— From: Makers of World History, of}. Kelley Sowards, ) 2! ed, vol. 2 (New York: St. Martin's, 1995), pp. 46-66, AKBAR: THE GREAT MOGHUL 1362 Began personal rle 1575, Conquest of Bengal 1570 Infalltity Decree 180 Conquest of Kashinir 1391 Conquest of Sind "or Conquest ofthe Deccan Jautdtin Muhammad Abbr was only a boy whe, Janay of the year 158, ho wer al complet fate Huma ded nt accidental all As one hronter puis He stumbled ut of Meas he id stumbled taught this wan nt tobe the eae wh Alb whose mime means -great he wa dened Be he pets al he Mogiat enperrt Sehbsucen Alar wasonyhirteen—strong-wie,impaliv, anduntained Head ejected aleffonstocduc him Eafe dhccouravlogersnalabrily fed te no proitundy or begining they return, the found hat head eed it TSEapran hed dsappeaned He neve lad shea he remanence ey Moghal emperor os, Mal Pc “aul ogre speak else is ang ad ane pat fod accent pontngeutthahiargot telomere sal ipo ed sel ne mpiated comme wih ray Ietnantcrnng ace Look of ring aoe want theatre of gianna a seem ‘is ere arcu dais ole onde Pun on thc indan noreet roner and aes around Bet Hi el ing ste wan Conic extened by te able and a reget his father had api, Bayan Kh But by 1302 Ata 748 Makers of World History had put Bayram Khan asie, and his personal reign began. His chief HMublom was the jealous independence ofthe Hindu Rajput princes mediately the east the feyion of Rajasthan. When ame of these princes, the Raja Japa. nceang a itary lance offered bat Fe daughter in marriage, Akbar accepted —but only on condition tha the aja accept hiv sueraioty The raja agreed. This formula "Atbar ther proceeded to apply with the other Rajput princes, They {Ne permifed to comtinve to hold their teritones provided they NStncedged Akbar as emperor, psd tute, suppled toops for iim when required, a conluded marrage alianes with him. Fut ther they and their sons were brought into the emperor's military ‘ice enriched ard honored some becoming generals and provin- Sigovemnors- But Akbar could be as ruthless ashe was accommodat- ing The st of Mews anomie sare He personally la siege tits principal fortress, Cito. and when tellin Soe he manocret all tury thousand of is defenders. Ths ern ‘Xample brought meary ll the remaining Rajput princes int aliance vith him, ‘Arer conquering the province of Gujrat wo the southwest thi port of Sarat, whith dominated the trade in Tndian goods to the west Toa tne Stim pili trafic to Mere, ane thus consolidating bis pooner in nowhwest India, Anse turned eastward tothe #ich and cient region of Bengal. Bengal was betd by another Sus Afghan rater Akbar forced him fo recognize his szeraingy in 1575, sat when in the following year, he rebelled and was defeated and ited, Akbar annexed Bengal tothe Moghul Empire. In 1586 Kash- Inet the north was conquered and in 1391 Sind to che southwest, Bewseen 1596 and 1601 his Torces gradually penetrated the great Southern plateau of she Deccan. By 1601 AKbar ruled vitally the ire sbeontinen In Praise of Akbar: Akbar-nama ‘ABUL FAZL Akbar had proved himself a mighty conqueror, but inthe course of his conquests he had also proved himselt a briliant and innovative ruler by sttue of his religious and administrative reforms. He recog ized hat his drat ould not be secur ules it smchow ren: Cid the vast Hindu majority of the people to Muslim rule, and that his own rule could not be secure uese R recognized the claims and ambitions of the naive Hindu princes. We have already noted his, policy of conciliation toward the Rajput princes This tae was hot entirely new. Earlier Muslim rulers had found ie necessary to fenlist Hind upport. ut the Hindus had always been rubordinates father than partners. The ruling force was foreign and alien. It wat the genius of Akbar to grant true equality his Hindu subjects and toconifer genuine respect on their institutions. "The essential pillar fof this policy was the settlement with the Rajput chiets and the pol- icy of partnership which sprang from ic"? They accepted che autor- ty of the Moghul Empize, and in exchange they were lef in control ‘of their lands as Moghul agents. To preserve their dignity, they ‘were allowed to beat their drums in the sees of the capital ‘gn of royalty—and to enter the Hall of Public Audience fll armed. They were taken into the imperial service as genuine equals, NNo office or honor was coved to them-—some were even among. Akbar's most trusted confidential advisers. His policy of intermar- tage of hie dynasty with Hindu ruling houses was 2 nal recogni> tion of equality. ‘But AKbar aimed co reconcile himself not only with the Hindu ruling houses but with the Hind community a8 whole. To this ‘end he implemented a series of administrative reforms that marked the entire course of his reign. More important, he granted religious toleration, not only to Hinduism but to other religions, including Judaism and Christianiey—nearly unheard of in Muslim lands—and intimately associated himself with these diverse religions Foran account of these policies we turn 10 the massive Alba. nama’ The History of Abr, writen by Abul Pazl. Aba al-Fazl ibn “Percival Spear, India: A Modern Mistry, new and rev ed, (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Pre 172) p. 132 050. Makers of World History Mubarak (1551-1602) was noe only a contemporary of Akbar: he was a close personal fiend and, along with hie brother the poet Fs and his father Shaikh Mubarak, 2 minister of the court. Fal was Akbar’ official court historian, and the emperor not only re ‘ceived Fas completed work but had each successive chapter read to him while he corected and commented on them, This slone ‘would have tended to give a laudatory cast to the work, But the trork s more than simply laudatory ts mont obwions quality is ‘outrageously exaggerated