Encyclopedia of Islam

Ajmer

---

Further reading: P. M. Currie, The Shrine and Cult of 

Muin Al-Din Chishti of Ajmer (Delhi: Oxford University 

Press, 1989); Carl W. Ernst and Bruce B. Lawrence, 

Sufi Martyrs of Love (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 

2002).

Akbar

 

(1542–1605)  the most famous emperor 

of India’s Mughal dynasty, known for liberal religious 

attitudes

Abu al-Fath Jalal al-Din Muhammad Akbar was 

the third and most famous ruler of the m

Ughal

dynasty

 in i

ndia

. The son of Humayun (d. 1556) 

and his Persian wife Hamida Banu, Akbar was 

born at Umarkot in Sind, northwest India (now 

part of p

akistan

). He came to power as a teen-

ager in 1556 and ruled as emperor (padshah) 

until his death in 1605. During his reign, Akbar 

guided the expansion of the Mughal Empire from 

its bases in d

elhi

 and Lahore to Rajasthan and 

Afghanistan in the west, the Himalaya Mountains 

in the north, Orissa and Bengal in the east, and 

the northern Deccan Plateau in the south. Akbar’s 

empire dominated India’s Indus and Ganges plain. 

Its centralized government grew wealthy from 

plunder, tribute, and new tax revenues from agri-

cultural expansion, as well as a significant influx 

of silver from the New World as a result of trade 

with European countries.

A flexible attitude toward religion became an 

important part of Akbar’s strategy of governance 

as he sought to both consolidate his power among 

fellow Muslims plus win the support of his Hindu 

subjects. He sponsored the 

haJJ

 to m

ecca

 and 

patronized Sunni and Shii 

Ulama

. He included 

members of the Hindu aristocracy in his govern-

ment, cancelled taxes imposed on Hindu pilgrims 

and landholders, and observed Hindu festivals. 

His 

harem

 included Christian and Hindu as well 

as Muslim wives. Akbar performed pilgrimages 

on foot to the shrine of Muin al-Din Chishti (d. 

1236) in a

Jmer

 and built a white marble tomb for 

another Sufi 

saint

, Salim al-Chishti, in Fatehpur 

Sikri, the new capital he constructed near Agra in 

1571. Although Akbar himself was illiterate and 

possibly dyslexic, he funded the translation of 

Hindu religious texts and held dialogues between 

representatives of different religions in the House 

of Worship, a special pavilion in the Fatehpur 

Sikri palace. Portrayed by his supporters as a sun 

king and perfect man whose divine light brought 

peace to the universe, Akbar even attempted to 

found a new religion for his court known as the 

Religion of God (Din-i Ilahi). Conservative Sunni 

ulama opposed Akbar’s pluralistic views and inno-

vations, but their reaction did not gain a foothold 

in the palace until after his death. He was buried 

in a magnificent tomb near Agra in 1605.

See also  c

hishti

  s

UFi

  o

rder

;  h

indUism

 

and

i

slam

; s

irhindi

, a

hmad

.