To preserve peace and order in a religiously and culturally diverse empire, he adopted policies that won him the support of his non-Muslim subjects, including abolishing the sectarian tax and appointing them to high civil and military posts.

Under Akbar, Mughal India developed a strong and stable economy, which tripled in size and wealth, leading to commercial expansion and greater patronage of an Indo-Persian culture.

Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar was born to them the next year on 25 October 1542[a] (the fifth day of Rajab, 949 AH)[14] at the Rajput Fortress of Amarkot in Rajputana (in modern-day Sindh), where his parents had been given refuge by the local Hindu ruler Rana Prasad.

When the Surs reconquered Agra and Delhi following the death of Humayun, Akbar's young age and the lack of military assistance from the Mughal stronghold of Kabul—which was in the midst of an invasion by the ruler of Badakhshan, Prince Mirza Suleiman—aggravated the situation.

[45] Royal begums (ladies), along with the families of Mughal amirs, were brought from Kabul to India at the time, "so that men might become settled and be restrained in some measure from departing to a country to which they were accustomed", according to Fazl.

Urged on by his foster mother, Maham Anga, and other relatives, Akbar dismissed Bairam Khan following a dispute at court in the spring of 1560 and ordered him to leave on Hajj to Mecca.

[47] Despite initial success, Akbar was ultimately displeased with the aftermath of the campaign; his foster brother retained all of the spoils and followed through with the Central Asian practice of slaughtering the surrendered garrison, their wives and children, and many Muslim theologians and Sayyids, who were descendants of Muhammad.

Following a third revolt, with the proclamation of Mirza Muhammad Hakim[clarification needed]—Akbar's brother and the Mughal ruler of Kabul—several Uzbek chieftains were slain and the rebel leaders trampled to death under elephants.

[54] Having established Mughal rule over northern India, Akbar turned his attention to the conquest of Rajputana, which was strategically important as it was a rival centre of power that flanked the Indo-Gangetic plains.

[67] For thirteen years, beginning in 1585, Akbar remained in the north, shifting his capital to Lahore while he dealt with challenges from Uzbek tribes, which had driven his grandfather, Babur, out of Central Asia.

[65][67] The Uzbeks were organised under Abdullah Khan Shaybanid, a military chieftain who had seized Badakhshan and Balkh from Akbar's distant Timurid relatives, and whose troops challenged the northwestern frontiers of the Mughal Empire.

[69] In 1585, he sent an army to conquer Kashmir in the upper Indus basin after Yousuf Shah, the reigning king of the Shia Chak dynasty, refused to send his son as a hostage to the Mughal court.

[72] Kandahar (also known as the ancient Indian kingdom of Gandhara)[73] had connections with the Mughals from the time of the Empire's ancestor, Timur, the warlord who had conquered much of Western, Central, and parts of South Asia in the 14th century.

Hosayn, who was in an adversary relationship with his overlord, Shah Abbas, was granted a rank of 5,000 men, and his daughter Kandahari Begum was married to Akbar's grandson, the Mughal prince Khurram.

Historians have advanced several reasons for the move, including an insufficient or poor quality water supply at Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar's campaigns in the northwest areas of the Empire or loss of interest.

[93][94] Akbar's government prioritised commercial expansion,[95] encouraging traders, providing protection and security for transactions, and levying a low custom duty to stimulate foreign trade.

[97] Akbar made concerted efforts to improve roads to facilitate the use of wheeled vehicles through the Khyber Pass, the most popular route frequented by traders and travellers journeying from Kabul into Mughal India.

While some Rajput women who entered Akbar's harem converted to Islam, they were generally provided full religious freedom; their relatives, who continued to remain Hindu, formed a significant part of the nobility and served to articulate the opinions of the majority of commoners in the imperial court.

At the time of Akbar's ascension in 1556, the Portuguese had established several fortresses and factories on the western coast of the subcontinent, and largely controlled navigation and sea trade in that region.

[140] Vincent Arthur Smith has observed that the merchant Mildenhall was employed in 1600 to bear a letter from Queen Elizabeth to Akbar requesting liberty to trade in his dominions on terms as good as those enjoyed by the Portuguese.

[145] These sentiments were earlier encouraged by the teachings of popular saints like Guru Nanak, Kabir, and Chaitanya,[144] and the verses of the Persian poet Hafez, which advocated human sympathy and a liberal outlook.

[147] Akbar sponsored religious debates between different Muslim groups (Sunni, Shia, Ismaili, and Sufis), Parsis, Hindus (Shaivite and Vaishnava), Sikhs, Jains, Jews, Jesuits, and Materialists.

[150] He suppressed Mahdavism in 1573 during his campaign in Gujarat, in the course of which the Mahdavi leader Bandagi Miyan Sheik Mustafa was arrested and brought in chains to the court for debate and released after eighteen months.

In 1575, he built a hall called the Ibadat Khana ("House of Worship") at Fatehpur Sikri, to which he invited theologians, mystics, and selected courtiers renowned for their intellectual achievements to discuss matters of spirituality with them.

Upset by this, Akbar opened the Ibadat Khana to people of all religions as well as atheists, resulting in the scope of the discussions broadening, even extending into areas such as the validity of the Quran and the nature of God.

[173] His son Jahangir and grandson Shahjahan maintained many of Akbar's concessions, such as the ban on cow slaughter, having only vegetarian dishes on certain days of the week, and drinking only Ganges water.

[178] The Indian Supreme Court has cited examples of the co-existence of Jain and Mughal architecture, calling Akbar "the architect of modern India" and stating that "he had great respect" for Jainism.

[citation needed] In 1570, Akbar visited Vrindavan, regarded as the birthplace of Krishna, and gave permission for four temples to be built by the Gaudiya Vaishnavas, which were Madana-mohana, Govindaji, Gopinatha, and Jugal Kisore.

[citation needed] To defend his stance that speech arose from hearing, he carried out a language deprivation experiment, and had children raised in isolation, not allowed to be spoken to, and pointed out that as they grew older, they remained mute.

[188] During Akbar's reign, the ongoing process of inter-religious discourse and syncretism resulted in a series of religious attributions to him in terms of positions of assimilation, doubt, or uncertainty, which he either assisted himself or left unchallenged.