5 unknown facts about Emperor Akbar  

Akbar is the best known face of the Mughal Sultanate, and one of the most familiar names for all Indian students even now. Movies and TV serials have been made about him, books written, there are several portraits of Akbar by artists of his time. However, like all famous historical figures, the same facts are repeated everywhere, while most of his life remain shadowy. We are going to take a quick look at some surprisingly less known Akbar facts below.  

Akbar was not born in Agra 
Unlike what most people thin, Akbar was not born in Agra or Delhi. His mother, Hamida Banu Begum, chief queen of Emperor Humayun, gave birth in Rajputana Fort of Umerkot or Amarkot in the Rajasthan- Sindh region. That is because Humayun was hiding in the fort at that time after defeat in a battle 

He grew up in Afghanistan 
Akbar spent his childhood in Kabul with his paternal uncles Kamran Mirza and Askari Mirza. He spent time learning to fight, plan battle strategy, direct combat, hunt etc. He never had the chance to learn how to read or write! He was also married off at only 14 to a cousin because he needed to ascend the throne  

Akbar had 4 capitals 
Akbar was largely responsible for building the magnificent fortress city of Fatehpur Sikri, which was his favourite capital and the dargah of Saint Salim Chisti. Agra was capital for most of the time, apart from Delhi. Akbar also worked from Lahore as a capital 

Akbar’s reign was the richest in Mughal history 
We all know Akbar was a great patron of art, music, architecture and philosophy. But he was also great at economics. Both food and cash crops boomed, there was a healthy trade scenario with other countries, and most regions were self-sufficient  

Akbar and Bairam Khan’s twisted tale 
Thanks to the movies, we all know that the boy king Akbar was under the guardianship of Bairam Khan. But once Akbar grew up and their relation turned sour, Akbar dismissed Khan and sent him on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Khan rebelled en route, but was defeated by Akbar who also forgave him. As few of us know, Akbar gave Khan the option to re-join court or move on to Mecca, and Khan chose the latter. Bairam Khan never completed the trip. He was assassinated on the way, at Patan in Gujarat.