Humayun

Humayun, born in 1508 in Kabul, was the second Mughal emperor of India. He ruled the Mughal Empire from 1530 to 1540 and again from 1555 to 1556. He was the son of Babur, the founder of the dynasty, and Maham Begum. His early reign expanded Mughal authority but was soon challenged by rival powers and internal strife.

During his first years on the throne, Humayun faced the rise of Sher Shah Suri. He suffered defeats at the battles of Chausa in 1539 and Kannauj in 1540, after which the Mughal state faltered and Humayun went into exile. He spent years rebuilding power from eastern provinces, seeking Persian and regional support to reclaim his inheritance.

With Sher Shah Suri's death and the subsequent political fragmentation of his realm, Humayun returned to northern India and reestablished Mughal rule, capturing Delhi and Agra in 1555. He then defeated the anti-Mughal commander Hemu at the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556, restoring the dynasty. Humayun died later that year from injuries sustained in a fall at the Delhi fortress.

Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi, commissioned by his widow and designed by the Persian architect Mirak Mirza Ghiyath, is a landmark of Mughal architecture and a precursor to later imperial monuments. The tomb complex, including its gardens and tombs of family members, is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Humayun’s reign, though interrupted, laid important administrative and cultural foundations that his son Akbar would build upon.