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Teacher's Guide for CALLIOPE ® Akbar of IndiaMarch 2005
Teacher guide prepared: by Gloria W. Lannom, a frequent contributor to Cobblestone Publications.
Read the article that begins on page 4 titled "King at Thirteen." - How are the following people (not listed here in order) related to Akbar?
- Hamida (mother)
- Babur (grandfather)
- Humayun (father)
- Why did Akbar ascend the throne at such an early age? (Humayun died in an accident and his advisors wanted to put Akbar on the throne immediately to avoid losing it to his enemies.)
Look at page 8 in the middle of the article "Young Akbar's World." - Who were the Mughals? (a Turkish group that ruled India for 200 years)
- What does the word "Mughal" mean? (It is a Persian term for "Mongol.")
- What religion did the Mughals practice? (Islam)
- Akbar evidently never learned to read because he was dyslexic. What does this word mean - look it up in the big dictionary. (Dyslexia is a disorder involving difficulty in learning to read and interpreting words, letters, and symbols.)
- Which sports did Akbar enjoy? (Wrestling, hunting with dogs, racing with camels and horses, flying pigeons, archery, swordplay, shooting, hunting antelope with cheetahs, hunting tigers, and riding crazed elephants)
In "Deceit and Loyalty," starting on page 10, three important cities in India are mentioned: Delhi, Agra, and Gwalior. Find them on the map on page 3. - How many wives did Akbar have? (300)
- What was the powerful lesson about treachery and trust that Akbar was forced to learn before he was 20 years old? (rely on oneself, not on others)
"Building an Empire," page 14, describes some of the steps Akbar took to assert his authority. - What were they? (He maintained strict control over the empire as follows: he divided the post of prime minister into two offices: a finance minister and a military minister; he approved all appointments and made supervisors report directly to him; he consulted an advisory council; he made all the decisions; he commanded the army himself.)
- Describe the makeup of Akbar's army. (cavalry of skilled archers, musketeers, swordsmen, field artillery, and elephants with sabers tied to their trunks and gunners riding on their backs)
- What led to the 1580 rebellion? (Akbar's reforms, including promotion of men of many different backgrounds, including Hindus and Indian Muslims; imperial ranking system, and his close attention to all details to prevent cheating)
- Check back to the map to find Malwa, Rajastan, Gujarat, Kashmir, Kabul, Kandahar, Narmada River, and the Deccan. What were some of the laws he established? (division of the empire into 12 provinces, each run by an Akbar-appointed official; standardization of weights, measures, and coins; establishment of Persian as the official government language; revisions of the tax laws; and census taking)
You may have noticed in the article "Deceit and Loyalty" that one of Akbar's early wives was a Hindu although he himself followed Islam. Also in "Building an Empire," the writer mentions that Akbar appointed officials of many different backgrounds, including Hindu, Central Asian, and Indian Muslim. "Tolerance Promotoes" tells us more about Akbar's interest in many different religions and philosophies, including Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Jainism, and Zoroastrianism. Eventually he established a new religion with himself as leader of it. - What was it called? (Din-I-Ilahi, Divine Faith)
- What symbol did Akbar use to represent his power? (sun)
- Why did the Muslim religious leaders oppose Akbar's religious actions? (He made them sign an agreement that he, not they, was the absolute religious head of the empire and he had authority over them; he made Hindus and Muslims equal in law; he decreed freedom of religion; by creating a new faith he seemed to be making himself divine.)
"In Thanks for an Heir" describes Akbar's longing and need for what one thing that he wanted above all else? (an heir to succeed him) - What did Akbar do to try to achieve his desire? (He asked a Sufi saint living in Sikri to bless him with a son.)
- Find Sikri on the map.
- What did Akbar do when his wish for an heir was granted? (He built a new capital at Sikri.)
- Fatehpur Sikri faces Mecca, Islam's holiest city, but what elements show Akbar's openness to other religious ideas? (his Turkish wife had images of living things decorating her part of the palace; his Christian wife had Christian symbols; Hindu elephants and the goddess Lakshmi representations as well as Hindu-Buddhist lotuses were displayed on walls)
"Patron of Arts and Crafts," starting on page 31, details Akbar's achievements in arts and crafts. - What important literary works did he sponsor? (his biography, Akbarnama; the Ain-I-Akbari, his regulations; and translations of Persian, Sanskrit, and Latin texts as well as the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Hamzanama)
- Why were translations so important? (They made the texts available to large numbers of readers.)
- How were these works illustrated? (Professional artists painted scenes to accompany the texts and also made portraits, all highly prized artworks today.)
- How did Akbar organize the workers at Fatehpur Sikri? (He established workshops for various arts and crafts and personally checked the work and even worked alongside the craftsmen.)
- Who were the "Nine Jewels?" (a group of advisors who helped Akbar carry out his programs)
These six people are all mentioned somewhere in this issue. Match their names with their descriptions:
| A. Bairam Khan | 1. Famous singer | | B. Sheikh Salim Chishti | 2. Akbar's grandson and builder of the Taj Mahal | | C. Tansen | 3. Sufi saint living at Sikri | | D. Shah Jahan | 4. Guardian Advisor to young Akbar | | E. Birbal | 5. Akbar's son | | F. Jahangir | 6. Akbar's close friend and court advisor | | (A-4, B-3, C-1, D-2, E-6,F-5) |
Who are the three men shown on this issue's back cover? (Akbar, at three different stages of life) |
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