Nasiruddin Mohammamad Humayun

HUMAYUN (1530 – 1556) 

Early Life: and Accession:- 

Nasiruddin Mohammamad Humayun was the eldest son of Babur and he had three brothers – Kamran, Askari and Hindal. Humayun was born in Kabul in 1508. His father made best arrangements for his education and training in state-craft. He learnt Turki, Arabic and Persian. As a boy he was associated by his father with civil and military administation. At the age of 20 he was appointed the governor of Badakhsha. Humayun took part in his father’s campaigns and battles; both in the battle of Panipat and Kanwah he was among the chief commaders of the invading army. After the battle of Kanwah he was sent back to take charge of Badakhshan but he returned to India in 1529 without the permission of his father. Before his death in December 1530 Babur nominated Humayun as his successor. But some of the nobles of Babur did not hold a good opinion of Humayun because of his pleasure seeking and ease loveing habits specially his addiction to opium. Thererfore a conspiracy was hatched against Humayun. There was a plan to place Mahadi Khwaja who was Babur’s brother-in-low on the throne, but the plan did not materialise. Humayun thus ascended the throne at Agra on December 30, 1530 four days after the death of Babur. 

Humayun’s difficulties:- 

The throne inherited by Humayun was not a bed of roses. Along with the empire he inherited many difficulties which were further complicated by the weaknesses in his own character. We may divide these difficulties into three headings:- 

Internal Difficulties:- 

Among the muslims the law of primogeniture was not followed. Therefore after the death of the king there followed a war of succession. Every prince asserted his claim to the throne. The three brothers of Humayun also desired the throne. 

Babur had not left behind him a well organised and consolidated empire. During his four years in India he had been busy in conquests only. He had neither time nor inclination to establish a new system of administration. Also was empty. 

The Mughal army also was not a national one. It was a mixed body of adventures, viz Moguls, Persians, Afghans, Indians, Turks and Uzbegs. Such a army was not dependable. 

Humayun’s court also was full of nobles who had plans for the possession of the throne. 

More dangerous than the nobles were the princes of the royal blood. His three brothers coveted the throne and added to the difficulties of Humayun. Besides them Humayun’s cousin brothers Muhammed Zaman Mirza and Muhamad Sultan Mirza also considered their claim to the throne as good as those of the sons of Babur. 

External Dificulties :- The newly founded Mughal state in India was threatened by numerous external enemies. The Afghans had been defeated in the battle of Panipat and in the battle of gogra but they were not completely crushed. They refused to submit to the Mughul domination and they proclaimed Mahmud Khan Lodhi, Brother of Ibrahim Lodhi as their king. 

Sher Khan Sur ( later known as Sher Shah Suri ) was the most ambitious of the whole Afghan party. He had already entered upon a military career and was making an effort to organise the Afghans into a nation. He was soon to drive Humayun into exile and occupy the throne. 

The Mughul authority was also threatened by the growing power of Gujarat under Bahadur Shah. He was a young and ambitious prince of an extremely rich kingdom. As he had plenty of resources at his command he aimed at the overlordship of India. 

Personal Difficulties :- Thus when Humayun ascended the throne he was faced with a number of internal and external enemies. The need of the hour was a ruler possessed of military genius, political wisdom and diplomatic skill. Unfortunately Humayun lacked all these qualities. He wasted time and energy in pleasures. He lacked foresight and determination. He could not take quick decisions. He was incapable of sustained efforts and often left things half done. He failed to command respect and confidence of his subjects and soldiers. As Lanepole remarks, “he was incapable of sustained effort and after a moment of triumph would bury himself in his harem and dream away the precious hours in the opium eater’s paradise whilst his enemies were thundering at the gate………………..his name means fortunate and never was an unlucky sovereign more miscalled. “ thus Humayun proved to be his own worst enemy. 

Wars of Humayun (1530-1540) :- 

From the beginning of his reign humayun committed a series of mistakes one after another which ultimate cost him his throne and forced him into exile in 1540. 

Soon after his ascession to the throne he divided his empire among his brothers. Kamran was given the governorship of Kabul and Kandhar and in addition was permitted to take the possession of the Punjab and North Western frontier of India. This was a mistake on his part because this created a barrier between him and the lands beyond the Afghan hills and he could not draw troops from central Asia. Askari was given sambhal while Hindlal was given Alwar. He also increased the jagir of every one of his armies. Babur had set a bad precedent by allocating vast tracts of land to his nobles as personal estates in return for the services rendered by them to the throne. Humayun failed to appreciate the fatal consequences of the policy of large scale distribution of territory among military officials. This later on caused him endless worry. 

Humayun instead of consolidating his position started with a policy of aggressive warfare. 

Expedition to Kalinjar (1531):- Within six months of his accession Humayun undertook an expedition against Kalinjar whose Hindu raja was suspected to be in sympathy with the Afghans. After a siege of about six months the raja submitted. Humayun made peace with him and accepted huge indemnity from him. The expedition exposed the weakness of the Mughal army as the raja could not be beaten. 

First siege of Chunar (1532):- Meanwhile the Afghans of Bihar under Mahmud Lodhi were Marching on the Mughal province of Jaunpur. Humayun met the Afghan forces and defeated them in the battle of Daurah (or Dadrah) in August 1532. Then he besieged the fort of Chunar which was held by the Afghan chief Sher Khan. The siege lasted for four months and like Kalinjar this fort also could not be conquered by the Mughal army. Humayun abandoned the siege and accepted submission of Sher Khan. He lost a splendid opportunity of crushing the Afghan power for which he had to pay heavily later on. 

After this he wasted a year and a half in enjoyment and merry making at agra. He wasted time and money on building a big citadel at Delhi which he named Din Panah. 

Wars with Bahadur Shah of Gujarat (1535-1536):- By now Bahadur Shah of Gujarat had consolidated his position. He had already conquered Malwa (1531) and Raisen (1532) and had defeated the Sisodia chief of Chittor (1533). He had openly given shelter and help to many afghan refuges and enemies of Humayun. Humayun therefore decided to proceed against Bahadur Shah (end of 1534) who was at that time conducting a siege of Chittor. Rani Karnavati of Mewar appealed to Humayun for help against Bahadur Shah by sending him rakhi indicating thereby that she considered him to be brother and it was now his duty to save his sister. Humayun accepted the rakhi and even proceeded towards Chittor, but later on chaged his mind. Being more superstitious than political he thought it sinful to attack Bahadur Shah while he was fighting against non-muslims (Rajputs). According to muslim tradition a muslim should refrain from an attack on a brother in faith engaged in a war with a non-muslim. Humayun thus lost the splendid opportunity of winning over the friendship of the Rajputs and also of crushing his enemy Bahadur Shah. His Policy was therefore wrong. 

He awaited till chittor fell to Bahadur Shah (March, 1535). After its fall Humayun started his operations against Bahadur shah who was besieged in his camp. His supplies ran short and he was faced with starvation. He fled and took shelter in, the fort of Mandu, Humanyu besieged fort of Mandu and captured it in April, 1535. Humanyu chased him from Mandu to Champaner and Ahmedabad and thence to combay till be was compelled to seek refuge in the island of Diu (August 1535). The capture of Mandu and Champaner were great achievments on the part of Humanyu. He appointed Askari as the governor of the newly conquered territories. Askari failed to restore law and order. He was too weak to retain gujarat and internal dissensions broke out among the Mughals which enabled Bahadur Shah to recover his position. The local Gujarati Chiefs who were dis-satisfied with Mughal rule helped bahadur shah. The result was that Gujarat was completely losts in 1536. Humanyun found that it was impossible to retain malwa as well so he quited mandu in may 1536. Thus the entire province of Malwa was also lost “One year had seen the rapid conquest of the two great provinces; the next saw them quickly lost,” Humanyun therefore failed to establish his authority in the west. Now he turned his attention to meet the organised strength of the afghans under Sher Khan. 

Contest with Shar Khan (1537-1540) :- 

While Humanyun was busy with Bahadur shah of Gujarat Sher Khan had Strengthebed his position in Bihar and Bengal. He had already made himself the master of Bihar and had twice defeated the King of Bengal in 1534 and 1537. The repeated successes of the afghan hero convinced Humayun who had been then spending his days at Agra without any activity after his return from Mandu in August 1536, of the Afghan danger in the east. He therefore decided to march against Sher Khan in 1537. He besiged the fort of Chunar for the second time in October 1537. A strong garrison left by Sher Khan at Chunar heroically defended the fort for six months though it was ultimately captured by Humayun in March, 1538. During this period Sher Khan was bysy in reducing Gaur (Bengal). Sher Khan also captured the fortress of Rohtas (Bihar) and sent his family and wealth there. Humayun now turned his attention towards Bengal. For some time he was undecided for the move. Ultimately he made up his mind to conquer Bengal. The road to Gaur was locked by Jalal Khan, son of Sher Khan. There was fighting and Jalal Khan retired. Humayun entered Gaur in 1538 and again wasted about eight months in merry making. Sher khan during this period tried to compensate his loss of Bengal by occupying the mughal possessions in Bihar, Jaunpur and plundering the country as far west as Kanuj and cut off the communication between Agra and Bengal. When Humayun realised the dagerous position in which he was placed he decided to return to Agra immediately. Sher khan blocked the road to Agra and only a decisive victory could help humayoun to reach Agra. 

Battle of Chausa (June 26,1539) :- when Sher Shah heard of Humayun’s retreat he collected his troops at Rohtas and decided to give him battle. Humayun was advised by his generals to move along the northern bank of river Ganges upto Jaunpur and then cross over to the other side and then contact Sher Khan but Humayun’s pride came in the way and he transferred his entire army to the southern bank of ganges in order to put pressure on Sher Khan, and to make use of a better route, the old grand trunk road to Agra. The road passed through a low lying area which used to be flooded during the rainy season. Humayun learnt about Sher Khan’s approach when he was near Chausa. The two armies faced each other for about three months and none of them started the fighting. The rainy season was approaching. When the rains started the Mughal camp was flooded. Sher Khan was waiting for the opportunity to strike. On 26 june,1539 the battle of Chausa was fought. Thousands of Mughal soldieres died and many of them drowned in the flood waters of the Ganges. Humayun himself had a narrow escape. His life was saved by a water carrier (Nizam) who offered him his mashak (the inflated skin) for swimming across the river. It is said that on reaching Agra Humayun rewarded the water carrier with the grant of kingship for half a day and permitted him to sit on the throne and distributed rich presents to his friends and relatives according to his desire. 

The Battle of Kanuaj or Bilgram (17 may,1540):- 

By the victory at Chausa Sher Khan’s ambition was immensely widened. The Afghan nobles pressed Sher Khan to assume full sovereignty. He assumed the title of Sher Shah and prepared to March upon Delhi and Agra. The battle of Chausa convinced Humayun of Sher Khan’s formidable power. Humayun on reaching Agra in spite of his best efforts failed to secure the co-operation of his brothers. Somehow Humayun managed to raise an army to fight against Sher Khan. He could not delay his march much longer because Sher Khan was steadily advancing towards the capital. Humayun had to move towards kanuj with his army in order to check the advance of his adversary. He set up his military camp at Bhojpur near Kanuaj in April 1540 while Sher Shah brought his forces to halt on the southern bank of the Ganges. Humayun again committed the mistake of ordering his army to cross over to the southern bank of the river without taking into consideration the approaching monsoon. The two forces faced each other for over a month. During this period Humayun’s army swelled up to about two lacs although most of his men were poorly equipped and were not trained. On may 15, 1540 there was a very heavy shower of rain and the Mughal camp was flooded. As the Mughals were preparing to shift to a higher place Sher Shah ordered his troops to launch the attack. Thus on 17 May,1540 the battle of Kanunj was fought. The Mughal army was severely defeated by the Afghans. Most of the Mughal soldiers fled for their lives without fighting while a large number of them drowned in the Ganges. Sher Shah’s victory was complete. 

Humayun in Exile (1540-1555) :- 

After his defeat in the battle of Kanuaj, Humayun returned back to Agra but he was chased by Sher Shah. Humayun fled to Lohore. Sher Shah occupied Delhi and Agra. Even in this crisis his brothers were not prepared to stand by him. Kamran sought Sher Shah’s goodwill with a view to retaining possession of the punjab. Humaynu had therefore to run away as a fugitive to sind. Kamran made futile attempt to come to an understanding with Sher Shah as an independent ruler of Kabul and the Punjab. Kamran fled to Kabul on the approach of the Afghan armies. Thus all the Mughal territories in India upto Khyber Pass Fell into the hands of sher Shah. Askari also escaped to Afghanistan and was appointed the Governor of Kandhar by Kamran. Hindal accompanied Humayun to Sind. 

In Sind as well fortune went against Humayun because of the hostility of the ruler of Sind Shah Hussain and the scarcity of provisions among his followers. It was during his wanderings in the deserts of sind that he married Hamida Banu Begum, a Young girl of 14, the daughter of Hindal’s spritual preceptor Mir Baba Dost alias Mir Ali Akbar Jami (1541). About this time Humayun decided to accept the invitation from Maldeva of Marwar who had promised him assistance about a year back and started for Jodhpur. But in the changed political situation Rajput prince was not prepared to offend Sher Shah by keeping the old promise with Humayun. So Humayun retraced his steps back to Sind. It was here in Sind that in 1542 Akbar was born at Amarkot in the house of Hindu Chief Rana Virsala. Unable to get any help from any quarter Humayun decided to leave India for Good. He reached Persia. The young ruler of Persia Shah Tahmasp offered to help Humayun on three conditions (1) he should accept the shia faith (ii) he should make Shiasm the state religion in India and (iii)he should surrender Kandhar to the Persians in case of success. Humayun accepted the conditions. 

At this time Kamran was in possession of Kabul, Askari of Kandhar while Hindal of Ghazni as by then he had changed over to the side of Kamran. With the help of Shah of Persia Humayun occupied Kabul and Kandhar in 1545. Kandhar was given to the Persian but again re-occupied by Humayun after the death of the Persian Shah. This later on led to hostilities between the Mughals and the Persians. The occupation of Kabul and Kandhar gave Humayun a footing in Afghanistan. However, his brothers continued to give him trouble until they were finally liquidated. Askari was taken prisoner and exiled to Mecca in 1551. Hindal was killed in a night attack by an afghan while kamran was taken a prisoner, blinded and sent to Mecca in 1553. 

Restoration of Humayun and Death (1555–1556):- 

Having got rid of his brother in the north west, Humayun marched on to re-conquer Hindustan, as opportunity was favorable for him to attack India and recover his lost kingdom. 

Sher Shah after his victory in the battle of Kanuaj (1540) had founded the Sur dynasty of which he himself was a wise and efficient ruler. Unfortunately his reign was very short. He died in 1545. After his death, his son Islam Shah ruled up to 1553. After Islam Shahs death the Afghan empire started decaying. The country was thrown into confusion by the civil war between the rival claimants to the throne. Humayun took advantage of the situation and with the help of his able lieutenant Bairam Khan he occupied Lahore in February 1555. After defeating Sikander Sur the rabel governor of the Punjab who had been proclaimed emperor by the Afghans, in a battle near Sirhind he occupied Delhi and Agra In july 1555. He became the emperor of India once again after an interval of 15 years. Humayun was not destined to rule over his Indian dominion for long after his restoration. On January 24, 1556 he met with an accidental fall while descending down the stairs of his library at Delhi and died two days later. Thus as Lanepoole writes,” if there was a possibility of falling Humayun was not to miss it. He tumbled through life and tumbled out of it.” 

Estimate of Humayun :- 

It is admitted by one and all that Humayun was thorough gentlemen. He was endowed with virtues of kindness and generosity. He forgave his brothers again and again for which he had to pay heavily later in his life. He was a true Muslim but not a fanatic. His chief queen Hamida Banu Begum was a shia so also his most faithful servant Bairam Khan. He did not follow any systematic policy of repression of Hinduism. 

Un doubtedly he was a good fighter. He was courageous in battle and often risked his life on the field. But he was not a good general. Energetic efforts were punctuated by waste of time, energy and money through his addiction to pleasures. This is illustrated in his dealings with Bahadur Shah and Sher Khan. He lacked the quality of concentration. He always worked by fits and starts, before anything was completely done his mind passed on to something else leaving the first one half complete. He possessed one track mind therefore he failed to provide for such situations as might arise at the failure of his original plan. He could not adjust himself to changed circumstances. He allowed himself to be tempted into attempting at a stretch what should have been done step by step. His political calculations were defective. 

As a diplomat he was no match to Babur or Sher Shah. He lacked the ability to weave into a compact fabric, his rapid territorial acquisitions which he made in a fit of absentmindedness. He failed to retain his grip over them and their loss had disastrous reactions on his fortune and empire. 

He was not a great administrator. It was a folly on his part not to have done anything for the people of his empire. Soon after ascending the throne in 1530 he started with a policy of aggressive warfare. He should have consolidated his position and introduce administrative reforms instead of fighting un-necessary wars. During ten years i. e. 1530 to 1540 he did nothing for the welfare of his people. He had no administrative aptitude. 

However, the most prominent trait of his character was perseverance and this proved an inestimable blessing to him throughout his career. Without this it would have been impossible for him to re conquer the kingdom of Hindustan just before his death. But for his restoration and the subsequent achievements of his brilliant son and successor Akbar the great Humayun would have gone down in Indian history as a non-entity.