The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1894-07-24
THE GREAT MOGULS.
THE PROGRESS WHICH INDIA MADE
UNDER THEIR RULE.

The Monuments of Akbar the Great, Who
Welded the Earring Communities Into a
Mighty Empire, and who Was One of
the Wisest and Best Men of His Time.
When we visit Agra and Delhi, we
come in contact with the empire of the
great moguls, the very name of which
strikes upon the mind with picturesque
effect For many centuries after the Ar
yam invasion of India the country had
developed under their rule They had
established the caste system, appropri-
ating to themselves the three highest
grades-those of priests, warriors and
husbandmen - and assigning to the
fourth, the lowest, the nom ryan abo-
rhymes Of the soil The highest caste,
the Brahmans-had developed great
religion and created literature which
in these days commands the admiration
of scholars. Buddhism arose, attained
great power, but was driven out of In.
dia after flourishing 1 8 contradiction
900 B. G. to 900 A. d. The country was
divided into many kingdoms which con-
tended with each other with varying
fortunes. And ingenious people in fer
tile land created great wealth, which
was too often taken away from the pro-
ducers by oppressive rulers India offer
ed great temptations to the conqueror.
Alexander the Great penetrated to the
Indus and left colonies which survived
for some time, but left no traces but the
science of astronomy, their coins and
the subtle influences of their art still
observed in the remains of the Punjab.
The Mohammedan incursions began
early in the eighth century and CON
tinued for 700 years. Several Moham-
medan kingdoms were established of
longer or shorter endurance The dy-
nasty of the slave kings was founded in
1906 by Kutab- nd din, who began life
as Turk slave, and the Kutub- Minar,
one of the loftiest and most beautiful
towers in the world, commentaries his
name in Delhi. Timour (Tamerlane), the
Tartar, came in 1898, but the traces he
left were plundered temples and desc
late cities. Many other waves of cols-
quest followed through the Afghan
passes from the teeming hives Of Tar
tary. 1t was man of the house of I'll
mour-Babar, the Lion, sixth in de-
scent from Timour-who founded the
Mogul dynasty. He found India divided
between the local Mohammedan kings,
his conquering predecessors, and Hin
doc princes. His conquest was easy, but
it was his grandson, Akbar the Great,
who welded the jarring communities
into mighty empire. Akbar was one
of the ablest and wisest men of his age.
He reigned from 1866 to 1905, so that
he was a contempory Of Queen Eliza
beth of England. Akbar was p1an of
liberal views and a statesman Of the
highest type He was a great pacificator
and organizer. Babar had favored the
Mohammedans, but Akbar brought the
Hindoos also into public employment
and established the foundations of his
empire ON equal justice to all races and
creeds. His own religious views were
liberal, and he delighted to bring to-
gether the representatives of different
religions and discuss with them the
tenets of their faith. One of his wives
was a Hindoo; another is said to have
been Christian. Finding that no creed
was exclusively true, he finally estab-
Iished new state religion which he
called ''the Divine Faith, " based upon
reason and comprising the best prac-
tees of all known forms of belief. He
worshiped the sun as the best represent
ative men see of the divine soul that
animates the universe, while he was
himself worshiped by the ignorant null
titude, though it is doubtful how far he
encouraged this popular alteration of his
person.
He did much to correct the practices
of the Hindoos. He forbade trial by or
deal, animal sacrifices and child mar
riages, one of the evils of the present
time in India. He legalized the remar
riage of Hindoo widows, and although
unable to abolish widow burning ON the
husbands funeral pyre he took steps to
insure that the act, If committed, should
be voluntary He abolished the hated
tax on non-M ussulmans and had the
Hindoo sacred books translated into Per
sian. He who reads the life of Akbar to-
day finds that he was one of the most
enlightened monarchs of his age-one
of those great men fit to command and
to found an empire. And it was Akbar
who really established the empire of
the great moguls, whose magnifcence
we still trace in the unrivaled architec-
tural monuments of Agra and Delhi
Akbar built the great fort at Agra and
the marvellous buildings at Fatchpur-
Silri, his favorte residence. The other
world famous constructions were by his
successors. His line continued with va
rying fortune, but falling into decay in
the last hundred years until his seven
teenth successor was banished to Ran
COON in 1857 for completely in the sepoy
mutiny and died in 1862.-Cor Boston
Herald.