No More Learning

From Nagaur Akbar made a pilgrimage to the shrine of Shaikh
Farid Shakarganj at Ajudhan, now known as Pak Pattan, amusing


## p. 103 (#135) ############################################

INVASION OF GUJARAT
103
himself on the way by hunting the wild ass in the desert, of which
rare quarry he shot thirteen head.
From Pak Pattan he marched by way of Dipalpur to Lahore, and
returned by way of Hissar to Ajmer, which he reached on 24 July.
On 9 August he reached Fathpur Sikri, where he seriously prosecuted
his design of building a city. His reasons for this step are thus recorded
by Abu-'l-Fazl: "Inasmuch as his exalted sons [Salim and Murad]
had been born at Sikri, and the God-knowing spirit of Shaikh Salim
had taken possession thereof, his holy heart desired to give outward
splendour to this spot which possessed spiritual grandeur. Now that
his standards had arrived at this place his former design was pressed
forward and an order was issued that the superintendents of affairs
should erect lofty buildings for the use of the emperor. "
Akbar had been kept regularly informed of events in Gujarat, the
condition of which kingdom was now deplorable. Its recent history
had been the record of a series of bloody struggles for supremacy
between ambitious and self-seeking nobles, and it was this state of
affairs which had proved so attractive to the Mirzas. Muzaffar III,
the nominal king, whose claim to royal birth was extremely doubt-
ful, was powerless to maintain even a semblance of order and was
never more than a tool in the hands of others.
For the invasion of Gujarat, on which he now decided, Akbar had
a better excuse than for most of his attacks on his neighbours. A civil
war was in progress, and one party, headed by I'timad Khan, invited
his intervention. The country lay on the way to Mecca and all
Muslims were interested in its tranquillity and good government. Its
weakness invited the aggression of the Portuguese both on its coasts
and on pilgrim ships sailing from its ports, and the emperor was
powerless to punish their aggression while the independent king-
doms of Gujarat and the Deccan separated their settlements from
his dominions.
Before leaving Sikri he was obliged to make arrangements for
dealing with a minor rebellion. Jay Chand, Raja of Nagarkot (Kan-
gra), had visited his court, had offended him and had been imprisoned,
and his son Bidai Chand, hearing of his father's imprisonment, con-
cluded that he had been murdered and rebelled at Nagarkot. Husain
Quli Khan, governor of the Punjab, was ordered to capture Nagarkot
and to hand it over, as a fief, to Raja Birbal.
Having sent reinforcements to the Punjab lest Muhammad Hakim
should take advantage of his preoccupation in Gujarat to invade
India, Akbar marched for Ajmer, whence, on 12 August, he sent
forward 10,000 horse under Khan Kalan as an advance guard and
on 1 September followed with the main body of his army. Near Bagor,
1 Dr Vincent Smith (Akbar, p. 110) has “Nagaur", following the printed
text of the Akbar-nama. A glance at the map will show that Nagaur is an
impossible reading. Akbar marching from Ajmer to Gujarat, would not have


## p. 104 (#136) ############################################

AKBAR, 1556-1573
104
where the court halted, he received news of the birth of his son Daniyal
at Ajmer.
At the next stage he was informed of a mishap to Khan Kalan,
who had been stabbed by a treacherous envoy at Sirohi. The wound
was not serious and healed in a fortnight, and the Hindu who inflicted
it was slain. It was probably to avenge his death that a number
of desperate fanatics opposed Akbar when he entered Sirohi with his
army. Eighty of these were slain in a temple and seventy in the
raja's palace.
Rai Singh of Bikaner was sent to Jodhpur to watch the Rana and
keep the road open and Akbar marched to Patan (Anhilwara) send-
ing Raja Man Singh in pursuit of the sons of Sher Khan Fuladi,
who had fled from that town towards Junagarh. He returned with-
out the fugitive, but with much booty taken from them, and on
13 November Akbar left Patan for Ahmadabad, where Sher Khan
Fuladi, who had gained possession of the person of Muzaffar III,
was besieging I'timad Khan. He raised the siege and fled on hearing
of Akbar's approach, and Muzaffar, who had escaped from custody,
was found lurking in a cornfield at Jotana, two stages from Patan,
and on 15 November was brought into Akbar's camp. On the fol-
lowing day I'timad Khan and the leading members of his faction
appeared in the camp and surrendered the keys of Ahmadabad.
Akbar appointed Khan A'zam governor of Gujarat to the north-
west of the river Mahi and wisely confided the government of the
rest of the province, where the Mirzas had established themselves,
to I'timad Khan and his party, who were hostile to the Mirzas.
He arrived at Ahmadabad on 20 November, and the khutba was
recited in his name. He had reason to be satisfied with his conquest.
Ahmadabad was one of the richest and greatest cities in India, and
though it is not necessary to take too literally Abu-'l-Fazl's statement
that it contained 380 quarters, each of which might be deemed a
city, its commercial importance may be estimated from the fact that
it was the emporium of the greater part of the Persian and of a very
large part of the European trade.
At Ahmadabad Akbar discovered that it would be necessary for
him personally to undertake the expulsion of the Mirzas from the
southern provinces of the kingdom, and, leaving Ahmadabad on
8 December he reached Cambay four days later. Here he enjoyed
his first sight of the sea and received the merchants of Turkey, Syria,
Persia, Transoxiana and Portugal. He left Cambay after a week's
halt and arrived on 22 December at Baroda.
been likely to march nearly 80 miles in a north-westerly direction when his
obiective lay directly to the south-west. The correct reading must be Bagor
(25° 22' N. , 74° 23' E. ) which is obtained by changing the pos tion of one dot.
That this is so is proved by the text of the Akbar-nama, where it is stated that
Akbar's next stage was "the neighbourhood of Amet". The distance from Bagor
to Amet is about 28 miles and that from Nagaur to Amet about 140.


## p. 105 (#137) ############################################

Calar
OUM
iste
a ha
the
Fë 8 WA.
12
li
OPERATIONS AGAINST THE MIRZAS
105
The Mirzas had possessed themselves of the richest districts of
southern Gujarat. Ibrahim Husain Mirza had occupied Baroda,
Muhammad Husain Mirza Surat, and Shah Mirza Champaner. A
large force under Sayyid Mahmud Khan Barha was detached to
reduce Surat, and another, under Shahbaz Khan, to reduce Cham-
paner, but had not reached their destinations when Akbar heard that
Ibrahim Husain Mirza was about to leave Baroda with his troops and
retire to some other district of Gujarat. Akbar resolved to intercept
him and set out at night with a small picked force. After marching
the rest of the night and the whole of the following day he reached
the Mahi river at sunset and discovered that Ibrahim Husain Mirza
was at Sarnal on the opposite bank, with a large force. Those with
him advised postponing the attack until night had fallen but Akbar
at once crossed the river with no more than 200 horse.
Ibrahim Husain marched forth from the town and drew up his
force while Akbar, having crossed the river, entered it by the river
gate, after overcoming some slight resistance. He marched through
the town and his small force deployed as it emerged from the streets.
Ibrahim Husain attacked it and drove in the advance guard, and
Akbar was in a position of great danger. He was attacked by three
horsemen, one of whom was slain by Bhagwan Das while he himself
drove off the other two. His small force then charged the enemy and
Ibrahim Husain turned and fled, followed by Akbar and his men
until darkness ended the pursuit, when the Mirza succeeded in
escaping by way of Ahmadnagar to Sirohi and Patan,
The young Muzaffar Husain Mirza was carried off by his mother
from Surat, on the approach of the imperial forces, to the Deccan,
and the defence of the fort was left to Hamzaban, who had been
page to Humayun, but had thrown in his lot with the Mirzas. Akbar
arrived before Surat on 11 January, 1573, and Hamzaban, after endur-
ing a six weeks' siege, offered to surrender conditionally. Akbar
granted him easy terms and the fortress was surrendered on 26 Feb-
ruary. Hamzaban, "who was a foul-mouthed fellow", must have been
guilty of insolence after the surrender, for his tongue was cut out.
The garrison had invited a force of Portuguese to assist in the
defence of the town, but when they arrived and saw how matters
stood they assumed the character of envoys, and offered gifts to
Akbar, who questioned them about Portugal and the affairs of
Europe. The fulsome Abu-'l-Fazl adds: "Although it is well known
that the holy heart of the Lord of the World is the repository of all
knowledge, bcth spiritual and worldly, his exemplary mind designed
to make these inquiries a means of showing kindness to that crew of
savages. ” This is a fair sample of Abu-'l-Fazl's style. The "crew of
savages" could have told and probably did tell Akbar many things
of which he had never even dreamed. For one think they could tell
him where Portugal was, and the names of the states of Europe.


