Akbar

After Mughal Emperor Humayun was defeated at Chausa (1539) and Kannauj (1540) by the forces of Sher Shah Suri, Humayun fled westward to modern-day Sindh. There, he met and married the 14-year-old Hamida Banu Begum, daughter of Shaikh Ali Akbar Jami, a Persian teacher of Humayun's younger brother Hindal Mirza. Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar was born to them the next year on 15 October 1542 (the fifth day of Rajab, 949 AH) 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.

During the extended period of Humayun's exile, Akbar was brought up in Kabul by his paternal uncles, Kamran Mirza and Askari Mirza, and aunts, in particular, Kamran Mirza's wife. He spent his youth learning to hunt, run, and fight, and although he never learned to read or write, when he retired in the evening, he would have someone read to him. On 20 November 1551, Humayun's youngest brother, Hindal Mirza, died in a battle against Kamran Mirza's forces. Upon hearing the news of his brother's death, Humayun was overwhelmed with grief.

Following the mourning period for Hindal in 1551, Humayun appointed the nine-year-old Akbar as governor of Ghazni and transferred to him the retainers, lands, and military command previously held by Hindal Mirza. Around the same time, Humayun arranged Akbar's betrothal to Hindal's daughter, Ruqaiya Sultan Begum. However, contemporary and later sources clarify that the transfer of Hindal's assets was a strategic elevation of Akbar within the Mughal imperial system, rather than a marital inheritance from this betrothal. The marriage itself was solemnized several years later in Jalandhar, Punjab, when both were about fourteen years old.

Following chaos over the succession of Sher Shah Suri's son Islam Shah, Humayun reconquered Delhi in 1555, leading an army partly provided by his Persian ally Tahmasp I. A few months later, Humayun died. Akbar's guardian, Bairam Khan, concealed his death to prepare for Akbar's succession. Akbar succeeded Humayun on 14 February 1556, while in the midst of a war against Sikandar Shah to reclaim the Mughal throne. In Kalanaur, Punjab, the 14-year-old Akbar was enthroned by Bairam Khan on a newly constructed platform (which still stands) and was proclaimed Shahanshah (Persian for "King of Kings"). Bairam Khan ruled on his behalf until he came of age.

Akbar's military campaigns consolidated Mughal rule in the Indian subcontinent. Akbar introduced organisational changes to the mansabdari system, establishing a hierarchical scale of military and civil ranks.

Organisational reforms were accompanied by innovations in cannons, fortifications, and the use of elephants. Akbar also took an interest in matchlocks and effectively employed them during various conflicts. He sought the help of the Ottomans, as well as Europeans, especially the Portuguese and Italians, in procuring advanced firearms and artillery. Akbar's vizier Abul Fazl once declared that "with the exception of Turkey, there is perhaps no country in which its guns has more means of securing the Government than [India]." Scholars and historians have used the term "gunpowder empire" to analyse the success of the Mughals in India.

Akbar's father Humayun had regained control of the Punjab, Delhi, and Agra with Safavid support, but Mughal rule was still precarious when Akbar took the throne. 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. When his regent, Bairam Khan, called a council of war to marshall the Mughal forces, none of Akbar's chieftains approved. Bairam Khan was ultimately able to prevail over the nobles and it was decided that the Mughals would march against the strongest of the Sur rulers, Sikandar Shah Suri, in Punjab. Delhi was left under the regency of Tardi Baig Khan. Sikandar Shah Suri, his army weakened by earlier lost battles, withdrew to avoid combat as the Mughal army approached.

Akbar also faced Hemu, a minister and general of one of the Sur rulers, who had proclaimed himself Hindu emperor and expelled the Mughals from the Indo-Gangetic Plains. Urged by Bairam Khan, who re-marshalled the Mughal army before Hemu could consolidate his position, Akbar marched on Delhi to reclaim it. His army, led by Bairam Khan, defeated Hemu and the Sur army on 5 November 1556 at the Second Battle of Panipat, 50 miles (80 km) north of Delhi. Soon after the battle, Mughal forces occupied Delhi and then Agra. Akbar made a triumphant entry into Delhi, where he stayed for a month. Then, he and Bairam Khan returned to Punjab to deal with Sikandar Shah Suri, who had become active again. In the next six months, the Mughals won another major battle against Sikander, who fled east to Bengal. Akbar and his forces occupied Lahore and then seized Multan in the Punjab. In 1558, Akbar took possession of Ajmer, the aperture to Rajputana, after the defeat and flight of its Muslim ruler. The Mughals also besieged and defeated the Sur forces in control of Gwalior Fort, a stronghold north of the Narmada river.

