A Letter written by Akbar to his son

Dear son, Muhammad Salim,

I am growing old and soon you will be taking over the throne. I am writing this letter to help you learn from our ancestors’ and my mistakes. During the years I have ruled over many cities and states, I have gained ample experience on the various things you should and shouldn’t do in order for your country to flourish. The expeditions I have undertaken to achieve this have been treacherous but fruitful. With the guidance from an able set of ministers and a strong army, I put in a lot of effort to keep the country and its people wealthy and gave the satisfaction of the people utmost importance. Right now, as you read this letter, you might think that you can rule the country without any advice from me. But my son, going against me is not the way to succeed the throne. I know that you are very eager to start ruling you have not realized how much trouble you have caused. Your plans and ways to overthrow me so that you can become king has caused a rebellion among the people. I am spending all the time I have left on trying to stop the commotion. I wish all this would stop soon and you would realize that you would become king once I pass away.

Once I was coronated, I wanted to change a few major things that had been well established, one of them being the Jizya. Jizya is a tax that was imposed on non-Muslims. I have always strongly believed that all religions are equal and that religious tolerance should be present always. Hence, I also appointed Hindus in my court to higher positions. I am proud to tell you that in the Mughal kingdom, my kingdom, I was the first ruler to allow Hindus to follow their own beliefs. I had also ordered the observance of all religious festivals of different communities in the imperial court. In order to strengthen the relationship with the Hindu kingdoms, I also married a Hindu princess.

During my reign, I had heard that local officials were selling horses that belonged to my kingdom overseas. Instead of punishing them, I conceived a plan to outsmart them and stop them from selling the horses. I decided to brand the horses that belonged to the kingdom with a distinguishing Mughal symbol. That way, it would be impossible for them to sell the horses overseas as it would be very easy to distinguish horses that bore the Mughal symbol on its body. Inspite of it causing discontent and dissatisfaction among the local officials as it threatened their perquisites, I had to bite the bullet to implemented that policy. Even my favourite foster brother, Mirza Aziz Koka, dissented with me regarding this policy and was particularly hostile to it. Hence, I had no choice but to confine him to the garden house in Agra. There is a learning point in this too. Son, always remember that the right decision may not always be the most popular one. Even if people do not support you, concur with you, or even pressurize you to act otherwise, if you are convinced that your decision is the best for the country and the people, be steadfast. Do not let your mind waver because people around you do not like your decision. In the long run, they will understand the reason you chose to do what you did. But, do not get me wrong, I am not asking you to be a ruthless king, turning a deaf ear to the pleas and requests of your people. No, I want you to listen to each and every single person, but the decision you make has to be yours alone, for the best interests of everyone.

Until now, I have advised you on how to rule the country but there is one more aspect you need to be careful of, and that is the decline of the country. There are many ways that a country can fall, and one of them is overspending on something. That was the cause of the fall of the Roman Empire. In the third century, the Roman Empire spent a lot on keeping its territory united. However, it did not gain any money during that period and the cities’ economy deteriorated drastically. By the middle of the forth century, the Roman Empire was attacked from all directions and it was suffering from sheer size. In 395 A.D. the Roman Empire split into half, the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. During the beginning of the fifth century, the Western half was of no use and was in the hands of various invaders. The Eastern half was also plagued by wars, internally and externally. In the year 476 A.D., the Roman Empire fell completely.

Son, I don’t have any doubt in your ability to rule the country and to carry on the legacy. I trust that you will relentlessly work for the betterment of your regime.

Yours Sincerely,
Your father
Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar