Humayun
, commonly known as Humayun, was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, inheriting the throne from his father Babur upon the latter's death in December 1530.[1][2] Born in Kabul to Babur and his wife Maham Begum, Humayun initially consolidated Mughal control over northern India but faced persistent challenges from rebellious Afghan nobles and his own brothers, to whom he generously apportioned territories including the Punjab to Kamran.[1][3] His rule from 1530 to 1540 ended in defeat by the Afghan warlord Sher Shah Suri at the battles of Chausa in 1539 and Kanauj in 1540, resulting in the loss of Delhi and Agra and forcing Humayun into a 15-year exile across Persia and Afghanistan.[4][5] With military assistance from the Safavid Shah Tahmasp I, including 14,000 troops, Humayun recaptured Kabul from his brother Kamran in 1545 and finally reclaimed the Indian throne in 1555 by defeating the Suri successors at Sirhind.[4][6] His brief second reign emphasized patronage of scholars, astrologers, and Persian influences, though it was cut short by his accidental death from a fall down library stairs while evading an astrologer's prediction.[4] Humayun's tumultuous tenure, characterized by strategic missteps, familial betrayals, and dependence on foreign aid, nonetheless preserved the dynasty for his capable son Akbar, whose expansions eclipsed his father's legacy.[2][7]
Origins and Early Reign
Birth, Family, and Inheritance
Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad, posthumously known as Humayun ("the fortunate one"), was born on 6 March 1508 in Kabul to Zahir-ud-Din Muhammad Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty, and his principal wife Maham Begum, a noblewoman who held significant influence in the royal household.[8][1] As Babur's eldest surviving son, Humayun grew up amid the Timurid court's traditions of warfare and administration, with his mother fostering his early education in Persian literature, astronomy, and military tactics.[8] Humayun had three younger half-brothers—Kamran Mirza (born c. 1509), Askari Mirza (born 1516), and Hindal Mirza (born 1514)—as well as a half-sister, Gulbadan Begum (born 1523), reflecting Babur's multiple marriages in line with Central Asian customs.[9][10] Upon Babur's death from illness on 26 December 1530 in Agra, Humayun, then aged 22, immediately succeeded him as emperor, inheriting the Mughal territories spanning northern India from Punjab to Bihar, though these holdings were tenuous, marked by incomplete consolidation and threats from Afghan warlords and Rajput chieftains.[4][11] In accordance with Timurid practices of dividing appanages among princes to secure loyalty, Kamran Mirza received the vital northwestern provinces of Kabul and Kandahar, which provided access to Central Asian reinforcements but later fueled rivalries.[12][13] This partition, while stabilizing peripheral frontiers temporarily, weakened central authority and presaged internal divisions during Humayun's reign.[14]Initial Consolidation Efforts and Internal Rivalries
Upon ascending the throne on 29 December 1530 in Agra at the age of 23, Humayun initiated consolidation by addressing Afghan threats and local rebellions that undermined Mughal authority in northern India.[15] In August 1531, he besieged Kalinjar fort to secure the southern frontier against Rajput resistance but lifted the siege after one month upon learning of Afghan advances toward Jaunpur.[15] He then marched against the Afghan pretender Mahmud Lodi, brother of the defeated Sultan Ibrahim Lodi, defeating his forces at the Battle of Deurah and recovering Jaunpur, though failing to decisively eliminate the threat due to incomplete pursuit.[15] [16] Further efforts involved leveraging familial support against persistent insurgents; in 1534, Humayun dispatched brothers Askari and Hindal to reclaim Bayana from the rebel Tatar Khan, resulting in the Mughals' victory and the rebel leader's death at Manderal in November.[15] A concurrent rebellion by Muhammad Zaman Mirza in July 1534 was also suppressed, with the rebel fleeing to Gujarat.[15] These actions temporarily stabilized core territories around Delhi and Agra, but Humayun's indulgence in administrative delays and festivities often stalled momentum.[16] Internal rivalries emerged from Humayun's appanage assignments, granting Kabul and Kandahar to Kamran Mirza, Sambhal to Askari Mirza, and Alwar (or Mewat) to Hindal Mirza, which created autonomous power centers rather than unified loyalty.[17] [6] Kamran independently occupied Punjab, which Humayun conceded, allowing his half-brother to build independent military resources and harbor ambitions that strained imperial cohesion from the outset.[15] [18] This fragmentation, rooted in Timurid traditions of divided inheritance, weakened central command and foreshadowed the brothers' later disloyalty during external crises, as they prioritized personal holdings over collective defense.[17] [16]Major Military Campaigns and Losses
Conquests in Gujarat and Malwa
In early 1535, Humayun mobilized an army of approximately 40,000 cavalry to counter the expansionist threats posed by Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat, who had recently annexed Malwa in 1531 and captured Chittorgarh in March 1535, positioning himself to challenge Mughal dominance in northern India.[19][20] Humayun advanced from Agra toward Mandu, the key fortress in Malwa, employing a strategy of encirclement to sever Bahadur's supply lines while avoiding direct engagement with his superior artillery.[21] Bahadur Shah abandoned Mandu and fled to Champaner on the night of April 25, 1535, allowing Humayun to occupy the city without significant resistance and thereby asserting temporary Mughal control over Malwa.[21] Pressing into Gujarat, Humayun's forces captured Ahmedabad unopposed in May 1535, followed by a prolonged siege of Champaner, Bahadur's fortified capital, which fell after four months of bombardment and mining operations in late July or early August 1535.[1] This victory marked the effective Mughal subjugation of Gujarat's core territories, with Humayun securing vast treasures estimated at over 10 million rupees from Champaner's vaults.[22] Despite these military successes, Humayun prioritized plunder and personal enrichment over administrative consolidation, spending months cataloging spoils rather than fortifying garrisons or appointing reliable governors.[22] He nominally placed his brother Askari Mirza in charge of Gujarat and extended oversight to Malwa, but inadequate troop deployments—leaving only about 5,000 men under loose supervision—invited rapid reversal.[15] By late 1535 or early 1536, Bahadur Shah exploited local discontent and Mughal disarray to reclaim Gujarat through popular revolt, while Malwa slipped back into instability, underscoring the conquests' superficial nature and Humayun's strategic missteps amid emerging threats from Sher Shah Suri in the east.[22][20]Battles Against Sher Shah Suri
Sher Shah Suri, originally Farid Khan, an Afghan noble who had risen to control Bihar by the late 1530s, posed a direct threat to Humayun's Mughal authority in northern India after consolidating power against local rulers and Mughal governors.[23] Humayun, returning from his campaign in Bengal, sought to neutralize this challenge by besieging Chunar Fort in 1537–1538, a key stronghold held by Sher Shah, but ultimately lifted the siege due to logistical strains and diversions elsewhere.[24] Tensions escalated as Sher Shah expanded westward, prompting Humayun to advance with an army estimated at around 40,000 toward the Ganges region in 1539, while Sher Shah positioned forces to contest the crossing.[25] The first major confrontation occurred at the Battle of Chausa on June 26, 1539, near the Ganges River in present-day Bihar.[23] Humayun's camp was caught off-guard during the monsoon rains when Sher Shah's forces, numbering approximately 80,000 including war elephants, launched a surprise attack, exploiting flooded terrain to isolate Mughal units.[26] Mughal casualties were heavy, with much of the artillery and baggage lost; Humayun himself narrowly escaped drowning while fleeing across the river on an inflated water skin provided by a loyal attendant.[24] Sher Shah's victory, achieved through superior mobility and tactical deception despite Humayun's initial numerical parity, allowed him to proclaim himself Farid al-Din Sher Shah and solidify control over eastern territories, though he refrained from immediate pursuit to consolidate gains.[23] Humayun regrouped in Agra, seeking alliances and reinforcements from his brothers, but internal divisions and Sher Shah's relentless advance westward eroded Mughal cohesion.[27] The decisive Battle of Kannauj (also known as Bilgram) unfolded on May 17, 1540, near Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh, where Sher Shah's pursuing army of roughly 100,000 confronted Humayun's depleted forces of about 40,000, hampered by desertions and opium-induced lethargy among commanders.[25] Heavy rains bogged down Humayun's matchlock-equipped infantry and cannons, enabling Sher Shah's Afghan cavalry and archers to outmaneuver and envelop the Mughals in prolonged skirmishes over several days.[26] The Mughal collapse was total, with Humayun fleeing southward in disarray, abandoning Delhi and Agra; Sher Shah captured the imperial treasury and proclaimed sovereignty, establishing the short-lived Sur dynasty.[24] These defeats stemmed from Humayun's strategic overextension, familial betrayals, and failure to adapt to Sher Shah's guerrilla tactics and administrative reforms that bolstered Afghan loyalty, marking the nadir of early Mughal rule.[9]Exile and Foreign Alliances
Retreat to Sindh and Initial Wanderings
Following his defeat by Sher Shah Suri at the Battle of Kannauj on May 17, 1540, Humayun abandoned Agra and Delhi, retreating westward with a diminished force amid pursuit by Suri's troops.[28] He reached Lahore, where tensions with his brother Kamran Mirza led to the latter's withdrawal of support, leaving Humayun with limited resources.[29] Crossing the Ravi River on October 30, 1540, amid logistical chaos, Humayun proceeded through Punjab to Multan before entering Sindh proper in early 1541, hoping for allegiance from appointed local emirs like Hussein Umrani.[29] In Sindh, ruled by the Arghun dynasty under Hussain Shah, Humayun encountered hostility rather than aid; Hussain Shah refused alliance, citing prior ties to Kamran and preparing defenses against Mughal incursion.[30] Humayun's forces, aided by Baluch ruler Bhakshu Langah's provision of 100 boats to cross the Indus, attempted to seize strategic forts, including an assault on Bhakkar and a prolonged siege of Bukkur, but supply shortages and local resistance forced retreats.[29] His brother Hindal Mirza, controlling Sehwan, pledged loyalty and joined efforts to capture its fort starting November 6, 1541, though the seven-month campaign yielded little beyond temporary footholds.[30] Amid these wanderings in Sindh's arid regions, Humayun married Hamida Banu Begum in September 1541 at Paat, selecting the date via astrological consultation despite her initial reluctance and family opposition.[31] Seeking refuge at Umarkot under Rana Prasad's hospitality, who supplied an army of 3,000, Humayun's party endured further skirmishes, including a battle near Jun against Hussain Shah's forces, resolved by negotiation for 300 horses, 300 camels, and cash.[30] On October 15, 1542, Hamida Banu gave birth to their son Jalal-ud-din Muhammad (later Akbar) at Umarkot, a rare stabilizing event during the exile.[32] Persistent betrayals, such as Mirza Yadgar Nasr's revolt, and dwindling support from local powers like the failed overture to Maldev of Jodhpur prompted Humayun to abandon Sindh ambitions by May 1542, directing his remaining followers toward Kandahar via Balochistan routes in search of Central Asian reinforcements.[30] These initial wanderings highlighted the fragility of Humayun's position, reliant on ad hoc tribal alliances and familial loyalty amid Sher Shah's consolidation in northern India.[28] Primary accounts, including Gulbadan Begum's Humayun-nama and Jauhar's Tazkirat al-Waqiat, detail the hardships, though later interpretations vary on the extent of local Sindhi complicity versus Mughal disunity.[29]Refuge in Persia and Strategic Dependencies
