AKBAR, Akhbar, or Akber, Jellaladin Mohammed, one of the greatest and wisest of the Moghul emperors, was born at Amerkote in Sindh on the 14th October 1542, his father, Humayun, having been driven from the throne a short time before by the usurper Sher Khan. After more than twelve years’ exile, Humayun regained his sovereignty, which, however, he had held only for a few months when he died. Akbar succeeded his father in 1556 under the regency of Bahram Khan, a Turkoman noble, whose energy in repelling pretenders to the throne, and severity in maintaining the discipline of the army, tended greatly to the consolidation of the newly-recovered empire. Bahram, however, was naturally despotic and cruel; and when order was somewhat restored, Akbar found it necessary to take the reins of government into his own hands, which he did by a proclamation issued in March 1560. The discarded regent lived for some time in rebellion, endeavouring to establish an independent principality in Malwah, but at last he was forced to cast himself on Akbar’s mercy. The emperor not only freely pardoned him, but magnanimously offered him the choice of a high place in the army or a suitable escort for a pilgrimage to Mecca, and Bahram preferred the latter alternative. When Akbar ascended the throne, only a small portion of what had formerly been comprised within the Moghul empire owned his authority, and he devoted himself with great determination and marvellous success to the recovery of the revolted provinces. Over each of these, as it was restored, he placed a governor, whom he superintended with great vigilance and wisdom. He tried by every means to develop and encourage commerce; he had the land accurately measured for the purpose of rightly adjusting taxation; he gave the strictest ...