Akbar

Akbar was born on 14 October 1542 (the fourth day of Rajab, 949 AH), at the Rajput Fortress of Umerkot in Sindh (in modern day Pakistan), where Prince Humayun and his recently wedded wife, Hamida Banu Begum, daughter of Shaikh Ali Akbar Jami, a Persian,[6] were given refuge by Rana Prasad, The then Rana of Umerkot.[8] After the capture of Kabul by Humayun, Badruddin's circumcision ceremony was held and his date of birth and name were changed to throw off evil sorcerers[9] and he was renamed Jalal-ud-din Muhammad by Humayun, a name which he had heard in his dream at Lahore.

Akbar as a boy
Humayun had been driven into exile in Persia by the Pashtun leader Sher Shah Suri.[10] Akbar did not go to Persia with his parents, but was brought up in Kabul by the extended family of his paternal uncles, Kamran Mirza and Askari Mirza, and his aunts, in particular Kamran Mirza's wife. He spent his youth learning to hunt, run, and fight, made him a daring, powerful and a brave warrior, but he never learned to read or write. This, however, did not hinder his search for knowledge as it is said always when he retired in the evening he would have someone read.[11][better source needed] In November of 1551, Akbar married his first cousin, Ruqaiya Sultan Begum at Kabul.[12] Princess Ruqaiya was the only daughter of his paternal uncle, Hindal Mirza, and was his first wife and chief consort.[13] The marriage was arranged by Akbar's father and Ruqaiya's uncle, Emperor Humayun, and took place soon after the untimely death of Hindal Mirza, who died in a battle.[14]
Following the chaos over the succession of Sher Shah Suri's son Islam Shah, Humayun reconquered Delhi in 1555, leading an army partly provided by his Persian ally Tahmasp I. A few months later, Humayun died. Akbar's guardian, Bairam Khan concealed the death in order to prepare for Akbar's succession. Akbar succeeded Humayun on 14 February 1556, while in the midst of a war against Sikandar Shah to reclaim the Mughal throne....