## p. 106 (#138) ############################################

106
AKBAR, 1556-1573
The emperor, who was still an orthodox Muslim, had an interest
in assuring the safety of the voyage to Mecca and was therefore
dependent on the good will of the Portuguese. He sent an envoy
to the viceroy, Dom Antonio de Noronha, who, after receiving him,
sent back with him Antonio Cabral, who established a friendly
understanding.
Mirza Sharaf-ud-din Husain, one of the members of the conspiracy
which had compassed the death of Atga Khan, had fled from court
in 1562 to his assignment at Nagaur and thence to Gujarat, where
he had joined the Mirzas. After their discomfiture he had gone
towards the Deccan but had been captured by the Raja of Baglan,
who was now called upon to surrender him. He complied and
Akbar's envoys brought the fugitive, on 4 March, to the camp before
Surat. They were accompanied by Raja 'Ali Khan, brother of
Muhammad II of Khandesh, who had been sent to do homage to
Akbar, Sharaf-ud-din Husain was intimidated by being thrown
before the feet of a harmless elephant, and was then imprisoned.
Muhammad Husain Mirza, Shah Mirza and Sher Khan Fuladi now
besieged Sayyid Ahmad Barha in Patan, and Khan A'zam and the
army of Malwa marched to his relief and defeated and dispersed the
besiegers, Sher Khan fleeing to Junagarh and the two Mirzas to
the Deccan.
Ibrahim Husain Mirza, after his escape from the field of Sarnal,
fled first towards Patan and then towards Agra, but Shaham Khan
was ordered to raise the siege of Champaner, which then engaged
him, and intercept the fugitive, and the Mirza directed his flight
towards the Punjab.
Akbar returned to Ahmadabad on 2 April and, having confirmed
Khan A'zam as governor of the new province of the empire, allotted
various grants to the leading officers who had accompanied him, and
appointed Muzaffar Khan Turbati to the government of Malwa in
the place of Qutb-ud-din Muhammad Khan, who had not shown
sufficient promptitude in obeying his bidding to assist in establishing
peace and order in Gujarat. He left Ahmadabad on 13 April, and
at Sirohi learnt that Husain Quli Khan, governor of the Punjab,
had captured both Ibrahim Husain Mirza and his brother Mas'ud
Husain Mirza. He arrived at Ajmer on 13 May, and, after performing
his usual pilgrimage, continued his journey to Fathpur Sikri, which
he reached on 3 June. Shaikh Mubarak, the father of Faizi and
Abu-'l-Fazl, appeared before him on this occasion and welcomed him
in a speech in which he congratulated him on his victories. In this
speech he expressed the hope that the emperor might become the
spiritual as well as the temporal head of his people. We may be sure
that no such hope would have been expressed unless there had been
some reason for supposing that it would be welcome, and the heterodox
orator, a man who in religion was "everything by turns and nothing
!


## p. 107 (#139) ############################################

11
AKBAR'S RELIGIOUS MISGIVINGS
107
long", had probably heard that Akbar, while besieging Surat, had
listened attentively to the famous mubid of Zoroastrian theologian
Dastur Mahyarji Rana of Navsari. It was not until nine years later
that he promulgated his new religion, the Divine Faith, but he had
always been given to religious discussions and it was certainly in
1573 that he began to feel misgivings as to the sufficiency of orthodox
Islam. Henceforth he sought a more perfect way, but his spiritual
pride misled him.
He was not left in peace to pursue his religious meditations, and
in the course of his busy life he oscillated between various creeds
before he collected his stock-in-trade as a prophet.


## p. 108 (#140) ############################################

CHAPTER V
AKBAR, MYSTIC AND PROPHET
HUSAIN QULI KHAN had been obliged by the flight of the
two Mirzas into the Punjab to raise the siege of Nagarkot, but had
first exacted from Bidai Chand complete submission to Akbar.
Having defeated the Mirzas he carried his prisoners, 300 in number,
to Fathpur Sikri where the head of Ibrahim Husain was laid before
the thrcne, and Mas'ud Husain, with his eyes sewn up, was delivered
to Akbar, who, having caused the stitches to be cut, imprisoned the
rebel in Gwalior. The other prisoners, clad in the skins of cows, asses,
hogs and dogs, formed a grotesque pageant, after which some were
released, others imprisoned, and others put to death with fantastic
tortures. Husain Quli Khan received the title of Khan Jahan.
Sulaiman Kararani, king of Bengal, had died during Akbar's expe-
dition to Gujarat, and Akbar, on his return, was preparing for the
conquest of Bengal when news arrived that Gujarat was in revolt.
Muhammad Husain Mirza, who had fled to Daulatabad, had returned
to Gujarat and joined a confederacy which the rebellious nobles of the
old dynasty had formed with the Raja of Idar. They besieged Khan
A'zam in Ahmadabad, and, on learning of the rebellion, Akbar left
Fathpur Sikri on 23 August, and on 2 September arrived within four
miles of Ahmadabad, having performed the march from Fathpur Sikri
in eleven days.
Khan A'zam was apprised of Akbar's arrival, and the imperial
troops, numbering no more than 3000, halted on the banks of the
Sabarmati. Akbar was advised to fall on the enemy at once, but his
foolish punctilio restrained him from attacking even rebels unawares,
and he caused the great kettle-drums to be beaten. Muhammad
Husain Mirza, on being informed that the sound indicated that the
emperor was present in person, refused to credit the account as his
spies had reported that they had seen Akbar at Fathpur Sikri only
a fortnight before, but he sent Ikhtiyar-ul-Mulk with 5000 horse to
prevent Khan A'zam from issuing from Ahmadabad, and himself
attacked Akbar's force. Akbar in person led a charge against the
rebels, and the Mirza was wounded. His horse fell with him as he
was fleeing and he was captured and brought before Akbar, who
delivered him into the custody of Rai Singh. A fresh force advancing
towards Akbar's troops was believed to be that commanded by Khan
A'zam, but proved to be the 5000 horse led by Ikhtiyar-ul-Mulk. This
force was likewise attacked and defeated by Akbar, and Ikhtivar-ul-
Mulk was captured and shared the fate of Muhammad Husain Mirza,
who had been put to death by order of Rai Singh. Late in the after-
noon Khan A'zam issued from Ahmadabad and joined Akbar, who
1


