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The ''Akbarnama'', which translates to ''Book of Akbar'', the official chronicle of the reign of
Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
, the third
Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...
(), commissioned by Akbar himself and written by his court historian and biographer, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak. It was written in
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
, which was the literary language of the Mughals, and includes vivid and detailed descriptions of his life and times. It followed the '' Baburnama'', the more personal memoir by his grandfather,
Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...
, founder of the dynasty. It was produced in the form of lavishly illustrated manuscripts. The work was commissioned by Akbar, and written by Abul Fazl, who was one of the ''Nine Jewels'' (Hindustani:
Navaratnas Navaratnas (Sanskrit dvigu ''nava-ratna'', ) () or Nauratan was a term applied to a group of nine extraordinary people in an emperor's court in India. The well-known Nauratnas include the ones in the courts of the Hindu emperor Vikramaditya, th ...
) of Akbar's royal court. It is stated that the book took seven years to be completed. The original manuscripts contained many
miniature A miniature is a small-scale reproduction, or a small version. It may refer to: * Portrait miniature, a miniature portrait painting * Miniature art, miniature painting, engraving and sculpture * Miniature (chess), a masterful chess game or probl ...
paintings supporting the texts, thought to have been illustrated between and 1594 by at least forty-nine different artists from Akbar's imperial workshop, representing the best of the Mughal school of painting, and masters of the imperial workshop, including Basawan, whose use of portraiture in its illustrations was an innovation in
Indian art Indian art consists of a variety of art forms, including painting, sculpture, pottery, and textile arts such as woven silk. Geographically, it spans the entire Indian subcontinent, including what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, N ...
.Illustration from the ''Akbarnama'': History of Akbar
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
After Akbar's death in 1605, the manuscript remained in the library of his son, Jahangir () and later Shah Jahan (). Today, the illustrated manuscript of ''Akbarnma'', with 116 miniature paintings, is at the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
. It was bought by the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) in 1896 from Mrs Frances Clarke, acquired by her husband upon his retirement from serving as Commissioner of
Oudh The Oudh State (, also Kingdom of Awadh, Kingdom of Oudh, or Awadh State) was a princely state in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the British in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name of ...
(1858–1862). Soon after, the paintings and illuminated frontispiece were removed from the volume to be mounted and framed for display.


Volumes I and II

The first volume of ''Akbarnama'' deals with the birth of
Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
, the history of
Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
's family and the reigns of Babur and
Humayun Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern ...
and the Suri sultans of
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
. Volume one of Akbarnama encompasses Akbar's birth and his upbringings. According to Abul Fazl - Humayun, the second Mughal emperor and Akbar's father is praying to the Ka'ba, an Islamic holy place, for a successor to the Mughal empire. After this prayer, Maryam Makani showcases different signs that she is pregnant with Akbar such as having a shining forehead that others believe to be a mirror on her face or the warmth and joy that enters her bosom when a light shines on her. Miryam believes the light to be God's Light blessing her and her unborn child. Nine months later while Humayuan is away, Maryam gives birth to Akbar under what is considered an auspicious star and there is great celebration. The second volume describes the detailed history of the reign of Akbar till 1602 and records the events during Akbar's reign. It also deals with how Bairam Khan and Akbar won the battle of Panipat against
Hemu Hemu (; also known as Hemu Vikramaditya and Hemchandra Vikramaditya; died 5 November 1556) was an Indian emperor who previously served as a general and Wazir of Adil Shah Suri of Sur Empire during a period in Indian history when Mughals and A ...
, an Indian warrior.


Volume III: The ''Ain-i-Akbari''

