This belief went back to pre-Islamic cultural roots and the bloodlines of Chengiz Khan, descendant of the mother goddess Alanqoa. Akbar created the formal position of Jotik Rai, or royal astrologer, a post held for a century by Brahmin pundits from Benares who were gifted their weight in gold and silver as reward for an accurate forecast. In 1542 Humayun, then a hunted fugitive without hope, became certain that the Mughal empire would be reborn after reading his son Akbar's horoscope.