Great Emperors of India

 In India there were different emperors who have developed Northern India in different ways . 

1. Emperor Akbar

Akbar who belongs from Mughal Dynasty has given many magnificent buildings to India .He was born in 1542 to Mughal emperor Humayun and Hamida Banu Begum. His father was in exile hence Akbar was raised by his paternal uncles, spending time hunting, horse riding, playing sword, and running, which made him a trained and skilful warrior. He did not attend regular school hence did not learn to read and write. Rather he had various subjects such as history, religion, science, philosophy and other topics recited to him. It is remarkable that this made him knowledgeable in almost all subjects, illiteracy notwithstanding.

Akbar was a Muslim and one of the most powerful emperors of the Mughal Dynasty and built a large empire expanding over most of the Indian subcontinent.

He had an early start as emperor as his father died when he was 13. He went after territories and states in the northern, western and eastern regions, especially Punjab, Delhi, Agra, Rajputana, Gujarat, Bengal, Kabul, Kandahar and Baluchistan which he conquered. This brought most of India under his control.

2.Chandragupta Maurya

Chandragupta Maurya founded the Maurya Empire, which stretched across Kashmir in the north to Deccan Plateau in the south and Afghanistan and Balochistan in the west to Bengal and Assam in the east. He seized the Macedonian territories and conquered the eastern territories of Alexander’s general Seleucus making his territory even larger.

Maurya was one of the most important rulers in the history of India who is credited with unifying small independent states in India to form a large single kingdom under one administration.

A young Chandragupta Maurya destroyed the Nanda dynasty, which ruled most of northern India. This was quite an achievement for a 20 year old.

Chandragupta Maurya was born in 340 BC in Bihar, and was guided by Chanaka, a great Brahmin economics and political science scholar, who later became his mentor. Details of his birth parents are uncertain- he is said to have been born to a Namda Prince and his maidservant Mura, or that he was from the Moriya tribe of Peacock tamers.

3. Emperor Krishnadevaraya

He was the emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire that ruled during the most critical stage of the empire when many powers were making a bid for it. Krishnadevaraya consolidated the empire, defeating the Bahmani Sultans and Portuguese and the Bahmani Sultans, thereby conquering their fortresses of Bidar, Gulbarga, Raichur, and Bijapur. He seized and captured the fortresses of Udayagiri, Kondavalli and Kondavidu. The first few years of his reign were spent averting sieges

Emperor Krishnadevaraya had a great track record of brilliant achievements and was able to maintain political stability. His success is often compared to that of the greatest emperors of Asia and Europe.

His territory encompassed three different powerful regions, with each referring to him by different titles such as King of three Kings.

Krishnadevaraya also made smart trade decisions- he capitalized on the presence of the Portuguese, buying Arabian horses and guns and improving the supply of water in Vijayanagara City.

Emperor Krishnadevaraya was born in 1471. His father was an army commander who established the Tuluva Dynasty after the death of its ruler to keep it together.

4. King Prithviraj Chauhan

King Prithviraj Chauhan, alias Rai Pithora, was a Rajput king and one of the last independent Hindu kings to rule the kingdom of Delhi. His father was king of Ajmer. Prithviraj was an exceptional child- he was very brave and intelligent. His military prowess shone through even in his childhood- he could hit targets by only following their sounds!

After the death of his father in a battle in 1179, Prithviraj Chauhan succeeded the throne. He ruled over the twin capitals of Ajmer and Delhi which he had received from his grandfather. Like most rulers in India, he was keen on expanding his territories. There are some famous battles he is remembered for, such as those with Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghori.

The story of King Prithviraj’s marriage to Sanyukta, daughter of Raja Jaichand of Kannauj is told with mirth asthe two eloped, right under Sanyukta’s father’s nose. Her father disapproved their union since Prithviraj belonged to a rival clan. The couple went on to have several children.

The Afghan invasion brought Prithviraj Chauhan’s reign to an end, he was captured by Muhammad Ghori after his loss at the Second Battle of Tarain and executed.