Emperor Akbar’s Navratnas

Akbar is often titled as Mughal e Azam, the greatest Mughal. Though he himself was not much educated, he respected the scholars and gave them important positions in his Darbar. There were nine extraordinary persons chosen by him who were jointly called Navratnas or nine gems. They were 1- Abul Fazal, who was the chief advisor. He wrote Akbarnamah. 2- Raja Birbal who was known for great wit and wisdom. 3- Raja Mansingh, who was the Maharaja of Jaipur and Akbar’s Defence Minister. Akbar’s wife Jodha Bai was sister of Mansingh. (Maharajas of Jaipur were appointed the defence ministers all through the Mughal reign. 4- Raja Todar Mal was finance minister and was a Marwari. 5- Abdur Raheem Khan e Khanan was a poet and son of Bairam Khan, Akbar’s mentor. 6- Miyan Tansen was from Gwalior and an expert musician. 7- Faizi was poet laureate. 8- Fakir Ziyauddin was a mystic. 9- Mullah do Piaza was a mystic and advisor, although some would call him a jester.