The imperial Mughal hunt: A pursuit of knowledge

Abū’l Fazl, the emperor Akbar’s historian and biographer, famously claims, ‘Short-sighted and shallow observers think that His Majesty has no other object in view but hunting; but the wise and experienced know that he pursues higher aims’, adding that Akbar ‘always makes hunting a means of increasing his knowledge’.¹ He also notes that hunting was not an activity of senseless killing as ‘ignorant’ people believe, but one where Akbar could travel incognito and without notice to ascertain the battle-readiness of troops, conduct inspections over agricultural and charitable lands, assess the efficacy and fairness of taxations laws, and deliver justice. In