Humayun lost the whole Mughal empire, then won it back fifteen years later
Babur's son Humayun took the Mughal throne at 22, inexperienced and surrounded by ambitious brothers. Within a decade the Afghan commander Sher Shah Suri had driven him out of India entirely. With Persian help he returned, and the nobles who came with him reshaped Mughal court culture for good.
Born Nasir al-Din Muhammad on 6 March 1508 to Babur's favourite wife, Māham Begum, he inherited the throne of Delhi on 26 December 1530. Babur had split his lands, a Central Asian custom inherited from Genghis Khan but unusual in India. Humayun's half-brother Kamran Mirza received Kabul and Kandahar, and the two became bitter rivals. Some nobles had even tried to pass Humayun over while Babur still lived.
Two enemies pressed him: in Gujarat, Sultan Bahadur, and on the Ganges in Bihar, the Afghan Sher Shah Suri. In 1535, learning that Bahadur planned an attack with Portuguese help, Humayun marched on Gujarat and within a month took the forts of Mandu and Champaner, but failed to follow through. Meanwhile Sher Shah invaded Bengal and captured its capital, Gaur, while Humayun lingered over the fort of Chunar. Afterwards, one chronicler complained, the emperor withdrew into his harem for a long spell of luxury.
Family loyalty proved thin. His brother Hindal abandoned his post guarding the rear, and Kamran came from Punjab with designs on the throne. Humayun repeatedly pardoned them. On 17 May 1540, at Kannauj, about 200 kilometres east of Agra, Sher Shah routed him. Humayun fled west; in Sikh tradition he visited Guru Angad at Khadur Sahib around this time.
Fifteen years later, backed by the Safavids of Persia, he regained his empire and expanded it quickly. Persian noblemen in his entourage brought their art, architecture, language and literature, overshadowing the dynasty's Central Asian roots; stone carvings and thousands of Persian manuscripts from his era survive in India. He died on 27 January 1556, leaving a strong base for his son Akbar.
Source: Humayun