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. Akbar made clear that he would stay in India, reintroducing the historical legacy of the Timurid Renaissance, in contrast to his grandfather and father, who reigned as transient rulers.

By 1559, the Mughals had launched a drive to the south into Rajputana and Malwa. However, Akbar's disputes with his regent, Bairam Khan, temporarily put an end to the expansion. The young emperor, at the age of eighteen, wanted to take a more active part in managing the Empire's affairs. 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. Bairam Khan was prepared to comply, but people who resented him and hoped for his downfall goaded him into rebellion against Akbar. Bairam Khan was defeated by the Mughal army in the Punjab and forced to submit. Akbar forgave him and gave him the option of either continuing in his court or resuming his pilgrimage; Bairam Khan chose the latter. Bairam Khan was assassinated on his way to Mecca, by a group of Afghans led by Mubarak Khan Lohani, whose father had been killed while fighting with the Mughals at the Battle of Machhiwara in 1555.

In 1560, Akbar resumed military operations. A Mughal army under the command of his foster brother, Adham Khan, and a Mughal commander, Pir Muhammad Khan, began the Mughal conquest of Malwa. The Afghan ruler, Baz Bahadur, was defeated at the Battle of Sarangpur and fled to Khandesh for refuge, leaving behind his harem, treasure, and war elephants. 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. Akbar personally rode to Malwa to confront Adham Khan and relieve him of command. Pir Muhammad Khan was then sent in pursuit of Baz Bahadur, but was beaten back by the alliance of the rulers of Khandesh and Berar. Baz Bahadur temporarily regained control of Malwa until, in the next year, Akbar sent another Mughal army to invade and annexe the kingdom. Malwa became a province of the nascent imperial administration of Akbar's regime. Baz Bahadur survived as a refugee at various courts until, eight years later in 1570, he took service under Akbar. When Adham Khan confronted Akbar following another dispute in late 1561, the emperor threw him from a terrace into the palace courtyard at Agra. Still alive, Adham Khan was dragged up and thrown to the courtyard once again by Akbar to ensure his death.

After Adham Khan's death, Akbar distributed authority among specialised ministerial posts relating to different aspects of imperial governance to prevent any one noble from becoming too powerful. When a powerful clan of Uzbek chiefs broke out in rebellion in 1564, Akbar routed them in Malwa and then Bihar. He pardoned the rebellious leaders, hoping to conciliate them, but they rebelled again; Akbar quelled their second uprising. Following a third revolt, during which they proclaimed Mirza Muhammad Hakim—Akbar's brother and the Mughal ruler of Kabul— to be their king, several Uzbek chieftains were slain. Simultaneously, the Mirzas, a group of Akbar's distant cousins who held important fiefs near Agra, rebelled and were defeated by Akbar. Several rebel leaders were trampled to death under elephants. In 1566, Akbar moved to meet the forces of his brother, Muhammad Hakim, who had marched into the Punjab with the intention of seizing the imperial throne. Following a brief confrontation, Muhammad Hakim accepted Akbar's supremacy and retreated back to Kabul.

In 1564, Mughal forces began the conquest of Garha, a thinly populated, hilly area in central India that was of interest to the Mughals because of its herd of wild elephants. The territory was ruled over by Raja Vir Narayan, a minor, and his mother, Durgavati, a Rajput warrior queen of the Gonds. Akbar did not personally lead the campaign because he was preoccupied with the Uzbek rebellion, leaving the expedition in the hands of Asaf Khan, the Mughal governor of Kara. Durgavati committed suicide after her defeat at the Battle of Damoh, while Raja Vir Narayan was slain at the Fall of Chauragarh, the mountain fortress of the Gonds. The Mughals seized immense wealth, including an uncalculated amount of gold and silver, jewels, and 1,000 elephants. Kamala Devi, a younger sister of Durgavati, was sent to the Mughal harem. The brother of Durgavati's deceased husband was installed as the Mughal administrator of the region.

