His father Humayun, the second emperor of the Mughal dynasty was in flight after his defeat in the battle of Kanauj (in May 1540) at the hands of Sher Shah Suri. Akbar, thus, laid the foundations for a multicultural empire during his reign.Īkbar was born as Abu'l-Fath Jalal ud-din Muhammad at the Umerkot fort in Sind on October 15, 1542.
Being fond of literature, he extended support to literature in several languages. He was one of the greatest emperors of the Mughal dynasty and extended his patronage to art and culture. With his religious policies, he won the support of his non-Muslim subjects as well.
He established a centralised system of administration and adopted a policy of marriage alliance and diplomacy. He extended his power and influence over the entire country due to his military, political, cultural, and economic dominance. Succeeding his father Humayun at a critical stage, he slowly enlarged the extent of the Mughal Empire to include almost all of the Indian sub-continent. He was the son of Nasiruddin Humayun and succeeded him as the emperor in the year 1556, at the tender age of just 13. Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar, more famously known as Akbar the Great, was the third emperor of the Mughal Empire, after Babur and Humayun.
