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{{short description|16th-century book by Mughal historian Abu'l-Fazl}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Akbarnama
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = Binding from "Akbarnama" (CBL In 03).jpg
| caption = Binding from "Akbarnama", c. 1600 – 1605 at the [[Chester Beatty Library]].
| author = [[Abul Fazl]] and Faizi Sirhindi
| cover_artist =
| country = [[Mughal Empire]] ([[India]])
| language = [[Persian language|Persian]]
| series =
| genre = [[Biography]]
| release_date = 1600–1605
| english_release_date =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| set_in = 16–17th century [[Mughal India]]
| congress =
| dewey =
}}
The '''Akbarnama''' ({{langx|fa|اکبرنامه}}; {{lit|The Book of [[Akbar]]|i=yes}}), is the official chronicle of the reign of [[Akbar]], the third [[Mughal Emperor]] ({{Reign|1556|1605}}), commissioned by Akbar himself and written by his court historian and biographer, [[Abul Fazl]]. It was written in [[Persian language|Persian]], which was the literary language of the Mughals, and includes vivid and detailed descriptions of his life and times.<ref>[http://www.artic.edu/artaccess/AA_India/pages/India_12.shtml Illustration from the Akbarnama: History of Akbar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090919035749/http://www.artic.edu/artaccess/AA_India/pages/India_12.shtml |date=2009-09-19 }} [[Art Institute of Chicago]]</ref> It followed the ''[[Baburnama]]'', the more personal memoir by his grandfather, [[Babur]], founder of the dynasty. It was produced in the form of lavishly illustrated manuscripts.

Abul Fazl, who was one of the ''Nine Jewels'' (Hindustani: [[Navaratnas]]) of Akbar's royal court, states in the book that it took seven years to be completed. The original manuscripts contained many [[miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniature]] paintings supporting the texts, thought to have been illustrated between {{Circa|1592}} and 1594 by at least forty-nine different artists from Akbar's imperial workshop,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O9283/painting-akbars-mother-travels-by-boat/|title=Akbar's mother travels by boat to Agra|publisher=V & A Museum}}</ref> representing the best of the [[Mughal painting|Mughal school of painting]], and masters of the imperial workshop, including [[Basawan]], whose use of portraiture in its illustrations was an innovation in [[Indian art]].<ref name="art">[http://www.artic.edu/artaccess/AA_India/pages/India_12.shtml Illustration from the ''Akbarnama'': History of Akbar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090919035749/http://www.artic.edu/artaccess/AA_India/pages/India_12.shtml |date=2009-09-19 }} [[Art Institute of Chicago]]</ref>

After Akbar's death in 1605, the manuscript remained in the library of his son, [[Jahangir]] ({{Reign|1605|1627}}) and later [[Shah Jahan]] ({{Reign|1628|1658}}). Today, the [[Victoria and Albert Akbarnama]], with 116 miniature paintings, is at the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]]. It was bought by the [[South Kensington Museum]] (now the V&A) in 1896 from Mrs Frances Clarke, acquired by her husband upon his retirement from serving as Commissioner of [[Oudh]] (1858–1862). Soon after, the paintings and illuminated frontispiece were removed from the volume to be mounted and framed for display.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.vam.ac.uk/res_cons/conservation/journal/issue_24/akbarnama/index.html|title=Conservation and Mounting of Leaves from the ''Akbarnama''|date=July 1997|issue=24|journal=Conservation Journal|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080324000916/http://www.vam.ac.uk/res_cons/conservation/journal/issue_24/akbarnama/index.html|archive-date=2008-03-24}}</ref>

