Written by: Ushna Khan
Posted on: August 03, 2020 | 
| 中文
(L) Akbar the Great and The Book Cover (R)
Throughout the centuries, South Asia has witnessed many rulers who have left a significant mark in history, but Mughal Emperor Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar has stood out amongst all these for his life and contributions to his empire. He was crowned king of India when he was 13 years old in 1556 and went on to become the greatest ruler India had ever seen.
Ira Mukhoty
His fascinating career has garnered much attention from academics and enthusiasts, and in April 2020 a new biography titled “Akbar: The Great Mughal”, was released. Written by the phenomenal Ira Mukhoty, who has also written “Daughters of the Sun” and “Heroines: Powerful Indian Women of Myth and History”, the book is divided into six sections and provides a comprehensive study of the Emperor’s life in chronological order.
Perhaps the most distinctive element of this biography is the use of non-traditional sources to collect insights into the emperor’s life. The author does not only rely on the court chronicles but also turns to art historians, food historians, music historians, local literature, Braj Bhasha (a local North-Central Indian vernacular, and pre-Hindustani literary language) sources, along with traveler’s accounts of Europeans and Persian language texts. Together, all these sources provide rich details of the late 16th century and help us see the entire cultural milieu in which Akbar operated. Ira Mukhoty has effortlessly combined detailed research and historical facts with excellent story-telling, to come with an artistic work that is also highly readable.
Akbar's Wife, Jodha Bai or Mariam-uz-Zamani
The book goes on to study Akbar’s domestic life with his family and friends, bringing life to a man who lived 500 years ago. We are introduced to the Mughal harem, and the authority maintained by the Emperor’s wives and female relatives. These Mughal women received their pocket money from the emperor, went on for the Hajj pilgrimage, and sometimes influenced the emperor’s administrative decisions. We, as readers, find out how concerned Akbar was about the fate of his daughters, and his efforts to ensure that they are treated justly. He asked for the same celebrations to be held for the birth of a child, regardless of their gender.
It discusses his famous courtiers such as Abu’Fadl and Birbal, shedding some light into their lives as well. We find out that Akbar aimed to create a court that was not entirely dominated by the dominant Chaghtai clan but included Persian, Rajashtani, and other ethnicities from the subcontinent.
Throughout his fifty-year rule, Akbar’s achievements were more than just his military conquests, something the book goes onto describe. Perhaps, the most distinguished were his contributions to arts and his policy of universal peace. The Emperor always seemed to be seeking knowledge about the subjects and lands which he ruled. A building called Ibadat Khana (‘worship house’) was built, where religious scholars of different faiths had open discussions and debates. He also had founded grand monuments, including the city of Fatehpur Sikri, illustrated manuscripts such as the Hamzanama, and a collection of miniature paintings.
The Entrance to Fatehpur Sikri
The following few questions were put to the author:
I suppose Akbar could be compared to Ashoka, in terms of the ambition of their empires and their desire to create a society that went beyond the divisions of religions. Both emperors ruled huge, culturally diverse empires, and were pragmatic enough to realize the need for a flexible approach, whatever their personal inclinations.
Akbar did not found a new religion. This is a common fallacy, arising from a slight mistranslation of the original Persian text. What he did create, was a very select, elite brotherhood of sorts, much in the way of a Sufi Pir-Murid relationship (an allegiance to a Sufi spiritual leader and his teaching), with Akbar as the Pir figure of a small group of like-minded individuals. The members of this group would perform certain rites, such as prostration to the emperor and wear a small image of Akbar as a locket or on their turbans, and advocated temperance and moderate behavior.
The phrase ‘Navratna’ did not exist at the court of Akbar, nor was this a concept that was popularized during his time. Similarly, the stories of Akbar-Birbal are almost entirely fictitious, in an attempt at humanizing the great emperor. As for the Navratna, there were certainly many talented men at Akbar’s court. Because there were excellent communication systems throughout the empire, the people were kept informed about all the gossip surrounding these men, so this is possibly how the idea of the Navratna came about.
The Nine Courtiers (Navratna) of Akbar
One of the mysteries about Akbar that I wanted to better understand was his attitude towards women. I realised that he had strong matriarchs in his family, whom he respected enormously and at the same time, very little was known about his wives. So it was of particular interest for me to understand why a man like Akbar, from a Timurid dynasty that had a tradition of great matriarchs, who were pragmatic about divorced and widowed women, would wish to enforce such strict purdah on his wives, according to the written records. The explanation, at least partly, I found was a result of his Rajput marriages and the introduction of many Rajput clans into the Mughal mansabdari system.
A Scene from Akbarnama in which Akbar is on an Elephant
It’s quite clear that Akbar was not only a strong ruler but was also enlightened for his time and an aesthete at heart. With more interesting expositions into his inner life, such as that of Mukhoty, one can perhaps come close to understanding the motivations behind one of the most fascinating and complex Mughal emperors of India.
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