Dīn-i ilāhī (lit., divine religion) is a misnomer for the spiritual leadership claimed by the Mughal Akbar (r. 963-1014/1556-1605) and the mystical imperial order he established simultaneously. The term was coined by the scholar and historian ʿAbd al-Qādir Badāʾūnī (d. 1024/1615) in his Muntakhab al-tavārīkh , in connection with a declaration that Mīrzā Jānī (d. 1009/1601), Arghūn ruler and the governor of Thatta, is said to have signed in about 1001/1593 and which included the following statement: "I... liberate and dissociate myself