ter of the empire,
his position from that time was never seriously endangered.

Until his eighteenth year Akbar remained under the tutelage of Bairam,
an able general, but unscrupulous and cruel. The high-minded, generous
disposition of Akbar revolted against some of his guardian's methods,
but he recognized that, for some years at least, Bairam's experience
was necessary for him. In 1560, however, he took the administration
entirely into his own hands. Bairam, in disgust, took up arms against
his young master, but was soon defeated and taken prisoner. With his
usual magnanimity, Akbar pardoned him, and sent him off to Mecca with
a munificent present; but the revengeful knife of an Afghan put an
end to the turbulent nobleman's life before he could leave India.

Akbar spent the rest of his long reign in elaborating the
administrative reforms which have made him famous as the greatest
ruler India has ever had. With the aid of able ministers, both Hindu
and Muhammadan, he purified the administration of justice, keeping
the supreme control in his own hands; enjoined absolute tolerance
in religious matters; abolished oppressive taxes, and reorganized
and improved the system of land revenue introduced by Shere Shah. A
minute account of Akbar's reign, of his policy, habits, and character,
is given in the "Akbar-nama," the history written by his devoted
friend and Prime Minister, Abul Fazl. No detail of state affairs
was too small for Akbar's personal attention. Ability and integrity
were the only passports to his favour, while bigotry and injustice
were anathemas to him. Like Babar, he was fond of horticulture, and
imported many kinds of fruit trees and flowers into India. Though
he could neither read nor write, he had a great library of Hindi,
Persian, Arabic, Greek, and other books, and Abul Fazl relates that
every book was read through to him from beginning to end.

The most remarkable of all this remarkable man's intellectual
activities were his attempts to bring about a reconciliation of all
the discordant religious elements of his empire. Badayuni, one of
his contemporary historians, but, unlike him, a bigoted Musalman,
comments thus on Akbar's religious views: "From his earliest childhood
to his manhood, and from his manhood to old age, his Majesty has passed
through the most various phases, and through all sorts of religious
practices and sectarian beliefs, and has collected everything which
people can find in books