==Volumes I and II==
[[File:1564-An Attempt on Akbar's Life-Akbarnama.jpg|thumb|An Attempt on Akbar's life in [[Delhi]] in 1564]][[File: Akbar's mother travels by boat to Agra.jpg|thumb|Akbar's mother travels by boat to [[Agra]], [[Victoria and Albert Museum]]|left]]
The first volume of ''Akbarnama'' deals with the birth of Akbar, the history of [[Timur]]'s family and the reigns of Babur and [[Humayun]] and the [[Sur Empire|Suri]] sultans of [[Delhi]]. Volume one of Akbarnama encompasses Akbar's birth and his upbringings. According to Abul Fazl Humayun, the second Mughal emperor and Akbar's father is praying to the Ka'ba, an Islamic holy place, for a successor to the Mughal empire. After this prayer, [[Hamida Banu Begum|Maryam Makani]] showcases different signs that she is pregnant with Akbar such as having a shining forehead that others believe to be a mirror on her face or the warmth and joy that enters her bosom when a light shines on her. Miryam believes the light to be God's Light blessing her and her unborn child. Nine months later while Humayun is away, Maryam gives birth to Akbar under what is considered an auspicious star and there is great celebration.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Abū al-Faz̤l ibn Mubārak |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009249966 |title=The Akbar-nama of Abu-l-Fazl |last2=Beveridge |first2=Henry |date=2002 |publisher=Low Price Publications |isbn=978-81-7536-296-3 |series= |location=Delhi}}</ref>

The second volume describes the detailed history of the reign of Akbar till 1602 and records the events during Akbar's reign. It also deals with how Bairam Khan and Akbar won the [[Second Battle of Panipat|battle of Panipat]] against [[Hemu]], an Indian warrior.

==Volume III: The ''Ain-i-Akbari''==
{{Main|Ain-i-Akbari}}

[[File:AkbarHunt.jpg|thumb|Akbar on a hunt|left]]
[[File:Ikhlas 001.jpg|thumb|175px|right|[[Mughal Emperor]] [[Akbar]] crossing the river at night.]]

The third volume, called the ''{{IAST|Ā’īn-i-Akbarī}}'', describes the administrative system of the [[Mughal Empire|Empire]] as well as containing the famous "Account of the Hindu Sciences". It also deals with Akbar's household, army, the revenues and the geography of the empire. It also produces rich details about the traditions and culture of the people living in India. It is famous for its rich statistical details about things as diverse as crop yields, prices, wages and revenues. Here Abu'l Fazl's ambition, in his own words, is: "It has long been the ambitious desire of my heart to pass in review to some extent, the general conditions of this vast country, and to record the opinions professed by the majority of the learned among the Hindus. I know not whether the love of my native land has been the attracting influence or exactness of historical research and genuine truthfulness of narrative..." (''Āin-i-Akbarī'', translated by [[Heinrich Blochmann]] and Colonel Henry Sullivan Jarrett, Volume III, pp 7). In this section, he expounds the major beliefs of the six major Hindu philosophical schools of thought, and those of the Jains, Buddhists, and Nāstikas. He also gives several Indian accounts of geography, cosmography, and some tidbits on Indian aesthetic thought. Most of this information is derived from Sanskrit texts and knowledge systems. Abu'l Fazl admits that he did not know Sanskrit and it is thought that he accessed this information through intermediaries, likely Jains who were favoured at Akbar's court.

In his description of Hinduism, Abu’l Fazl tries to relate everything back to something that the Muslims could understand. Many of the orthodox Muslims thought that the Hindus were guilty of two of the greatest sins, polytheism and idolatry.<ref name="THR61">Andrea; Overfield: "A Muslim's Description of Hindu Beliefs and Practices," "The Human Record," page 61.</ref>

On the topic of idolatry, Abu’l Fazl says that the symbols and images that the Hindus carry are not idols but merely are there to keep their minds from wandering. He writes that only serving and worshipping God is required.<ref name="THR62">Fazl, A: "Akbarnama," Andrea; Overfield: "The Human Record," page 62.</ref>

Abul Fazl also describes the Caste system to his readers. He writes the name, rank, and duties of each caste. He then goes on to describe the sixteen subclasses which come from intermarriage among the main four.<ref name="THR63">Fazl, A: "Akbarnama," Andrea; Overfield: "The Human Record," page 63.</ref>

