Primary sourceBook1589-1596

Ain-i-Akbari

Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak · 1589-1596

The third volume of the Akbarnama, a detailed administrative gazetteer of Akbar's empire covering his household, army, revenue and the peoples he ruled.

This administrative gazetteer, part of the chronicle Akbar commissioned, records the actual workings of his government.

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Two-page manuscript spread with dense Persian script in black ink on the left and right pages. The right page has a ruled grid board with red and blue lines, a central multicolored rosette, and sets of colored pawn shapes in four corners, illustrating a Chaupar game. — Abu'l-Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, c. 1590.

About this source

What it is

The Ain-i-Akbari, meaning 'Administration of Akbar', is the final volume of the Akbarnama, written in Persian by Abu'l-Fazl between about 1589 and 1596. It is organised into five books covering the imperial household, the military and civil services, judicial administration, Hindu philosophy and society, and sayings attributed to Akbar.

Why it matters

Unlike the narrative volumes of the Akbarnama, this text is a statistical and administrative record, giving rich detail on crop yields, wages, revenues, and the mansabdari ranking system that organised Akbar's officials and army. It also shows Akbar's interest in the beliefs and customs of the Hindu majority he ruled, recorded by Abu'l-Fazl through intermediaries since he did not read Sanskrit himself.

Look closer

Why would an emperor want such detailed records of wages, crops and revenue kept and written down?
What does the inclusion of a whole book on Hindu beliefs suggest about how Akbar wanted to rule a diverse empire?
Abu'l-Fazl relied on others to explain Sanskrit texts to him — how might that change what ended up in the book?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Akbar the Great on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.