As with Malwa, Akbar entered into a dispute with his vassals over the conquest of Gondwana. Asaf Khan was accused of keeping most of the treasures and sending back only 200 elephants to Akbar. When summoned to give accounts, he fled Gondwana. He went first to the Uzbeks, then returned to Gondwana where he was pursued by Mughal forces. Finally, he submitted and Akbar restored him to his previous position.

In January 1564, an assassin shot an arrow at Akbar, which pierced his right shoulder, as he was returning from a visit to the Dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin near Delhi. The Emperor ordered the apprehended assassin, a slave of Mirza Sharfuddin—a noble in Akbar's court whose recent rebellion had been suppressed—to be beheaded.

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. The Mughals had already established domination over parts of northern Rajputana in Mewat, Ajmer, and Nagor. Akbar sought to conquer Rajputana's heartlands, which had rarely previously submitted to the Muslim rulers of the Delhi Sultanate. Beginning in 1561, the Mughals actively engaged the Rajputs in warfare and diplomacy. Most Rajput states accepted Akbar's suzerainty; however, the rulers of Mewar and Marwar—Udai Singh II and Chandrasen Rathore—remained outside the imperial fold.

Udai Singh was descended from the Sisodia ruler, Rana Sanga, who had fought Babur at the Battle of Khanwa in 1527. As the head of the Sisodia clan, he possessed the highest ritual status of all the Rajput kings and chieftains in India. The Mughals viewed defeating Udai Singh as essential to asserting their imperial authority among the Rajputs. During this period of his reign, Akbar was still devoted to Islam and sought to impress the superiority of his faith over what were regarded by contemporaries as the most prestigious warriors in Hinduism.

In 1567, Akbar attacked the Chittor Fort in Mewar. The fortress-capital of Mewar was of strategic importance as it lay on the shortest route from Agra to Gujarat and was also considered a key to holding the interior parts of Rajputana. Udai Singh retreated to the hills of Mewar, leaving two Rajput warriors, Jaimal and Patta, in charge of the defence of his capital. Chittorgarh fell in February 1568 after a siege of four months. The fall of Chittor was proclaimed by Akbar as "the victory of Islam over infidels [i.e., non-Muslims]." In his Fathnama (dispatches announcing victory) issued on 9 March 1575 conveying his news of victory, Akbar wrote: "With the help of our blood-thirsty sword we have erased the signs of infidelity in their minds and destroyed the temples in those places and all over Hindustan."

Akbar had the surviving defenders and 30,000 non-combatants massacred and their heads displayed upon towers erected throughout the region to demonstrate his authority. Thereafter, Udai Singh never ventured out of his mountain refuge in Mewar.

A legend, oft repeated by historians, has grown up that Akbar set up statues of Jaimal and Patta mounted on elephants at a gate of his fort in Agra to commemorate his victory. There are records from his time of two statues of elephants with their riders outside the eastern gate of his fort in Agra, but these may have had nothing to do with the Rajputs of Chittor, they may have been purely decorative. Indologist Eugenia Vanina found no account that connects the statues to Jaimal and Patta until a 1629 chronicle by Dutch merchants. She believes that the narrative that the statues were monuments grew up to "provide ideological, social and psychological substantiation" of the alliance between the Mughals and the Rajputs.

The fall of Chittorgarh was followed up by a Mughal attack on the Ranthambore Fort in 1568. Ranthambore was held by the Hada Rajputs and reputed to be the most powerful fortress in India. However, it fell only after a couple of months. At that point, most of the Rajput kings had submitted to the Mughals; only the clans of Mewar continued to resist.

Akbar's system of central government was based on the system that had evolved since the Delhi Sultanate. Akbar reorganised the sections with a detailed set of regulations. The revenue department was headed by a wazir, responsible for finances and management of jagir and inam land. The head of the military was called the mir bakshi, appointed from among the leading nobles of the court. The mir bakshi was in charge of intelligence gathering, and made recommendations to the emperor for military appointments and promotion. The mir saman was in charge of the imperial household, including the harems, and supervised the functioning of the court and royal bodyguard. The judiciary was a separate organisation headed by a chief qazi, who was also responsible for religious beliefs and practices.

