Humayun
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The Mughal prince
Avijit Ghosh, July 20, 2025: The Times of India
The stairs are shaped like the letter ‘S’ in Sher Mandal — an elegant twostorey octagonal tower in the 16th-century Purana Qila. Built of quartzite rocks, the steps are weather-resistant and appear time-proof. But they are also worryingly steep — each nearly a foot high — and user-unfriendly.
The building, the lone survivor in the medieval complex, served as Humayun’s (library). The Mughal emperor, who was as besotted by books as kids with butterflies, was descending its stairs when he heard the muezzin’s call, tripped and fell. Medieval historian Abul Fazl noted he had “received a deep wound in his temple, and blood trickled from his ear: he had obviously fractured his skull”. Humayun died three days later. He was 47.
It was a sad and sudden end to a life that saw more twists than a Bollywood masala. Humayun inherited a kingdom, lost it in battle and wrenched it back just a year before his death in 1556. He cooked and ate horse meat in a helmet to survive. He almost died twice by drowning. He lived in splendid exile for nearly a year in Iran. As historian Satish Chandra wrote, “He went from riches to rags and rags to riches.”
By any standards, the second Mughal emperor was a non-conformist: always enquiring, sometimes enigmatic, occasionally idiosyncratic. The slave water carrier who saved him from drowning while he was crossing river Karmnasa was made emperor as a reward — for a period of a “few hours” to “half a day” to “two days”, Humayun’s three biographers differ on the duration.
Art and architecture historian Ebba Koch details in Humayun’s biography, ‘The Planetary King’ (2022), how the Timurid “deeply engaged with the occult” and “fancied himself as a clairvoyant”. Koch quotes Jauhar Aftabchi, a waterbearer and one of Humayun’s medieval biographers, who says that the emperor kept a white rooster which he fed with raisins. “One day he looked at it, and he said to himself, ‘If luck is with us this bird will perch on my shoulder and crow’. No sooner had this thought passed through his mind than the cock actually sat on his shoulder and crowed. Humayun was so overjoyed about his good omen that he rewarded the bird by ornamenting it with a silver ring.” (See illustration)
As a king, he often followed his heart and not his head, to his own detriment. He treated his brothers generously — not a common feature in Mughal history — even when it wasn’t reciprocated. He also journeyed a staggering 34,000km, visited 122 cities, fought 27 battles, lost a few. And he showed more than a passing interest in mathematics, astronomy, astrology and architecture.
Yet Humayun, both in his own time and later, is largely seen as the least significant of the ‘Super Six’ Mughals spanning Babur to Aurangzeb. Historian Percival Spear called him “the problem child of the great Mughals”. Of late, though, there’s a reassessment. The unusual emperor is finally being judged on his own terms and getting more attention than ever before.
On July 29, Humayun’s Tomb World Heritage Site Museum, which has received 150,000 visitors so far, will celebrate its first anniversary. The museum building, supported by the Union ministry of tourism, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and Havells India Ltd, took nine years to complete.
Along with the 13th-century Qutub Minar and the 17th-century Lal Qila, Humayun’s Tomb has always been a hotspot for history buffs. In 1993, the garden mausoleum complex, spread over a capacious 200 acres, was granted Unesco World Heritage Site status. The adjoining Sunder Nursery — a revamped 90-acre park filled with heritage monuments, prosperous trees, inviting groves, and a popular farmer’s market on Sundays — opened in 2018. The tomb and the nursery combined attract over 2 million visitors annually. The Humayun Museum is ‘sunken’, a fancy term for partlyunderground. It has a display area of 6,000 square metres, which is slightly larger than a football field. On the right of the entrance is a 270-degree 3D screen offering a virtual tour of the monuments. Watching it you’d feel like you are paragliding over the complex.
The museum showcases about 500 artefacts sourced from the National Museum, Archaeological Survey of India and Aga Khan Trust. They include a 17th-century Mughal warrior’s helmet, a 15thcentury astrolabe, an 18th century warrior’s coat of arms as well as an illustrated 14th-century manuscript of Laila Majnu, written by Persian poet Abdullah along with a copy of Rumi’s masnavi (a form of poem), which bears the imperial seal of Mughal king Alamgir II (1754-59) and a range of coins issued by different Mughal kings.
A lone book from Humayun’s personal collection, a 16th-century ‘Diwan-i-Hafiz’, is also part of the museum’s collection. Not many know that Babur’s son also wrote poetry and had a portable library with camels carrying his books kept in wooden chests. Abul Fazl wrote how Humayun was overjoyed when two camels, considered lost during a battle, turned up again carrying his books.
