[Illustration: MAUSOLEUM OF AKBAR'S FATHER, HUMAYUN.]
I will pass over with but few comments his military expeditions which
can have no interest for the general public. When Akbar ascended the
throne his realm comprised only a very small portion of the
possessions which had been subject to his predecessors. With the
energy which was a fundamental characteristic of his nature he once
more took possession of the provinces which had been torn from the
empire, at the same time undertaking the conquest of new lands, and
accomplished this task with such good fortune that in the fortieth
year of his reign the empire of India covered more territory than ever
before; that is to say, not only the whole of Hindustan including the
peninsula Gujerat, the lands of the Indus and Kashmir but also
Afghanistan and a larger part of the Dekkhan than had ever been
subject to any former Padishah of Delhi. At this time while the
Emperor had his residence at Lahore the phrase was current in India,
"As lucky as Akbar."[8]
[Footnote 8: J.T. Wheeler, IV, I, 180.]
It was apparent often enough in the military expeditions that Akbar
far surpassed his contemporaries in generalship. But it was not the
love of war and conquest which drove him each time anew to battle; a
sincere desire inspired by a mystical spirit impelled him to bring to
an end the ceaseless strife between the small states of India by
joining them to his realm, and thus to found a great united empire.
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