Akbar reformed the administration land revenues by adopting a system that had been used by Sher Shah Suri. The village continued to remain the primary unit of revenue assessment. Cultivated areas were measured and taxed through fixed rates—on the basis of prices prevailing the imperial court—based on the type of crop and productivity. This system burdened the peasantry because prices at the imperial court were often higher than those in the countryside. Akbar also introduced a decentralised system of annual assessment, which resulted in corruption among local officials. The system was abandoned in 1580 and replaced with the dahsala (also known as zabti), under which revenue was calculated as one-third of the average produce of the previous ten years, to be paid to the state in cash. This system was later refined, taking into account local prices and grouping areas with similar productivity into assessment circles. Remission was given to peasants when the harvest failed during times of flood or drought. The dahsala system was set out by Raja Todar Mal, who also served as a revenue officer under Sher Shah Suri, in a detailed memorandum submitted to the emperor in 1582–1583. Other local methods of assessment continued in some areas. Lands which were fallow or uncultivated were assessed at concessional rates.

Akbar also encouraged the improvement and extension of agriculture. Zamindars were required to provide loans and agricultural implements in times of need, and to encourage farmers to plough as much land as possible and sow high-quality seeds. In turn, the zamindars were given a hereditary right to collect a share of the produce. Peasants had a hereditary right to cultivate the land as long as they paid the land revenue. Revenue officials were guaranteed only three-quarters of their salary, with the remaining quarter dependent on their full realisation of the revenue assessed.

Akbar organised his army and the nobility by means of a system called the mansabdari. Under this system, each officer in the army was assigned a rank (a mansabdar) and assigned a number of cavalry, which he was required to supply to the imperial army. The mansabdars were divided into 33 classes. The top three commanding ranks, ranging from 7,000 to 10,000 troops, were normally reserved for princes. Ranks between 10 and 5,000 were assigned to other members of the nobility. The empire's permanent standing army was small and the imperial forces mostly consisted of contingents maintained by the mansabdars. Persons were normally appointed to a low mansab and then promoted based on merit and the favour of the emperor. Each mansabdar was required to maintain a certain number of cavalrymen and twice that number of horses. The number of horses was greater because they had to be rested and rapidly replaced in times of war. Akbar employed strict measures to ensure that the quality of the armed forces was maintained at a high level; horses were regularly inspected and usually only Arabian horses were employed. The mansabdars were the highest paid military service in the world at the time.

Akbar was a follower of Salim Chishti, a holy man who lived in the region of Sikri near Agra. Believing the area to be lucky, Akbar had a mosque constructed there for the use of the priest. Subsequently, he celebrated the victories over Chittor and Ranthambore by laying the foundations of a new walled capital, 23 miles (37 km) west of Agra in 1569, which was named Fatehpur ("Town of Victory") after the conquest of Gujarat in 1573, and subsequently came to be known as Fatehpur Sikri to distinguish it from other similarly named towns. The city was soon abandoned and the capital was moved to Lahore in 1585. 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. In 1599, Akbar moved his capital back to Agra, where he ruled until his death.

Akbar was a patron of the arts and culture. He had Sanskrit literature translated and participated in native festivals. Akbar established the library of Fatehpur Sikri exclusively for women, and he decreed the establishment of schools for the education of both Muslims and Hindus throughout the realm. He also encouraged bookbinding to become a high art.

Akbar's government prioritised commercial expansion, encouraging traders, providing protection and security for transactions, and levying a low custom duty to stimulate foreign trade. It also required that local administrators provide restitution to traders for goods stolen while in their territories. To minimise such incidents, bands of highway police called rahdars were enlisted to patrol roads and ensure the safety of traders. Other active measures taken included the construction and protection of routes of commerce and communications. 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. He also strategically occupied the northwestern cities of Multan and Lahore in Punjab and constructed forts, such as the one at Attock near the crossing of the Grand Trunk Road and the Indus river. He also constructed a network of smaller forts called thanas throughout the frontier to secure the overland trade route with Persia and Central Asia. He also established an international trading business for his chief consort, Mariam-uz-Zamani, who ran an extensive trade of indigo, spices, and cotton to Gulf nations through merchant's vessels.

