Akbar, Jalal ud-Din Muhammad

Third Mogul emperor of North India from 1556, when he succeeded his father Humayun. He gradually established his rule throughout North India. He is considered the greatest of the Mogul emperors, and the firmness and wisdom of his rule won him the title ‘Guardian of Mankind’; he was a patron of the arts.

Akbar was tolerant towards the majority Hindu population, suspending discriminatory taxes. He created his own eclectic royal religion (Din Illahi), reformed the land tax system, and created a more centralized system of political control. He moved the Mogul court-capital temporarily from Agra to the nearby new city of Fatehpur Sikri 1569–85, and to Lahore 1585–99.