History

The Nine Gems of Akbar

The Mughal Emperor Akbar (1543-1605), though illiterate and unable to read or write, demonstrated a remarkable appreciation of other religious thoughts. He was also a connoisseur of music and fine arts. The Mughal architecture, that later culminated in the glorious Taj Mahal, found its beginnings in Akbar’s rule. Music and miniature paintings reached their zenith. His tolerance to other religions perhaps came from his many queens including his principle wife who was a Hindu. He had also married a Christian, and several Indian and Persian Muslim women. Akbar reigned as the Mughal monarch for several decades and established himself as the most benevolent, tolerant Emperor; and history knows him as Akbar the Great.

The court of Akbar held some of the best India had to offer at that time. The Emperor had an enormously curious intellect. He would routinely assemble religious leaders of other religions in his court and patiently listen to them. Thus it was not only Hinduism he was curious about but had Christian missionaries who were more and more common after Vasco da Gama visited India. Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism also were his fascinations. He eventually formed his own religion, Din Ilahi, gathering the best from his understanding of the various religions. Akbar married thirty three times and had brides from all faiths. With his alliances with the daughters of nobles, he was able to bring peace in his empire. Several Rajput kings were his relatives by marriage and were loyal to him. Diplomacy through matrimony!

The great administrator who was also an aficionado of the arts attracted the best contemporary minds to his court. Nine such extraordinary talents, who shone brightly in their respective fields, were known as Akbar’s nine gems. The nomenclature as nine gems is chosen because there are nine well-known gems (nava-rathna). There were endless lists of worthy people in his court that shone like the brightest gems, and to choose only nine amongst them is a difficult task indeed.

  1. Abul Fazl

    (1551-1602) was the chronicler of Akbar’s rule. He authored the biographical Akbarnama, which was the result of seven years of painstaking work. He documented the history meticulously, giving a full and accurate picture of the prosperous life during the monarch’s reign. His account also shed light on the brilliant administrative capacity of the Emperor.

  2. Faizi

    (1547-1595) was Abul Fazl’s brother. He was a poet writing verses in Persian. Akbar had enormous respect for this genius and appointed him as a tutor for his son. His famous work is called Lilabati, on mathematics.

  3. Mian Tansen

    was a classical singer of unparalleled fame. He was born a Hindu in 1520 near Gwalior to Mukund Mishra, who was a poet himself. He learnt music from Swami Haridas and later from Hazrat Mohammad Ghaus. He was a court musician with the prince of Mewar and later recruited by Akbar as his court musician. The prince of Mewar was said to have been heartbroken to part with him. Tansen became a legendary name in India and was the composer of many classical ragas. His raga Deepak and raga Megh Malhar are famous. When he sang these ragas, Tansen was said to have lit the lamp and caused rain showers. He is also credited with creating raga Darbari Kanada and originating Drupad style of singing. Even today the classical gharanas try to align themselves with Mian Tansen. He was buried in Gwaliar, where a tomb has been constructed for him. There is a tamarind tree next to the tomb, which is reputed to be as old as the tomb itself. It is believed that one who chews a leaf from this tree in earnest faith will be bestowed with musical talents. It is unclear if Tansen converted to Islam. Akbar who was very fond of him gave him the title Mian. Tansen’s son Bilas Khan composed raga Bilaskhani Todi and his daughter Saraswati Devi was a well-known Drupad singer.

  4. Birbal

    (1528-1583) was a poor Brahmin who was appointed to the court of Akbar for his wit as well as wisdom. Born by the name Maheshdas, he was conferred the name Raja Birbal by the Emperor. A man of tireless wit and charm, he enjoyed the Emperor’s favor in administration as his trusted minister, and for his entertainment as his court jester. There are many witty stories of exchanges and interactions between the monarch and his minister that are popular even today. The stories are thought provoking, intelligent as well as educational. Birbal was also a poet and his collections under the pen name ‘Brahma” are preserved in Bharatpur Museum. Raja Birbal died in battle, attempting to quell unrest amongst Afghani tribes in Northwest India. Akbar was said to have mourned for a long time on hearing the news.

