughal-Rajput marriages. In: Schomer K, Erdman JL et al (eds) The idea of Rajasthan: explorations in regional identity, vol 2. Manohar, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  63. Thackston WM (ed and trans) (2009) Three memoirs of Homayun. Mazda Publishers, Costa Mesa

    Google Scholar 

  64. Wade BC (1998) Imaging sound: an ethnomusicological study of music, art, and culture in Mughal India. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  65. Wink A (2009) Akbar. Oneworld, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  66. Ziad Z (ed) (2002) The magnificent Mughals. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  67. Zilli IA (2000) Development of Insha literature to the end of Akbar’s reign. In: Alam M, Gaborieau M, Nalini FD (eds) The making of Indo-Persian culture: Indian and French studies. Manohar, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  68. Zilli IA (ed) (2007) The Mughal State and culture, 1556–1598: selected letters and documents from Munshaat-i-Namakin. Manohar, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  69. Carvalho PM (2011) Mirat al-quds (Mirror of Holiness): A Life of Christ for Emperor Akbar: A Commentary on Father Jerome Xavier's Text and the Miniatures of Cleveland Museum of Art, Acc. No. 2005.145 (with a translation by Thackston WM). Brill, Leiden

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Religious Studies, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Audrey Truschke

Authors
  1. Audrey Truschke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Audrey Truschke .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pomona College Religious Studies, Claremont, CA, USA

    Zayn R. Kassam

  2. Rollins College Jewish Studies Program, Winter Park, FL, USA

    Yudit Kornberg Greenberg

  3. World Zoroastrian Organization, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Jehan Bagli

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Truschke, A. (2018). Akbar. In: Kassam, Z.R., Greenberg, Y.K., Bagli, J. (eds) Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1267-3_778

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation