Akbar’s reign can be divided into the following three periods.
- 1556-1570. Akbar became independent of the regent Bairam Khan and other members of his domestic staff. He launched military campaigns against the Suris and other Afghans, against the neighbouring kingdoms of Malwa and Gondwana to suppress the revolt of his half brother Mirza Hakim and the Uzbeks. In the year 1568, he seized the Sisodiya Capital of Chittor and in 1569 Ranthambhor.
- 1570-1585. Military campaigns in Gujarat were followed by campaigns in the east in Bihar, Bengal, and Orissa. These campaigns were complicated by the 1579-1580 revolt in support of Mirza Hakim.
- 1585-1605. During this period Akbar expanded his empire. He launched campaigns in the north-west. Qandahar was seized from the Safavids and Kashmir was annexed. Kabul was seized after the death of Mirza Hakim. Afterward, Akbar started his campaigns in the Deccan and soon he annexed Berar, Khandesh, and parts of Ahmadnagar.