The Mughal Empire: Political History, Consolidation and Decline — Part 3: Akbar — Military Campaigns and Religious Policy

3. Akbar (1556–1605): Consolidation and Expansion

Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar is generally regarded as the greatest of the Mughals. During his regency under Bairam Khan (1556–1560) and then in his own right, he transformed the empire from a fragile conquest state into a sophisticated, multi-ethnic polity. By the end of his reign, Akbar had established elaborate offices with assigned functions, and the rules and regulations guiding both public and private conduct of officers had been fixed — converting them into what can be described as the apparatus of the empire.

3.1 Military Campaigns

Second Battle of Panipat (5 November 1556)

Hemu (Vikramaditya), the Hindu general of the Afghan ruler Adil Shah Suri, had captured Agra and Delhi. Facing Akbar's forces under Bairam Khan's command, Hemu was struck by an arrow in the eye during the battle; the leaderless Afghan-Hindu army collapsed. This battle permanently secured the Mughal position in north India.

Siege of Chittorgarh (1567–68)

Mewar's fortress-capital Chittor fell after a prolonged siege, bringing Rajputana closer to Mughal control.

Conquest of Gujarat (1572–73)

Akbar conquered Gujarat, gaining access to seaports and the lucrative maritime trade of the Indian Ocean. He moved with extraordinary speed, covering the distance from Agra to Ahmedabad in eleven days to suppress a rebellion.

Conquest of Bengal (1574–76)

The defeat of Daud Khan Karrani at the Battle of Tukaroi (1575) and the final battle at Rajmahal (1576) brought Bengal into the empire. Bengal's agricultural surplus and textile revenue became crucial to Mughal finances. The Ain-i Akbari later recorded that Bengal produced 50 varieties of rice alone.

The Northwest and Kashmir

After suppressing his brother Mirza Hakim's rebellion and annexing Kabul, Akbar secured the northwestern frontier. Kashmir (1586), Sind (1591), and Qandahar (1595) followed. The empire now stretched from the Hindukush to Bengal, and from Kashmir to the northern Deccan.

Deccan Campaigns (1591–1601)

Khandesh, Berar, and parts of Ahmadnagar were absorbed. The annexation of these Deccan states was incomplete — a strategic unfinished business that would consume his successors.

3.2 Religious Policy: Sulh-i-kul and Din-i-Ilahi

Akbar's religious policy, articulated most powerfully by his court historian Abul Fazl in the Akbarnama and the Ain-i Akbari, rested on the principle of sulh-i-kul (universal peace or absolute peace) — a policy of absolute impartiality toward all religions. Its key expressions:

• Abolition of jizya (1564): The per-capita tax on non-Muslims, a marker of Islamic orthodoxy, was abolished — signalling a genuine departure from Sultanate practice.
• Abolition of pilgrimage tax (1563): Removed a financial burden on Hindu pilgrims visiting their sacred sites.
• Ibadatkhana (House of Worship, 1575): Established at Fatehpur Sikri. Initially open only to Muslims, it was expanded in 1578 to include Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians, and Jesuit priests. The Ibadatkhana debates revealed deep sectarian divisions among Muslim scholars and reportedly disillusioned Akbar with orthodox Islam. Badauni, writing secretly in his Muntakhab-ut Tawarikh, provides firsthand information on Ibadatkhana proceedings and furnishes the full draft of the mahzar of Akbar which is otherwise not found in Abul Fazl.
• Mahzar (1579): A declaration made Akbar the supreme arbiter in religious disputes — effectively placing his authority above that of the ulama.
• Din-i-Ilahi (1582): A syncretic spiritual movement (not a new religion per se) that combined elements of Sufism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and Jainism. It had few followers and did not survive Akbar's death. Abul Fazl explained monarchy as light emanating from God (farr-i izadi) and presented Akbar as the ideal monarch leading both spiritual and temporal realms.