## p. 109 (#141) ############################################

ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS
109
embraced him affectionately and greeted the officers with him. A
column was sent to Broach and Champaner in pursuit of the other rebel,
Shah Mirza, who had fled, but he escaped and is heard of no more.
Thus ended the most astonishing military exploit of Akbar's reign.
In eleven days he had ridden, with 3000 horse, more than 450 miles;
on arriving at his destination he had fought, in one day, two battles,
each against a force superior in numbers to his own, and in each he had
gained a decisive victory, and had completely crushed a dangerous
rebellion.
He remained at Ahmadabad for no more than ten days after his
success, but during that short period he made arrangements for the
government of the province.
The finances of Gujarat had fallen into the utmost confusion. The
administration of the state had for years been lax to the verge of
anarchy, and after a long period of internecine strife it had been the
scene of almost uninterrupted warfare for a year. It had been
impossible to collect any revenue, and it was probably difficult to
ascertain on what principle and in what proportion the land rent
should be collected. Raja Todar Mal was appointed to revise the
settlement and to restore order in the financial administration.
Akbar arrived at his capital on 5 October, and within a month
Raja Bhagwan Das returned with the army and brought with him
Umrao Singh, son of Partab Singh, Rana of Chitor, sent by his father
to court in order that he might enter the emperor's service.
A great measure of reform in the administration of the empire
was now inaugurated by the promulgation of the "branding regula-
tion", the conversion of all the assignments into crown lands, and
the regulation of the grades of the officers of state.
The branding regulation applied to the horses which the nobles anil
Tesser officers were obliged to maintain for their contingents, and was
designed to prevent the fraudulent practice of producing at musters
horses temporarily borrowed or hired. It was modelled on similar re-
gulations issued by 'Ala-ud-din Khalji and Sher Shah, and was bitterly
opposed by those whose opportunities for peculation it curtailed, one
of its most obstinate opponents being Khan A'zam, the emperor's
foster-brother.
The conversion of the whole of the imperial territories into crown
lands was a root and branch measure, amounting to nothing less
than the complete change of the administrative system. It was aimed
against the corrupt practices of the officers of state who, while
extracting the last penny of revenue from their assignments, failed
to maintain at full strength or to pay at a just rate the contingents
for the support of which the assignments had been made. Akbar's
intention was that his territories should be administered by his own
revenue officials, and that his troops should be a standing army
regularly paid at uniform rates from the imperial treasury.


## p. 110 (#142) ############################################

110
AKBAR, MYSTIC AND PROPHET
The regulation of the grades of the officers of state consisted in the
establishment of a graded list of the mansabdars, or officers of the
army, whose rank ranged from that of commander of 5000 down to
that of commander of ten horse. The measure affected civil as well as
military officials, for the former held relative rank and were graded
as commanders of horse even though they might never command
troops. Akbar's intention was that all should, as a rule, enter in the
lowest rank and rise by merit.
For the purpose of carrying out these reforms Muzaffar Khan
Turbati was appointed vakil, or first minister of the empire, and
Todar Mal on his return from Gujarat was appointed his assistant,
but Muzaffar Khan, who personally disapproved of the reform failed
to enforce them and was consequently dismissed.
The reforms were, indeed, generally unpopular. Akbar succeeded
in resuming the land in the more settled provinces of the empire,
where the troops, from those in high command downwards, were
paid from the treasury and the cavalry soldiers received branded
horses from the state. Collectors of revenue were appointed, each
to a tract estimated to yield a crore (karor=10,000,000) of dams, equi-
valent to Rs. 250,000, and were styled croris (karoris). They were
expected both to collect the revenue and to improve it by encouraging
the extension of cultivation, but they proved to be both inefficient
and extortionate, and many were severely punished. In 1582 Todar
Mal was appointed vakil, or prime minister of the empire, and was
ordered to prepare a scheme for the improvement of the revenue
administration. The thirteen proposals which he submitted to Akbar
were so elementary in their nature as to make it clear that the re-
sumption of the land by the crown had in no way lightened the
burden of the husbandman.
In the less settled and newly conquered provinces the old system
remained undisturbed, but Akbar insisted on the enforcement of the
branding regulation in all provinces. It is to the unpopularity of this
measure that Abu-'l-Fazl attributes the rebellion which broke out
in Bihar and Bengal in 1580, but though this may have been a con-
tributory cause the rebellion was chiefly due to Akbar's religious
innovations. In 1576, when Khan A'zam was summoned from Gujarat
to join a projected expedition to Badakhshan, it was discovered that
he had made no attempt to enforce the obnoxious regulation in his
province, and he so violently condemned it that he was deprived of
office. Another might have lost his life, but Akbar could never cross
the "river of milk".
Sulaiman Kararani, who had been governor of Bihar under Sher
Shah, established his independence in Bengal when the power of the
Sur dynasty declined. He had placated Akbar by acknowledging
his authority and occasionally sending his tribute, and had died in
1 See also chap. XVI.


## p. 111 (#143) ############################################

ABU-'L-FAZL AND BADAUNI ARRIVE AT COURT
in
a
1572. His elder son, Bayazid, who succeeded him, had been put to
death, after a reign of a few months, by his turbulent Afghan nobles,
who raised to the throne his younger brother Daud.
This prince was intoxicated by his elevation to power and by the
extent of his resources. He was the master of much treasure, of
40,000 cavalry, of 140,000 infantry, of 20,000 guns of sorts, of 3300
elephants, and of an enormous fleet of river boats. He defied Akbar
by refusing to acknowledge his supremacy, and invaded his dominions
and destroyed the fort of Zamaniya, near Ghazipur. Mun‘im Khan
had been sent against him, and had compelled him to retire to Patna,
where he besieged him. In the conduct of the siege he experienced
considerable difficulties, less from the activity of the enemy than from
the insubordination of Khan 'Alam, who had been sent to assist him,
and his reports caused Akbar to march in person to his assistance.
Before he left Fathpur Sikri his famous secretary, Abu-'l-Fazl, and
the historian, 'Abdul-Qadir Badauni, were presented to him for the
first time.
Abu-'l-Fazl was now a young man of twenty-three. As a boy he
had studied assiduously under his father, Shaikh Mubarak, and had
afterwards followed his own bent in reading and meditation, until
he became, as he himself confesses, a prig of the first water. He
meditated and speculated on the mysteries of all religions, and was
so perplexed by the differences between the formalists of every faith
that he had “neither strength to remain silent nor power to cry out”.
He was a mystic and a visionary, and was the worst possible adviser
that one of Akbar's tendencies could have had in spiritual matters.
It was probably not he who invented the “Divine Faith”, for that
seems to have been the bantling of Akbar's own brain, but both he
and his father undoubtedly had a part in encouraging Akbar's
extravagant view of his spiritual prerogative.
He was favourably received, and, though he did not at once enter
the imperial service, he found, as he says, in Akbar his "true spiritual
guide. His eyes were opened and he perceived the spiritual excellence
of a sovereign who was the confluence of the oceans of religious and
worldly duty, the dayspring of the lights of outward forms and
inward graces", and much more to the same effect.
Abu-'l-Fazl undoubtedly had for Akbar an admiration none the
less genuine for its coincidence with his interest, but few will agree
with the late Mr Blochmann that the charge of flattery and wilful
concealment of facts damaging to the reputation of his master is
absolutely unfounded, or that he praises with much more grace and
dignity than any other eastern writer. In gross flattery there can be
neither grace nor dignity, and Abu-'l-Fazl's flattery is uncouth in
form and style and differs from the formal and customary tribute of
other panegyrists by verging on blasphemy.
Akbar left“Agra by boat on 20 June, his army marching by: land,


