Akbar: Life and Reign

Akbar became emperor at 13, with an army he didn’t command and a throne he hadn’t secured. By the time he died, decades later, he ruled most of the Indian subcontinent. This article covers his life: his coronation, his conquests, his marriages, and the court he built around him.

Akbar, in a Mughal court miniature by Manohar, late 16th century. State Hermitage Museum. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

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Medieval History · MedHist0057

Akbar: Life and Reign

Crowned at 13, ruling half a subcontinent by the end

15 Oct 1542

Born at Amarkot, to Emperor Humayun and Hamida Banu Begum.

14 Feb 1556

Crowned emperor at Kalanaur, age 13; Bairam Khan serves as regent.

5 Nov 1556

The Second Battle of Panipat defeats Hemu, securing Delhi for Akbar.

1568-1601

Chittorgarh, Gujarat, Bengal, Kashmir, and the Deccan fall to Mughal conquest.

27 Oct 1605

Dies at Agra, two decades after leaving Fatehpur Sikri; his son succeeds him as Jahangir.

From Ward to Emperor

Akbar spent his first four years as emperor under a regent’s guardianship. He went on to rule for 45 more years, longer than any other Mughal emperor.

📑 Contents

1Timeline
2Accession and the Regency
3Marriage, Faith, and Court
4Test Yourself
5Conquest and Legacy

Timeline

15 October 1542: Akbar is born at Amarkot, to Emperor Humayun and Hamida Banu Begum.
14 February 1556: Akbar is crowned emperor at Kalanaur, Punjab, at age 13. His guardian Bairam Khan serves as regent until 1560.
5 November 1556: The Second Battle of Panipat defeats Hemu and the Sur army, securing Delhi for the young emperor.
1568-1601: Major conquests expand the empire: Chittorgarh (1568), Gujarat (1572-73), Bengal (1574-76), Kashmir (annexed 1586, pacified by 1589), and the Deccan (Ahmednagar besieged 1595, captured 1600; Asirgarh 1601).
31 January 1561: Bairam Khan, dismissed from the regency the year before, is assassinated near Patan while travelling to Mecca.
27 October 1605: Akbar dies at Agra. His son, Prince Salim, succeeds him as Emperor Jahangir.

Accession and the Regency Need to Know

Akbar was the third Mughal emperor, son of Humayun, born on 15 October 1542. He reigned from 1556 to 1605.
He was crowned at just 13 years old, at Kalanaur, Punjab. His guardian Bairam Khan ruled as regent for the first four years.
The Second Battle of Panipat (5 November 1556) defeated the forces of Hemu, securing Delhi and consolidating Mughal control over northern India.
In March 1560, Akbar dismissed Bairam Khan, encouraged by his former wet-nurse Maham Anga and her son Adham Khan. Bairam Khan was ordered to retire to Mecca.
Feeling betrayed, Bairam Khan briefly rebelled in Punjab. Akbar’s forces defeated him near Jalandhar, after which Akbar pardoned him and let him proceed toward Mecca.
On 31 January 1561, Bairam Khan was assassinated near Patan by an Afghan named Mubarak Khan Lohani, whose father had died fighting the Mughals. It was personal revenge, not a political plot.

Marriage, Faith, and Court Good to Know

In 1562, Akbar married Mariam-uz-Zamani, daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber. This began the Mughal-Rajput matrimonial alliance policy. See MedHist0014 — Akbar’s Empire for how that alliance shaped Mughal administration.
This queen is popularly called “Jodha Bai” today, but no contemporary Mughal source uses that name for her. Historians trace “Jodha Bai” to a much later, 18th-century attribution, likely confused with a different Mughal queen entirely.
Akbar abolished the jizya tax on non-Muslims in 1564. He later founded the syncretic faith Din-i-Ilahi in 1582, part of a broader religious-tolerance framework covered fully in MedHist0014.
The Akbarnama, a detailed chronicle of Akbar’s reign, was compiled between 1590 and 1595. Its author was Akbar’s court historian, Abul Fazl.
Akbar’s court is popularly said to have hosted the Navratnas (“nine gems”): Abul Fazl, Faizi, Tansen, Birbal, Raja Todar Mal, Raja Man Singh I, Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khana, Fakir Aziao-Din, and Mulla Do-Piyaza. No contemporary source actually names an official group of nine, and historians treat the list as popular tradition rather than documented Mughal-era fact. The individuals themselves, aside from two semi-legendary names, were real and prominent courtiers.

Test Yourself

Conquest and Legacy Great to Know

Bairam Khan’s four-year regency shows how the Mughal state could function through a child monarch’s minority. That was a real institutional achievement, not just a personal one for the young Akbar.
Akbar’s 1568 victory at Chittorgarh was framed at the time as a religious triumph. His later Rajput marriage-alliance policy shows a real shift toward integration over conquest, within the same reign.
Beyond north India, Akbar’s later campaigns pushed into the Deccan. An initial 1595 siege of Ahmednagar ended only in a negotiated settlement; Mughal forces actually captured the city in a second siege in August 1600.
Akbar died at Agra on 27 October 1605, not at Fatehpur Sikri. He had largely abandoned Fatehpur Sikri as his capital around 1585, mainly over water-supply problems, after roughly 17 years using it as a seat of court.
The Akbarnama, written by Abul Fazl at Akbar’s own court, is a valuable primary source, but an inherently flattering one. Historians read it critically, cross-checking it against other contemporary accounts.

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