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Compare and Contrast: Akbar and Aurangzeb The Mughal Empire began in about 1526 when ruler Babur had just defeated the last Muslim sultan of the Delhi. The new empire ruled over a mixture of Hindu and Muslim religions which hadn’t been ruled over together since the 600s. Different rulers used different methods to rule over the Mughal Empire. Two significant rulers of the Mughal Empire were Akbar and Aurangzeb. Both rulers were Muslim, military leaders, yet Akbar ruled with religious toleration for a unified empire as Aurangzeb ruled with a closed mind to try to maintain his large empire. Mughal rulers Akbar and Aurangzeb were similar in many ways for they were Muslims ruling over Hindus and they maintained the titles of strong military leaders. Akbar was deeply interested in his religion and philosophy of Islam as Aurangzeb was also a devout Muslim. Although Akbar was not as strict as Aurangzeb, they both made significant reforms and changes to state and religion policies. Both as military leaders, these men expanded their empires across the Indian subcontinent and even towards Europe. Akbar was a Muslim ruler, but was tolerant of all religions in order to create a centralized state. All throughout India, Muslims and Hindus came into contact with one another. Akbar encouraged for a religion called the “divine faith.” The point of this religion was to focus attention on the emperor as a ruler common to all the religious, ethnic, and social groups of India. He abolished the tax of Non-Muslims and did not require them to follow certain laws. Under Akbar, all people had the opportunity to rise to high office as he governed through a bureaucracy of officials and gave them generous land grants. Akbar’s thoughts on an empire’s expansion were once summed up in a quote he once said- “A monarch should ever be intent on conquest, otherwise his neighbors rise in arms against him.” Under his rule, there were no slaves, but instead unity of 100 million people. Akbar