## p. 112 (#144) ############################################

112
AKBAR, MYSTIC AND PROPHET
and on 4 August reached Patna, where it was decided to capture
Hajipur on the north bank of the river, the depot whence the garrison
of Patna drew its supplies, but Akbar first made a foolish proposal
to Daud that the differences between them should be settled by single
combat. Even Daud had the wit to understand that great armies
are not maintained merely as spectators of tournaments, and re-
jected the proposal.
Hajipur was taken on 7 August, and on 9 August the Afghans
evacuated Patna by night and fled. Akbar pursued them the next
day as far as Daryapur, near Barh, and, though he failed to come up
with them, took much plunder, including 265 elephants. The next
day he was joined by Mun‘im Khan who had followed him, and who
was left to complete the conquest of Bengal, Akbar returning to Delhi,
which he reached on 17 October. On his way he received two
despatches from Mun'im Khan, the first announcing the bloodless
capture of the fortified pass of Teliyagarhi, the gate of lower Bengal,
and the second the occupation of Daud's capital, Tanda.
In 1575 the province of Gujarat suffered severely from a pestilence,
and from a famine which lasted for six months, a calamity rare in
that fertile region and greatly aggravated by the wars and disorders
which had devastated it.
Meanwhile the conquest of Bengal proceeded but slowly, owing to
dissensions between the officers and the sloth and insubordination
of the trocps. Mun'im Khan made Tanda his headquarters and left
the direction of operations in the field chiefly to Todar Mal. Ghora-
ghat," Satgaon ? and Burdwan were occupied, but an imperial force
was defeated in Chota Nagpur by Junaid Kararani, Daud's cousin,
against whom Todar Mal was obliged to advance in person. He
defeated him, and occupied Midnapore, but Junaid soon recovered
from his defeat, and marched into Bihar, which had been invaded
by another Afghan force under Taj Khan. The imperial governor.
Muzaffar Khan Turbati, was thus obliged to deal with two rebel
forces and also to recover Hajipur, which another body of Afghans
had recaptured, but after many vicissitudes he succeeded in expelling
all the rebels and in restoring order in the province.
Todar Mal, still at Midnapore, was preparing to advance into
Orissa, where Daud had taken refuge, but his troops insisted that their
defeat of Junaid had earned them some repose and refused to embark
on a fresh campaign. Mun‘im Khan sent him a reinforcement which
enabled him to prevent the malcontents from retreating, but not to
induce them to advance.
Daud, hearing of these dissensions, assembled a considerable army
and marched against Todar Mal, who advanced to Chitwa, but,
nistrusting the spirit and the loyalty of his officers, again appealed
to Mun'im Khan, who at length took the field in person and joined
1 25° 15' N. , 89° 18' E.
2 22° 58' N. , 88° 23' E.
2


## p. 113 (#145) ############################################

BENGAL OCCUPIED. THE “HALL OF WORSHIP”
. " 113
him. An attempt to turn Daud's flank and to cut his line of retreat
compelled him to prepare for battle.
The battle is variously known as that of Bajhaura, Mughulmari,
and Tukaroi, and the researches of the late Mr Blochmann 1 have
determined its site, which was on the road from Midnapore to
Jaleswar, rather more than half-way from the former to the latter,
and within three miles of the eastern bank of the Subarnarekha.
The result of the battle was for some time in doubt. Mun‘im Khan
was severely wounded, 'Alam Khan was killed, and the centre broke
and fled, throwing even the left wing, under Todar Mal, into some
confusion. The centre was, however, rallied and drove back the van-
guard of the Afghan centre. Todar Mal then pressed forward and
drove the right wing of the Afghans from the field. Their left wing
also gave way, and Daud fled, and took refuge in Cuttack. Todar
Mal pursued him vigorously as far as Bhadrakh, and after Mun'im
Khan had joined him there envoys from Daud arrived, to sue for
peace. Daud offered to appear before Mun‘im Khan and swear
allegiance to Akbar, to surrender his elephants and pay tribute, and
to wait personally on the emperor when approved service should
have ensured him a favourable reception. The troops had long been
weary of field service in the unaccustomed climate of Bengal, so
Mun‘im Khan accepted these terms, and on 12 April received Daud
on the bank of the Mahanadi. Daud made obeisance and delivered to
Mun'im, besides many rich gifts, his nephew Muhammad, son of
Bayazid, to be detained at the imperial court as a hostage, and in
return received as a grant the greater part of Orissa. There was
much rejoicing in the army at the termination of hostilities, but Todar
Mal, the real hero of the campaign, stood aloof. He strongly dis-
approved of the treaty, and refused to affix his seal to it, but the news
of peace was welcomed at court.
When Mun'im Khan, after returning to Tanda, had expelled the
local Afghans who during his absence had occupied all the territory
to the east of the Ganges, Bengal, though the seeds of future trouble
remained, was at length quiet, and Akbar had leisure to turn his
thoughts to other matters. For his favourite amusement he built at
Fathpur Sikri his famous 'Ibadat-Khana, or "Hall of Worship", which
would have been more accurately styled a hall of debate. Its exact
design has never been ascertained, but it seems to have been cruci-
form in plan, the four arms of a Greek cross forming four halls for
the accommodation of four classes of disputants and their supporters :
(1) Shaikhs, or those who had acquired a reputation for sanctity or
for the possession of peculiar spiritual gifts, (2) Sayyids, or descen-
dants of Muhammad, (3) the 'Ulama, or jurists and doctors of the
sacred law of Islam, and (4) nobles of the court interested in specula-
tive theology. None but Muslims werę at first admitted to the dis-
1 Ain-i-Akbari, trans. , 1, 375.
8


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114
AKBAR, MYSTIC AND PROPHET
cussions, for Akbar, though much attracted by the pantheistic
mysticism of the Sufis, was still a professing Muslim, and even had
he desired to admit professors of other faiths the strength of the
orthodox party was then so strong that he could not have done so.
The orthodox, or Sunni, party was led by Mulla ‘Abdullah of
Sultanpur, entitled Makhdum-ul-Mulk, and by the Sadr, Shaikh
'Abdun-Nabi. Their orthodoxy was beyond question, but even the
rigid Sunni, Badauni, condemns the worldliness, avarice and duplicity
of Makhdum-ul-Mulk, but adds, with approval, “owing to his exer-
tions many heretics and schismatics had gone to the places prepared
for them”.
Shaikh 'Abdun-Nabi had put to death a Brahman
convicted of the offence of abusing the prophet of Islam, and had
interpreted the marriage law with an exactitude which had given
great offence to Akbar.
Shaikh Mubarak, the father of Faizi and Abu-'l-Fazl, had revelled
in spiritual experiences. He had been been in turn a Sunni, a Shiah,
a Sufi, a Mahdiist, and probably many other things besides. He had
even professed to be the Mahdi, and for this offence had shortly
before this time been obliged to go into hiding to save his life, for
the jurists had decided to have him put to death for heresy. His
position in the discussions was that of a free-lance. He had at first
no system to offer as a substitute for orthodox Islam, and his object
was purely destructive, the complete discomfiture of his enemies. His
great learning fitted him for the task. He was versed in all contentious
questions, and well knew how to set his persecutors by the ears, for
even the orthodox had their differences. He soon had the doctors
of the law cursing and reviling one another, and their vituperation
and vulgar abuse at first diverted and afterwards disgusted Akbar.
The introduction of Shiah disputants poured oil on the flames of
strife, and the wrangles between the various sects and the intolerant
violence of the orthodox gradually alienated Akbar from Islam, but
he was still a professing Muslim, and in this year a party from his
court, including his wife Salima and his aunt Gulbadan, set out on
the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Eastern Bengal was still unsettled, and Mun'im Khan transferred
his headquarters from Tanda to Gaur, further to the east. His
officers knew if he did not why the old city had been abandoned,
and protested, but in vain, against being compelled to inhabit so
pestilential a spot. Their worst anticipations were soon realised.
Fourteen officers of high rank fell victims to the climate, and the
mortality among the troops was so great that the living were unable
to bury the dead, and threw the corpses into the river. Mun'im
Khan remained obstinate until he was recalled to Tanda by the
renewed activity of Junaid Kararani in Chota Nagpur, and there
he fell sick and died after a short illness in October, 1575.
The officers elected Shaham Khan Jalair as their leader, but