The third volume, called the ', describes the administrative system of the
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
as well as containing the famous "Account of the Hindu Sciences". It also deals with Akbar's household, army, the revenues and the geography of the empire. It also produces rich details about the traditions and culture of the people living in India. It is famous for its rich statistical details about things as diverse as crop yields, prices, wages and revenues. Here Abu'l Fazl's ambition, in his own words, is: "It has long been the ambitious desire of my heart to pass in review to some extent, the general conditions of this vast country, and to record the opinions professed by the majority of the learned among the Hindus. I know not whether the love of my native land has been the attracting influence or exactness of historical research and genuine truthfulness of narrative..." (''Āin-i-Akbarī'', translated by Heinrich Blochmann and Colonel Henry Sullivan Jarrett, Volume III, pp 7). In this section, he expounds the major beliefs of the six major Hindu philosophical schools of thought, and those of the Jains, Buddhists, and Nāstikas. He also gives several Indian accounts of geography, cosmography, and some tidbits on Indian aesthetic thought. Most of this information is derived from Sanskrit texts and knowledge systems. Abu'l Fazl admits that he did not know Sanskrit and it is thought that he accessed this information through intermediaries, likely Jains who were favoured at Akbar's court. In his description of Hinduism, Abu’l Fazl tries to relate everything back to something that the Muslims could understand. Many of the orthodox Muslims thought that the Hindus were guilty of two of the greatest sins, polytheism and idolatry.Andrea; Overfield: “A Muslim’s Description of Hindu Beliefs and Practices,” “The Human Record,” page 61. On the topic of idolatry, Abu’l Fazl says that the symbols and images that the Hindus carry are not idols but merely are there to keep their minds from wandering. He writes that only serving and worshipping God is required.Fazl, A: “Akbarnama,” Andrea; Overfield: “The Human Record,” page 62. Abul Fazl also describes the Caste system to his readers. He writes the name, rank, and duties of each caste. He then goes on to describe the sixteen subclasses which come from intermarriage among the main four.Fazl, A: “Akbarnama,” Andrea; Overfield: “The Human Record,” page 63. Abu’l Fazl next writes about Karma about which he writes, “This is a system of knowledge of an amazing and extraordinary character, in which the learned of Hindustan concur without dissenting opinion.” He places the actions and what event they bring about in the next life into four different kinds. First, he writes many of the different ways in which a person from one class can be born into a different class in the next life and some of the ways in which a change in gender can be brought about. He classifies the second kind as the different diseases and sicknesses one suffers from. The third kind is actions which cause a woman to be barren or the death of a child. And the fourth kind deals with money and generosity, or lack thereof.Fazl, A: “Akbarnama,” Andrea; Overfield: “The Human Record,” page 63-64. The ''Ain-i-Akbari'' is currently housed in the
Hazarduari Palace Hazarduari Palace, earlier known as the ''Bara Kothi'', is located in the campus of Kila Nizamat in Murshidabad, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is situated near the bank of river Ganges. It was built in the nineteenth century by archit ...
, in
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
.


The ''Akbarnama'' of Faizi Sirhindi

The ''Akbarnama'' of Shaikh Illahdad Faiz Sirhindi is another contemporary biography of the Mughal emperor Akbar. This work is mostly not original and basically a compilation from the ''
Tabaqat-i-Akbari Khwaja Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad Bakshi (also spelled as Nizam ad-Din Ahmad and Nizam al-Din Ahmad) (born 1551, died 1621/1030 AH) was a Muslim historian of late medieval India. He was son of Muhammad Muqim-i-Harawi. He was Akbar's ''Mir Bakhshi''. His w ...
'' of Khwaja Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad and the more famous ''Akbarnama'' of Abu´l Fazl. The only original elements in this work are a few verses and some interesting stories. Very little is known about the writer of this ''Akbarnama''. His father Mulla Ali Sher Sirhindi was a scholar and Khwaja Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad, the writer of the ''Tabaqat-i-Akbari'' was his student. He lived in
Sirhind Sirhind-Fategarh is a town and a municipal council in the Fatehgarh Sahib district in the Indian state of Punjab. Demographics In the 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of 60852. Males constituted 54% of the population and fema ...
sarkar of
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
Subah and held a ''madad-i-ma´ash'' (a land granted by the state for maintenance) village there. He accompanied his employer and patron Shaikh Farid Bokhari (who held the post of the ''Bakhshi-ul-Mulk'') on his various services. His most important work is a dictionary, the ''Madar-ul-Afazil'', completed in 1592. He started writing this ''Akbarnama'' at the age of 36 years. His work also ends in 1602 like the one of Abu´l Fazl. This work provides us with some additional information regarding the services rendered by Shaikh Farid Bokhari. It also provides valuable information regarding the siege and capture of Asirgarh.Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2007). ''The Mughul Empire'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, , p.7


Translations

* Beveridge Henry. (tr.) (1902–39, Reprint 2010). ''The Akbarnama of Abu-L-Fazl'' in three volumes. *''The History of
Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
, Volume 1'' (the Akbarnama), edited and translated by Wheeler M. Thackston,
Murty Classical Library of India The Murty Classical Library of India began publishing classics of Indian literature in January 2015. The books, which are in dual-language format with the original language and English facing, are published by Harvard University Press. The Columbia ...
,
Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...
(January 2015), hardcover, 656 pages,


References

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External links


A resource site on ''Akbarnama'', by Columbia University

''Akabrnama'' Online search through collection
at the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

Vol. 1Vol. 2Vol. I-III

''Ain-e-Akbari'', English tr. by ''Colonel H. S. Jarrett''. The Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta. 1948
{{Authority control Mughal royal books Books about the Mughal Empire Indian biographies Persian-language books 16th-century Indian books Asian objects in the Victoria and Albert Museum 1590s books 16th-century illuminated manuscripts Islamic illuminated manuscripts Mughal art Akbar Indian manuscripts Indian chronicles