flatery. Yet Fas! does not faify events be Simply presents them ina totally partisan manner. To Fazls ered however he truly believed what fe wrote, He was an unabashed advocate of divine right monarchy and an equally unabashed ad- imirer of Akbar, who srs, to hin, the ideal monarch. He was also, fully se euch as Akbar, 4 freethinker in religion and philosophy and Fhence an enthusiast for his king’ policy of toleration, But with all ts ‘ule and limitations, the Atbar nama "mut be trested 38 the foun dation for a history of Akbars reign. The work was written in the formate Persian court language, and some ofthat quality comes, through even in the translation. It is organized. in chronicle fashion, ‘on a year-by-year basis, Our excerpt begins sith the year 1552 ‘One of the glorious boons of his Majesty the Shahinshaht which shone forth in this auspicious year was the abolition of enslavement. ‘The victorious troops which came into the wide territories of India used in ther tyranny to make prisoners ofthe wives and children and ‘other relatives ofthe people of India, and used o enjoy them or sel them. His Majesty the Shahinshah, out of his thorough recognition of and worship of God, and from his abundant foresight and right think- Ing gave orders that no Soldier ofthe vitorious armies should in any part of his dominions act in this manner. ... Te was for excelent Treasons that His Majesty gave hie attention to this subject, although the binding, kiling or striking the haughty and the chastsing the slffnecked are part of the struggle for empire—and this isa point About which both soxind jurists and innovators are agreed-—yet iis ‘outside of the canons of justice to regard the chastisement of women land innocent children as the chastisement of the contumacious. Ifthe husbands have taken the path of insolence, how i it the fault of the ‘wives, and ith fathers have chosen the road of opposition what fault have the children committed? CA Sith Arh Get Maal 1512-1605 (elit a: Chand, 196) 898 ‘Thi le borromed fom Persian court sage meaning “King of Kings ie Enperos—Eo. Akbar St As the purposes ofthe Shahinshah were entirely right and just, the issu result ensued thatthe wid and rebels inhabitants of portions of India placed the rng of devotion in the ear of ebedt fence, and became the material of world-empire. Both was religion set in order, forts essence i the dstrbution of jasice, and things temporal mere regu for ter perecon hes inthe sbalene of mankind ‘One of the occurrences (of the year 1968] was that the joyous heart of HM: the Shahinshah twrned towards hunting, id he vent 10 the neighbourhood of Mathura with a select prty. The hhuncing was suecessfl, One’ day that tigershunter hunted seven tigers ie wer vl wth the by atvow and alt and one that reposivory of courage caught alive and 30 was the subject of thousand wonterings The other was caught by the united efor of a number of bahadurs. In the sume hunt he joined worship with Pleasure and became distributor of justice. It'was brought to hit fodce that fr along time it was the custom in nda forthe rules {o tae sums from the people who came to sacred spots to worship, proportionate to ther rank and wealth, Ths (worship) was called Kara The Shain nhs wim ad wlerace remit ll these taxes. -- He looked upon sich grasping of property as lames able and sed orders fordding the ery terol tought hi ‘One of the great gifts which H. M. the Shahinshah made atthe beginning of this year [1568] was the emission of the Jaya tough out India” Who can estimate the amount thereof? Aste far seer glance ofthe Shahinshah looked to the administration of the world he paid great atention to the suing ofthis edit which might be regarded a the foundation of the arangement of mankind. Ts pte atthe disapproval of statesmen, and of the great revene, and of tuch chater‘on the part of the ignorant ths sublime decree wae issued. By this grand gif, thousands af leading reins and lasso were thade for the sie neched ones ofthe age. His (Abkar) Keen eye the astrlabe of the substantive sun-—his truth-dscerning hear isthe celestial observatory of Attributes he's of noble lineage, of joyous countenance —of right dsposiion--of pen brow-~of wellproportioned frame-~of magnanimous nature of lofty geniusof pure purpose of enduring faily-of perfec This abbreviation, used throughout the ranlation, sands or “Hs Majesty" ‘Fae o "destiny" Hinds religious though Eo "Thi was eal tax onal noe Mi subj ofthe Empie Eo.2. Makers of World History swisdom—begirt with varied talents—of wide capacity —of high ho- hourof splendid courage—of right judgment—of choice counsel— of generosity unfeigned—of boundiess forgiveness, abundant in {graciousness —at peace with llcompendium of dominion—of plente- Suv sincerity—-multiple of single-minded warriors—abounding in ‘Nealth-—accumulator of the world’s ratities—of pure heart—un- {potted by the world leader of the spiritual ealm—of enduring alert- ness! How has he been gathered together into one place? Or how doth 4 single body upbear him on the shoulders of genius? ‘At this me® when the capital (Fathpar Sikri} was illuminated by his glorious advent, H. M. ordered that a house of worship (badatkhina) should be built im order to the adornment of the Spiritual kingdom, and that it should have four verandahs (aiwan, ‘Though the Divine bounty always has an open door and searches for the ft person, and the inquirer, yet asthe lord of the universe, from his general benevolence, conducts his measures according t0 the rules of the superficial he chose the eve of Friday? which bears fon its face the colouring (ghdza) of the announcement of auspicious fess, forthe out pouring (ifizat).A generat proclamation was issued that on that night of ikimination all orders and sects