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A story about Humayun is very famous. Once he became very ill. His health was deteriorating day by day. His father came three times round Babur’s bed and prayed, ‘If Allah can give life for life, then I, Babur, will give my life for the life of my son Humayun.’
” From that day Babur’s health began to deteriorate. Humayun began to recover. Babur fell on the bed. When it seemed that he would not survive, Humayun was called there.
Humayun reached Agra four days before his father’s death. Babur assembled all his generals and Humayun would be my successor. He said take care of him like you took care of me. To take good care of his subjects and brothers. “His teaching to Humayun was to treat them with kindness,” wrote Humayun’s sister Gulpatan in her biography of Humayun.
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Babur participated in the war against Ibrahim Lodi
Humayun was born on 6 March 1508 in Kabul. He was only 27 years old when he ascended the throne of India. All the good and bad qualities he possessed at this young age remained with him till the end. Because of that he sometimes met with success and sometimes with severe disappointment.
Humayun was only 12 years old when Babur made him the governor of Badgakhshan. At the age of 17 Humayun fought shoulder to shoulder with his father in the war of conquest of India.
‘I sent Humayun to meet Ibrahim Lodi’s main force under the governorship of Hissar Firuza. I gifted Hisar Firuza to Humayun when he defeated Lodhi’s army.
After the victory of Panipat I sent him to conquer Agra. There the family of the king of Gwalior gave him a huge diamond, the price of which could feed the people of the entire world for two and a half days.
“When I reached Agra, my son presented the diamond to me. But I returned the diamond to him,” Babur wrote in his autobiography ‘Babarnama’.
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Willingness to strengthen the empire
At the time of Babur’s death the Mughal Empire felt very insecure. Because of this his death was hidden from the outside world for three days. Humayun ascended the throne of India on 30th December 1530.
Humayun was proficient in horse riding and archery. But he had little will to confirm his victory. Leadership is also not abundant in him. And many times his colleagues deserted him when he needed him most. But Humayun also had the quality of never losing courage when faced with obstacles. Because of that he succeeded in regaining his lost throne,” said SM. Burke wrote in his book ‘Akbar the Greatest Mughal’.
In his first battle as emperor, Humayun defeated Mahmud Lodhi near Jaunpur in 1531. In 1534, he had to move east to crush the growing power of Sher Shah. But before he could reach there, he had to turn to face the threat of Bahadur Shah. As a result Sher Shah’s strength increased more than before. Humayun conquered Malwa and Gujarat in 1534-35.
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Defeat of Humayun in the Battle of Sousa
In March 1537 Humayun again marched east to defeat Sher Shah. He also captured Kerala, the capital of Bengal. Johar Aftabsi, a famous historian of the period, in his book ‘Taskhrat-ul-Waqiyat’, says, “Humayun spent a lot of time at Achpuram after conquering Gaur. Didn’t come out for a long time. By then, Sher Shah had captured Banaras and Jaunpur and put obstacles in the way of Humayun’s return to the capital,” he noted.
” Humayun was defeated in the battle of Sousa on 7th June 1539. In this battle Humayun himself fought in the front. And an arrow pierced his arm. When he ordered his soldiers to advance, none of the soldiers obeyed his command. Humayun had to flee for his life.
While crossing the Ganges, his horse was swept away by the strong current of the river. A Bishti who was carrying water saved Humayun from drowning by lending his hand. Humayun then made him sit on his throne for half a day as a token of his gratitude.
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Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun
Kannaj also met with defeat
The next year Humayun set out to avenge his defeat. But many of his companions abandoned him. He was again defeated by Sher Shah Suri at Kannauj on 17 May 1540. At that time Humayun’s forces were much larger than those of Sher Shah.
“The Afghan soldiers brandished their weapons before Humayun’s eyes. Then Humayun saw an old elephant that had once been with his father. He sat on that elephant. But Yanai Bagan felt himself being led towards the enemy’s camp.
A transgender hiding in Ambari told him to cut off the elephant Pagan’s head with a sword. But Humayun did not know how to ride an elephant. He cannot progress without the Elephant Bagan. But the transgender told him that she knew how to ride an elephant and would take him to a safe place. Humayun cut off the elephant Pagan’s head with his sword,” writes Zohar Aftabsi.
Abul Fazal has narrated this incident in Akbarnama. But he did not mention transgenderism. Hyder Mirza Thoglat in his book ‘Tariq-e-Rashipati’ says, “On that day 17,000 soldiers fought with Humayun. But when he ran away, he was alone. No hat on his head, no shoes on his feet. Along with the shoes, his self-confidence was lost,” he wrote.