  5. Raja Todar Mal

    was Akbar’s finance minister, who from 1560 onwards overhauled the revenue system in the kingdom. He introduced standard weights and measurements, revenue districts and officers. His systematic approach to revenue collection became a model for the future Mughals as well as the British. Raja Todar Mal was also a warrior who assisted Akbar in controlling the Afghan rebels in Bengal. Raja Todar Mal had learnt his craft from another able administrator Sher Shah. In 1582, Akbar bestowed on the raja the title Diwan-I- Ashraf.

  6. Raja Man Singh

    the Kacchwaha rajput raja of Amber. (Later Kacchwahas built Jaipur, close to Amber). This trusted lieutenant of Akbar was the grandson of Akbar’s father-in-law. His family had been inducted into Mughal hierarchy as amirs (nobles). Raja Man Singh assisted Akbar in many fronts including holding off advancing Hakim (Akbar’s half-brother, a governor of Kabyul) in Lahore. He also led campaigns in Orissa.

  7. Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khan

    a poet was the son of Akbar’s trusted protector and caretaker when he was a teenager, Bairam Khan. After Bairam Khan was murdered by treachery, his wife became the second wife of Akbar.

  8. Fagir Aziao Din and  (9) Mullan Do Piaza

    were two advisors belonging to Akbar’s inner circle.

I have seen other names mentioned as gems of Akbar’s court. Daswant, the painter and Abud us-Samad, a brilliant calligrapher, have also been named in some articles. Mir Fathullah Shiraz, who was a financier, philosopher, astrologer and an astute physician, has also been mentioned. Nevertheless, it is apparent that Akbar’s court was filled with brilliant minds in the fields of art, administration and warfare.

With these varieties of brave soldiers with sharp intellect and wit as well as some of the greatest names in the world of art and music, Akbar ruled what history calls the greatest Mughal Empire. Akbar came to be called the greatest of the six great Mughal emperors. The foresight of this illiterate and dyslexic Emperor was remarkable and unique in history.

05-Apr-2003

More by :  Dr. Neria H. Hebbar


Top | History

Views: 5334      Comments: 80



Comment Very good answer

Roshani Singh
26-Nov-2019 09:47 AM

Comment birble was a great person

saimanvitha
29-Sep-2015 08:50 AM

Comment From APSACS Attock.Very helpful in history projects.


hanzala
23-Feb-2015 08:53 AM

Comment As with many Indian rulers Akbar's court had Navaratnas ("Nine Jewels"), a term denoting a group of nine extraordinary people. Akbar's Navratnas were:

* Abul-Fazel - Akbars's chief advisor and author of Akbarnama, the official history of Akbar's reign.
* Faizi Akbar's poet laureate who is best known for his Nal u Daman, a poetic rendering of the beloved story of Sanskrit story of Nala and Damayanti.
* Mian Tansen - a Hindu singer much beloved by Akbar who even called for him on his death bed
* Birbal - a high noble known for great wit
* Raja Todar Mal - Akbar's finance minister
* Raja Man Singh - trusted general of Akbar's
* Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana - an important noble and a renowned poet in Persian, Sanskrit, and Hindustani.
* Fakir Aziao-Din
* Mullah Do Piaza
I LIKED YOUR INFORMATION

SHIV SINGH
26-Oct-2014 02:54 AM

Comment very nice work!! really very helpful but thodi aur information hoti then it would be better....

KaRaNvIr
02-Oct-2014 09:18 AM

Comment thanks I could complete my homework because of this information.....

mostakim
25-Sep-2014 10:30 AM

Comment SUPER

shalin
12-Jul-2014 06:38 AM

Comment well done but thodiaur info honi chahie

harsh
16-Jun-2014 02:50 AM

Comment it's very helpful in homework,projects it's very nice

abhishek tiwari
08-May-2014 10:16 AM

Comment awesome

garima
02-May-2014 10:50 AM

Comment nice details of akbar nine james

Neeraj kumar
24-Feb-2014 10:09 AM

Comment it is veryyy good information with very informative details which helped greatly in my historyy projectss..!!!
keep it up..! :)))

eesha
15-Feb-2014 01:48 AM

Comment good job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fizzaa
14-Feb-2014 08:35 AM

Comment good one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

rahul
12-Jan-2014 03:10 AM

Comment its nice and helped me in my project

devam jariwala
20-Dec-2013 03:18 AM

Comment it helped me a lot in my project

ashwin
04-Nov-2013 09:37 AM

Comment i love it !!!!

