Indian history · Kings and empires

Akbar the Great (1556–1605): Panipat, Conquests, Mansabdari, Todar Mal's Revenue System, Sulh-i-Kul and Din-i-Ilahi — Exam Notes

Akbar inherited a shaky kingdom at thirteen and left a vast, well-administered empire. His systems of ranks and land revenue lasted long after him, and his policy of tolerance — Sulh-i-Kul — set him apart among rulers of his age. This guide covers the battles, institutions and ideas that exam papers ask about.

By PunjabExams Editorial Team · Updated 29 October 2026 · 6 min read · How we prepare guides

Life at a glance

Accession and early struggles

Akbar was born while his father Humayun was in flight from Sher Shah Suri. Humayun regained Delhi in 1555 but died in early 1556 after falling down the stairs of his library. Thirteen-year-old Akbar was crowned at Kalanaur in Punjab, with Bairam Khan as regent.

Second Battle of Panipat (5 November 1556)

Hemu (Hemchandra Vikramaditya), the general of the Sur ruler Adil Shah, had captured Delhi and Agra. At Panipat, Hemu was winning when an arrow struck his eye; his army broke, and he was captured and executed. Mughal rule in north India was restored.

End of the regency

Bairam Khan's power was resented at court, and in 1560 Akbar dismissed him. Bairam Khan was killed on his way to Mecca. For a brief period the harem faction of Akbar's foster-mother Maham Anga was influential (sometimes called the "petticoat government"), until Akbar took full control by 1562.

Expansion of the empire

Rajput policy

Akbar combined conquest with alliance. He married Harkha Bai, daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber (Jaipur), in 1562; she became the mother of Jahangir. Rajput nobles such as Raja Man Singh and Raja Bhagwan Das became senior commanders. Rajputs who accepted Mughal overlordship kept their lands as watan jagirs. Mewar, under Maharana Pratap, refused.

Religious policy

• 1563: abolished the pilgrimage tax.
• 1564: abolished the jizya (tax on non-Muslims).
• 1575: built the Ibadat Khana (House of Worship) at Fatehpur Sikri, first for Muslim scholars, then (from 1578) open to Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians and Christians (Jesuit priests from Goa).
• 1579: the Mahzar declaration gave Akbar the final word in religious disputes among Muslim scholars.
• 1582: Din-i-Ilahi (Tauhid-i-Ilahi) — a spiritual order of disciples devoted to the emperor, with few members; Birbal was among them. It was not a new religion in the usual sense.
• His guiding principle was Sulh-i-Kul — "peace with all".
• He had Sanskrit works such as the Mahabharata translated into Persian as the Razmnama.

Administration

Mansabdari system

Every officer held a mansab (rank) with two numbers:

• zat — personal rank and salary;
• sawar — the number of cavalrymen he had to maintain.

Ranks ranged from 10 to 5,000 for nobles (higher for princes). Officers were paid in cash or by assignments of land revenue called jagirs, which were transferable. The system was introduced around 1573–74.

Land revenue: Todar Mal's zabti system

Raja Todar Mal, Akbar's finance minister, developed the zabti system. Under the dahsala (ten-year) arrangement of 1580:

• land was measured with a standard ilahi gaz;
• average produce and prices over the previous ten years were calculated;
• the state's share was fixed at about one-third of the produce, paid in cash.

Land was classified as polaj (cultivated every year), parauti (left fallow for a year or two), chachar (fallow 3–4 years) and banjar (fallow 5 years or more).

Provinces

In 1580 the empire was divided into 12 subas (later 15), each under a subedar, with a diwan (revenue), bakhshi (military) and sadr (religious affairs).

The court and culture

• Navaratnas (nine jewels) by tradition: Abul Fazl, Faizi, Tansen, Birbal, Todar Mal, Man Singh, Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan, Fakir Aziao-Din and Mulla Do-Piyaza (the last two are legendary in some lists).
• Abul Fazl wrote the Akbarnama, whose third volume, the Ain-i-Akbari, describes the administration.
• Badauni, a critic of Akbar's religious policy, wrote the Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh.
• Tansen was the leading musician; Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan translated Babur's memoirs (Baburnama) into Persian and wrote Hindi dohas.

Fatehpur Sikri

Built to honour the Sufi saint Shaikh Salim Chishti, whose blessing was believed to have brought the birth of Prince Salim, Fatehpur Sikri was Akbar's capital from 1571 to 1585. Its monuments include the Buland Darwaza, the Jama Masjid, the Panch Mahal, the Diwan-i-Khas and the tomb of Salim Chishti. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1986).

Last years

Prince Salim rebelled in 1600 and had Abul Fazl murdered in 1602 by Bir Singh Bundela. Father and son were reconciled before Akbar died in 1605. He is buried at Sikandra, near Agra.

Key points to remember

• Crowned at Kalanaur, 1556; Second Panipat (Hemu) 1556; regent Bairam Khan.
• Chittor 1568, Gujarat 1572–73 (Buland Darwaza), Haldighati 1576.
• Jizya abolished 1564; Ibadat Khana 1575; Mahzar 1579; Din-i-Ilahi 1582; Sulh-i-Kul.
• Mansabdari (zat and sawar); Todar Mal's dahsala (1580).
• Abul Fazl — Akbarnama, Ain-i-Akbari; Fatehpur Sikri — Salim Chishti.

Practice questions

1. Q1. Akbar was crowned in 1556 at:

   • (a) Agra
   • (b) Delhi
   • (c) Kalanaur
   • (d) Lahore
   Show answer

   Answer: (c) Kalanaur — He was crowned at Kalanaur in Gurdaspur district.

2. Q2. Akbar's opponent in the Second Battle of Panipat was:

   • (a) Ibrahim Lodi
   • (b) Hemu
   • (c) Sher Shah Suri
   • (d) Rana Sanga
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) Hemu — Hemu was defeated and killed in 1556.

3. Q3. The 'dahsala' revenue system was introduced under the guidance of:

   • (a) Bairam Khan
   • (b) Raja Todar Mal
   • (c) Abul Fazl
   • (d) Raja Man Singh
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) Raja Todar Mal — Todar Mal's ten-year system was introduced in 1580.

4. Q4. In the mansabdari system, 'sawar' denoted:

   • (a) Personal rank
   • (b) Number of cavalrymen to be maintained
   • (c) Land revenue assignment
   • (d) Religious office
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) Number of cavalrymen to be maintained — Sawar fixed the number of horsemen; zat was personal rank.

5. Q5. The Buland Darwaza commemorates Akbar's conquest of:

   • (a) Bengal
   • (b) Gujarat
   • (c) Kashmir
   • (d) Chittor
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) Gujarat — It was built after the Gujarat campaign of 1572–73.

6. Q6. Who wrote the Ain-i-Akbari?

   • (a) Badauni
   • (b) Faizi
   • (c) Abul Fazl
   • (d) Gulbadan Begum
   Show answer

   Answer: (c) Abul Fazl — It is the third volume of Abul Fazl's Akbarnama.

Frequently asked questions

What was Sulh-i-Kul?

Akbar's principle of "peace with all", meaning tolerance and equal treatment of people of all religions.

Was Din-i-Ilahi a new religion?

It was a small spiritual order of disciples devoted to the emperor rather than a mass religion; very few nobles joined it.

Where is Akbar buried?

At Sikandra, near Agra.

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