Humayun

Nasir al-Din Muhammad (6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), commonly known by his regnal name Humayun (Persian pronunciation: [hu.mɑː.juːn]), was the second Mughal emperor, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Northern India, and Pakistan from 1530 to 1540 and again from 1555 to his death in 1556. At the time of his death, the Mughal Empire spanned almost one million square kilometers.

On 26 December 1530, Humayun succeeded his father Babur to the throne of Delhi as ruler of the Mughal territories in the Indian subcontinent. Humayun 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.

Early in his reign, Humayun lost his entire empire to Sher Shah Suri but regained it 15 years later with Safavid aid. His return from Persia was accompanied by a large retinue of Persian noblemen, signaling an important change in Mughal court culture. 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. Following his return to power, Humayun quickly expanded the Empire, leaving a substantial legacy for his son, Akbar.

Humayun was born as Nasir al-Din Muhammad to Babur's favourite wife Māham Begum on Tuesday 6 March 1508. According to Abul Fazl, Māham was related to the noble family of Sultan Husayn Bayqara, the Timurid ruler of Herat. She was also related to Sheikh Ahmad-e Jami, a Persian mystic and poet.

The decision of Babur to divide the territories of his empire between two of his sons was unusual in India, although it had been a common Central Asian practice since the time of Genghis Khan. Unlike most monarchies, which practised primogeniture, the Timurids followed the example of Genghis and did not leave an entire kingdom to the eldest son. Although under that system only a Chingissid could claim sovereignty and Khanal authority, any male Chinggisid within a given sub-branch had an equal right to the throne (though the Timurids were not Chinggisid in their paternal ancestry). While Genghis Khan's empire had been peacefully divided between his sons upon his death, almost every Chinggisid succession since had resulted in fratricide.^{[page needed]}

After Timur's death, his territories were divided among Pir Muhammad, Miran Shah, Khalil Sultan and Shah Rukh, which resulted in inter-family warfare. Not all umarah (nobles) viewed Humayun as Babur's rightful successor. While Babur was still alive, some of the nobles tried unsuccessfully to install his brother-in-law, Mahdi Khwaja, as ruler. Upon Babur's death, Humayun's territories were the least secure.^{[citation needed]}

When Humayun came to the throne of the Mughal Empire, several of his brothers revolted against him after he split the empire among them. Another brother, Hindal Mirza, supported Humayun but was assassinated. The Emperor commenced construction of a tomb for his brother, but this was not yet finished when he was forced to flee to Persia. Sher Shah Suri destroyed the structure and no further work was done on it after Humayun's restoration.^{[citation needed]}

Humayun had two major rivals for his lands: Sultan Bahadur of Gujarat to the southwest and Sher Shah Suri (Sher Khan) settled along the river Ganges in Bihar to the east. Humayun's first campaign was to confront Sher Shah Suri. Halfway through this offensive, Humayun had to abandon it to focus on Gujarat, where a threat from Ahmed Shah had emerged. Humayun was victorious annexing Gujarat, Malwa, Champaner and the great fort of Mandu.