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FRESH CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE RANA
115
could not agree among themselves, and Daud, profiting by their
dissensions and by the broken spirit of their troops, took the field.
He captured Bhadrakh and Jaleswar, and Shaham Khan, thoroughly
disheartened, retired into Bihar, leaving the whole of Bengal in the
hands of the Afghans.
Earlier in the year Mirza Sulaiman of Badakhshan, having been
expelled from his principality by his rebellious grandson, Shah Rukh,
had sought an asylum at the imperial court and Akbar had generously
but thoughtlessly promised to recover his throne for him. The loss
of Bengal postponed indefinitely the fulfilment of this rash promise
and Akbar attempted to console the disappointed exile with the chief
command in Bengal, but the offer was rejected. In 1576 Sulaiman
set out for Mecca, and the government of Bengal was bestowed upon
Khan Jahan, governor of the Punjab, whose army had already been
mobilised for the recovery of Badakhshan, and Todar Mal accom-
panied him. They found the officers of the Bengal army in an in-
tractable mood. They trembled for the safety of the wealth which
they had amassed in Bengal, they dreaded Akbar's wrath, and many,
who were Sunnis, resented their subordination to the Shiah, Khan
Jahan, but he, with the assistance of Todar Mal, reduced them to
obedience and established his authority. Daud, now re-established
at Tanda, had sent a force to occupy Teliyagarhi, but Khan Jahan
captured both the fortress and the pass and slew half of the force
which garrisoned them.
Early in 1576 Akbar started on his annual pilgrimage to Ajmer,
and while there opened hostilities against the Rana, who had failed
to appear at court and had fortified himself at Gogunda. Man Singh
was appointed to the command of the army sent against him, and
with him were associated Ghiyas-ud-din, 'Ali Asaf Khan, two of the
Barha Sayyids, and Rai Lon Karan, a Rajput of the Kachhwaha clan.
The army marched from Mandalgarh towards Gogunda and halted
in the plain of Haldighat, below the pass of that name. “At this
pass Pratap was posted with the flower of Mewar, and glorious was
the struggle for its maintenance. Clan after clan followed with
desperate intrepidity, emulating the daring of their prince, who led
the crimson banner into the hottest part of the field. ”
The battle was fought in the latter half of June, “when the air
was like a furnace". A charge by Hakim Sur the Afghan, who was
fighting for the Rana, put Lon Karan's Rajputs to flight, and Asaf
Khan's contingent maintained a heavy fire of musketry and shot
flights of arrows into the mingled mass. Badauni, who was present,
asked Asaf Khan how it was possible to distinguish friend from foe.
and Asaf Khan replied, "They will hear the whiz of the arrows,
be they who they may, and on whichever side they fall the gain is
Islam's”.
For some hours the day appeared to be going in favour of the Rana,


## p. 116 (#148) ############################################

116
AKBAR, MYSTIC AND PROPHET
but shortly after midday Man Singh's rearguard arrived on the field,
and it was believed that Akbar had marched to his assistance. The
Muslims raised a shout, and the Rajputs lost heart and gave way,
and "the best blood of Mewar irrigated the pass of Haldighat. Of
the nearest kin of the prince five hundred were slain: the exiled prince
of Gwalior, Ram Sah, his son Khandirao, with three hundred and
fifty of his brave Tuar clan, paid the debt of gratitude with their lives.
Since the expulsion by Babur they had found sanctuary in Mewar,
whose princes diminished their feeble revenue to maintain inviolable
the rites of hospitality. Mana, the devoted Jhala, lost one hundred
and fifty of his vassals, and every house of Mewar mourned its chief
support. ” The loss to the imperial troops was not heavy, but they
were too exhausted to pursue, and it was not until the following day
that they occupied Gogunda.
The campaign in Bengal made little progress. Tanda had been
occupied, but Daud had retired into the fortress of Ak Mahall, now
Rajmahal, and Khan Jahan had reported that with the force at his
disposal it was impossible to attack the fortress. News of the battle of
Haldighat was sent to Bengal to encourage him, Muzafar Khan
Turbati was ordered to march with the army of Bihar to his assistance,
and he was informed that Akbar himself was about to start for
Bengal.
The advent of the rainy season had made military operations almost
impossible, but, after being joined by Muzaffar Khan, Khan Jahan
attacked Daud. Progress over the flooded ground was toilsome and
slow, and the advance was checked by a marshy stream, but fords
were discovered and the troops crossed by degrees. Their left was
checked by the enemy's right, but when Todar Mal was able to
bring his whole force into action the Afghans fled. Their left, which
had been exposed all night to the fire of the imperial artillery, was
already broken and their whole army was in retreat before Khan
Jahan's centre was engaged. As he was advancing to the attack
shouts of victory were heard, and two officers led Daud before him.
His horse had stuck in the mud as he was attempting to flee, and he
had been seized. He was at once executed and his head was sent
to Agra.
Akbar, perturbed by the absence of satisfactory news from Bengal,
set out from Fathpur Sikri on 22 July, 1576. He had marched but
one short stage when Sayyid 'Abdullah Khan arrived in his camp
and threw down Daud's head before him. He returned to Fathpur
Sikri and ordered public rejoicings for the victory.
The independence of Bengal waś now finally extinguished. We may
lament the defeat of the gallant Rana and the misfortunes which
befel his land of heroes, but no such sentiment is aroused by the
extinction of Afghan dominion in Bengal, and the substitution of
Akbar's milder and more sympathetic rule. The Afghans were


