Hindal Mirza

Abu'l-Nasir Muhammad (Persian: ابوالنصیر محمد; 4 March 1519 – 20 November 1551), better known by the sobriquet Hindal (Chagatai for 'Taker of India'), was a Mughal prince and the youngest son of Emperor Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire and the first Mughal emperor. He was also the older brother of Gulbadan Begum (the author of Humayun-nama), the younger half-brother of the second Mughal emperor Humayun, as well as the paternal-uncle and father-in-law of the third Mughal emperor Akbar.

Hindal's long military career started at the age of ten, with his first appointment as a viceroy being in Badakshan, Afghanistan. The young prince subsequently proved himself to be a successful and courageous general. Thus, by the age of 19, Hindal was considered to be a strong and favourable contender for the Mughal throne as Humayun's successor by the imperial council, which despised his older brother. However, unlike his rebellious half-brother, Kamran Mirza, Hindal eventually pledged allegiance to Humayun and remained faithful to him till his untimely death in 1551, when he died fighting for the Mughals in a battle against Kamran Mirza's forces. He was survived by his wife and his only daughter, the princess Ruqaiya Sultan Begum, who married his nephew, Akbar, and became a Mughal queen in 1556.

Abu'l-Nasir Muhammad was born on 4 March 1519 in Kabul to the first Mughal emperor Babur and his wife Dildar Begum. Upon hearing the news of his birth, Babur named his youngest son, Hindal (Turkish: "Taker of India"), since the prince was born while he was on his way to conquer "Hind" (India) which he felt was a good omen. Babur further commemorated the birth of his son in his memoir: the Baburnama. Two years after his birth, the prince and his sister, Gulbadan Begum, were placed in the care of Maham Begum, Babur's chief wife and the mother of Hindal's older half-brother, Humayun. Maham Begum had recently lost four children of her own in infancy, and wished to raise Hindal and his sister Gulbadan Begum in her own care.

Hindal's other siblings included his two sisters Gulrang Begum and Gulchehra Begum and a younger brother, Alwar Mirza, who died in his childhood. Among his siblings, Hindal was very close to his sister Gulbadan Begum. Hindal had also been his father's favourite when Humayun lost favour with him at the time of his death in 1530. On his deathbed in Agra, Babur desperately asked for his youngest son, Hindal (who was fighting a campaign in Kabul at the time), instead of Humayun. This incident, hinted at the depth of the older prince's imperial disfavour.

In 1537, Hindal married his cousin, Sultanam Begum, in Agra. She was the daughter of Muhammad Musa Khwaja and the younger sister of Mahdi Khwaja, who was Babur's brother-in-law, being the husband of his sister, Khanzada Begum. Sultanam had been lovingly brought up by Hindal's childless aunt, Khanzada Begum, since she was a child and had been reared to become Hindal's wife in future.

In honour of their marriage, Khanzada Begum organized a grand feast, which is described in great detail in the Humayun-nama. The feast, known as the 'Mystic Feast' was a grand affair and in the words of Gulbadan Begum was "most splendid and entertaining", being attended by innumerable imperial and royal guests as well as high-ranking court amirs. Gulbadan further stated that such a wedding feast had not been organized previously for any other children of Babur. Mahdi Khwaja had presented his brother-in-law, Hindal, with a large amount of dowry and Khanzada Begum also gave extravagant gifts.

In 1541, when negotiations for Humayun's marriage with Hamida Banu Begum were going on, both Hindal and Hamida bitterly opposed the marriage proposal, possibly because they were involved with each other. It seems probable that Hamida was in love with Hindal, though there is only circumstantial evidence for it. In her book, the Humayun-nama, Hindal's sister and Hamida's close friend, Gulbadan Begum, pointed out that Hamida was frequently seen in her brother's palace during those days, and in the palace of their mother, Dildar Begum. Hamida's father, Shaikh Ali Akbar Jami, had also been one of Hindal's preceptors.

Hindal's first appointment as a viceroy was in Badakshan, Afghanistan, when the prince was merely ten years old. Hindal's older half-brothers Humayun and Kamran Mirza conferred and persuaded the young prince to take up the government of Badakshan. Upon invading India in 1525–6, Hindal was briefly awarded Badakshan again in 1529 by Babur. At the time of his father's death in 1530, the eleven-year-old Hindal was serving as the viceroy of Kabul, and was also the viceroy of Qandahar at a later time.