Marriages
Akbar's first wife and chief consort was his cousin, Princess Ruqaiya Sultan Begum, the only daughter of his paternal uncle, Prince Hindal Mirza, and his wife Sultanam Begum. In 1551, Hindal Mirza died fighting valorously in a battle against Kamran Mirza's forces. Upon hearing the news of his brother's death, Humayun was overwhelmed with grief. Out of affection to the memory of his brother, Humayun betrothed Hindal's nine-year-old daughter Ruqaiya to his son Akbar. Their betrothal took place in Kabul, shortly after Akbar's first appointment as a viceroy in the province of Ghazni. Humayun conferred on the imperial couple, all the wealth, army, and adherents of Hindal and Ghazni which one of Hindal's jagir was given to his nephew, Akbar, who was appointed as its viceroy and was also given the command of his uncle's army. Akbar's marriage with Ruqaiya was solemnized near Jalandhar, Punjab, when both of them were 14-years-old. Childless herself, she adopted Akbar's favorite grandson, Prince Khurram (the future emperor Shah Jahan). She died on 19 January 1626.His second wife was the daughter of Abdullah Khan Mughal. The marriage took place in 1557 during the siege of Mankot. Bairam Khan did not approve of this marriage, for Abdullah's sister was married to Akbar's uncle, Prince Kamran Mirza, and so he regarded Abdullah as a partisan of Kamran. He opposed the match until Nasir-al-mulk made him understand that opposition in such matters was unacceptable. Nasir-al-mulk arranged an assemblage of pleasure and banquet of joy, and a royal feast was provided.
His third wife was his cousin, Salima Sultan Begum, the daughter of Nur-ud-din Muhammad Mirza and his wife Gulrukh Begum also known as Gulrang, the daughter of Emperor Babur. She was at first betrothed to Bairam Khan by Humayun. After Bairam Khan's death in 1561, Akbar married her himself the same year. She died childless on 2 January 1613. In 1562, he married the daughter of Raja Bharmal, ruler of Amer. The marriage took place when Akbar was on his way back from Ajmer after offering prayers to the tomb of Moinuddin Chishti. Bharmal had conveyed to Akbar that he was being harassed by his brother-in-law Sharif-ud-din Mirza (the Mughal hakim of Mewat). Akbar insisted that Bharmal should submit to him personally, it was also suggested that his daughter should be married to him as a sign of complete submission. She was entitled Mariam-uz-Zamani after giving birth to Akbar's eldest surviving son, Prince Salim (the future emperor Jahangir). She died on 19 May 1623.
The same year, Akbar married the former wife of Abdul Wasi, the son of Shaikh Bada, lord of Agra. Akbar had fallen in love with her, and ordered Abdul Wasi to divorced her. Another of his wives was Gauhar-un-Nissa Begum, the daughter of Shaikh Muhammad Bakhtiyar and the sister of Shaikh Jamal Bakhtiyar. Their dynasty was called Din Laqab and had been living for a long time in Chandwar and Jalesar near Agra. She was Akbar's chief wife.
His next marriage took place in 1564 to the daughter of Miran Mubrak Shah, the ruler of Khandesh. In 1564, he sent presents to the court with a request that his daughter be married by Akbar. Miran's request was acceded and an order was issued. Itimad Khan was sent with Miran's ambassadors, and when he came near the fort of Asir, which was Miran's residence. Miran welcomed Itimad with honor, and despatched his daughter with Itimad. A large number of nobles accompanied her. The marriage took place in September 1564 when she reached Akbar's court. As dowry, Mubarak Shah ceded Bijagarh and Handia to his imperial son-in-law.
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He married another Rajput princess in 1570, who was the daughter of Kahan, the brother of Rai Kalyan Mal Rai, the ruler of Bikanir. The marriage took place in 1570, when Akbar came to this part of the country. Kalyan made a homage to Akbar, and requested that his brother's daughter be married by him. Akbar accepted his proposal, and the marriage was arranged. He also married the daughter of Rawal Har Rai, the ruler of Jaisalmer in 1570. Rawal had sent a request that his daughter be married by Akbar. The proposal was accepted by Akbar. Raja Bahgwan Das was despatched on this service. The marriage ceremony took place after Akbar's return from Nagor. She was the mother of Princess Mahi Begum, who died on 8 April 1577.
Another of his wives was Bhakkari Begum, the daughter of Sultan Mahmud of Bhakkar. On 2 July 1572, Akbar's envoy I'timad Khan reached Mahmud's court to escort his daughter to Akbar. I'timad Khan brought with him for Sultan Mahmud an elegant dress of honour, a bejewelled scimitar-belt, a horse with a saddle and reins and four elephants. Mahmud celebrated the occasion by holding extravagant feasts for fifteen days. On the day of wedding, the festivities reached their zenith and the ulema, saints and nobles were adequately honoured with rewards. Mahmud offered 30,000 rupees in cash and kind to I'timad Khan and farewelled his daughter with a grand dowry and an impressive entourage. She came to Ajmer and waited upon Akbar. The gifts of Sultan Mahmud, carried by the delegation were presented to the ladies of the imperial harem.
His ninth wife was Qasima Banu Begum, the daughter of Arab Shah. The marriage took place in 1575. A great feast was given, and the high officers, and other pillars of the state were present. In 1577, the Rajah of Dungarpur State petitioned a request that his daughter might be married to Akbar. Akbar had regard to his loyalty and granted his request. Rai Loukaran and Rajah Birbar, servants of the Rajah were sent from Dihalpur to do the honour of conveying his daughter. The two delivered the lady at Akbar's court where the marriage took place on 12 July 1577.