of mankind — those who searched after spiritual and physical truth, and those of the common public who sought for an awakening, and the inquirers ff every sect should assemble in the precincts of the holy edifice, Lind bring torward their spiritual experiences, and their degrees of Knowledge of the truth in various and contradictory forms in the bridal chamber of manifestation "At this time, when the centre of the Caliphate (Fathpar Sikrf) was slonfied by H. Ms advent, the former insiutions were renewed, {nd the temple of Divine knowledge was on Thursday nights illumi nated by the light of the holy mind. On 20 Mike, Divine month, 3 ‘October 1378, and in that house of worship, the lamp of the privy chamber of detachment was kindled in the banqueting hall of social life "The coin of the hivers of wisdom in colleges and cells was brought to the test. The clear wine was separated from the lees, and ‘good coin from the adulterated. The wide capacity and the toleration Of the Shadow of God were unveiled. Sif), philosopher, orator, "The order for the building of the ‘Thidackhana was given in February-March, ‘Thursday evening, The Masi ly day a ray, bt eg wich suns the previo ay “ED sf mdi, stil form of sam sha trated ion of former His and ods to he Maan thE, Altar 58 jovi, Sunni Shin Brahman. Ja Stn Cixi! Naza ‘ene Jem Sibi aban) Zoom and others enjyetexquic pleas by beheading the cane of he semilye cang othe Tov ord in the ly put (amar, and the adornment ofthe plea shod of importa. Tae eta of secret were opened Bi who far of Vole kas air bate Te fot and perceiving ones of exch sex emerged fom hanghtnes and cone oa tega search ance They dpayed proud and media ton ai gubered cera li on he dvan of greanea Th con ‘eed andquarrelome fom eves of postion a shortnes of thought descended ino the eof presonpion and sought Prot ins: Beng ded by igorantcompantens, a fom the Predominance cfasomrlen fettane, they nen ints dagrace, The Conferences ner excell aranged bythe acttees ad keen qu af rh ofthe work heave.” The Shahn's court fEcame the home ofthe inquirer a the cen mes and thease Blog ofthe we of every gon and set In Criticism of Akbar: Muntakhabu-T-Tawarikh AL-BADAONI Another contemporary historian of Akbar was al-Badaoni(1540— 1615), whose great work, Muntbhabu-T-Tawardh, Abstractor, is anaccountinthrec large volumes, ofthe family of Akbar.thereignof ‘Akbar himelf,andof the leading intllectualsoftheage. It wasnotan "Sunni dhe ao set oF a Eo. shi, a minor sec of lam —Eo, Brabmaa, Le, Hinds —Eo. ‘ua wtf the sn religion —E ‘sua ameter er for the ans, "at ative Indian of ex comvenedcentien Chesians ofS Joka Eo "a Turki erm for rle"—Eo,54 Makers of World History ficial historybuta private work,evena secret one, which might have bbeeniost hadi nokbeen discovered among Badaon's papersafterhis death, Iisascferent as posible from Farts work twas motivated by the author's devout, even bigoted commitment tothe orthodox conser ‘ative Sunni sect of islam. He was convinced that Akbar had hopelessly damaged Muslim orthodoxy by his policy of religious oleation. He included in hisdenuaciation his fellow historian Abol Faal who, in bis ‘view, had notonly abetted the emperor sapestasy but had prevented hin (adaoni from receiving preferment atthe hands of the emperor [Nevertheless itisthe opinion ofthe greatest modern biographer of Akbar that this "hostilecritkiem of Akbar isof the highes value a8 ‘heck onthe turgid panegyric composed by the aitadinarian Abul Tas. Iegives information about the development of Akbar sopinios bonreligion whichisnot tobe found inthe other Persian histories." The excerpt begins with Badaonis acount of Akbar’s Toad itnanah, the enter for the discussion of religions the Emperor came to Fathpa. There he used to spend much time inthe thidat-thanah inthe company of learned men and Shaikh, And especially on Friday nights, when he would sit up there the whole night ‘continually occupied in discussing questions of Religion, whether fn- ‘damental or collateral. The learned men used to draw the sword of the tonguecon the batle-feld of mutual contradiction and opposition, and the antagonism of the sects reached such a piteh that they would call ‘one another fools and heretics, The controversies used to pass beyond the differences of Sunni, and Shah, of Hanifi and Shafi. of lawyer and divin, and they would atack the very bases of belief “Then the Mullis became divided into two parties, and one party took one side and one the other, and became very Jews and Fay forhatred ofeach other. And persons of noveland whimsical opinions, imaccordance with their pernicious ideas, and vain doubts, coming out ‘of ambush decked the fase in the gatb ofthe crue, and wrong in the dress of right, and cast the Emperor, who was possessed ofan excellent disposition, and was an earnest searcher aftr truth, but very ignorant anda mere tyro, and used to the company of infidels and base persons, into perplexity till doubt was heaped upon doubs, and he lost all def nite aim, and the straight wal of the clear Lav, and of firm Religion was broken down, so that afer five or six years not trace of Islam was left in him: and every thing was turned topsy tury. NVA, Aldor e Great Maa. 99 "Two ofthe four school of amc jarprudence —Eo, Akbar 55 Grows of learned men from all ations, and sage of various tt sions and sects came to the Court, and were honoured with private Eonverstons. After enquiries and invetgaion: which were thee ‘only busines and occupation day and might, they would talk about profound points of since, the sublets of revelation, the eatistes Sthisiory and the wonders a tradition, subjects of whch age vo “umescould give only an abstract and summary andin aecordanee wih the saying:~"Three things are dangerous, ance stafied