Following defeats at the hands of Sher Shah Suri, Humayun, reduced to a small retinue of about 40 men including his wife Bega Begum, crossed into Safavid Persia in 1544 to seek refuge with Shah Tahmasp I.[33][34] The shah extended initial shelter and provisions, but delayed a formal audience amid internal Safavid affairs, with the two leaders meeting only after several months of diplomatic maneuvering.[33] To secure military aid for reclaiming his territories, Tahmasp imposed conditions requiring Humayun's public conversion from Sunni to Twelver Shia Islam, including recitation of Shia-specific prayers invoking the Twelve Imams—a pragmatic concession Humayun made despite his Timurid-Sunni heritage, which preserved his life and that of his followers but sowed seeds of religious tension upon his return to Sunni-dominated regions.[4][35] In exchange, the shah provided 14,000 cavalry, artillery units, and treasury funds, bolstering Humayun's forces for operations in Afghanistan.[22] These dependencies manifested strategically when Humayun, leading the Persian-backed army, besieged and captured Kandahar from his brother Askari Mirza on September 3, 1545, only to cede the fortress immediately to Safavid control as repayment, granting Persia a vital buffer against Ottoman and Uzbek threats while underscoring Humayun's subordinated position.[36][28] The alliance thus tied Mughal revival to Safavid geopolitical aims, with Persian troops enabling Humayun's seizure of Kabul later that year, though it also embedded Shia ceremonial elements and Persian administrative expertise into his court, influencing future Mughal governance.[37]Restoration of Mughal Rule
Return to India and Reconquest
Following his consolidation of control over Kabul and Kandahar with Safavid military assistance by 1545, Humayun prepared for the reconquest of northern India amid the fragmentation of the Sur Empire after Sher Shah Suri's death in 1545.[38] In early 1555, Humayun crossed the Indus River into Punjab with an initial force augmented by Persian cavalry contingents provided by Shah Tahmasp I, numbering several thousand troops loyal to the Mughal cause.[39] These reinforcements, combined with defectors from Afghan ranks, enabled a swift advance despite Humayun's personal debility from opium use and prior injuries.[4] The pivotal engagement occurred at the Battle of Machiwara in May 1555, where Mughal forces under the command of Bairam Khan repelled an Afghan counterattack, securing momentum for further incursions.[6] This was followed by the decisive Battle of Sirhind on 22 June 1555, in which Bairam Khan's army overwhelmed the larger Sur forces led by Sikandar Shah Suri, exploiting rain-slicked terrain and Afghan disarray to achieve a rout.[39] [38] Sirhind's fall opened the route to the Gangetic plains, with Humayun's vanguard capturing Delhi by 23 July 1555 and Agra shortly thereafter, restoring Mughal suzerainty after a 15-year interregnum.[40] The reconquest relied on tactical agility and alliances with local Rajput and Afghan dissidents disillusioned with Sur rule, rather than overwhelming numerical superiority, as Mughal armies totaled around 12,000-15,000 against Sur estimates exceeding 80,000 in the field.[4] However, the victories were provisional; Humayun's administration faced immediate fiscal strains from Persian subsidies and the need to reimpose imperial coinage, while residual Sur pockets in Bengal and Bihar persisted until Akbar's later campaigns.[6] This brief restoration underscored the fragility of Timurid legitimacy in India, dependent on foreign aid and fraternal betrayals quelled earlier against Kamran Mirza.[38]Administrative Reorganization Attempts
Following his recapture of Delhi on 23 July 1555, Humayun sought to reorganize the Mughal administration by adopting efficient elements from Sher Shah Suri's preceding rule, recognizing the Afghan interlopers' superior territorial management and revenue mechanisms as a model for stabilization.[39] [41] He planned to divide reclaimed dominions into provinces akin to Sher Shah's sarkars, each with an assigned capital and governors responsible for local enforcement, while preserving core Mughal imperial oversight to prevent the centrifugal tendencies that had undermined his first reign.[42] This approach aimed to blend Sur practicality—such as measured land assessments for equitable taxation—with Timurid hierarchies, though implementation remained preliminary amid ongoing military consolidations.[5] Humayun's exile in Safavid Persia further shaped these efforts, prompting the infusion of centralized Persianate protocols into the court, including formalized ranks for officials and the elevation of Shia advisors to balance Sunni noble factions.[4] He delegated key roles to trusted lieutenants, such as appointing Persian-influenced mir bakhshis for payroll and logistics, to streamline military administration and curb corruption in revenue flows, which had plagued earlier collections.[14] These measures sought to forge a hybrid system reducing noble autonomy, with initial farmans issued for systematic tax gathering based on crop yields rather than arbitrary levies.[14] The brevity of Humayun's restored tenure—ending with his fatal fall on 27 January 1556—limited these initiatives to foundational directives rather than entrenched reforms, as rebellions in Punjab and fiscal strains from Persian troop subsidies diverted focus.[39] [5] Nonetheless, the emphasis on provincial governors loyal to the throne and anti-corruption audits in districts laid embryonic structures that Bairam Khan and Akbar later expanded, averting immediate collapse despite inherited Sur legacies.[4][41]Governance, Administration, and Policies
Centralization Efforts and Fiscal Challenges
Humayun's attempts to centralize authority were undermined from the outset by the Timurid tradition of appanage grants to his brothers, which fragmented control over key territories. Upon ascending the throne in 1530, he assigned Sambhal to Askari Mirza, Mewat to Hindal Mirza, and allowed Kamran Mirza to retain Kabul and Kandahar, ostensibly to secure familial loyalty but resulting in rival power bases that fueled rebellions, such as Hindal's uprising in 1531 and Kamran's later defiance.[14][43] These divisions deviated from a unified imperial structure, as Humayun lacked the coercive mechanisms to enforce subordination, leading to administrative disarray amid ongoing military campaigns. Following his restoration in July 1555, with Safavid Persian aid, Humayun sought to consolidate power by adopting elements of Sher Shah Suri's provincial administration, dividing dominions into sarkars (districts) each governed from a designated capital to streamline oversight and reduce autonomous warlordism.[42] He aimed to curb regional governors' influence through military reforms, including loyalty oaths and Persian-influenced bureaucratic methods to centralize command, though these initiatives were nascent and interrupted by his death in January 1556.[14][43] Persian governance models, emphasizing a stronger imperial diwan for appointments, were introduced to supplant the decentralized jagir system, but entrenched noble resistance and the brevity of his second reign limited implementation, preserving fragmentation that Akbar later addressed.[41] Fiscal strains compounded these centralization hurdles, as Humayun inherited Babur's rudimentary revenue apparatus in 1530, lacking systematic assessment or collection amid a treasury depleted by conquests.[44] Continuous warfare, including the costly Gujarat campaign of 1535–1536, exhausted funds, forcing reliance on ad hoc loans from Hindu bankers and land assignments to troops rather than cash payments, which bred corruption and delayed salaries.[43] Revenue from core Doab lands proved insufficient, estimated at irregular yields without zabt measurement, exacerbating arrears as jagirdars withheld shares to build personal armies.[5] Post-1555 reconquest efforts included tentative tax reforms for systematic collection to curb graft and bolster the imperial coffers, drawing on Persian fiscal practices for accountability, yet the empire's revenue base remained vulnerable to Afghan resurgence and Safavid subsidies that imposed strategic dependencies.[14][5] By late 1555, persistent deficits from exile-era debts and unconsolidated provinces hindered army maintenance, underscoring how fiscal fragility perpetuated decentralization despite Humayun's aspirations.[45]Relations with Regional Powers and Non-Muslims
