A History of India, Third Edition

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE

In the very short period of his reign Humayun had made an interesting
attempt to systematise the administration that he had taken over as a going
concern from Sher Shah, himself a very competent administrator.
Humayun used the four elements as categories of classification: fire for the
army; water for the department of irrigation; earth for agriculture and
revenue; and air for religion and science. This truly elementary division did
not last long. Akbar soon improved upon it. But the style of a systematic
division of functions was thus set by Humayun.

Akbar’s expansion and reform of the empire

Akbar was only 13 years old when his father died. During the years of
Humayun’s exile in Persia, Akbar had grown up among tough warriors in
Afghanistan and he had never learned to read or write. He remained
illiterate throughout his life, in contrast with his highly educated father and
grandfather; nevertheless, he surpassed both in his great intellectual
capacity. His sharp memory helped him to store an enormous amount of
information which he could combine with whatever caught his attention.
The fact that he could not read prevented him from absorbing
conventional wisdom and made him eager to discuss new ideas with all
kinds of people who came to his court. In this way he merged theory and
practice in an unusual manner.
In the first year of his reign he was faced with a challenge by a Hindu
usurper, Hemu, who called himself Vikramaditya and almost succeeded in
putting an end to Mughal rule. Hemu had been prime minister under one
of Sher Shah’s successors and had won many battles for his master. He was
thus a dangerous challenger for young Akbar whose accession to the
throne he wanted to prevent. At the decisive battle Hemu fell when an
arrow hit him, Akbar was urged by his general to cut off Hemu’s head. In
later years he became a great conqueror and wise ruler. He married the
daughter of the Rajput maharaja of Amber (Jaipur) and soon vanquished
the last Rajput prince who still dared to resist him. Indeed, he practically
emerged as the leader of the Rajputs, many of whom served him faithfully.
He did not force his religion on them and they remained Hindus
throughout his reign. Akbar also abolished the jizya—the poll tax which
Islamic rulers imposed on all non-Islamic subjects. This made him even
more popular with the Hindus of India.
After conquering Gujarat in 1574 and Bengal two years later, Akbar
found himself in command of a huge empire. He was just 34. The dream of
all Great Mughals—the recovery of Samarkand and the restoration of
Mughal rule in the homeland whence the Usbeks has ousted Baber—was also
in Akbar’s mind. But his Usbek counterpart, Abdullah, was of equal stature,
and Akbar was prudent enough not to risk his Indian empire for a doubtful
adventure in Central Asia. Instead, he became a master at playing off the