deste indlged and a man's being plese with himself Everything tht leased him, he picked and chose rom any one exept « Moslem and ‘anything that was against his postion, andran counter tis whe, he thought eto reject and cast aide. Frum eidhood ts anion, and from manhood to his dedinng years the Emperor hed combined nhimselt various phases rom vats rlguns and opposte sectarian belies, and bya peculiar acquishivenes ard alent tor selection by st means common, had made his own al that can be ecard ea a books, Thus faith ofa materialise chracer became punted othe mirror of hs mind and the torehousofhisimaginaion and fom the scneralimpressionthsconvicin took form ibe anengrarnyopors Sone that there are wise men tobe found and ready at hand al religions and men of asceticism, and recipients ot rveaion and works rsofmitacls among all rations and thatthe Trt san inhabant of very place: and that consequently how ould tbe right conser $s confined to-one religion oF cred, ind that, one which ed oy ‘cently made ts appearance and had ot ay yet ened a thowsind Years! And sty atereone thing and deny another, ala pre finence for that wbich snot esentally pre-emincr? He became especially Rrmly convinced ofthe doctrine ofthe tans iigraton of sot. and he much approved of the styinge="Tho ‘oregon in whch ie dcrn of Trokigatin has half ald“ Al insincere faterers composed treater onder to eso indi able arguments in favour of thin tess. And having inside Search nto doctrines of the acts ofthe Hindu unelevers, of whom thereare an endless and innumerable stand wh posses numbers of sere books, and yet do not belong tothe Abs Rua he oak so such pleasure in sich discussions that not aay pssed bu sew frat of his loathe ee ripened int exatene Learned monks alo from Europe, who are called Pde, and have an infalible hea, called Papa, who iv able to change eeigios ond ances as he may deem sable forthe momen ad to whoxe "Literally “people ofthe book," refering to Jews and Christians, who worship the sane Godt Mins and whose scrpurseona dine hen Ean56, Makers of World History authority kings mast sii, brought the Gospel, and advanced Foot for the Tiny. His Majesty ly believed nthe tth ofthe Ena religion, and wishin t spread the doctrines of Jesu, Seed re Mo eon Chai te od Stes and charged Abusi-aal to translate the Gos Tcorspperg aio cane rom Nour in Gui procaimed the religion of Zndush asthe tre one, and decard reverence to eto ie superior to every other kindof worship. They abo atvacted the Erp tegardand aught hone peel terms, the ordinances thee and ceremonies ofthe Kanan At last he ordered thatthe ‘Str re should be made over tothe charge of Abu--Faa, and that Serthemanmerof he Kingsof Persian whonctemplesblaved perp dale heshould ke care itwas never extinguished night rd for thu ie one of the ign of God, and one ght from sights very precept which was enjoined by the doctor of oer religions hae ated as manifest and detsve, in contradistinetion to this Rel fon of ou allte doctrine of whch be tt downto Be senseless Ev of modern engin, andthe founder of nothing but poor $Rrbes set of scoundrels an highway robers and the people of tly a accursed, But inthe course of ine the rth of tas verse in {S hulden meaning developed self. “Fain would they put out the lightot God wah her mutha! ut dough the Infidel abort Goad wit perfect hs igh" by degree the afar as ci such pitch hac proofs were no long considered ncenary for sbolshing the precept ofan have made bold to chronicle these evens, course very far re moved fom that of prance and crcumapecton. But God (fe s dovous and honoured!) my witness, and suffient is CoM 35 ‘Eines hat my inducement to write this as bec nog but sor Tow forthe lath, and hearc-buring forthe deceased. Religion of| Inn, which Ang ke turning te tothe Qa feat rd ithe rang the shadow of ts wing from the dweller in the dus ofthis tower tor thenceforth becne a noneniy an sl 30. And to Gea lok for reuge ftom reproach, and hatred, and ene. ad ‘elioue persecution ‘Ain 'these days, when reproach began 0 spread upon the doc trncs of Islam, ar all questions relating thereto and ever so many Stretches of Hinds and finding Mtastoansbrowght snmtigte Teuling against the Prophet, an the vilsinosly religious lama erin Zoroastrianism —E. "an ld Pesan dys, "The ani lear commaiy-—Eo Akbar 57 in their works pronounced the Emperor to be without sin, and con- tenting themselves with mentioning the unity of God, they next wrote down the various ites of the Emperor, and had not the courage to ‘mention the name of the Prophet (God be gracious to him and his family, and give them peace in defiance of the liars) this mater became the cause of general disgrace, and the seeds of depravity and disturbance began to lift their heads in the empire. Besides this base and Tow men of the higher and lower clases, having accepted the ‘collar of spiritual abedience upon their necks, professed themselves his disciples. They became disciples through the motives of hope and fear, and the word of truth could not proceed out oftheir mouths ‘AU this time a document made its appearance,* which bore the signatures and seals of Makhdam-ul-mulk, of Shaikh ‘Abd-un-nabi cadr-uc-cudar, of Q32i Jalabud-din of Multin, gizt-lgucat, of Gadr Jahan the mfr of the empire, of Shaikh Mubatak the deepest writer ‘of the age, and of Ghizi Khan of Badakhshin, who stood unrivalled Jn the transcendental sciences. The subject-matter of the document ‘was the setting of the absolute superiority ofthe fmam-i-tdil over the ‘Mayjihid and the investigation of the grounds of this superiority... shall copy the document verbatin:— “Petition ‘Whereas Hindiistan is now become the centre of security and peace, and the land of justice and beneficence,alarge numberof people, espe. ‘ally earned