- Timeline: 1556-1605 AD
- Hemu (General od Mohammad Adil Shah) fought Second Battle of Panipat (1556) against Bairam Khan (Akbar’s regent and Wazir) and was defeated. After dismissal of Bairam Khan, the office of Wazir was kept vacant.
- Battle of Haldighati (1576) was fought between Raja Man Singh and Rana Pratap of Mewar where the latter was defeated.
- Ralph Fitch came during Akbar’s reign.
- Todar Mal instituted Dahsala system which calculated average produce of different crops as well as prices prevailing over last 10 years. It was a reformed version of Zabti system of assessment.
- Land was divided into 4 categories:
- Polaj (cultivated every year),
- Parauti (once in two years),
- Chachar (once in three or four years) and
- Banjar (once in five or more years).
- Other methods of land assessment were Ghalla Bakshi (produce divided between state & peasant in fixed proportion) & Nasaq.
- Under Mansabdari system a mansab/rank was assigned to the officer. Lowest rank was 10 and highest was 5000 for nobles. The ranks were divided into zat and sawar which corresponded to personal status of the person and number of cavalrymen required to maintain respectively.
- Diwan was head of finance department; Mir Bakhshi was Head of military department; Mir Saman oversaw Imperial household & supplies; Sadr-us-sadur incharge of religious & charitable affairs.
- Akbar built Ibadat Khana at Fatehpur Sikri where he called theologians, mystics, intellectual nobles and courtiers. He promulgated a new religion called Din Ilahi which believed in one God and contained good points of all religions. He also the famous Red Fort in Agra, Humayun’s Tomb and built Buland Darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri.
- Though illiterate Akbar patronised scholars. In his court, there were nine Navratna Mulla Do Pyaza, Hakin Humam, Abdur Rahim Khan e Khanan, Abul Tayal, Tansen, Raja Todar Mal, Raja Man Singh, Faizi and Birbal.
- Some of Akbar’s courtiers patronised Musicians like Baiju Bawra, Surdas etc.
- Akbar was very broadminded. He wanted to work out a synthesis of all religions. His treatment with the Hindus was very tolerant.In fact he was so liberal in his religious outlook that he attempted to find a new religion Din-i-Ilahi in 1581 on the basis of good points of all religions.
- First Mughal ruler who divorced religion from politics.
