ng to his attendants to gird his son with
his own scimitar and to invest him with the turban and robes of
State, commended to his care the ladies of the palace, urged him to
be kind and considerate to his old friends and associates, then,
bowing his head, he died.

Thus peacefully departed the real founder of the Mughal empire. More
fortunate than his father and his grandfather, more far-sighted, more
original, and, it must be added, possessing greater opportunities, he
had lived long enough to convince the diverse races of Hindustan that
their safety, their practical independence, their enjoyment of the
religion and the customs of their forefathers, depended upon their
recognition of the paramount authority which could secure to them
these inestimable blessings. To them he was a man above prejudices.
To all alike, whether Uzbek, or Afghan, or Hindu, or Parsi, or
Christian, he offered careers, provided only that they were faithful,
intelligent, true to themselves. The several races recognised that
during his reign of forty-nine years India was free from foreign
invasion; that he subjugated all adversaries within, some by force of
arms, some by means more peaceful, and that he preferred {145} the
latter method. 'The whole length and breadth of the land,' wrote
Muhammad Amin after his death, 'was firmly and righteously governed.
All people of every description and station came to his court, and
universal peace being established among all classes, men of every
sect dwelt secure under his protection.' Such was Akbar the ruler. In
the next chapter I shall endeavour to describe what he was as a man.

Akbar died the 15th October, 1605, one day after he had attained the
age of sixty-three.

{146}

CHAPTER XII
THE PRINCIPLES AND INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION OF AKBAR

'The success of the three branches of the government, and the
fulfilment of the wishes of the subject,' writes the author of the
Ain-i-Akbari, 'whether great or small, depend upon the manner in
which a king spends his time.'

Tried by this test, the cause of the success of Akbar as a man and as
a ruler can be logically traced. Not only was he methodical, but
there ran through his method a most earnest desire to think and do
what was right in itself and conducive to the great aim of his life,
the building of an edifice which, rooted in the hearts of people,
would be independent of the personality of the ruler. Before I
attempt to state in detail the means h