Akbar Commissions Final Histories

1603

In the last years of his reign, the Mughal emperor Akbar commissioned elaborate illustrated histories including the Akbarnama, written by his friend and biographer Abu'l-Fazl. Persian miniature painting and imperial historiography reached simultaneously their highest point in Mughal India. The lavish volumes depicted battles, court life, and religious debates with an artistic precision that remains unmatched in the Islamic world.