menand lawyers, have immigrated and chosen thiscoun- Uy for their home. Now we, the principal ‘Ulama, who are not only well-versed inthe several departments ofthe Law andin the principles of jurisprudence, and well acquainted with the edicts which rest on reison oF testimony, but are also known for our piety and. honest intentions, have duly considered the deep meaning. fst, of the verse of the Qur'an: "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: ‘adi; whosoever obeys the Amir, obeys Thee; and whosoever rebels agains him, rebels against Thee.” and, third, of several other proofs bbased on reasoning or testimony; and we have agreed that the rank of ‘Sultana is higher in the eyes of God than the rank of a Mujta: fud3® Further we declare that the king of Islam, Amir of the Faithful, shadow of God in the world, Abu-l-Fath flal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar ofaibity Decree —E, 2» jucroler—E58 Makers of World History Padshah Chic (whove Kingdom God perpetuate! ia mos just a mos waa Ga eaing ing, Shul hrefore nara ee {ious question come up, regarding which the opinions of the Mua Hidsare at variance, and Hi Majesty ibis penetrating understanding sn csr wane ncn ap ote heel fhe nation Bind aeapolical expedient any ofthe conficting opinions, which exit nih: pomand faves dere tothatefec wed erey age that ‘cha decree shall be binding on us and on the whole nation. ures, we declare tat, should Hi Majesy think ft nue anew ‘order, we andthe nation shall Ukewise be bound by k, provided al ‘ray that such order be not only in accordance with some verse ofthe {Qurin, but as of real Benefit tothe nation; and further, that any {pponition on the part of hs subjects to sich an order passed by His Migs shall involve damnation inthe work to come, and loss of sty and relgios privileges in this thie document has been writen with honest intentions, forthe sory of God, and the propagation of Tsim, andi signed by us, the Principal ‘Ulam and awyers inthe month of Rabo the yar nine Fndred and eightyseven (987) [1579-80] The draft of thi document, when presented tothe Emperor, was in the handwriting of Shaikh Mubarak. The others had signed it against their wil, but the Shaikh had added at the bottom that he most willingly signed his name; for this was a matter to which for several years he had been anxiourly looking forward 'No sooner had His Majesty obtained this legal document, than the road of deciding any religious question was open; the superiority of the intellect of the Imam was established, and opposition was ren- ‘dered impossible. All orders regarding things which our law allows or lsallows were abolished, and the superionty of the intellect of the Imam became lave They called Isim a travesty. A Modern Assessment of Akbar BAMBER GASCOIGNE Every modern writer on the Moghul Empire has had to deal with ‘Akbar's administrative and religious reforms, and most Bnd them ‘the well-spring of his greatness as an emperor One of the best of Akbar 59 ‘the modem commentators isthe British journalist and historial popularizer Bamber Gascoigne. Ui work The Great Moghul is one ‘of the mos reliable treatments of the complex history of Moghul India, solidly based om the sourees— including Fat! snd Badaon and on the best current specialists research At the age of twenty-three Abul Fal arrived at Fatehpur Sikri to enter ‘Akbar’s service—in the very same year, 1574, as another equally beil- liane young man, Badauni. Prom early in his childhood Abul Faat had known Badaumni, eleven years his senior, because Badauni had studied at Agra under Abul Fal father, Shaikh Mubarak, Each now immed ately caught Akbar's eye; each seemed destined for a most promising Career; and they were to become, between them, the two most impor tant historians ofthe period. But their paths rapidly diverged and the ‘ast diference between thei two careers and their two books symbol izes neatly the gulf which opened inthe second half of Akbar’ reign and which made these seem years of calamity to the more orthodox Muslims among Akbars subjects, many of whom came to believe that the emperor had become a Hindy,, Badaunt was a strict Sunni, whereas Abul Fazl was a freethinker, as were his elder brother. Fit and his father, Shaikh Mubarak. The appointment ofthe three mem. bers of this talented family to positions at court was an ominous reversal for the rigidly orthodox and until now very powerful mem bers ofthe ulama, oF religious hierarchy. Shaikh Mubarak and his two sons rapidly became the most influen- tial group at Akbar’ cour, largely because ther eclecticism chimed so ‘well with his. The shaikh himself took the leading place among the ice divines. His elder son, Fairi, became the poet laureate, And ‘Abul Fal launched with a will nto the many tasks which would bring hh ever closer into the emperor's trust, The more affairs at Fatchpur Sikri went the elegant and carefree way of Abul Fazl and Faiz, the ‘more Badauni and hs like fel excluded, Badaun claims to have up. braided Abul Faz] one day for his notorious heresies and to have been ‘enraged by the cool reply wish to wander fora few days in the vale of infidelity for spor’ though the story does less than justice to the polit ‘al seriousness underlying Abul Faas wish to broaden the regime’ ‘religious basis. With poignant irony the two rival intellectuals were «ach as young men given the rank of twenty horse and were made to share the same task—supervising the branding of horses for muster, Abul Faz! knuckled down to it, and in Badaun's words, ‘by his intel. gence and time-serving qualities’ managed to raise himself from here {0 the highest positions inthe realm, ‘while 1 from my inexperience and simplicity Could not manage to continue in the service’ BadauniEI 60. Makers of World