Abu’l Fazl next writes about Karma about which he writes, "This is a system of knowledge of an amazing and extraordinary character, in which the learned of Hindustan concur without dissenting opinion."<ref name="THR63"/> He places the actions and what event they bring about in the next life into four different kinds. First, he writes many of the different ways in which a person from one class can be born into a different class in the next life and some of the ways in which a change in gender can be brought about. He classifies the second kind as the different diseases and sicknesses one suffers from. The third kind is actions which cause a woman to be barren or the death of a child. And the fourth kind deals with money and generosity, or lack thereof.<ref>Fazl, A: "Akbarnama," Andrea; Overfield: "The Human Record," page 63-64.</ref>

The ''Ain-i-Akbari'' is currently housed in the [[Hazarduari Palace]], in [[West Bengal]].

==The ''Akbarnama'' of Faizi Sirhindi==
The ''Akbarnama'' of Shaikh Illahdad Faiz Sirhindi is another contemporary biography of the Mughal emperor Akbar. This work is mostly not original and basically a compilation from the ''[[Tabaqat-i-Akbari]]'' of [[Nizamuddin Ahmad|Khwaja Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad]] and the more famous ''Akbarnama'' of Abul Fazl. The only original elements in this work are a few verses and some interesting stories. Very little is known about the writer of this ''Akbarnama''. His father Mulla Ali Sher Sirhindi was a scholar and Khwaja Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad, the writer of the ''Tabaqat-i-Akbari'' was his student. He lived in [[Sirhind]] sarkar of [[Delhi]] [[Subah (province)|Subah]] and held a ''madad-i-ma´ash'' (a land granted by the state for maintenance) village there. He accompanied his employer and patron [[Shaikh Farid Bukhari|Shaikh Farid Bokhari]] (who held the post of the ''[[Mir bakhshi|Bakhshi-ul-Mulk]]'') on his various services. His most important work is a dictionary, the ''Madar-ul-Afazil'', completed in 1592. He started writing this ''Akbarnama'' at the age of 36 years. His work also ends in 1602 like the one of Abu´l Fazl. This work provides us with some additional information regarding the services rendered by Shaikh Farid Bokhari. It also provides valuable information regarding the siege and capture of Asirgarh.<ref name=m>Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2007). ''The Mughul Empire'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, {{ISBN|9788172765699}}, p.7</ref>

==Translations==
* [[Henry Beveridge (1837–1929)|Beveridge Henry]]. (tr.) (1902–39, Reprint 2010). ''The Akbarnama of Abu-L-Fazl'' in three volumes.
*''The History of [[Akbar]], Volume 1'' (the Akbarnama), edited and translated by [[Wheeler M. Thackston]], [[Murty Classical Library of India]], [[Harvard University Press]] (January 2015), hardcover, 656 pages, {{ISBN|9780674427754}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Abul Fazl}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*{{cite book|last=Fazl|first=Abu'l|author-link=Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak|title=Akbarnamah (Persian)|year=1877|publisher=[[Asiatic Society]], Calcutta}} [https://archive.org/details/AkbarnamahPersianVolume1 Vol. 1], [https://archive.org/stream/AkbarnamahPersianVolume2 Vol. 2], [https://web.archive.org/web/20100604053747/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main?url=pf%3Ffile%3D00701020%26ct%3D0 Vol. I-III]
* [https://archive.org/stream/bibliothecaindi01indigoog#page/n7/mode/1up ''Ain-e-Akbari'', English tr. by ''Colonel H. S. Jarrett''. The Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta. 1948]
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1590s books]]
[[Category:16th-century illuminated manuscripts]]
[[Category:16th-century Indian books]]
[[Category:16th-century Persian books]]
[[Category:Akbar]]
[[Category:Asian objects in the Victoria and Albert Museum]]
[[Category:Books about the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:Indian biographies]]
[[Category:Indian chronicles]]
[[Category:Indian manuscripts]]
[[Category:Islamic illuminated manuscripts]]
[[Category:Mughal art]]
[[Category:Mughal royal books]]
[[Category:Indian artefacts held abroad]]

Akbarnama - Revision history

PQRS1 at 03:50, 20 January 2026