alina
03-Nov-2013 22:58 PM

Comment wooooooooow its super

prachi
27-Oct-2013 02:51 AM

Comment that`s good oh sorry that`s excellent

Satyajeet Rai
27-Sep-2013 07:05 AM

Comment Awesome and very helpful for my project

anjana
01-Sep-2013 04:46 AM

Comment thank u for uploading such wonderful things for us to read

vedika
25-Aug-2013 10:06 AM

Comment HELPING SITE FOR STUDENTS

PRAKHAR KULKARNI
06-Aug-2013 12:06 PM

Comment wooooooow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

neeranjan
06-Jul-2013 13:08 PM

Comment ausum.

raza
03-Jun-2013 10:13 AM

Comment nice site and helpful for my project

namrata aharwar
01-May-2013 01:28 AM

Comment nice details

ashu
11-Apr-2013 06:30 AM

Comment this really helped alot but i wish there were also pictures of the 9 gems..........but helped thanks....... :D

Nafisa
25-Feb-2013 10:42 AM

Comment Very nice and informative article

manbir
06-Feb-2013 10:07 AM

Comment its nyc for my 7 grd project

though increase info for humam

and pics pls tooo

extremely helpful

naman molri
07-Jan-2013 13:20 PM

Comment excellent !!!!!!!!!!

i have got all details frm this site itself for my project..........................

riya doshi
04-Jan-2013 05:21 AM

Comment Good piece of Information, would have more informative had the pictures been included. Anyway it helped me a lot in doing my 7th Class proj..

Shubhangi
01-Jan-2013 05:44 AM

Comment nice!!! needed it for my h.w. helpful!!

Abigael Kumar
12-Dec-2012 09:12 AM

Comment Lacks pics

shubhang
03-Dec-2012 11:33 AM

Comment nice information but much more is needed on the last gem of akbar .

gurshaan grewal
28-Nov-2012 02:28 AM

Comment nothing much is written about humam the physician and mullah do piaza...plz add it on

adwitiya
05-Nov-2012 12:36 PM

Comment ???? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??????? 
??? ???? ?? ?????, ?????? ?? ???? 
?? ?????? ?? ??????, ??????? ????????????? 
?????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ?????

???? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ???????? ??? ????????????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ????? ??? ?? (?) ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ?? ???? ???? ???
1.???? ????? 2.??????  3. ?????????? ???-?-???? 4. ???? ?????? 5. ??????? ??????????? ?? ???? ?????-??? 6. ?????? 7. ????? 8. ???????-??-???????  9. ???? ??? ?????

???? ???: (???? - ???? ) ?? ???? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ???? ???????? ? ???-?-????? ?? ?? ???? ?? ???
????:(???? - ????) ???? ????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ??????: ????? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ????? : (???? - ????) ????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ???? ??????: ???? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ???????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ????? ?? ??? :???? ??? ????: ?????? (?????) ?? ???????? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ???-?-????: ?? ??? ?? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ?????-???: ???? ?? ??????? ??? ??????? ?? ??????: ???? ?? ??????? ???

Memorise all 51 subjects read " Bhoolana Bhool Jaaoge" unlimitedmemory.tripod.com

Prof N L Shraman
01-Nov-2012 11:05 AM

Comment nice details but........... humam ,... is missing out smehrer and pictures could rather potray more help to complete the project.. anyways nyc.....

kiara
28-Oct-2012 04:39 AM

Comment last information is not borne out of facts
awesome!

joe
23-Oct-2012 03:44 AM

Comment plz put some pictures

aditya
20-Oct-2012 00:25 AM

Comment put the photo of the 9 gems of akbar but it helped me in my h.w very much it has lots of information about 9 gems of akbar

utsav
15-Oct-2012 10:44 AM

Comment better than wikipedia
but.........................



.....


/....no pics

divyanshn kotawala
01-Oct-2012 05:38 AM

Comment it helped in my project...................but add some PICS.

sahil
30-Sep-2012 04:39 AM

Comment good comments sir but we would like the nine gems pic if u have plz mail the picture

thanks

shubham verma
01-Sep-2012 11:06 AM

Comment it is very helpful, informative.

bipuljyoti rabha
29-Aug-2012 10:38 AM

Comment nyc one ......................................................


but


there is no infomation about mirza aziz & raja bhagwan das

kitty
28-Aug-2012 07:50 AM

Comment short information helful for my grade 7 project but needs a lot of pics please

dishani
15-Aug-2012 11:32 AM

Comment useful my project

sharad soni
03-Aug-2012 04:10 AM

Comment this helped me complete my project.if it was in hindi it would be better to me.

tanyabansal
16-Jun-2012 07:24 AM

Comment an amazing site..it actually helped me getting information for my project.
I hope my teacher will be happy to read about the "nine gems" in detail..!! :)

$neha
09-Jun-2012 04:05 AM

Comment it is a good site to know the chronological order of mughal empire specially akbar,s nine gems.

kaleemullah saeed
18-May-2012 06:51 AM

Comment well summarized info it helps me a lot...........

