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Akbar, Emperor (b. Abu-ul-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, October 15, 1542, Umarkot, Sind, now in Pakistan-d. October 15, 1605, Agra), third ruler of Delhi's powerful Mughal dynasty (r. 1556-1605); succeeded his father, Emperor Humayun. Popularly known in history as Akbar the Great, he ruled North India during the reigns of the Mewar Maharanas UDAI SINGH II (1537-1572), PRATAP SINGH I (1572-1597), and AMAR SINGH I (1597-1620). Combining military ability, culture, wisdom, and a sense of fairness, he was undoubtedly the greatest of the Mughals. Aged only 13 at the time of his accession (February 14, 1556), his desire was to consolidate Mughal power in India and to unite the entire subcontinent under the Mughal banner. He embarked upon a long campaign of having the Hindus, especially the Rajputs, acknowledge his suzerainty by offering them senior posts in his army and government, and by marriage to Rajput princesses. However, he did not hesitate to interfere with some of the Hindus' most cherished practices when they offended his sense of humanity. He forbade child marriage, trial by ordeal, and animal sacrifice, and permitted widows to marry again. Although he realised that to abolish SATI (the burning of widows on their husband's funeral pyre) was beyond his power, he ordained that the sacrifice must be voluntary and took personal pains to see that no compulsion should be used. He also insisted that the "consent of the bride and bridegroom and the permission of the parents are absolutely necessary in marriage contracts", a new idea in a country where girls were married without option.
Many Rajput clans succumbed to his offers. However, the House of Mewar considered that being under the yoke of a Muslim monarch, and allowing any of their women to marry an enemy, let alone a Muslim, anathema to their strict Rajput ethics. Thus Mewar became the main stumbling block to the Emperor's ambition, and it was soon apparent that Akbar would show no mercy to those who refused to acknowledge his supremacy. In 1567, he laid siege to Chittorgarh, conquering and destroying it the following year (see CHITTOR, 3RD SACK). Maharana Udai Singh II, who survived the conflict, built the city of Udaipur as his new capital. When Maharana PRATAP SINGH I ascended the Mewar throne (1572), he vowed to reclaim all Mewar territory annexed by the Mughals, especially the ancient capital of Chittor. He renounced a life of luxury at Udaipur, moving to Kumbhalgarh and the rugged valleys of the Aravallis. From there, he began an all-out guerilla war against the might of Akbar's forces. In an effort to destroy Pratap, Akbar sent a large army against him (1576) which resulted in the famous Battle of HALDIGHATI in June of that year. The clash lasted only four hours, but Pratap's resistance was so fierce that the Mughal offensive, designed to conquer Mewar once and for all, was temporarily halted, and thereafter became a series of ineffective victories and defeats. Pratap continued his guerilla war against the Mughals virtually until the time of his death in 1597, and neither Akbar nor his descendants (JAHANGIR, SHAH JAHAN and AURANGZEB) were able to break Mewar's spirit and bring it under total Mughal dominance, as had happened with the rest of Rajputana. Eight years later Akbar passed away in rather banal circumstances, considering his glorious achievements as a great warrior and ruler: the symptoms were diarrhoea and internal bleeding.
Akbar, Prince, the luckless son of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. See RAJ SINGH I vs. AURANGZEB.
Akhey Raj Songara, one of the valiant nobles who (in January, 1572 at Gogunda) prevented Kunwar JAGMAL, a younger son of Maharana UDAI SINGH II (1537-1572) from taking the throne (as stated in Udai Singh's will) from his elder brother and rightful heir, Maharana PRATAP SINGH I. See PRATAP'S CORONATION DILEMMA.
Ala, an abbreviated form of ALA-UD-DIN KHILJI, as used in Tod's Annals.
Alauddin Khilji: see ALA-UD-DIN KHILJI.
Ala-ud-Din Muhammad Khilji, Sultan, third ruler of the Delhi Sultanate's Khilji Dynasty (r. 1296-1316) during the reigns of Rawals Samar Singh and Ratan Singh I of Mewar. He was the nephew and military commander of Sultan Firoz Shah who founded the dynasty in 1290. Cruel and ambitious, Ala-ud-Din became obsessed with subjugating Rajputana. He was a dangerous fanatic, as evidenced in a statement wherein he likened himself to Alexander the Great who had invaded India briefly in the 1st century BC: "I have wealth and elephants, and forces beyond all calculations. My wish is to place Delhi in charge of a vice-regent and I will go out myself into the world like Alexander, in pursuit of conquest and subdue the whole habitable world." He added, "Who is he that shall stand against me?" Obviously no one, for in 1296 Ala-ud-Din assassinated his uncle and mounted the Delhi throne. After conquering Gujarat the following year, he realised he must control a chain of cities and forts throughout Rajputana, including Chittor. They were too close for comfort to the important trade route from the port of Kandla on India's west coast to Delhi, and too near the Muslims' holy pilgrimage city of AJMER and the tomb of the Sufi saint CHISTI. It was also strategy: this was his planned route for adding southern India to his domain. When Ala-ud-Din finally turned against the Rajputs, he sent an army to capture the fortress of Ranthambhor. His men were routed and had to retreat, so Ala-ud-Din took over command in person, captured and sacked the town (1301), and slew the Raja, his family, and the entire garrison. Next, he turned his attention to Chittor. One of Mewar's famous legends is that of Ala-ud-Din's lust for the legendary Rani PADMINI, the beautiful wife of Maharana RATAN SINGH I. In 1303, Ala-ud-Din crushed the fort (see CHITTOR, 1ST SACK). As usual, iconoclasm and spoliation of temples and shrines followed the conquest. Chittor was devastated and remained in Muslim possession for about ten years until it was retaken by Maharana HAMIR SINGH I who had survived the slaughter, having been sent as a child to safety at Kelwara before Ala-ud-Din arrived. Ambition and a talent for ruling were Ala-ud-Din's strong points and, like Mughal Emperor AKBAR two hundred and fifty years later, he was one of the first non-Hindu rulers to encourage the inclusion of Hindus in his government. Both he and his son married into the families of important Hindu rulers; several such rulers were received at court and treated with respect. However, his centralising activities also led to a widespread oppression of Hindus. Ala-ud-Din's success was not lasting: he died in 1316 and the Khilji sultanate collapsed four years later.
All India Radio, Udaipur; in the city's western sector on Udai Niwas Road.
Allat (Alu), Rawal, seventeenth ruler of the Mewar Dynasty (r. 951-953); succeeded his father Rawal BHERT PATT II and ruled from Ahar for two years. Although a powerful and strong ruler and had killed Devpala, a Pratihara ruler, it is thought that Allat was driven from Chittorgarh possibly by a neighbouring Rajput kingdom looking to enlarge its domain. (Some historians consider it may have been a comeback by the Paramara dynasty of Malwa, whom BAPPA RAWAL ousted from Chittorgarh in AD 734). Rawal Allat (or perhaps his successor, NARWAHAN) founded a new capital south of Chittor at AHAR, now a suburb of modern-day Udaipur. It became a flourishing town and a large trade centre. For several decades after the move, Muslim incursions into Rajputana continued. Allat's son, NARWAHAN succeeded him. (It is very probable that for about two centuries Mewar's rulers were vassals of the Paramara Rajputs of Malwa during the 700s and 800s. Records show that 'a Guhilot prince' was a vassal of Bhoja, the great Paramara ruler, and fought many times on his behalf.) See also MEWAR'S LOST GENERATIONS.
Allaudin Khilji: see ALA-UD-DIN KHILJI.
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