Humayun's relations with regional powers were primarily adversarial, driven by efforts to secure Mughal dominance amid competing sultanates and Afghan challengers. In 1535, he initiated a campaign against Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat, who had annexed Malwa in 1531 and captured the Rajput fort of Raisen in 1532, thereby threatening Mughal borders.[18] Humayun's forces pursued Bahadur, leading to the sultan's flight and the temporary Mughal occupation of Gujarat, Malwa, Champaner, and Mandu by early 1536.[15] However, administrative lapses and diversion of attention to eastern threats under Sher Shah Suri resulted in the swift loss of these territories, with Bahadur regaining Gujarat shortly thereafter.[21] Diplomatic overtures occasionally supplemented military action; Bahadur Shah negotiated with Humayun near Mandu, proposing to retain Gujarat in exchange for ceding Malwa, though no lasting agreement materialized.[46] During his exile and restoration phase after 1540, Humayun cultivated alliances with select regional actors, including some Rajput rulers and former Mughal loyalists, to bolster his return against the Suris.[39] These pragmatic ties underscored Humayun's strategy of leveraging local powers to counterbalance dominant rivals like the Afghans, rather than pursuing outright subjugation of all neighbors. Regarding non-Muslims, primarily Hindus and Rajputs, Humayun adhered to a policy of pragmatic tolerance inherited from Timurid precedents, focusing on administrative stability over religious imposition during his fragmented rule.[47] He permitted Hindu religious practices without interference and refrained from systematic persecution or temple destruction, prioritizing military and fiscal survival amid constant threats.[48] Hindu officials were integrated into Mughal administration, reflecting an inclusive approach to governance that avoided alienating potential allies in a diverse empire.[49] This stance contrasted with more assertive religious policies under later rulers, as Humayun's brief tenures in 1530–1540 and 1555–1556 emphasized consolidation over ideological enforcement.[50]Cultural, Scientific, and Architectural Contributions
Patronage of Arts and Persian Influences
![Contemporary portrait of Humayun painted in Kabul, 1550-55](./assets/Contemporary_portrait_of_Humayun_painted_in_Kabul%252C_in_1550-55During his exile at the Safavid court of Shah Tahmasp I from 1543 to 1545, Humayun encountered advanced Persian miniature painting traditions, which he later imported to the Mughal realm.[4][51] In 1544, as part of a diplomatic alliance involving Humayun's temporary adoption of Shi'ism and cession of Kandahar, Shah Tahmasp dispatched Persian artists, including Mir Sayyid Ali and Abd al-Samad, to accompany Humayun.[52] These miniaturists, trained in the Tabriz school, established workshops in Kabul by 1545, producing early Mughal-style portraits and illustrations that fused Persian precision with local motifs.[53][54] Humayun's direct patronage included commissioning works such as the 1550-1555 painting Princes of the House of Timur, created in Persia specifically for him, which exemplified Safavid techniques in dynastic genealogy depiction. Upon restoring his throne in 1555, he relocated these ateliers to Delhi, initiating the imperial karkhana system for manuscript illumination and courtly art, though his reign's instability limited output to foundational efforts.[55] Persian influences permeated beyond painting into garden design and literary patronage, with Humayun promoting Persianate poetry and astrology treatises, setting precedents for Akbar's expansions.[4] This cultural importation marked a causal shift from Timurid Central Asian aesthetics toward Safavid Persian refinement, evidenced by the adoption of fine-line detailing and vibrant color palettes in surviving Humayun-era folios.[56] Primary accounts, such as those in the Akbarnama, attribute the origins of Mughal painting's hybrid vigor to these exchanges, underscoring Humayun's role despite critiques of his administrative focus elsewhere.[57]
Personal Interests in Astrology and Scholarship
