Case Study - Akbar
A. Fill in the blanks:
1. Akbar was born at the Rajput fortress of Umerkot in Sindh.
2. Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya or Hemu was the chief minister and general of Adil Shah.
3. Akbar defeated Rajputs in the Battle of Haldighati.
4. The Emperor was the supreme head of the Mughal administration.
5. Akbar raised the minimum age for marriage to 14 for girls and 16 for boys.
B. Match the following:
1. Todar Mal a. Musician. [5]
2. Din-i-Ilahi b. Bandobast. [1]
3. Abul Fazl c. Son of Udai Singh. [4]
4. Rana Pratap d. Religious Order. [2]
5. Tansen e. Akbarnama. [3]
C. Choose the correct answer:
1. Who was Akbar's regent during his early years?
a. Bairam Khan. [✓]
b. Adil Shah. [ ]
c. Faizi. [ ]
c. Faizi. [ ]
d. Man Singh. [ ]
2. When was the Second Battle of Panipat fought?
a. 1540 CE. [ ]
b. 1556 CE. [✓]
c. 1574 CE. [ ]
d. 1595 CE. [ ]
3. What is the meaning of Sulh-i-Kul?
a. World Peace. [ ]
b. One God. [ ]
c. One World. [ ]
d. Universal Peace. [✓]
4. What is the name of the new capital city build by Akbar?
a. Lahore. [ ]
b. Fatehpur Sikri. [✓]
c. Qandahar. [ ]
d. Berar. [ ]
5. Who was Akbar's court historians?
a. Tansen. [ ]
b. Todar Mal. [ ]
c. Faizi. [ ]
d. Abul Fazl. [✓]
D. Answer the following questions in brief:
1. What was the role of Akbar's regent in the early years of his rule?
= Bairam Khan was Humayun's faithful and experienced general. Akbar proclaimed the Mughal emperor at the age of thirteen. Bairam Khan became Akbar's regent and looked after the affairs of the government on Akbar's behalf. Bairam Khan faced the Afghan army and regained the throne of Delhi by defeating Hemu. Hemu was captured and executed. Bairam Khan also conquered Gwalior, Ajmer and Jaipur.
2. Name some places conquered by Akbar in the north-west.
= Some places conquered by Akbar in the north-west are - Kabul, Kashmir, Sindh, Baluchistan, Marakann, Kandahar, and the North-West frontier.
3. What were the strategies adopted by Akbar to expand his empire?
= The strategies adopted by Akbar to expand his emperor are - diplomacy, marriage alliances and military conquest.
4. What is the significance of the Battle of Haldighati?
= In the Battle of Haldighati in 1576 CE, Rajputs were outnumbered and defeated by the Mughal forces. Rana Pratap Singh took shelter in a mountain fortress and continued his efforts to reclaim Chittor. But he couldn't recover Chittor.
5. What was the basic principle of Din-i-Ilahi?
= Din-i-Ilahi was an amalgamation of religious ideas of all major religions. The main features of this order were to belief in one God and recognition of the emperor as the representative of God on earth.
E. Answer the following in details:
1. Write a short note on Akbar's military campaigns.
= At the age of 18, Akbar took charge of the state affairs and ended the regency of Bairam Khan. Throughout the 40 years of his region, Akbar expanded the Mughal Empire using a combination of diplomacy, marriage alliances and military conquest:
Conquests in Central India: - Akbar conquered Malwa in 1561 CE. Then he conquered Gujarat and Bengal within 1576 CE.
North-West Conquests: - Within 1595 CE, Akbar seized Kabul, Kashmir, Kandahar, Baluchistan, Makran. By the end of 1595 CE, Akbar managed to secure the North-West frontier by Seizing additional important territories.
Deccan Campaign: - In 1595 CE, Akbar attacked and took control of the Ahmednagar Fort and occupied Berar. By 1601 CE, Akbar had captured Burhanpur and Khandesh, and several important forts like the Asirgarh Fort, that helped establish Mughal foothold in the Deccan.
Conflicts With Rajputs: - In 1567 CE, Akbar captured Chittorgarh. He captured Ranthambore in 1568 CE. In 1576 CE, in the Battle of Haldighati, Rajputs were outnumbered and defeated by the Mughal forces.
2. What did Akbar do to initiate friendship with the Rajputs? How did the Mughals capture Chittor?
= Akbar initiated efforts to secure the friendship and support of the Rajputs. He entered many matrimonial alliances with the Rajputs to strengthen and expand the Mughal Empire. By 1561 CE, most Rajput states accepted Mughal Suzerainty.
In 1567 CE, Akbar marched towards the capital of Mewar, Chittor. Udai Singh fled to the hills leaving the defence of Chittor to Jai Mal, the commander of the Rajput forces. After a fierce resistance for four months, Jai Mal was killed and Chittorgarh was captured in 1568 CE.
3. Explain Akbar's policy of religious tolerance.
= Akbar was tolerant towards his Hindu subjects. He abolished the Jizya in 1564 CE and forbade forceful conversions of prisoners of war to Islam. He built Ibadat Khana where scholars of different religions held discourses. Akbar believed in the principle of Sulh-i-Kul, i.e. , Universal Peace. He consolidate his power over the Ulema by issuing a declaration called Mazhar.
He formulated his own religion called Din-i-Ilahi or the 'Divine Faith'. The main features of this religious order were belief in one God and recognition of the emperor as the representative of God on earth. Very few people accepted it, but Akbar did not impose on anyone. Raja Birbal accepted it, but Raja Man Singh disapproved of it. Din-i-Ilahi came to end after Akbar's death in 1605 CE.
4. Describe the Mansabdari system.
= Akbar introduced the Mansabdari system for effective military administration. The term mansab refers to an 'office' or 'rank'. A mansabdar was an officer of rank in the administration. He was responsible for maintaining discipline and imparity training to the soldiers.
The lowest rank was of the officer-in-charge of ten horsemen. The highest mansab was an officer maintaining 7,000 to 10,000 horsemen. In later years, mansabdars were paid in the form of jagirs, and were entitled to a fixed amount of revenue from the jagirs.
In later years of his reign, Akbar introduced the rank of 'zat' and 'sawar' in the Mansabdari System. Zat meant the value given to the rank of the mansabdar. Sawar indicated the member of horses possessed by a mansabdar.
A mansab was not hereditary. A jagir automatically reverted to the king on the death of a mansabdar. The king then granted the mansab to someone else.
5. What were the social and educational reforms introduced by Akbar?
= Akbar instituted effective social and educational reforms which were recorded by Abul Fazl, who was Akbar's Court historian.
Social Reforms: - i) He ordered the prohibition of Sati. This excluded the places where sati was performed with the consent of the widow.
ii) He discouraged child marriage. Akbar raised the minimum age for marriage to 14 for girls and 16 for boys.
iii) He also abolished the system of enslaving wives and children of conquered kingdoms.
Educational Reforms: - Akbar gave emphasis on secular subjects such as mathematics, agriculture, logic, history and astronomy. He ordered the establishment of a translation department. He helped translate numerous works of literature such as - the Vedas, the Mahabharata, the Bhagwat Gita, the Bible, along with other famous books in Arabic and Greek.