Maharana Udai Singh II

Maharana Udai Singh II was Maharana of Mewar. Rana Udai Singh II was the founder of the city of Udaipur in present day Rajasthan state of India. Maharana Udai Singh was the 53rd ruler of the Mewar Dynasty. Maharana Udai Singh II was the fourth son of Maharana Sangram Singh or Rana Sanga and Rani Karnavati, Princess of Bundi.

Maharana Udai Singh son of Rana Sanga is famous in the Rajputana history for the two reasons; firstly for being the father of the brave son of Mewar, Rana Pratap and second, for gifting picturesque city of Udaipur to the whole world.

After the death of Rana Sangram Singh, his enemies also tried to kill Udai Singh II who was the small child at that time. Udai Singh II was rescued by his nurse Panna Dhai who replaced him with her own son and lost her son’s life for the safety of the young prince. After, when he ascended the throne, Maharana Udai singh was attacked by Akbar. At this time, he left already Chittor 9 years ago, ending up Udaipur, giving Mewar its new Capital

The most romantic city and city of lakes ‘Udaipur’ was named after its founder, who then made it his own Capital even before that Chittor was sacked by Akhbar. When Mughal forces attack Chittor, then the capital of Mewar, Rana Udai Singh II and his royal family already had left for Gogunda, making it a temporary capital untill the Udai Singh II shifted to Udaipur, making this the new capital of Mewar. After weakening of the Mughals, Rajput king recaptured Mewar but failed to win over the Chittor. Thus by this way Udaipur was saved from the Mughals influences.

Maharana Udai Singh II died in 1572 in Gogunda. Before the death of Rana Udai Singh II, he nominated his 4th son Jagmal as his successor under the influence of his queen and his Son’s mother Rani Bhattiyani. After the death of Maharaja Udai Singh, nobles of Mewar prevented Jagmal from succeeding and placed the Maharana Pratap on throne.

Resources:
http://www.eternalmewarblog.com/rulers-of-mewar/Maharana-Udai-Singh-II/

Kublai Khan

Kublai Khan (September 23, 1215 – February 18, 1294) born in Kublai and also known by the name of the temple Shizu. He was the fifth Khagan (great Khan) of the Mongol Empire, reigning from the 1260 to 1294 and was the founder of the Yuan dynasty in the Mongolia and the China, the division of the Mongol Empire.

Kublai Khan  is quite famous in Western culture, having been immortalized through the writings of Marco Polo and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, as well as the epic beatdown he received from a time-travelling Brian Boitano.

Kulbai was the forth son of the Tolui (his second son with the Sorghaghtani Beki) and his grandson of the Genghis Khan. He succeeded his older brother Mongke as the Khagan in the 1260 but had to defeat his younger brother Ariq Böke in the Toluid Civil War lasting until the 1264. This was marked the beginning of the disunity in the empire. Kublai’s real power was the limited to china and the Mongolia, though as the Khagan he still had the influence in the I khanate  and to the far lesser degree in the golden Horde.

In 1271, Kublai established the Yuan dynasty, which ruled over present-day Mongolia, China, Korea, and some adjacent areas, and assumed the role of Emperor of China. By 1279, the Yuan forces had overcome the last resistance of the Southern Song dynasty, and Kublai became the first non-Han Emperor to conquer all of China. He was also the only Mongol Khan after 1260 to win new conquests.

Victory in the North China:

