Page:A Brief History of the Indian Peoples.djvu/144

140 Akbar's Ministers.—Akbar's Hindu minister, Rájá Todar Mall, conducted the revenue settlement, and his name is still a household word among the husbandmen of Bengal. Abul Fazl, the man of letters, and finance minister of Akbar, compiled a statistical survey of the empire, together with many vivid pictures of his master's court and daily life, in the Aín-i-Akbarí, which may be read with interest at the present day. Abul Fazl was killed in 1503, at the instigation of Prince Salím, the heir to the throne. The fate of Abul Fazl was the disgrace of Akbar's old age.

Jahángir, Emperor, 1605-1627.—Salím, the favourite son of Akbar, succeeded his father in 1605, and ruled until 1627, under the title of Jahángir, or Conqueror of the World. His reign of twenty-two years was spent in reducing the rebellions of his sons, in exalting the influence of his wife, and in festive self-indulgence. He carried on long wars in Southern India or the Deccan, but he added little to his father's territories. India south of the Vindhyas still continued apart from the northern Empire of Delhi. Málik Ambar, the Abyssinian minister of Ahmadnagar, maintained, in spite of reverses, the independence of that kingdom. At the end of Jahángír's reign, his own son, Prince Sháh Jahán, was a rebel and a refugee in the Deccan, in alliance with Málik Ambar against the imperial troops. The Rájputs also began to reassert their independence. In 1614, Prince Sháh Jahán, on behalf of his father the emperor, defeated the Udaipur Rájá. But the conquest was only partial and for a time. Meanwhile the Rájputs formed an important contingent of the imperial armies, and 5000 of their cavalry aided Sháh Jahán to put down a revolt in Kabul. The Afghan Province of Kandahar was wrested from Jahángír by the Persians in 1621. The land tax of the Mughal Empire remained at 17½ millions under Jahángír, but his total revenues are estimated at 50 millions sterling.

The Empress Núr Jahán.—The principal figure in Jahángír's reign is his empress, Núr Jahán, the 'Light of the World,' otherwise known as Núr Mahál, the 'Light of the Palace.' Born in great poverty, but of a noble Persian family, her beauty won the love of Jahángír while they were both in