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Disagreement with brothers
Humayun traveled from Kannauj to Agra on a borrowed horse. But the news of his failure had already reached him. About 3,000 villagers stopped Humayun near Pangao, halfway to Agra. The villagers specialized in looting from defeated armies. Humayun sought help from his brothers Hindal and Askari to deal with these villagers. But they fought among themselves. Humayun somehow overpowered the villagers and reached Agra,” writes Zohar.
But in July 1540, 10 years after his father’s death, Humayun had to leave Agra too.
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When Humayun started fleeing from Agra, Sher Shah sent his Rajput warrior Bahadat Khor with a large force after him.
” Keller was advised to follow Humayun instead of fighting him. The object of pursuing Humayun was not to capture him but to drive him out of India. Both Hindal and Askari were with Humayun in the first battle against Sher Shah. But Hindal decided to leave him and return to Agra.
In Humayun’s absence he took over the government there. A khutbah was recited in his name. Humayun asked his brothers to join in unity to fight Sher Shah. But his brother Kamran disagreed. He left for Lahore with his soldiers,” writes Abbas Sarwani.
”Humayun sent a message from Lahore to Sher Shah. I have left the whole of India for you. At least let me stay in Lahore,” he said. I have left Kabul for you. Shersha replied why don’t you go there. Humayun spent the next 15 years away from the throne of Delhi, in Iran, Sindh and Afghanistan,” writes Gulpatan Begum.
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Humayun’s Tomb
Attack on India
Sher Shah died in an explosion in May 1545. After his son’s death in 1553, the empire began to disintegrate. In 1554 news began to arrive in Kabul that Salim Shah Suri was dead and his son had been killed by his uncle. Humayun then decided to invade India and recover his lost empire.
When Humayun marched from Kabul to India in mid-November, he had 3,000 soldiers. When Humayun crossed the Indus in December 1554 during his invasion of India, the Suri dynasty had three claims. The most prominent among them was Sikandar Shah. His control extended from Delhi to Rohdas in Punjab. Humayun had invited Bairam Khan from Kandahar to take part in this battle. Humayun’s 12-year-old son Akbar was also with him.
When Humayun entered Lahore on 24 February 1555, he met no opposition. Akbar led a division in the battle at Sarhind. Sikandar fled the battlefield and hid in the forests of Punjab. Humayun’s army entered Delhi on 23 July 1555. But luck did not favor him for long.
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Humayun’s son Akbar
Slipped on the stairs
On 24 January 1556 Humayun took his last dose of opium after summoning rose water. In the afternoon he met some people who had returned from Hajj. He invited them to meet him in his brick library on the terrace. He also went to the terrace so that the people who had gathered for Friday prayers at the neighboring mosque could see the Emperor. After the meeting, Humayun summoned his mathematician and confirmed whether the planet Venus was visible in the sky that day. He considered that on this auspicious occasion orders of promotion might be issued to some.
”It was very cold and windy. Humayun started down the stairs. When he reached the second step, he heard the sound of Azan from the mosque saying Allah Hu Akbar. Humayun was a believer in God. As soon as he heard the sound of Azan, he tried to bow and prostrate. Then his leg got caught in his dress. The emperor started rolling down the stairs. Aides who ran with him tried to catch him, but could not. As they all ran down, Humayun fell to the ground. There was a deep wound on the head and bleeding from the right ear,” writes Gulpatan Begum in his biography of Humayun. .
Humayun did not open his eyes again. Sultan died three days after the fall.
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Humayun loved books
Humayun’s leadership was always questionable, but he had other good qualities. He liked the proximity of the learned and the poets. He took many rare texts with him as he traveled south to expand his ambitions.
” Humayun was overjoyed to find some of the books lost during the defeat near Kipsuk after his victory in the village of Ushtar.
During his stay in Iran he always had a librarian in his team. A librarian was necessary wherever government meetings were held,” writes Abul Fazal.
Humayun had great faith in astrology. Every day he wore clothes according to the color of the planets.
”Humayun would put his right foot first when he started walking. “If one enters his room with his left foot forward, he will ask him to go out and come back in with his right foot forward,” Al-Bathoni mentions in his book ‘Muntqabut Tawarik’.
Humayun had great interest in nature and art. Once a beautiful bird in the Indus entered his tent, he closed the door of the tent and invited an artist to paint a picture of the bird. After the painting was ready, he asked the bird to be released.
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