Niki patel
11-Feb-2012 06:38 AM

Comment great information but a little more pictures needed

sanjana chatterjee
20-Jan-2012 11:57 AM

Comment Epic. I study in NPS Singapore and this just helped me in my H.W!!!


BUT!



NEED-OF-PICS!!!!!!!!

Prithvi
09-Jan-2012 00:49 AM

Comment Fantastic information. I'm studying in 4th in NPS Chennai. It has helped me a lot in my 4th Std project. I got this info after a lot of search in the web along with my dad.

J Sudarshan
01-Jan-2012 09:39 AM

Comment pl. provide the pics of the 9 gems.........

akshita
26-Dec-2011 09:46 AM

Comment great information i like it..........................................................

ayesha aslam
21-Dec-2011 02:20 AM

Comment I like this siteeeeeeeeeee veryyy much

Sai Ishwaram
17-Dec-2011 09:10 AM

Comment akbar the great and his nine people
it help for my activity or project
thanks boloji

glazing stars
03-Dec-2011 01:03 AM

Comment it helps me in my 4th std project.thx

tarjani
08-Nov-2011 09:36 AM

Comment helpful for my project

juanita
26-Oct-2011 03:00 AM

Comment i love akbar!!!

saima javed
25-Oct-2011 13:04 PM

Comment awesome

braindude
19-Oct-2011 09:49 AM

Comment it helped me 4 my project , Thank uuuuuuuuu,

gody
16-Oct-2011 11:24 AM

Comment interesting but please add sum pictures of the 9 gems......i need pics 4 my project!!!!

suhana
14-Oct-2011 02:15 AM

Comment thnxxxxxxxxxxxx for helping in my 7th class project .PLS add some PICS

sidharath baid
12-Oct-2011 12:35 PM

Comment nice information

-
12-Oct-2011 08:12 AM

Comment Thanks. Helped me lot in my 4th standard project. Should have pictures also.

Adwait Joshi
11-Oct-2011 09:16 AM

Comment Thank You So much It Helped Me In 7th Class Project Akbar's 9 Gems
But Last 2 Gems Information Should Be More.

Siddhant Choudhry
10-Oct-2011 12:06 PM

Comment Thnxxxxxxxxx this helped me a lot in my project on this topic!!!!!!!

Ash
04-Oct-2011 23:26 PM

Comment Ahhaaan
ThnkXx to da creator oF dis wonderful website
It helped me a lot to do my project..:)

Maryoom
03-Oct-2011 09:02 AM

Comment Interesting information but details about the last 2 need to be given

Khalid
26-Sep-2011 04:40 AM

Comment bolo ji.com helped me for making my project on akbar's nine gems

himanshu
06-Sep-2011 12:55 PM

Comment iam highly knowledgeable with this content

MIDHUNA GARAPATI
28-Aug-2011 00:35 AM

Comment i likes it

harshdeep
23-Aug-2011 11:33 AM

Comment nice information..............................

nishtha
17-Aug-2011 09:32 AM

Comment great job,i've got all my informations thanx........

delshia purple
04-Jul-2011 19:10 PM

Comment vvvvvvvvv nice...i liked it vvv much.........it was awesome...mujhe saari info mil gayi..!!!!!!!

mudit agarwal
20-Jun-2011 14:18 PM

Comment vry nice.........ihave got all the contents which i needed to make my project.


amar
10-Jun-2011 04:01 AM

Comment your site was amazing . i loved surfing on your this site marvelous. luv uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.
keep writingfor kids.


byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

uchiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, kuchiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.

dhriti arora
06-Jun-2011 06:07 AM

Comment nice details

neetu
25-May-2011 06:22 AM




Name *

Email ID

Comment *
 
 Characters
Verification Code*

Can't read? Reload

Please fill the above code for verification.