Rulers of India: Akbar

What it is

This is a book-length biography of Akbar, written by Colonel G. B. Malleson and published by the Clarendon Press at Oxford in 1890. It belongs to the Rulers of India series, edited by Sir William Wilson Hunter. The book is organized in chapters that follow events in order. Its early chapters cover the family and early days of Babar, then Humayun and the early days of Akbar, and then Akbar's fight for his father's throne.

Why it matters

Malleson was a British writer, and his book is a secondary account. It was written more than 280 years after Akbar's death, so it reflects the sources and views of its own time. It shows how British readers in 1890 learned about the Mughal rulers of India, and it connects Akbar to his father Humayun and his grandfather Babar.

Look closer

• Why does the book begin with Babar rather than with Akbar?
• Which sources would Malleson have needed, and how can you tell whether he relied on them?
• What does the title of the series suggest about how the author framed Akbar's role in Indian history?