Ruler · 1542 to 1605

Akbar

Became emperor at 13 and ruled for almost fifty years. He built the Mughal administration, brought Rajput kings into the empire and expanded it across north India.

At a glance

Lived: 1542 to 1605
Role: Ruler
Dynasty: Mughal Emperors
Era: Three gunpowder empires
Chapter: 4. Al-Andalus and the Subcontinent

Akbar's world

1683: Three gunpowder empires

Mehmed II took Constantinople in 1453. Selim I conquered Egypt in 1517 and the caliphate passed to the Ottomans. Suleiman won at Mohacs in 1526, and a second siege of Vienna failed in 1683. Further east, Safavid Iran and the Mughals of India ruled at the same time.

See the 1683 map Read chapter 4

People of the same era

Babur Aurangzeb Alamgir Tipu Sultan Osman I Mehmed II, the Conqueror Selim I Suleiman the Magnificent Hayreddin Barbarossa

Dates for early figures are often approximate. Spotted a mistake? Tell us