In 1251, Kublai's eldest brother Möngke became Khan of the Mongol Empire, and Khwarizmian Mahmud Yalavach and Kublai were sent to China. Kublai received the viceroyalty over North China and moved his ordo to central Inner Mongolia. During his years as viceroy, Kublai managed his territory well, boosted the agricultural output of Henan, and increased social welfare spending after receiving Xi'an. These acts received great acclaim from the Chinese warlords and were essential to the building of the Yuan Dynasty. In 1252, Kublai criticized Mahmud Yalavach, who was never highly valued by his Chinese associates, over his cavalier execution of suspects during a judicial review, and Zhao Bi attacked him for his presumptuous attitude toward the throne. Möngke dismissed Mahmud Yalavach, which met with resistance from Chinese Confucian-trained officials.
In 1253, Kublai was ordered to attack Yunnan, and he asked the Kingdom of Dali to submit. The ruling Gao family resisted and killed Mongol envoys. The Mongols divided their forces into three. One wing rode eastward into the Sichuan basin. The second column under Subutai's son Uryankhadai took a difficult route into the mountains of western Sichuan. Kublai went south over the grasslands and met up with the first column. While Uryankhadai travelled along the lakeside from the north, Kublai took the capital city of Dali and spared the residents despite the slaying of his ambassadors. Duan Xingzhi, the last king of Dali, was appointed by Möngke Khan as the first local ruler; Duan accepted the stationing of a pacification commissioner there. After Kublai's departure, unrest broke out among certain factions. In 1255 and 1256, Duan Xingzhi was presented at court, where he offered Mengu, the Yuan Emperor Xienzhong, maps of Yunnan and counsels about the vanquishing of the tribes who had not yet surrendered. Duan then led a considerable army to serve as guides and vanguards for the Mongolian army. By the end of 1256, Uryankhadai had completely pacified Yunnan.

In 1258, Möngke put Kublai in command of the Eastern Army and summoned him to assist with an attack on Sichuan. As he was suffering from gout, Kublai was allowed to stay home, but he moved to assist Möngke anyway. Before Kublai arrived in 1259, word reached him that Möngke had died. Kublai decided to keep the death of his brother secret and continued the attack on Wuhan, near the Yangtze River. While Kublai's force besieged Wuchang, Uryankhadai joined him. The Song Dynasty minister Jia Sidao secretly approached Kublai to propose terms. He offered an annual tribute of 200,000 taels of silver and 200,000 bolts of silk, in exchange for Mongol agreement to the Yangtze River as the frontier between the states. Kublai declined at first but later reached a peace agreement with Jia Sidao.

Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar the Great

Abu'l-Fath Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar, popularly known as the Akbar (14 Oct 1542- 27 Oct 1605) also famous as the Akbar the great or Akbar was the Mughal Emperor from the 1556 until his death. He was the third and the one of the greatest rulers of the Mughal Dynasty in the India. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under the regent, Bairam Khan who helped the young emperor expand and consolidate the Mughal domains in the India. The strong personality and the successful general, Akbar gradually enlarged the Mughal Empire to include nearly all the Indian Subcontinent north of Godavari river. Powers of Akbar and influence however extended over the entire country because of the Mughal military, political, cultural and economic dominance. To unify the vast of the Mughal state, he establishes the centralised system of the administration throughout his empire and adopted the policy of the conciliating conquered rulers through the marriage and the diplomacy. In order to preserve the peace and order in the religiously and culturally diverse empire, he adopted the policies that won his the support of his non-Muslim subjects.

Mughal India developed the strong and stable economy, leading to commercial expansion and greater patronage of culture. Akbar himself was a patron of art and culture. He was fond of literature, and created a library of over 24,000 volumes written in Sanskrit,Hindustani, Persian, Greek, Latin, Arabic and Kashmiri, staffed by many scholars, translators, artists, calligraphers, scribes, bookbinders and readers. Holy men of many faiths, poets, architects and artisans adorned his court from all over the world for study and discussion. Akbar's courts at Delhi, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri became centres of the arts, letters, and learning.

Akbar's reign significantly influenced the course of Indian history. During his rule, the Mughal Empire tripled in size and wealth. He created the powerful military system and instituted effective political and social reforms. By abolishing the sectarian tax on non-Muslims and appointing them to high civil and military posts, he was the first Mughal ruler to win the trust and loyalty of the native subjects. He had Sanskrit literature translated, participated in native festivals, realizing that a stable empire depended on the co-operation and good-will of his subjects. Thus, the foundations for a multicultural empire under Mughal rule were laid during his reign. Akbar was succeeded as emperor by his son, Jahangir.

On the 3rd October 1605, Akbar fell ill with the attack of dysentery from which he never recovered. He is believed to have died on 27 October 1605 after which his body was buried at the mausoleum in the Sikandra, Agra.

Seventy six years later. In the 1691 the group of the austere Hindu rebels known as the Jats, rebelling against Mughal Empires robbed the gold, Silver and fine carpet with the tomb, desecrated Akbar’s mausoleum.

Resources:
http://asianhistory.about.com/od/india/p/akbarthegreatbio.htm