Akbar introduced coins with decorative features, including floral motifs, dotted borders, and quatrefoil. The coins were issued in both round and square shapes, including a unique 'mehrab' (lozenge) shaped coin. Akbar's portrait type gold coin (Mohur) is generally attributed to his son, Prince Salim (later Emperor Jahangir), who had rebelled and then sought reconciliation by minting and presenting his father with gold Mohurs bearing Akbar's portrait. During the latter part of Akbar's reign, coins portrayed the concept of Akbar's newly promoted religion, with the Ilahi type and Jalla Jalal-Hu types.

Prior to Akbar's reign, marriages between Hindu princesses and Muslim kings failed to produce stable relations between the families involved; the women were lost to their families and did not return after marriage. Akbar departed from that practice, providing that the Hindu Rajputs who married their daughters or sisters to him would be treated equally to his Muslim fathers- and brothers-in-law, except that they would not be allowed to dine or pray with him or take Muslim wives. Akbar also made those Rajputs members of his court. Some Rajputs considered marriage to Akbar a sign of humiliation.

The Kacchwaha Rajput, Raja Bharmal, of the small kingdom of Amer, and an early member of Akbar's court, allied with Akbar by giving his daughter, Mariam-uz-Zamani—who would go on to be Akbar's favorite wife—in marriage to Akbar. Bharmal was made a noble of high rank in the imperial court, and subsequently, his son Bhagwant Das and grandson Man Singh also rose to high ranks in the nobility.

Other Rajput kingdoms also established matrimonial alliances with Akbar, but Akbar did not insist upon matrimony as a precondition for forming alliances. When Akbar met with the Hada leader, Surjan Hada, to effect an alliance, Surjan accepted on the condition that Akbar could not marry any of his daughters. Consequently, no matrimonial alliance was entered into, but Surjan was made a noble and placed in charge of Garh-Katanga. Two major Rajput clans remained aloof—the Sisodiyas of Mewar and Hadas of Ranthambore.

The political effect of these alliances was significant. 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. The interaction between Hindu and Muslim nobles in the imperial court resulted in an exchange of thoughts and a blending of the two cultures. Newer generations of the Mughal line also represented a merger of Mughal and Rajput blood, thereby strengthening ties between the two. As a result, the Rajputs became the strongest allies of the Mughals, and Rajput soldiers and generals fought for the Mughal army under Akbar, leading it in several campaigns, including the conquest of Gujarat in 1572. Akbar's policy of religious tolerance ensured that employment in the imperial administration was open to all on merit, irrespective of creed, strengthening his imperial rule.

Akbar's daughter Meherunnissa was rumoured to be enamored of Tansen and might have played a role in his coming to Akbar's court. Tansen converted to Islam from Hinduism, apparently on the eve of his marriage with Akbar's daughter.

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. As a consequence, all other trading entities were subject to the terms and conditions of the Portuguese, which was resented by rulers and traders, including Bahadur Shah of Gujarat.

In 1572, the Mughal Empire annexed Gujarat and acquired its first access to the sea, but local officials informed Akbar that the Portuguese had begun to exert control in the Indian Ocean. Akbar obtained a cartaz (permit) from the Portuguese to sail in the Persian Gulf region. At the initial meeting of the Mughals and the Portuguese during the Siege of Surat in 1572, the Portuguese, recognising the superior strength of the Mughal army, chose to adopt diplomacy instead of war. The Portuguese Governor, upon the request of Akbar, sent him an ambassador to establish friendly relations.

Akbar accepted the offer of diplomacy, but the Portuguese continually asserted their authority and power in the Indian Ocean; Akbar expressed concern when he was required to request a permit from the Portuguese before any ships from the Mughal Empire could depart for the Hajj to Mecca and Medina. In 1573, Akbar issued a firman directing Mughal administrative officials in Gujarat not to provoke the Portuguese in the territory they held in Daman. The Portuguese, in turn, issued passes for members of Akbar's family to go on Hajj to Mecca. The Portuguese made mention of the extraordinary status of the vessel and the special status to be accorded to its occupants.

Akbar was unsuccessful in purchasing compact artillery pieces from the Portuguese, hindering his efforts to establish a Mughal navy along the Gujarat coast.

