Akbar the Great

painting became of great importance as a multi-ethnic tradition after influence from Persian painters. The Sultan of Iran and Emperor Akbar were very good friends and often mixed their cultures. Persian poets and singers influenced Akbar’s court. But Iran was not the only place that singers came from. Akbar had his own musicians, one of which was a Hindu named Tansen. Tansen became the Royal singer and was a major influence on Hindustani music today. Akbar also invested much of his money and time into architecture. “He gave full vent to the emerging Mughal architectural style in a new purpose built 7.5 sq km administrative capital at Fatehpur Sikri near Agra” (Fletcher). Akbar’s cultural and architectural enhancements and influences lasted again until the reign of Aurangzeb, who banned all music and art. Akbar’s embracement of all cultures and their traditions was another factor that made many groups of people, including foreigners happy. Gaining happiness of his own people and also foreigners was a vital strategy making Akbar the most popular ruler of the Mughal Empire.

Overall, historians are correct that Akbar is accurately called “The Great”. Due to his liberalistic ideologies, Akbar the Great can realistically be considered the most popular ruler of the mighty Mughal Empire. The combination of his religious and social tolerance, government and economic reform, and acceptance of all forms of foreign culture made him an ideal liberal ruler. His liberalism contributed to making him the most popular Mughal Ruler.

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Tandon