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SUBMISSION OF MINOR RAJPUT CHIEFS
117
illiberal tyrants, either bigots or debauchees, without a spark of feel-
ing for those subjected to their sway.
In September Akbar set out on his pilgrimage to Ajmer where
Man Singh, who had been summoned from the Rana's country in
disgrace, joined the camp. He was a loyal servant of Akbar, and he
had no reason to love Partab Singh, who made no secret of his
opinion of those Rajputs who had given daughters or sisters in mar-
riage to Muslims, even of the imperial house, but he could hardly
be expected to incur the infamy of delivering to disgrace, if not to
death, the chief of his race, and he had undoubtedly let slip oppor-
tunities of taking the Rana. Akbar should not have imposed such a
task upon a Rajput, and he now seems to have understood that he
had too severely tested a faithful servant, for after the lapse of a few
days Man Singh and his officers were pardoned and were admitted
to his presence.
Akbar's zeal for the religion in which he had been bred now rose
in a final flicker. A large number of pilgrims was about to start for
Mecca, travelling by Gogunda and Idar, a route selected with a view
to giving the strong escort accompanying them an opportunity of
attacking the Rana in his mountain fastnesses. Akbar, in an access
of religious frenzy, announced his intention of personally performing
the pilgrimage. He was dissuaded from the insane project, but in
token of his desire to fulfil one of the obligations of a good Muslim,
donned the pilgrim's garb and accompanied the caravan for a few
miles on its way to Golconda. The troops accompanying the caravan
had no success against the Rana, but the Raja of Idar was reduced
to obedience.
Akbar now perceived that he could not count on even the most
loyal of his Hindu officers to aid him in humbling the chief of their
race, and perforce contented himself for the time by reducing to
obedience the minor chiefs of Rajasthan. The Rawals Partab of
Banswara and Askaran of Dungarpur were constrained to pay him
homage, and the latter to give him a daughter in marriage. In 1557
Zain Khan Kuka compelled the rebellious Raja of Bundi to submit,
and in 1578 the Bundela, Madhukar Sah of Orchha, who had been
in arms for more than a year against an imperial force, surrendered
to Sadiq Muhammad Khan, and was presented at court, where he
swore allegiance to the emperor.
In the summer of 1577 Akbar sent to the Muslim state of Khandesh
an expedition which secured the submission of Raja 'Ali Khan, who
had lately succeeded his nephew as its ruler. The event is less trivial
than it seems, for it was the first step in a great enterprise. conceived
by Akbar, but not finally accomplished until the reign of his great-
grandson, Aurangzib—the reconquest of the Deccan, which had been
severed from the empire of Delhi for two hundred and thirty years.
In the course of his rapid descent-on-Gujarat in 1573. Akbar had


## p. 118 (#150) ############################################

119
,
AKBAR, MYSTIC AND PROPHET
learned that the small kingdom of Berar, the northernmost of the five
independent states of the Deccan, which was annexed by Ahmadnagar
in the following year, was in the last throes of its death struggle, that
confusion and disorder reigned in Ahmadnagar, and that his move-
ments had excited apprehension and alarm in that kingdom. This
information suggested to him the reconquest of the Deccan between
which and his dominions Khandesh was the only political barrier.
Raja 'Ali Khan was in a dilemma. His sympathy lay with the
states of the Deccan, and he earnestly desired the maintenance of
their independence, though he knew that their constant bickerings,
their internecine strife, and their bitter and bloody domestic feuds,
to which the continued independence of his own small kingdom was
partly due, not only exposed them to the risk of imperial aggression,
but deprived him of the hope of effectual assistance from any one
of them should he venture to stand forth as their champion. He could
not hope to withstand alone the might of Akbar, and he was thus
obliged to belie his sympathies first by making formal submission to
Akbar, and at a later period by aiding him with his forces against
both Ahmadnagar and Bijapur; but even when his troops were ranged
in the field beside the imperial forces his influence was ever exerted
to prevent the complete subjugation of Ahmadnagar.
Many years were to pass before Akbar found an opportunity of
attacking Ahmadnagar, but it was with this end in view that he
secured the allegiance of the ruler of Khandesh.
The unfortunate province of Gujarat, which had hardly begun to
enjoy peace, was now the scene of another rebellion.
Muzaffar Husain Mirza, son of Ibrahim Husain Mirza, who had
been slain in 1573, had been carried off to Ahmadnagar by his
mother, but was now persuaded by Mihr 'Ali, a turbulent and am-
bitious adherent, to attempt to wrest Gujarat from Akbar. He was
able, owing to the treachery or cowardice of the imperial officers,
to occupy Nandurbar and Baroda without striking a blow, and on
25 May 1577 the expeditionary force in Khandesh was ordered to
march against him. He defeated one force, and compelled another to
seek refuge behind the walls of Ahmadabad; but Todar Mal, who had
been occupied at Patan with financial affairs, hastened to Ahmadabad
and drove the rebels towards Cambay. They were obliged to retire
from Cambay and were defeated on 6 June near Dholka, whence
the Mirza fled with a few followers to Junagarh, but, after Todar
Mal's departure, returned, plundered Cambay, defeated Vazir Khan,
the viceroy at Sarnal, and drove him into Ahmadabad, where he
besieged him. The rebels even effected an entrance into the city, and
were engaged in plundering when a stray bullet killed Mihr 'Ali,
their real leader, and the youthful Mirza and his followers fled in
dismay to Nandurbar, whither Vazir Khan, suspecting a trap, did
not venture to follow them.
The young


## p. 119 (#151) ############################################

1
AKBAR’S RELIGIOUS MEDITATIONS
119
The gross inefficiency of Vazir Khan compelled Akbar to recall
him, and in September Shihab-ud-din Ahmad Khan was transferred
from the government of Malwa to that of Gujarat. Akbar was now
at Ajmer, whence he marched, by Merta and Narnaul, to the Punjab,
occupied on the way by the issue of regulations for the reform of the
administration of the imperial mints. At Narnaul he lodged with
the saintly Shaikh Nizam-ud-din, “a Sufi who had attained the first
stage of recognition of God, had overcome his desires, and had
acquired complete hope in God's mercy”,1 but he was disappointed,
when he attempted to lure the Shaikh into the paths of vague
speculation in which he himself was wandering, to find that he was
a staunch Muslim. Akbar had already assumed the character of a
spiritual guide, for since leaving Ajmer he had rated Todar Mal for
what Abu-'l-Fazl styles his "bigotry and prejudice”. In the hurry
of departure the images before which the Hindu was wont to perform
his morning devotions had been mislaid, and he would neither eat,
sleep nor work until he could perform his devotions after his rule.
According to Abu-'l-Fazl Todar Mal's “good fortune” led him to give
ear to his master's advice and he returned to his work.
Akbar was now meditating deeply on spiritual matters. At Shadi-
wal,” which he reached on 30 January, 1578, he addressed his courtiers
on his abhorrence of flesh as food, regretting that the demands which
his duties made upon his strength compelled him to indulge in it,
and assuring them that he proposed in future to abstain from it on
Fridays. On 20 April he was at Bhera, on the bank of the Jhelum,
where he organised a vast battue similar to the hunt of 1567 at Lahore.
The barbarous sport had been in progress for four days, much game
had already been killed, and the ring of beaters had almost closed
in for the final slaughter when all engaged in it were surprised by a
sudden order that the hunt was to cease, the beaters were to disperse,
and no living creature was to be injured.
It is difficult to understand precisely what happened to Akbar,
but he was evidently overcome by some form of religious ecstasy.
He had for some time been working himself into a frame of mind
susceptible of such a visitation. Badauni says: "A strange ecstasy
and a strong sense of attraction to God came upon the emperor, and
an unseemly change was exhibited in his manner, in such sort that
it was impossible to explain it, and each attempted to explain it in
his own way; but that which is secret is with God, and at once he
ordered the hunt to be stopped. ” 3 Abu-'l-Fazl suggests that he was
on the point of abdicating, or of dying. "He was near abandoning
this state of struggle, and entirely gathering up the skirt of his genius
from worldly pomp. ” The same author, naturally, represents him
as having been singularly favoured, and of having communed with
1 Bad. (trans. Haig), MI, 44.
2 32° 31' N. , 74° E.
8 Text I, 273, 274.
6