Humayun maintained a deep personal engagement with astrology and astronomy, viewing celestial alignments as integral to rulership and utopian governance. He organized his court hierarchically based on planetary symbolism, with officials and spaces aligned to the seven classical planets, and held audiences in dedicated rooms corresponding to the day's ruling planet. Daily, he donned garments colored to match planetary associations—yellow for the Sun on Sundays, black for Saturn on Saturdays—and promoted officers according to auspicious astrological events, as recorded in the Akbarnama. His fascination extended to practical observations, such as tracking Venus's transit, which reportedly distracted him moments before his fatal fall in 1556.[58][59] To support these pursuits, Humayun patronized specialized scholars, including the cosmologist Muslih al-Din al-Lari, mathematician and astrolabe expert Maulana Nur al-Din Tarkhan, and Hindu astronomer Maulana Chand, who cast horoscopes like that of Akbar's birth in Amarkot in 1542. In Kabul during exile, he studied astronomy and mathematics under tutors such as Shaikh Abu’l Qasim Astarabadi and Maulana Ilyas al-Ardabili. Upon regaining power in 1555, he planned an observatory in India to advance empirical celestial studies, reflecting a Timurid-Mughal tradition of solar monarchy blending Iranian, Hindu, and Indo-Muslim elements. He also commissioned a cosmogram carpet depicting planetary orbits, used both for court rituals—with Humayun positioned as the central sun—and as a dice game termed the "carpet of mirth."[60][61] Humayun's scholarly inclinations encompassed mathematics, philosophy, and related sciences, where he authored treatises, including a mathematical text for his son Akbar, and a manuscript on astronomy later held by Jahangir. As a free thinker, he broke conventions with original inventions and elevated the prestige of court mathematicians and astronomers, fostering texts like Lari's commentary on Qushji's astronomy to bolster imperial universalism. These interests, rooted in empirical observation rather than mere superstition, aligned with his broader patronage of physical sciences and dialectics, though constrained by political instability.[60][61][62]Family and Personal Relationships
Marriages and Offspring
Humayun's principal marriages reflected the political and cultural alliances typical of Timurid-Mughal rulers, involving noblewomen from Persian, Central Asian, and local lineages. His first wife, Bega Begum (also known as Haji Begum or Zan-i-Kalan), married before his ascension in 1530, was the daughter of a noble named Yadgar Muhammad Beg. She accompanied him during early campaigns and later commissioned his tomb after his death.[63][64] Another key union was with Hamida Banu Begum, a Persian Shia noblewoman and daughter of a spiritual advisor to Humayun's brother Hindal Mirza, married in 1541 during his exile in Sindh despite initial family opposition. This marriage produced his most prominent heir, Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar, born on October 15, 1542, at Umarkot fortress under the protection of a local Hindu ruler. Akbar's birth provided Humayun with a legitimate successor amid his struggles.[6][65] Humayun also married Mah Chuchak Begum, a Uzbeg noblewoman, around 1548-1550 after his restoration, who wielded significant influence in Kabul. She bore Mirza Muhammad Hakim (born February 23, 1553), who later ruled Badakhshan independently, as well as Farrukh-Fal Mirza (died young) and daughters including Bakht-un-Nissa Begum, Sakina Banu Begum, and Amina Banu Begum. Other consorts included Gunwar Bibi, mother of Bakshi Banu Begum (born circa 1540), and possibly Miveh Jan and Chand Bibi, though fewer details survive on their offspring.[66]| Offspring | Mother | Birth/Death Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Aman Mirza | Bega Begum | 1528–1536 | Died young during flight from Sher Shah Suri's forces.[66] |
| Aqiqa Sultan Begum | Bega Begum | c. 1531–1539 | Died in childhood.[66] |
| Bakshi Banu Begum | Gunwar Bibi | c. 1540–? | Married into nobility.[66] |
| Akbar (Jalaluddin Muhammad) | Hamida Banu Begum | 1542–1605 | Succeeded as third Mughal emperor.[6] |
| Mirza Muhammad Hakim | Mah Chuchak Begum | 1553–1585 | Ruled Kabul semi-independently; challenged Akbar. |
| Farrukh-Fal Mirza | Mah Chuchak Begum | ?–1554 | Died in infancy. |