His eleventh wife was Bibi Daulat Shad. She was the mother of Princess Shakr-un-Nissa Begum, and Princess Aram Banu Begum born on 2 January 1585. His next wife was the daughter of Shams Chak, a Kashmiri. The marriage took place on 3 November 1592. Shams belonged to the great men of the country, and had long cherished this wish. In 1593, he married the daughter of Qazi Isa, and the cousin of Najib Khan. Najib told Akbar that his uncle had made his daughter a present for him. Akbar accepted his representation and on 3 July 1593 he visited Najib Khan's house and married Qazi Isa's daughter.
Death
On 3 October 1605, Akbar fell ill with an attack of dysentery from which he never recovered. He is believed to have died on 27 October 1605, after which his body was buried at his mausoleum in Sikandra, Agra.Legacy
Akbar remains a popular historical figure in many parts of South AsiaAkbar left a rich legacy both for the Mughal Empire as well as the Indian subcontinent in general. He firmly entrenched the authority of the Mughal Empire in India and beyond, after it had been threatened by the Afghans during his father's reign, establishing its military and diplomatic superiority. During his reign, the nature of the state changed to a secular and liberal one, with emphasis on cultural integration. He also introduced several far-sighted social reforms, including prohibiting sati, legalising widow remarriage and raising the age of marriage. Folk tales revolving around him and Birbal, one of his navratnas, are popular in India.
Bhavishya Purana is a minor Purana that depicts the various Hindu holy days and includes a section devoted to the various dynasties that ruled India, dating its oldest portion to 500 CE and newest to the 18th century. It contains a story about Akbar in which he is compared to the other Mughal rulers. The section called "Akbar Bahshaha Varnan", written in Sanskrit, describes his birth as a "reincarnation" of a sage who immolated himself on seeing the first Mughal ruler Babur, who is described as the "cruel king of Mlecchas (Muslims)". In this text it is stated that Akbar "was a miraculous child" and that he would not follow the previous "violent ways" of the Mughals.
Citing Akbar's melding of the disparate 'fiefdoms' of India into the Mughal Empire as well as the lasting legacy of "pluralism and tolerance" that "underlies the values of the modern republic of India", Time magazine included his name in its list of top 25 world leaders.
On the other hand, his legacy is explicitly negative in Pakistan for the same reasons. Historian Mubarak Ali, while studying the image of Akbar in Pakistani textbooks, observes that Akbar "is conveniently ignored and not mentioned in any school textbook from class one to matriculation", as opposed to the omnipresence of emperor Aurangzeb. He quotes historian Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi, who said that, due to his religious tolerance, "Akbar had so weakened Islam through his policies that it could not be restored to its dominant position in the affairs." A common thread among Pakistani historians is to blame Akbar's Rajput policy. As a conclusion, after analyzing many textbooks, Mubarak Ali says that "Akbar is criticized for bringing Muslims and Hindus together as one nation and putting the separate identity of the Muslims in danger. This policy of Akbar contradicts the theory of Two-Nation and therefore makes him an unpopular figure in Pakistan."
In popular culture
Films and television
Akbar was portrayed in the award-winning 1960 Hindi movie Mughal-e-Azam (The great Mughal), in which his character was played by Prithviraj Kapoor.Akbar was portrayed by Hrithik Roshan in the 2008 Bollywood film Jodhaa Akbar.
Akbar and Birbal were portrayed in the Hindi series Akbar-Birbal aired on Zee TV in late 1990s where Akbar's role was played by Vikram Gokhale.
A television series, called Akbar the Great, directed by Akbar Khan was aired on DD National in the 1990s.
Since 2013–2015, a television series, called Jodha Akbar aired on Zee TV, in which the role of Akbar was played by actor Rajat Tokas.
Akbar was portrayed by Uday Tikekar in EPIC channel's critically acclaimed historical drama Siyaasat (based on the novel The Twentieth Wife).
In Sony TV's historical drama Bharat Ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap, Akbar was at first portrayed by Krip Suri and later by Avinesh Rekhi.
Akbar is portrayed by Kiku Sharda in BIG Magic's sitcom Akbar Birbal.
Abhishek Nigam portrayed Akbar in BIG MAGIC's historical drama Akbar – Rakht Se Takht Tak Ka Safar.
Mohammed Iqbal Khan played the role of Akbar in ABP News' documentary series, Bharatvarsh.
Fiction
Akbar is a principal character in Indu Sundaresan's award-winning historical novel The Twentieth Wife (2002) as well as in its sequel The Feast of Roses (2003).
A fictionalised Akbar plays an important supporting role in Kim Stanley Robinson's 2002 novel, The Years of Rice and Salt.
Akbar is also a major character in Salman Rushdie's 2008 novel The Enchantress of Florence.
Bertrice Small is known for incorporating historical figures as primary characters in her romance novels, and Akbar is no exception. He is a prominent figure in two of her novels, and mentioned several times in a third, which takes place after his death. In This Heart of Mine the heroine becomes Akbar's fortieth "wife" for a time, while Wild Jasmine and Darling Jasmine centre around the life of his half-British daughter, Yasaman Kama Begum (alias Jasmine).
In Kunal Basu's The Miniaturist, the story revolves around a young painter during Akbar's time who paints his own version of the Akbarnamu
Akbar is mentioned as 'Raja Baadshah' in the Chhattisgarhi folktale of "Mohna de gori kayina"
Akbar is the main character in Empire of the Moghul: Ruler of the World by Alex Rutherford, the third book in a quintet based on the five great Mughal Emperors of the Mughal Dynasty.