History 1s00n sank othe official level of mere translator Akbar, with charac teristic lack of concern for Badaun's bigotry, gave him the four-year task of translating into Persian the Hindi classic the Makabhoraa, ‘which he predictably found nothing but ‘puerile absurdities of which the eighteen thousand creations may well beamazed .. but such is my fate, tobe employed on such works. Badauni hardly appears in Abul asl book, but the latter looms Iage in Badauni’s as the "man that set the world in flames’ and as being ‘oficious and time-serving, openly faithless. continually studying the emperor s whims, a flaterer beyond ail bounds. The two men’s books make together a perfect pair of Commentaries on the reign. Badaunis, crotchety, bigoted, ruthlessly honest with himself as well as with others, is much the more readable and in modern terme is far beter writen, twas compiled in secret and nly discovered in 1O15 after both Akbar and Badaunt were dead. ‘Abul Fats in which a mere ist of Akbar's good qualities can run tO several pages, was commissioned by the emperor and was read aloud to him as cath stage was completed—and no doubt again and again subsequently. Yet it carries one along by the sheer confident profusion Of ts flowery Persian metaphors and can also be surprisingly vivid, as hen a holy man has for thirty years in an unnoticed comer been {athering happiness on an old mat. The difference between the two Fistoris is that between a brillant diary and the most magnificent of ‘ornamental scrolls, "Akbar's own bent for religious speculation was encouraged not only by Shaikh Mubarak’s family but also by wider currents of opinion in Tdi at the time, Within Islam there had long been a traition of free-thinking mysticism, known as Sufism, which was opposed ro the rigid distinctions of orthodoxy, and in the past century this had been joined in India by similar sGreings within Hinduism, in particular the ‘Bhakti movement and the beginnings of the Sikh religion, both of ‘which inchuded a rejection of the caste system and a belief in a per~ onal God. By 1575 Akbar's interes in comparative religion had be- ome 50 strong that he built special ibada-thana or “house of wor- Ship’ in which to bold religious discussions. The building, which no Tonger exist, was an extension of a deserted hermits cell, It was ‘tated behind the morque at Fatehpur Sikri and Akbar would go there after prayers in the mosque on Thursday evenings—the Mus: Tim day is calculated as beginning at dusk, rather than midnight, so ‘Thursday evening was for Akbar and his mullahs the evening ofthe holy day, Friday. “Hisintention, asin hisdivan-i-Ahas, wastositin the middleand digest the arguments fromall sides. He was deeply shocked —and sufficiently inexperienced in academic matters tobe surprised —when the learned dlivines whom he invited to participate immediately fell out over who Akbar 6 should sit where, but this was finally settled by separating the rival ‘groups tothe four sides ofthe building. The discussions went on long Ino the night; much perfume was wafted om the ar; and AKbar had 3 pile of money in Tront of him, as he always did on any comparable ‘occasion, with which he hoped to reward the most persuasive and legant contributions, But here too he was disappointed. Badauniree- ‘rds that in no time the learned doctors were calling exch other fools land heretics, and the arguments soon went beyond subtle sectarian differences and threatened to undermine the very foundations of be: lief, until the participants ‘became very Jews and Egyptians for hatred of each other. The foundations of Akbar's belie, perhaps already shaky, were certainly further disturbed by these performances; such furious differences of opinion within the Muslim community, to whom the discussions were at ths stage restricted, seemed to him to cast “doubts on Islam itself and his next step was to throw the debate open to learned men from other religions. Eventually he included Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians, Jews and even a stall group who came to play a ;promtinent and most interesting part in the court life at Fatehpur Sikri, three Jesuit fathers from the Portuguese colony at Goa... They were Rudolf Aquaviva, an Kalan aristocrat whose uncle became General of the Society of Jesus: Antony Monserrate, a Spaniard who later left a very full account of his experiences in the land of the Moghul; and Francis Henriquer, a Persian convert from Islam who was expected 10 act as interpreter ‘Akar always treated the ‘Nazarene sages’ as Abul Fal called them, with the greatest courtesy; he liked them to sit near him, and would foften draw them aside for private conversation: he sent them food. from the royal table; when Monserrate was ill he visited him, and he had even gone tothe trouble to learn a special Portuguese greeting for the occasion; and he could sometimes be seen walking in public places ‘with his arm around Father Aquaviva, On religious matters he was just, 235 cooperative; he was prepared to Liss their sacred books and holy images: he came to see the erib which they had built for their frst (Chrsstmas at Fatehpur Sikri, and when he entered their litle chapel he took off his turban; he appointed Abul Ful to teach them Persian and allowed Monserrate to become tutor to his son Murad, then about leven, even tolerating “In the name of God and of Jesus Christ, the true Prophet and Son of God’ at the head of each of the prince’ ‘exercises he allowed the fathers:o preach, to make conversions and to holed a large publi funeral fora Portuguese who died at court, process ing through the streets with crucifix and candles; he even took in good part the Jesuits’ chiding him for his surplus of wives Tis not surprising that the missionaries felt