Raja Todar Mal

Raja Todar Mal (1523/1524–1589) was Akbar's finance minister and one of the nine Navaratnas. Born into a Hindu family in Awadh, he began as a clerk and was entrusted by Sher Shah Suri with building the fort of Rohtas in Punjab. He entered Mughal service after the fall of the Sur dynasty, later governing Gujarat.

As Akbar's dewan he overhauled the empire's land revenue, introducing standard measurements, the zabt assessment and a ten-year settlement, and his 1582–1584 decrees made Persian the language of Mughal administration. He rebuilt the Kashi Vishwanath temple in 1585 and died at Lahore in 1589.