In September 1579, Jesuits from Goa were invited to visit the court of Akbar. The emperor had his scribes translate the New Testament and granted the Jesuits freedom to preach the Gospel. One of his sons, Sultan Murad Mirza, was entrusted to Antoni de Montserrat for his education. While debating at court, the Jesuits denigrated Islam and Muhammad. Their comments enraged the Imams and Ulama, who objected to the remarks, but Akbar ordered their comments to be recorded. This event was followed by a rebellion of Muslim clerics in 1581 led by Mullah Muhammad Yazdi and Muiz-ul-Mulk, the chief Qadi of Bengal; the rebels sought to overthrow Akbar and put his brother Mirza Muhammad Hakim on the Mughal throne. Akbar successfully defeated the rebels, but he became more cautious about inviting guests to his court, seeking advice from his counselors.

In 1555, while Akbar was still a child, the Ottoman Admiral Seydi Ali Reis visited the Mughal Emperor Humayun. In 1569, during the early years of Akbar's rule, Ottoman Admiral Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis visited the Empire. These Ottoman admirals sought to end the growing threats of the Portuguese Empire during their Indian Ocean campaigns. During his reign, Akbar six documents addressing the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.

In 1576, Akbar sent a contingent of pilgrims on Hajj, led by Khwaja Sultan Naqshbandi, with 600,000 rupees and 12,000 khalats (honorific robes) for the needy of Mecca and Medina. In October 1576, Akbar sent a delegation, which included his aunt Gulbadan Begum and his consort Salima, on Hajj by two ships, including an Ottoman vessel, from Surat, which reached the port of Jeddah in 1577 and then proceeded to Mecca and Medina. Four more caravans were sent from 1577 to 1580, with gifts for the authorities of Mecca and Medina.

During this period, Akbar financed the pilgrimages of many poor Muslims from the Mughal Empire and also funded the foundations of the Qadiriyya Sufi Order's dervish lodge in the Hijaz. Akbar's attempts to build Mughal presence in Mecca and Medina reassured the local Sharifs of the Mughal Empire's ability to provide financial support, lessening their dependency upon Ottoman bounties. Mughal-Ottoman trade also flourished during this period; merchants loyal to Akbar are known to have reached Aleppo after journeying upriver through the port of Basra.

The imperial Mughal entourage stayed in Mecca and Medina for nearly four years and attended the Hajj four times. In 1582, the Ottoman authorities forced them to return to India. Historian Naimur Rahman Farooqi has suggested that their expulsion may explain why Akbar broke relations with the Hijaz and stopped sending Hajj caravans after 1581.

According to some accounts, Akbar expressed a desire to form an alliance with the Portuguese against the Ottomans, but nothing came of the idea.

Before Akbar's rule, the Safavids and the Mughals had a long history of diplomatic relations. The Safavid ruler Tahmasp I provided refuge to Humayun when he was forced to flee the Indian subcontinent following his defeat by Sher Shah Suri. However, the Safavids differed from the Sunni Mughals in following the Shia branch of Islam.

One of the longest-standing disputes between the Safavids and the Mughals pertained to control of the city of Kandahar in the Hindu Kush region, which formed the border between the two empires. Military strategists of the time considered the region to be militarily significant due to its geography. The city, which was administered by Bairam Khan at the time of Akbar's accession, was invaded and captured by the Persian ruler Soltan Hosayn Mirza, a cousin of Tahmasp I, in 1558. Shortly afterwards, Akbar's army completed its annexation of Kabul, and to further secure the north-western boundaries of his empire, it proceeded to Kandahar. The city capitulated without resistance on 18 April 1595, and the ruler Mozaffar-Hosayn Mirza joined Akbar's court. Subsequent to this, Bairam Khan sent an envoy to the court of Tahmasp I in an effort to maintain peaceful relations with the Safavids. This gesture was reciprocated and a cordial relationship prevailed between the two empires during the remainder of the first two decades of Akbar's reign. The death of Tahmasp I in 1576 resulted in civil war and instability in the Safavid empire, and diplomatic relations between the two empires ceased for more than a decade. They were restored only in 1587 following the accession of Shah Abbas to the Safavid throne. Diplomatic relations continued to be maintained between the Safavid and Mughal courts until the end of Akbar's reign. Kandahar remained in Mughal possession, and the Hindu Kush was the empire's western frontier for several decades until Shah Jahan's expedition into Badakhshan in 1646.

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.

Akbar was also visited by the French explorer Pierre Malherbe.