## p. 120 (#152) ############################################

120
AKBAR, MYSTIC AND PROPHET
God face to face. "A sublime joy took possession of his bodily frame.
The attraction of cognition of God cast its ray. " He proceeds: "About
this time the primacy of the spiritual world took possession of his
holy form, and gave a new aspect to his world-adorning beauty. . .
What the chiefs of purity and deliverance (i. e. Sufi seers) had searched
for in vain, was revealed to him. ” The vision was perhaps preceded
or followed by an epileptic fit, for Akbar was subject to that malady.
According to Dr Vincent Smith:
Akbar was by nature a mystic who sought earnestly, like his Sufi friends, to
attain the ineffable bliss of direct contact with the Divine Reality, and now and
again believed, or fancied, that he had succeeded. His temperament was pro-
foundly melancholic, and there seems to be some reason to suspect that at times
he was not far from the danger of falling into a state of religious mania. His
ambition and intense interest in all the affairs of this world saved him from that
fate, and brought him back from dreams to the actualities of human life. He
was not an ordinary man, and his complex nature, like that of St Paul, Mu-
hammad, Dante, and other great men with a tendency to mysticism, presents
perplexing problems. 1
On his way from Bhera to Fathpur Sikri Akbar sent a mission to
his half-brother, Muhammad Hakim, in Kabul urging him to make
full submission to him, and another to 'Ali Shah of Kashmir demand-
ing his allegiance, but neither was successful. Mughammad Hakim
continued to regard himself as a sovereign prince, and 'Ali Shah,
whose predecessors on the throne of Kashmir had never owned the
sovereignty of Delhi, saw no reason for acceding to an insolent
demand.
After a rapid journey to the shrine at Ajmer, which proved that
his physical endurance, despite his spiritual experiences, had in no
way abated since the expedition of 1573, Akbar reached Fathpur
Sikri on 12 September, and signalised his arrival at his capital by
an act of profusion which may perhaps be connected with the vision
at Bhera. He filled a dry cistern with coined money, to the value of
four and a quarter million rupees, which was distributed in charity
and in gifts to his courtiers and to learned men. Abu-'l-Fazl was not
forgotten.
Another result of the Bhera vision was the revival of the discussions
in the "Hall of Worship", and it was now that the Muslim dogmatists
disgraced themselves. The orthodox party consisted of two factions,
one headed by Makhdum-ul-Mulk and the other by Shaikh 'Abdun-
Nabi, whose differences were mainly personal, though Muslim theo-
logy presents difficulties sufficient to arouse strife even between the
orthodox. Their recriminations either convinced Akbar that he could
find no peace in Islam or furnished him with a pretext for abjuring
a faith which claimed the obedience of one who was resolved to be
supreme in spiritual as in temporal matters, and it was now that he
first openly admitted to the discussions Christians, Hindus, Jains,
1 Akbar, 160.
1
!


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AKBAR ASSUMES SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY
121
Zoroastrians and Sabaeans. 'Abdun-Nabi was dismissed, owing to
his unseemly violence in dispute, from the office of Sadr-us-Sudur,
and his place was filled by Sultan Khvaja, who, although he had led
the pilgrims of 1576 to Mecca, was a latitudinarian in religion and a
self-seeker in politics and ultimately became a convert to the "Divine
Faith”.
Akbar suffered neither the death of Khan Jahan in Bengal nor the
disturbances which followed it to interrupt his religious meditations
and discussions. Muzaffar Khan Turbati was appointed in 1579 to the
government of the province, and peace was restored.
The Zoroastrian theologian Mahyarji Rana, who had been invited
to court in 1578, had taken a prominent part in the conferences in
the "Hall of Worship", and his influence was observed in Akbar's
acts of reverence to the sun, and in rites ordained for the evening
hour, when the lamps were lit, which led many to believe that the
emperor had become a convert to the ancient religion of Persia; but
no system could hold him, and he was really engaged in the compila-
tion of a bewildering code of rites culled from all religions. In the
same year a Portuguese mission arrived from Bengal, led by Antonio
Cabral, a priest who aroused Akbar's curiosity, but was too diffident
of his own learning and abilities to assume the post of a spiritual
guide, and recommended the emperor to seek the advice of Jesuit
missionaries of the College of St Paul at Goa. His advice was followed
and Akbar sent an envoy to Goa, to beg for the services of “two
Fathers well versed in letters" who should bring to his court the
Gospels and other books on their faith. The Viceroy, Dom Luis de
Athaide, was averse from complying with the request, fearing lest
Akbar, despite his fair words, should detain the priests as hostages,
but the zeal of the Jesuits overcame his scruples, and on 17 November
Father Antonio Monserrate, Father Rodolfo Acquaviva and Father
Francisco Enriques, a Persian convert from Islam, left Goa by sea.
Akbar was now, at the instigation and with the assistance of Shaikh
Mubarak and his sons, Faizi and Abu-'l-Fazl, preparing to assume
spiritual as well as temporal authority over his subjects. As a first
step he decided personally to recite the khutba, following the example
of Muhammad and his successors, the Caliphs. Faizi composed for
him a khutba in verse, followed by selected texts and the opening
chapter of the Koran; and on 26 June, 1579, the anniversary of Mu-
hammad's birth, he ascended the pulpit of the principal mosque of
Fathpur Sikri and recited Faizi's effusion and the rest of the khutba :
In the name of Him who gave to us the empire,
Who endowed us with a wise heart and a strong arm,
Who guided us in the path of equity and justice,
Putting away from our heart aught but equity-
His attributes transcend man's understanding,
Exalted be His majesty! God is most great!


## p. 122 (#154) ############################################

122
AKBAR, MYSTIC AND PROPHET
The orthodox Badauni says that Akbar stammered and trembled,
and had to be helped out by others in the recitation of the verses,
and that he then descended from the pulpit and left the regular reciter
of the khutba to complete the office; but other authors say that he
acquitted himself of his task and then, descending from the pulpit,
led the prayers. The innovation was generally unpopular. Many
suspected that Akbar claimed to be prophet as well as king, and some
even scented in the closing words (Allahu Akbar 1) of Faizi's verses
a pretension to divinity.
The notion of infallible human guidance is not entirely foreign to
Islam. Each of the four orthodox schools of law of the Sunnis
virtually attributes infallibility to its founder, and the Shiah sect
bestows the title "infallible" on its Imams, 'Ali, the cousin and son-in-
law of the prophet, and his eleven successors. Since the disappearance
of the twelfth Imam the mujtahid, who holds, in Shiah communities,
the highest rank among divines and jurists is regarded as infallible
in questions of faith and morals. But a text of the Koran and a
traditional saying of Muhammad place the authority of the lawful
and just ruler above that of divines and jurists, and the leading
ecclesiastics of the court were so discredited by their dissensions, and
by their unseemly wrangles in debates arranged by Shaikh Mubarak
and his two sons in the “Hall of Worship”, that their claim to reli-
gious leadership could be challenged without difficulty, and Shaikh
Mubarak avenged himself on his former persecutors by preparing
the famous Infallibility Decree. This was drawn up in the form of a
petition beseeching the sovereign_to assume the authority imposed
upon him by the Koran and the Traditions, and was couched in the
following terms :
Whereas Hindustan is now become the centre of security and peace, and the
land of justice and benevolence, so that numbers of the higher and lower orders
of the people, and especially learned men possessed of divine knowledge, and
subtle jurists who are guides to salvation and travellers in the path of the diffu-
sion of learning have immigrated to this land from Arabia and Persia, and have
domiciled themselves here; now we, the principal 'Ulama, who are not only well
versed in the several departments of the law and the principles of jurisprud-
ence, and well acquainted with the edicts based on reason and testimony, but
are also known for our piety and honest intentions, have duly considered the
deep meaning, first, of the verse of the Koran, “Obey God, and obey the Prophet,
and those who are invested with authority among you"; and, secondly, of the
genuine Tradition, “Surely the man who is dearest to God on the Day of Judge-
ment is the just leader ; whosoever obeys the Amir obeys Me, and whosoever
rebels against him rebels against Me"; and, thirdly, of several other proofs
based on reason and testimony ; and we have agreed that the rank of Just King
is higher in the eyes of God than that of Mujtahid.
Further we declare that the King of Islam, the Asylum of Mankind, the Com-
mander of the Faithful, Shadow of God in the world, Abu-'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din
Muhammad Akbar, Padishah-i-Ghazi (whose kingdom God perpetuate ! ) is a
most just and wise King, with a knowledge of God.
1 This phrase can be read as “God is great” or as "Akbar is God”.