encouraged, bu they were soan to be disappointed. They had mistaken Akbar fascination62. Makers of World History Wwithallelgionsforaninelinationo join theits. [seems that Christian: ity appealed to him at least as much as any other religion—though he was distressed, among other things, that Christ should have allowed himself che indignity of being crucified and felt that once up there he should have used his special powers to get dovn—and it has some- times been suggested that Akbar was consciously hoping to find in ‘Christianity a religion with which he could solve his empire's commis nal hostilities by imposing it from the top on Muslims and Hindus. alike, precisely, infact, asthe Jesuits themselves intended. But he was, too shrewd a politician ta imagine that he could solemnly decree a new religion for india, nditis likely that is interest in Christianity derived almost entirely from his personal love of speculation, Its typical that ‘when he did finally decide on his own religion it should turn out to be so generalized its main distinguishing feature beinga vague nimbus of divinity around his own person, and that he should have made so litle efor to spread itbeyond hisown crcl of friends, The announcement Jn 1582 of this new religion, known as the din-aki or religion of God, finaly showed the fathers that their efforts had failed. They returned to Goa but at Akbar's request other missions followed them, and on several more occasions Christian hopes were raised high my 0 be dashed again, . IF the Jestits were wrong in believing that Akbar was moving ‘wards Christianity, dhe Muslims were certainly right in their conic tion that he was drifting away fom orthodox Islam. That he was doing so was as much as anything a matter of policy. The principle of ‘medieval Islamic sate gave very great powers to the mullahs, since i was believed that the correct way of doing everything could be Found in the Koran or in one or two long established commentaries ‘omit The ruler must therefore abide by the book and the book was best interpreted by those who had devoted their lives to religion, ‘Akbar used the undignified squabbles between the Muslim divines in the shadat Khana as an opportunity to limit the power ofthe priest hood. In 1579 appeared the famous mahser or so-called decree of infallibility, in which it was stated that if there was disagreement Among the learned about the meaning of any part ofthe Koran, it ‘would in future be Akbar who had the deciding say on which of the contending interpretations should be accepted: and further that if he chose o take any step for the good ofthe Sate, it should be accepted by all unless it could be shown to be against the Koran. The decree was sound Islamic theory in so far as it placed the book above all, but itdid represent a fairly starting upheaval, at least in concept, in the relationship between the ulama or body of learned men and the tem poral power... The decree of infalbilty was signed by several di ‘ines but only one of them, Abul Fal father Shaikh Mubarak, put Akbar 68 this name to it with enthusiasm, as a note below his signature esi, Having probably been largely Mubarak’s idea, the decree marked 2 definite advance in the power at court ofthe shaikh and his wo sons, land was a serious blow to the orthodox—particularly when coupled ‘wth other indications about this time ofthe direction which ARbar's thoughts were taking. Ip 1579 he put an end tothe custom of sending vast sums of money each year to Mecca and Medina for distribution to ‘the poor in 1580 he gave up his annual pilgrimage o Ajmer: in 1584 he rejected the Muslim system of dating events from the Hegira, or flight ofthe prophet from Mecca to Medina, and replaced it with ‘new chronology beginning with his own accession (Abul Faal explains {hat Akbar found i ‘of ominous sgeificance’ to date things from the Hgira, presumably because of the mention of flight); finally he had hhad the effrontery to begin preaching and reciting the Ahuba® him- sellin the mosque, although on the very fist occasion he had 10 stop halfway, when he began trembling in’ what appears to have been another of his quasi-mystical seizures, Together with the decree of infalibiliy this personal performance in the mosque was perhaps the ‘most offensive ofall tothe orthodox, Ieimplied that Akbar wasconfer- fing on himself the satus ofa learned divine, Their next shock was When he seemed to take the process one stage further and present himself simply as divine “The di-t-lahi, Akbar’s new religion based on a vague and mystical liberalism, was atthe very best unspecific about how far Akbar strad~ dled the dividing line between mortal and divine. The new chronol- ‘ogy dating from his accession was known as the Divine Era. And considerable outrage was caused when he decided to stamp on his coins the potentially ambiguous phrase Alahu akhar; the ambiguity ‘derives from the fact that ator means great as well a being the ‘emperor's name so that the words could mean either God is great or “Akbar is God. This has scemed to various modem historians the ‘most blatant assumption of divinity, but it need not have been so. When a shaikh accused Akbar of having intended the second mean: ing he replied indignantly that it had not even occurred to him. His claim sounds far-fetched; and the Fat that he had taken the unusual ‘ep of removing his own name and tiles from his coins, in order to Substitute this phrase, suggests that he was not unaware that it in ‘cluded his name aswell as God's. and it seems likely that Akbar vas mused by the ambiguity rather than taking its serious statement fof his own identity "A prescribed mon read Fray non prayers inthe mosque, acknowledging he authors of We regrng pice Eo.