Humayun
On the 26th of December 1530, Humayun succeeded his father Babur to the throne of Delhi as ruler of the Mughal territories in the Indian subcontinent. He was an inexperienced ruler when he came to power at the age of 22. His half-brother Kamran Mirza inherited Kabul and Kandahar, the northernmost parts of their father's empire. The two half-brothers became bitter rivals almost immediately. Early in his reign, Humayun lost his entire empire to Sher Shah Suri but regained it 15 years later with Safavid aid.
Humayun had two major rivals for his lands: Sultan Bahadur of Gujarat to the southwest and Sher Shah Suri settled along the river Ganges in Bihar to the east. In February 1537, however, Bahadur was killed when a botched plan to kidnap the Portuguese viceroy ended in a fire-fight that the Sultan lost. Bahadur's passing caused a power vacuum in Gujarat, which ultimately paved the way for the Mughals to become the region's dominant force.
While Humayun was occupied in Gujarat, in the east Sher Khan invaded Bengal and besieged Gaur, its capital. Humayun set off to relieve the siege, but was delayed while taking Chunar, a fort occupied by Sher Shah's son. Meanwhile, Gaur fell, the large stores of grain there were emptied, and Humayun arrived to see corpses littering the roads. The vast wealth of Bengal was depleted and brought east, giving Sher Shah a substantial war chest.
In June 1539, Sher Shah met Humayun in the Battle of Chausa on the banks of the Ganges, near Buxar. This was to become an entrenched battle in which both sides spent a lot of time digging themselves into positions. The major part of the Mughal army, the artillery, was now immobile, and Humayun decided to engage in some diplomacy using Muhammad Aziz as ambassador. Humayun agreed to allow Sher Shah to rule over Bengal and Bihar, but only as provinces granted to him by his Emperor, Humayun, falling short of outright sovereignty.
Once the Army of Humayun had made its charge and Sher Shah's troops made their agreed-upon retreat, the Mughal troops relaxed their defensive preparations and returned to their entrenchments without posting a proper guard. Observing the Mughals' vulnerability, Sher Shah reneged on his earlier agreement. That very night, his army approached the Mughal camp and finding the Mughal troops unprepared with a majority asleep, they advanced and killed most of them. The Emperor survived by swimming across the Ganges using an air-filled water skin, and quietly returned to Agra.
Humayun fled to the refuge of the Safavid Empire in Persia, marching with 40 men, his wife Bega Begum, and her companion through mountains and valleys. Among other trials, the imperial party were forced to live on horse meat boiled in the soldiers' helmets. These indignities continued during the month it took them to reach Herat. However, after their arrival they were reintroduced to the finer things in life.
The Shah, Tahmasp I, unlike Humayun's own family, welcomed the Mughal, and treated him as a royal visitor. After his arrival in Herat, Humayun went sightseeing and was amazed at the Persian artwork and architecture he saw: much of this was the work sponsored by the Timurid Sultan Husayn Bayqarah and his ancestor, princess Gauhar Shad. Thus Humayun was able to admire the work of his relatives and ancestors at first hand.
Tahmasp urged that Humayun convert from Sunni to Shia Islam in order to keep himself and several hundred followers alive. Although the Mughals initially disagreed to their conversion they knew that with this outward acceptance of Shi'ism, Tahmasp was eventually prepared to offer Humayun more substantial support. When Humayun's brother, Kamran Mirza, offered to cede Kandahar to the Persians in exchange for Humayun, dead or alive, Tahmasp refused. Instead he staged a celebration, with 300 tents, an imperial Persian carpet, 12 musical bands and meat of all kinds.
On the 21st of March 1545, Humayun, with the Safavid support, reached the area around Kandahar with 14,000 Persian soldiers and began a siege. During the siege, he sent Bairam Khan to Kabul in an effort to win over the Timurid princes and nobles. On the 3rd of September 1545, Mirza Askari gave up the fort, and Kandahar was handed over to the Persians as agreed.