## p. 123 (#155) ############################################

DISCONTENT OF ORTHODOX DIVINES
123
Should, therefore, in future, religious questions arise regarding which the
opinions of the mujtahids are at variance, and His Majesty, in his penetrating
understanding and clear wisdom, be inclined to adopt, for the benefit of the
nation and in the interests of good order, any of the conflicting opinions which
exist on that point, and should he issue a decree to that effect, we do hereby
agree that such a decree shall be binding on all his people and all his subjects.
Should His Majesty see fit to issue a new order in conformity with some text
of the Koran, and calculated to benefit the nation, all shall be bound by it, and
opposition to it will involve damnation in the next world, and loss of religious
privileges and property in this.
This document has been written with honest intentions and for the glory of
God and the propagation of Islam, and has been signed by us, the principal
'Ulama of the Faith, and leading Theologians, in the month of Rajab, A. H. 987
(August-September, 1579).
This document, which, when approved by Akbar, became an
imperial decree, was signed by Makhdum-ul-Mulk, Shaikh 'Abd-
un-Nabi, Jalal-ud-din the chief Qazi, Sultan Khvaja the Sadr, the
learned Ghazi Khan of Badakhshan, and Shaik Mubarak. Badauni
says that all signed it unwillingly, without specifying the nature of
the pressure brought to bear on them, except Shaikh Mubarak, who
added after his signature, "This is an affair which I desired with all
my heart and soul, and for the accomplishment of which I have been
waiting for years".
The decree limited Akbar to the adoption of one of the conflicting
opinions delivered by the jurists of Islam, or, in case there was no
dispute, to the authority of a verse of the Koran, and one of its chief
objects was, ostensibly, the propagation of Islam; but these conditions
were ignored by Akbar. He was now pope as well as king, and so
far was he from propagating Islam that he ridiculed and persecuted
it, and shortly afterwards attempted to substitute for it a religion
of his own invention; but he did not venture at once to violate the
conditions of the decree, and immediately after its issue set out on
his last annual pilgrimage to Ajmer, earning thereby the contempt
of the orthodox. “The wonder of wonders was that he should have
all this faith in the saint of Ajmer while he denied the foundation
of everything, the prophet from each fold of whose skirt many
millions of perfected saints like him of Ajmer had sprung. "
Shaikh Mubarak was not slow to avenge himself on his persecutors,
and at Ajmer Makhdum-ul-Mulk and Shaikh 'Abdun-Nabi discovered
that their complaisance in signing the decree was to avail them
nothing, and that they were to be banished to Mecca. Notwith-
standing their orthodoxy, neither had any taste for the pilgrimage,
still less for the society of the other.
In order to allay the resentment aroused by his innovations Akbar
was obliged to descend to more hypocrisy. On his return march
from Ajmer he ostentatiously recited every day the ritual prayers,
and after his arrival at Fathpur Sikri he received with an extravagant


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124
AKBAR, MYSTIC AND PROPHET
display of devotion a heavy stone brought from Mecca, which was
said to bear the print of Muhammad's foot. He did not believe the
relic to be genuine, and would have felt no reverence for it if he had,
but he and his courtiers went out for six or seven miles to meet the
stone, and bore it, in turn, to Fathpur Sikri. This act of hypocrisy,
too gross to deceive even the simplest, was performed, according to
Abu-'l-Fazl, lest the Sayyid who brought the stone should be put
to shame, and in order to silence those who regarded Akbar's inquiries
and discussions with suspicion. Of the latter object, at least, it failed.
An opportunity of interference in the domestic affairs of Kashmir
now presented itself. Yusuf, who had succeeded his father, 'Ali Shah,
on the throne of that kingdom, had been expelled by a kinsman,
Lohar Chakk, who had usurped his throne, arrived at court in
January, 1580, and sought Akbar's aid. 1. A few months later Akbar
despatched him into the Punjab and ordered his officers in that
province to restore him, but the nobles of Kashmir, dreading the
invasion of their country by an imperial army, promised Yusuf their
support if he would return alone. He defeated and captured his
cousin, and on 8 November, 1580, regained his throne without Akbar's
assistance. Some years were to elapse before Akbar found another
pretext for intervention in Kashmir,
On 18 February, 1580, the first Jesuit mission, under Father
Monserrate, reached Fathpur Sikri and was most cordially received.
The priests in their cassocks and hats, unarmed and clean shaven,
were objects of great curiosity to the people as they passed through
the town. They were graciously received and Akbar was favourably
impressed by their refusal of a gift of 800 gold pieces, which he
offered them. His reverence for the gospels and the images and
pictures which they had brought with them, his eager inquiries, and
his genuflexions in the chapel which he permitted them to furnish
and open encouraged them to hope that they might succeed in
inducing him to become the Constantine of the East, but they were
grievously mistaken, and soon discovered their error.
Akbar's attitude towards Christianity is an interesting study. He
was most curious in his inquiry into its doctrines, and probably held
a higher opinion of the faith than of any other single religion which
he studied. He invited no fewer than three Jesuit missions to his
court, he permitted the priests of each mission to propagate their
faith, and even sent his sons to them to receive instruction in Christian
doctrine, and he encouraged each mission to hope for his conversion,
but disappointed each.
The priests, despite the temptation to which the hope of attaining
so great an object exposed them, were uncompromising in their state-
1 Coins of the Kashmir type, but bearing the name of Akbar, were struck
in A. H. 987=March, 1579, to February, 1580. (Ed. ]


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a
AKBAR AND CHRISTIANITY
125
ment of what the Church required of a convert, and two, at least,
of their demands Akbar could never be persuaded to admit. The
first was submission and implicit obedience, and the second was the
dismissal of all his wives save one. The priests of each mission, though
at first encouraged by his bitter hostility to Islam, soon perceived
this his ambition was to become the prophet of a creed of his own
compilation, and that submission and obedience were not to be
expected of him. His refusal to dismiss his wives they attributed to
his incontinence, but here, perhaps, they judged him harshly. He
was a man of strong passions, but he might possibly have been per-
suaded to subdue these. The difficulty in complying with the demand
of the priests was rather political than personal. It was with a
political end in view that Akbar had married Rajput princesses, and
those Rajput chiefs who had been persuaded to bestow daughters or
sisters on him in marriage, though they had become closely allied
to the throne, which was Akbar's object, had violated their own social
code and incurred the condemnation of their more exclusive brethren.
The dismissal of their daughters and sisters from the palace as dis-
carded concubines would have raised the whole of Rajasthan against
Akbar, his bitterest enemies would have been those whom he had
doubly disgraced, and his highest political object, the fusion of the
two great rival faiths and the establishment of a united empire, would
have been irretrievably lost. Some of the doctrines of the Christian
faith, above all the Incarnation, presented difficulties to Akbar, but the
priests were probably unable to appreciate the gravity of his chief
difficulty, the political effects of his acceptance of Christianity, for
those of each mission accused him of having wilfully deceived them.