Mughal Empire – Art and culture during Akbar

The Mughals were descendants of two great lineages of rulers, from their mother’s side they were descendants of Genghis Khan and from their father’s side they were the successors of Timur.  Art and culture during Akbar’s reign were considered to be a good period for literary works. The religious policy of Akbar is full of compassion towards all faiths. He made the proclamation of Mazhar and Sulh-i-kul.

Mughal Empire – Art and culture during Akbar

• Mughal Empire – Art and culture during Akbar: Besides being a noble ruler, Akbar was also an avid supporter of art and culture.

• He was gifted with a group of talented musicians, poets, and various types of cultural people.

• His forts and palaces were magnificent pieces of architecture with unmatched workmanship. Among those are Buland Darwaza, Jodha Bai’s palace, Allahabad Fort, Fatehpur Sikri, and Agra Fort.

• Mughal Empire – Art and culture during Akbar: He also showed great affection for poetry and music, his darbar was a special composition of artists, scholars, singers, and poets, etc.

• The Navratnas of Akbar’s court who excelled in the fields of art and knowledge were as follows:-

1. Todar Mal as Finance Consultant 
2. Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Kkhana as Writer of Hindi Couplets
3. Faizi as The court Poet
4. Maharaja Man Singh as Army Consultant
5. Abul Fazl was The chronologist who wrote Ain-I-Akbari.
6. Mulla Do-Piyaza (depicted as Birbal’s Muslim counterpart)
7. Fakir Aziao Din as Sufi Singer
8. Mahesh Das, Birbal as the court Jester.
9. Ramtanu Pandey, Miyan Tansen as the court singer.

Literary Works During Akbar’s Reign

Akbar launched the translation of different works like The Ramayana, The Mahabharata, the Panchatantra, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Atharva –Veda into the Persian language from Sanskrit. For this purpose, he made a department.

• Mulla Abdul Qadir Badayuni translated the Ramayana and Singhasan Battisi into Persian.
• Faizi translated the Panchatantra.
• Ibrahim Sirhindi translated the Atharva Veda.
• Maulana Shah Mohammad Shahabadi translated the Rajataringini.  
• Ain-i-Akbari and Akbar Nama were written by Abul Fazal. 
• Therefore, the period of Akbar rule was widely recognized as the period of ‘the renaissance of Persian literature.

Religious Policy of Akbar

1. Akbar was not an extreme or conventional Muslim Emperor rather he was known for his compassion and tolerance towards all the faiths.
2. Various factors for his religious ideas were
3. The teachings of his tutor Khan Baba, Iranian scholar- Abdul Latif
4. His early contacts with the Sufi saints,
5. His association with intellectual personalities like Shaikh Mubarak and his two illustrious sons Abul Faizi and Abul Fazl,
6. His marriage alliance with Rajput and Hindu women
7. Employment of Hindus Scholars at higher posts
8. His ambition to establish an empire in Hindustan.
9. To send a message of unity and togetherness, Akbar had many religious marriage alliances.
10. The fact that Akbar married the Rajput princess Jodha says a lot about his kindness. Although there was a lot of resistance, Akbar built a temple for Jodha in his palace.
11. He established Ibadat Khana where he held discussions with spiritual leaders to help people gain a better insight into religion. Father Monserrat was also invited by Akbar. These debates convinced Akbar that all religions had the same basic teachings.
12. He prohibited Sati and allowed the remarriage of widows

Proclamation of Mazhar

• He declared a Mazhar, Proclamation of Mazhar, that permitted him the power to comprehend the religious laws which suspend the supremacy of the mullahs.

• To strengthen his idea of the unity of all the religions, Akbar propounded the principle of Din-i- Elahi meaning “All Religions are the same”, through which he spread the theory of Unity.

Sulh-i-kul

He established Sulh-i-kul policy to ensure that under his rule people of all theologies and faiths should live peacefully and in harmony.

Conclusion

The Mughals did not believe in the rule of primogeniture, where the eldest son inherited his father’s estate. Instead they followed the Mughal and Timurid custom of coparcenary inheritance, or a division of the inheritance amongst all the sons. Besides being a noble ruler, Akbar was also an avid supporter of art and culture.