The Mughal monarch was introduced to the work of the Persian miniaturists, and Kamaleddin Behzad sent two of his pupils to join Humayun's court. Humayun was amazed by their work and asked if they would serve him if he regained the sovereignty of Hindustan; they agreed. With so much happening, Humayun did not meet Tahmasp until July, six months after his arrival in Persia. After a lengthy journey from Herat the two met in Qazvin where a large feast and parties were held for the event.
Following his return to power, Humayun quickly expanded the Empire, leaving a substantial legacy for his son, Akbar. The Central Asian origins of the dynasty were largely overshadowed by the influences of Persian art, architecture, language, and literature. To this day, stone carvings and thousands of Persian manuscripts in India dating from the time of Humayun remain in the subcontinent.
Humayun ordered the crushing by elephant of an imam he mistakenly believed to be critical of his reign. This act highlights the complex relationship between religious authority and imperial power during his reign. Despite these conflicts, the cultural exchange with Persia left a lasting mark on the Mughal court.
On the 24th of January 1556, Humayun, with his arms full of books, was descending the staircase from his library Sher Mandal when the muezzin announced the Azaan (the call to prayer). It was his habit, wherever and whenever he heard the summons, to bow his knee in holy reverence. Trying to kneel, he caught his foot in his robe, slipped down several steps and hit his temple on a rugged stone edge. He died three days later.
His body was laid to rest in Purana Qila initially, but, because of an attack by Hemu on Delhi and the capture of Purana Qila, Humayun's body was exhumed by the fleeing army and transferred to Kalanaur in Punjab where Akbar was crowned. After young Mughal emperor Akbar defeated and killed Hemu in the Second Battle of Panipat, Humayun's body was buried in Humayun's Tomb in Delhi the first very grand garden tomb in Mughal architecture, setting the precedent later followed by the Taj Mahal and many other Indian monuments.
It was commissioned by his favourite and devoted chief wife, Bega Begum. The tomb stands as a testament to her devotion and the cultural synthesis that defined Humayun's reign.
Akbar later asked his paternal aunt, Gulbadan Begum, to write a biography of his father Humayun, the Humayun nameh (or Humayun-nama), and what she remembered of Babur. She was only eight when Babur died, and was married at 17, and her work is in simple Persian style.
Unlike other Mughal royal biographies (the Zafarnama of Timur, Baburnama, and Akbar's own Akbarnama) no richly illustrated copy has survived, and the work is only known from a single battered and slightly incomplete manuscript, now in the British Library, that emerged in the 1860s. Annette Beveridge published an English translation in 1901, and editions in English and Bengali have been published since 2000.
The full title is Ahwal Humayun Padshah Jamah Kardom Gulbadan Begum bint Babur Padshah amma Akbar Padshah. This document provides invaluable insight into the life of Humayun and the early years of the Mughal Empire.
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Common questions
When did Humayun succeed his father Babur to the throne of Delhi?
Humayun succeeded his father Babur on the 26th of December 1530. He became ruler of the Mughal territories in the Indian subcontinent at the age of 22.
How did Humayun lose and regain his empire during his reign?
Humayun lost his entire empire to Sher Shah Suri early in his reign but regained it 15 years later with Safavid aid. He fled to Persia where Shah Tahmasp I provided him with military support to retake Kandahar and Kabul.
What happened to Humayun on the 24th of January 1556 that led to his death?
Humayun died three days after slipping down a staircase from his library Sher Mandal while trying to kneel for prayer. His foot caught in his robe causing him to hit his temple on a rugged stone edge.
Who commissioned the construction of Humayun's Tomb in Delhi?
Humayun's Tomb was commissioned by his favourite and devoted chief wife Bega Begum. The tomb stands as a testament to her devotion and the cultural synthesis that defined Humayun's reign.
Which manuscript provides insight into the life of Humayun written by Akbar's aunt?
The Humayun nameh is a biography written by Gulbadan Begum who was Akbar's paternal aunt. This document emerged in the 1860s and exists today as a single battered manuscript in the British Library.