The 'Takht-i-Akbari', the platform on which the young Akbar was crowned emperor in 1556, is located at:

The "Takht-i-Akbari", the brick platform on which the young Akbar was crowned emperor on 14 February 1556, is located at Kalanaur, in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab.

About Akbar's coronation:

• When Humayun died suddenly in January 1556 in Delhi, Akbar was in Punjab with his guardian, Bairam Khan, fighting the Afghans.
• His death was kept secret for some days, to prevent disorder.
• Bairam Khan crowned the 13-year-old Akbar on a simple brick platform in a garden at Kalanaur.
• The platform is about 3 feet high, and is now protected as a monument.

Bairam Khan as regent:

• Bairam Khan acted as the regent (Vakil) and guardian of Akbar from 1556 to 1560.
• He was given the title "Khan-i-Khanan".
• He led the Mughal army to victory in the Second Battle of Panipat (1556) against Hemu, who had captured Delhi and Agra.
• In 1560, Akbar removed Bairam Khan from power and asked him to go on the Hajj to Mecca.
• On the way, Bairam Khan was killed in Gujarat (at Patan) by an Afghan.
• Akbar took care of his family; his son Abdur Rahim later became one of Akbar's most important nobles.

Akbar's early life:

• He was born on 15 October 1542 at Amarkot (Umerkot), in Sindh (now in Pakistan), in the house of the Rajput ruler Rana Prasad, while Humayun was in exile.
• He spent his childhood in Afghanistan with his uncles.
• He never learnt to read or write, but was very intelligent and had books read to him.

The petticoat government (1560-1564):

For some years after Bairam Khan's fall, Akbar was influenced by his foster mother, Maham Anga, and her relatives; historians sometimes call this period the "petticoat government".

About Kalanaur:

It is an old town near the Indo-Pakistan border.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Panipat was the site of battles.
• ✗Amarkot was Akbar's birthplace.
• ✗Agra later became his capital.