Navratnas, the nine jewels in Akbar's court
* Abul-Fazel - was the vizier of Akbar, and author of the Akbarnama, the official history of Akbar's reign in three volumes, the third volume is known as the Ain-i-Akbari and a Persian translation of the Bible [14]. He was also the brother of Faizi, the poet laureate of emperor Akbar.
* Faizi - was the poet laureate of Akbar's Court. He was the brother of Akbar's historian Abul Fazl. He composed beautiful poetry in Persian and is estimated by his contemporaries to have composed nearly 100 poetic works. He wanted to produce a Panj Ganj (lit. five treasures) in imitation of the Persian poet Nezami, but died after writing only three out of the five works. Towards this end he wrote Nal u Daman, Makhzan ul-advar, and Bilqis va Salman. These were in imitation of Nezami's Layla va Majnun, Makhzan ul-Asrar, and Shirin va Khusrau, respectively. Akbar highly recognized the genius in him and appointed him teacher for his son and gave place to him among his decorative 'Nav Ratnas'. He also wrote a commentary on the Quran and translated Lilavati, a Sanskrit work on mathematics, into Persian. His father was Mubarak Nagori, a scholar in the philosophy and literature of Greece as well as in Islamic theology.
* Miyan Tansen - was a musician in Akbar's court and is considered among the greatest composer-musicians. He was an extraordinarily gifted vocalist, known for a large number of compositions, and also an instrumentalist who popularized and improved the rabab (of Central Asian origin).
* Birbal - was the Grand Vizier (Wazīr-e Azam) of the Mughal court in the administration of Akbar and one of his most trusted members. He was the only person other than Akbar who was a Din-i-Ilahi believer. Birbal's duties in Akbar's court were mostly military and administrative but he was also a very close friend of the emperor, who liked Birbal most for his wit and wisdom, as a result of which they frequently had witty and humorous exchanges between them. These exchanges and stories have become part of a rich tradition of folklore and legend.
* Raja Todar Mal- rose to become the Finance Minister in Akbar's Darbar. Todar Mal overhauled the revenue system of Akbar's Mughal empire. He was from the Khatri (or Khattri/Khattree) community of Punjab. Todar Mal had developed his expertise in Sher Shah's employment.
* Raja Man Singh- was the Kacchwaha Rajah of Amber, a state later known as Jaipur. He was a trusted general in Akbar's army. However, he was a devotee of Shri Krishna, and not an adherent of Akbar's religion, Din-i-Ilahi.
* Abdur Rahim Khan-I-Khana- was a poet in Akbar's darbar, and one of his main nine ministers (Diwan)in his court, also known as the Navaratnas; he is most known for his Hindi couplets and his books on Astrology [15]. The village of Khankhana, named after him, is located in the Nawanshahr district of the state of Punjab in northwest India.
* Fakir Aziao-Din - (Faqir means Sage or Ascetic in Urdu) was one of Akbar's chief advisors, and belonged to his inner circle. Akbar regarded his advice in high esteem.
* Mullah Do Piaza- was among the Mughal emperor Akbar's chief advisors. Akbar regarded his advice in high esteem and included him among the nine gems of the Mughal court, or Navratnas, as he was known for his intelligence. He was a close competition to Birbal, but he always lost at the end.
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2:29 PM on July 08, 2009
