Akbar

Akbar was the third Mughal emperor and ruled from 1556 to 1605. He consolidated and expanded the empire, reorganised its administration and revenue system, and developed political relationships with Rajput and other regional elites.

His court became a major centre of architecture, literature, religious debate and manuscript painting. Akbar established Fatehpur Sikri as an imperial capital and supported a large royal atelier whose Persian and Indian artists created a distinctive Mughal style. In Kunal Basu’s The Miniaturist, Akbar’s patronage and authority shape the career and private life of the fictional court painter Bihzad.