Last updated: 5 November 2026
Quick answer: Mughal emperor Akbar died of dysentery at Agra Fort on the night of 26–27 October 1605, aged 63. He fell ill in early October and never recovered. Rumours of poisoning circulated, but no contemporary evidence supports them. His son Salim succeeded him as Jahangir, and Akbar was buried at Sikandra, near Agra.
How did Akbar die? The greatest of the Mughal emperors died slowly, over about three weeks, in a palace full of people already fighting over his throne. His final illness came at the end of the worst years of his life: his closest friend murdered, two sons dead from drink, his mother gone and his heir in open revolt. This is what the chroniclers recorded.
Akbar’s Death at a Glance
| Date of death | Night of 26–27 October 1605 (most references give 27 October; some give 25 or 26) |
| Age | 63 (born 15 October 1542 at Umerkot, Sindh) |
| Place | Agra Fort, Agra. Not Fatehpur Sikri, which the court had left two decades earlier |
| Cause of death | Dysentery (an attack of the “flux”), beginning around 3 October 1605 |
| Reign | 1556–1605, nearly 50 years |
| Burial | Tomb at Sikandra, Agra, completed by Jahangir in 1613 |
| Successor | Prince Salim, crowned as Jahangir in November 1605 |
What was Akbar’s cause of death?
Akbar’s cause of death was dysentery. The illness began around 3 October 1605 as an attack of diarrhoea that his physicians could not stop. Over the next three weeks he weakened steadily, and by late October he could no longer speak clearly. He died around midnight between 26 and 27 October.
Some later writers claimed he was poisoned. One tale has him accidentally swallowing a poisoned pill meant for someone else; another hints that his son Salim or a court faction was involved. Neither appears in a reliable contemporary account, and the slow, three-week decline matches a severe gastrointestinal infection far better than poison. Historians treat the poison stories as gossip.
Why were Akbar’s last years so bleak?
- His sons: Prince Murad died of alcoholism in 1599 and Prince Daniyal of the same cause in early 1605. Only Salim was left.
- His heir’s revolt: Salim rebelled in 1600, set up a rival court at Allahabad and, in 1602, had Akbar’s friend and historian Abul Fazl ambushed and killed. Akbar was devastated.
- His mother: Hamida Banu Begum, Humayun’s widow, died in 1604. Salim’s grudging return to court came soon after.
The fight for the throne at Akbar’s deathbed
As Akbar lay dying, two of the most powerful men at court, Raja Man Singh of Amber and Mirza Aziz Koka, tried to pass over Salim in favour of Salim’s own son, Prince Khusrau, who was Man Singh’s nephew and Aziz Koka’s son-in-law. The plan failed. Most of the nobility, including the leading Muslim nobles who extracted a promise from Salim to protect Islam, rallied to Salim.
According to the chroniclers, Salim came to his father’s bedside, and Akbar, unable to speak, signalled that he should take up the imperial turban and his father’s sword. Within days of Akbar’s death Salim was crowned at Agra as Jahangir. Khusrau’s grievance did not die: he rebelled in 1606, was captured and blinded, and died in 1622.
Where is Akbar buried?
Akbar was buried at Sikandra, on the outskirts of Agra, in a tomb he had planned himself. Jahangir completed it between 1605 and 1613, redesigning the upper storeys. In 1688, during the Jat rebellion against Aurangzeb, Raja Ram Jat’s men plundered the tomb, and the Venetian traveller Niccolao Manucci later claimed they dragged out Akbar’s bones and burned them. Manucci is the only source for that last detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Akbar die?
He died of dysentery at Agra Fort after about three weeks of illness, in October 1605.
When did Akbar die?
On the night of 26–27 October 1605. Most references give 27 October 1605.
At what age did Akbar die?
He was 63. He was born on 15 October 1542.
Where did Akbar die?
At Agra Fort. Some sources wrongly say Fatehpur Sikri, which the court had abandoned in the 1580s.
Was Akbar poisoned?
There is no reliable evidence. The poison stories are later rumours; the recorded illness was dysentery.
Who became emperor after Akbar?
His son Salim, who took the title Jahangir. Read how Jahangir died.
Sources and Further Reading
- Abul Fazl, Akbarnama (to 1602), continued by Inayatullah.
- Jahangir, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri (memoirs).
- Vincent A. Smith, Akbar the Great Mogul (1917).
- History Today, “Death of the Emperor Akbar”.
Related: Akbar’s Wives · Mughal Family Tree · Mughal Empire History · How Did Aurangzeb Die?
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