The 'Ain-i-Akbari', a detailed record of the administration of Akbar's empire, was written by:

The "Ain-i-Akbari" ("Institutes of Akbar") was written in Persian by Abul Fazl, the historian and close friend of the Mughal emperor Akbar, and was completed in about 1598.

About the Ain-i-Akbari:

• It is the third and final part of a larger history of Akbar's reign.
• It is a detailed record of the administration, institutions and statistics of Akbar's empire.

It is divided into five books (daftars):

• The first deals with the imperial household.
• The second deals with the servants of the emperor, the military and civil services, including the mansabdars.
• The third deals with the empire's administration, including revenue rates, the judiciary and the executive.
• The fourth deals with the religion, philosophy, literature and customs of the Hindus.
• The fifth contains the sayings of Akbar.
• It provides valuable information about land revenue, crops, prices, wages, the provinces (subas) and the resources of the empire.
• It has been called a "gazetteer" of the Mughal empire.

NCERT on the Ain-i-Akbari:

NCERT discusses the Ain as a key source for understanding agrarian society in the 16th and 17th centuries, while also noting its limitations, such as errors in totals and gaps in the data for some regions.

About Abul Fazl:

• He was born in 1551, the younger brother of the poet Faizi.
• He was a scholar of great learning and a strong supporter of Akbar's religious and political policies.
• He was one of the "Navaratnas" (nine jewels) of Akbar's court, according to tradition.
• He also compiled a collection of Akbar's letters.
• He was killed in 1602 by Bir Singh Bundela, at the instigation of Prince Salim (later Jahangir), who disliked his influence on Akbar.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Badauni wrote a critical history of Akbar's reign.
• ✗Nizamuddin Ahmad wrote a general history.
• ✗Faizi was a poet and Abul Fazl's brother.