Imperfect and extraordinary. The man behind the myth. Akbar the Great is a familiar figure to most Indians. Hailed as a brilliant warrior, a great administrator and a visionary ruler whose ideas of pluralism and tolerance sought to unify India with all its diversity of peoples and religions, he is also an increasingly contested figure in the national discourse. And familiar though he might be, Akbar is a mystery too, locked in his own legend: a man to admire but difficult to know. With revealing insights into Akbar’s complex and magnetic personality, this biography is also the story of how Akbar’s ideas and ideals of kingship evolved through his reign; of how he came to concentrate in himself both political and religious authority; of his instances of megalomania, his doubts and his yearning for justice. Rich in detail, and with a cast of unforgettable characters, it sparkles with humour and drama too, as it vividly evokes the world he lived in. Parvati Sharma’s portrait of Akbar the Great brings alive as never before a man imperfect and extraordinary, who ruled for nearly fifty years and has lived in the Indian imagination for close to half a millennium.