Akbar, The Emperor Of India

AKBAR, EMPEROR OF INDIA. 3
shameless frankness in his account of the expedition, and
he further relates that after his entry into Delhi, all three
"districts of the city were plundered "according to the will
of God/'2 In 1526 Babu, a descendant of Timur, made
his entry into Delhi and there founded the dominion of the
Grand Moguls (i. e., of the great Mongols). The over-
throw of this dynasty was brought about by the disastrous
reign of Baber's successor Aurungzeb, a cruel, crafty and
treacherous despot, who following the example of his an-
cestor Timur, spread terror and alarm around him in the
second half of the seventeenth and the beginning of the
eighteenth centuries. Even to-day Hindus may be seen to
tremble when they meet the sinister fanatical glance of a
Mohammedan.
Princes with sympathetic qualities were not entirely
lacking in the seven centuries of Mohammedan dominion
in India, and they shine forth as points of light from the
gloomy horror of this time, but they fade out completely
before the luminous picture of the man who governed India
for half a century (1556-1605) and by a wise, gentle and
just reign brought about a season of prosperity such as
the land had never experienced in the millenniums of its
history. This man, whose memory even to-day is revered
by the Hindus, was a descendant of Baber, Abul Path
Jelaleddin Muhammed, known by the surname Akbar "the
Great," which was conferred upon the child even when he
was named, and completely supplanted the name that prop-
erly belonged to him. And truly he justified the epithet,
for great, fabulously great, was Akbar as man, general,
statesman and ruler,—all in all a prince who deserves to
be known by every one whose heart is moved by the spec-
tacle of true human greatness.3
3 A. Miiller, Der Islam im Morgen- und Alendland, II, 300!
8 From the literature on Emperor Akbar the following works deserve
special mention: J. Talboys Wheeler, The History of India from the Earliest
Ages. Vol. IV, Pt I, "Mussulman Rule," London, 18/6 (judges Akbar very