| 64 Makers of World History In all these steps Akbar was energetically supported if not actually led by Shaikh Mubarak and his sons. Abul Fas biography of Akbar is liberally sprinkled with epithets saggesting his divinity, and he atr- Dutes tothe emperor several miracles, including even the making of zain. The emphasis throughout Abul Faz's writing is on religious toleration—he was 2 man who practised what he preached, having @ Hindu, a Kashmiri and a Persian wife—and within the space of one paragraph he calls the Muslims of Kashmir narrow-minded conserva- tives of blind tradition’ but praises the Hindu priests of the same province for not loosening ‘the tongue of calumny against those not Of their faith’. His sated aim in stdying and deseribing the culture and philosophy of the Hindus was so that ‘hostility towards them ‘might abate, and the temporal sword be stayed awhile from the shed ding of biood ‘Akbie's progression aay from orthodox Islam towards his own, vogue religion was no doubt part of a conscious effort to seem to represent all his people—the Rajpuis, for example, siw their rajas much like Abul Faz's image of Akbar, both human and divine — and it fitted in with & general policy which included his adoption of Hindu and Parsee festivals and his increasing abstinence from scat in the manner of Hindus. But it also fulfilled a personal need. He was drawn to mysticism, fond of lonely contemplation, eager for any clue to the truth, and if that truth should touch him with divinity there were always precedents within the family; Humayun had indulged in a mystial identification of himsef with light, and through light with God; Timur, more conventionally, used to refer {o himself as the ‘shadow of Aliah on earth’. Akbas religious atti tudes seem to have been a happy blend of personal inclination and state policy Review and Study Questions 1. How does Abul Faz! manifest his outrageous partisanship inthe ABbar-nama? 2 How do the two contemporary accounts of Akbats religious toleration dfer from each other? 3. What was the source of al-Badaoni's hostility o Akbar's religious toleration? 4. Why were Abul Faz] and al-Badaoni such bitter enemies? How did this affect their appraisals of Akbar? 5. Given the background of Akbar, could he really bean “infallible” judge of religious and intellectisal matters? Mbar 65 ‘Suggestions for Further Reading The works of Fazl, excerpted for this chapter from Abutl-Fazl The Aktar-nama, t. H. Beveridge, 3 vols. (Delhi: Rare Books, 1972) and Badaoni, excerpted for this chapter from Abul--Qzdi ibn-/-Mfuluk Shah, Al-Badaoni, MuntathabueT-Tawarih, t, and ed. W. 1, Love, rex ed. 3 vos. (Patna, India: Academica Asitica, 1973), are the only ‘ovo complete contemporary histories of Akbar's reign, although sev ‘eral partial accounts ext. These can best be sampled in H. M. Eliot dnd John Dowson, eds, The Histary of Indi, As Told by Its Own Histor ‘ans, 2d ed. (Caleuta: Susil Guypra, Lid, 1955), 8 vols. The interest ing account by the Jesuit Father Antony Monserrate is, unfortunately, stil in its original Latin, but is summarized with substantial parts translated im Sir-E.D, Maclagan, “The Jesuit Missions tothe Emperor Akbar.” journal ofthe Asiatic Society of Bengal, 65, parti (1896), 88-113, ‘Though nora connected history, another large three-volume work by Abul Fal, Aint Alban, . H. Blochmann and H. 8. Jarret (Calcutta! Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1873-94), presents a detailed account of ‘Akbar’s administrative system, “The best modern biography of Akbar is still Vincent A. Smith, ‘Abba th Great Mogul, 1342-1605, 2nd rex. ed. (Delhi etal: Chand and Co., 1966). A much larger and more detailed work is the learned ‘Ashisbadi Lal Srivastava, Altar the Great, vol. I, Political History, [542 1645 a.., vol. I, Evolution of Administration, 1556-1645 a.0. (Agra, Delhi, Jaipur: Shiva Lal Agarwala, 1962). ‘There are two old and rather brief biographies of Akbar in English, neither of them critical ‘or based an primary sources: G. B. Malleson, Atdar ad the Rise of the Mughal Empire, "Rulers of India" (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1804) land Lawrence Binyon, Akbar (Edinburgh: Peter Davies, Ltd, 1982) ‘The chapter on Akbar in Sri Ram Sharma, The Religious Puy of the Mughal Emperors, Std rev. ed, (New York: Asia Publishing House, 1973) sa very reliable and substantial account. “There are 4 number of works on the Moghul Empire of on late medieval India, including the Moghul period. The most detailed are two works by A. L. Srivastava, History of India, 1000-170? (Jaipur, ‘Agra, Indore: Shiva Lal Agarwala and Co, 194) and The Mughal Empire (1526-1803 4.0), Tth rex. ed. (Agra: Shiva Lal Agarwala and (Co,, 1970). Two less satisfactory and older books are Stanley Lane- Poole, Metiaewal India under Mohammedan Rule (4.0. 712-1761), 2 vols. (London: Ernest Benn, 1903) with many revised editions; and S.M. Edwardes and H. L. O. Garret, Mughal Rule m India (Delhi et al: Chand [1900), The best and most up-to-date history of the Moghuls is Bamber Gascoigne, The Great Moghuls (New York etal. Harper & Row, 1971), excerpted for this chapter(66 Makers of World History “There area great many general histories of India that devote chap- ters or sections o Akbar. Among the most useful are Stanley Wolpert, A New History of India (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977): Percival Spear, India: A Modern Hisar, new ed. rex. (Ann Arbor ‘University of Michigan Press, 1972); Francis Watson, A Concise History of India (New York: Scribner, 1975); and finally, an old standard work by Vincent A. Smith, in a third edition edited by Percival Spear, with the section containing the Moghuls revised by J. B. Harrison: The Oxford History of India (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967).