Emperor Akbar with a falcon

Akbar (Abu'l-Fath Jalal ud-b din Muhammad Akbar, 25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), also known as Akbar the Great was the 3rd Mughal Emperor. He was born in Umerkot (now Pakistan). He was the son of 2nd Mughal Emperor Humayun.

Akbar became the de jure king in 1556 at the age of 13 when his father died. Akbar was too young to rule, so Bairam Khan was appointed as Akbar's regent and chief army commander. Soon after coming to power Akbar defeated Himu, the general of the Afghan forces, in the Second Battle of Panipat. After a few years, he ended the regency of Bairam Khan and took charge of the kingdom. He initially offered friendship to the Rajputs. However, he had to fight against some Rajputs who opposed him. In 1576 he defeated Maharana Pratap of Mewar in the Battle of Haldighati. Akbar's wars made the Mughal empire more than twice as big as it had been before, covering most of the Indian subcontinent except the south (excluding the Deccan Plateau).