Akbar the Great

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | 700+ words | Copyright

Akbar the Great ( Jalāl ud-Dīn Muḥammad, 1542–1605). One of the ablest rulers of Mughal India, who built a durable base for stable Muslim rule. Akbar ruled for forty-eight years and created a strong central government to administer the vast Mughal empire; he extended it from Afghanistan to the Godavari river in S. India.

During the latter part of his reign, Akbar, while maintaining that he remained Muslim, promulgated Dīn-i-Ilāhī (Divine Faith, also called Tawḥīd-i Ilāhī) as a new religion for his empire. It was a syncretization of various creeds and an attempt to create a pure theism. Although he was illiterate himself, he founded an ʿIbādat-khāna (house of worship) where leaders of different religions could discuss their faiths. However, Akbar's Dīn-i-Ilāhī met with very little success (it was strongly opposed by Aḥmad Sirhindī), and it died with him.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Akbar the Great." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "Akbar the Great." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-AkbartheGreat.html

JOHN BOWKER. "Akbar the Great." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-AkbartheGreat.html

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