But the highlight of the museum, says Ratish Nanda, CEO, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, is the original 18-ft finial ( kalash in Hindi) of Humayun’s Tomb, an element borrowed from temple architecture. The kalash , made of 300 kilos of copper with layers of gold, was seriously damaged after it fell down during a fierce sandstorm in 2014. “It was ripped and squashed. Traditional coppersmiths from Old Delhi worked for over two years with our conservators to beat the piece back into shape,” he says.
Koch says that “Humayun adapted esoteric planetary knowledge to attract and draw down beneficial planetary influences on himself and his court. The sympathetic relationship between the planets and his court was established through their colour.” The museum illustrates that point by displaying oil-painted bronze sculptures where the emperor is attired in the Planetary Lord colours of each day of the week: Moon (white) on Monday, Mars (red) on Tuesday and so on.
The museum also seeks to provide a larger context to the 100-odd monuments built between the 14th and 19th centuries in the area, establishing the connection between sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, whose dargah lies about a kilometre from Humayun’s Tomb, and the 18 Mughal emperors who paid respects there, gave grants and constructed buildings.
Sections are devoted to Nizamuddin Auliya, the tragic prince Dara Shikoh, poet Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khanan and the multi-talented Amir Khusro, credited with the creation of qawwali, to underline the syncretic nature of the area. Among other things, Rahim also wrote verses in praise of Lord Krishna in Braj bhasha, says a note in the museum. Even today his dohas (couplets) are taught in schools, recited by the rooted.
The museum also has some massively intricate true-scale reproductions, like the domed ceiling of the mausoleum of Atgah Khan, a senior official in Akbar’s court.
Stepping out of the museum — a souvenir shop will open shortly — one arrives at the sprawling Humayun’s Tomb. The 50m high tomb, a masterly blend of red sandstone and white marble, also depicts neatly-crafted chhatris used in Rajput “funerary architecture”. Historian Chandra says the building “marks a new phase in the style of architecture in north India”.
The tomb’s white dome has also prompted historians to suggest that it was a “precursor” to Taj Mahal. Koch maintains that the tomb “grew out of Humayun’s thought... there cannot be any doubt that he was also the conceptualist behind the building: it is a posthumous realisation of his ideas and dreams”. She adds, he is “the most interesting of the ‘Great Mughals’, perhaps the most modern.”
Bollywood and Humayun
In 1945, director Mehboob Khan made a highly fictionalised musical on Humayun’s life with Ashok Kumar in the title role. The film, Humayun, which has aged badly, was a box-office success. Many Bollywood songs have also been partly filmed in Humayun’s Tomb complex in recent years: ‘Bol Na Halke Halke’ (film: ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom’), ‘Tu Chahiye’ (film: Bajrangi Bhaijaan) and ‘Tere Liye’ (film: Fitoor), to name just three.
‘A cultural bridge with Persia’
In 1543, Humayun was a king without a kingdom. Forced into exile following a succession of losses to Sher Shah, he was welcomed and sheltered by Shah Tahmasp I of the Safavid Empire.
Among the artefacts at the Humayun Museum is a dagger gifted by Tahmasp. Alongside is the reproduction of a firman (royal decree), about 4 metres in length and 25cm wide, which was issued to ensure he received a fabulous reception. “More than a bureaucratic directive, the firman was a carefully crafted political gesture,” says Mahdieh Piri, formerly research scholar at Aga Khan Trust for Culture.
It’s a decree of extraordinary detail. Among other things, it shows how it was through food that Humayun’s heart was sought. “Twelve hundred dishes of eatables… should be served every day,” the firman said, including bread made with butter and milk, and watermelon, grapes, noodles from Khata (China).
“Humayun’s time in Iran opened the door for a remarkable exchange of ideas and talent. Iranian scholars often see Humayun as a kind of cultural bridge: his exile helped carry Persian aesthetics, language, and courtly traditions into India, where they flourished under the Mughals,” said Piri. — Avijit Ghosh
Humayun
A Mughal named Humayun
By Mohammad Shoaib Baloch
HUMAYUN, the eldest son of Babur, was born in March 1508, at Kabul. From an early age, he was associated with his father and was appointed as the governor of Badakshan at the age of 20. He also participated in the battle of Panipat and Kanwah.
He was given the jagir of Sambal and afterwards, in 1527, he was sent to Badakshan. Thenceforth he came back to Agra in 1529 and was ordered to manage his jagir of Sambal. But in Sambal he fell seriously ill and was brought to Agra. There is an anecdote regarding his recovery and the death of his father. It is said that the illness of Humayun was very serious and every physician told Babur that there was no hope for the recovery of Humayun. But Babur did not lose heart and went to the bedside of Humayun. Babur walked three times round the bed of Humayun and prayed to God for the health of his son and that the illness be transferred to him instead. It is said that thereafter Babar fell ill and eventually died, while Humayun recovered.
After the death of Babur, an attempt was made to place Mahdi Khawaja on the throne, who was the brother-in-law of Babur. But Humayun successfully got the throne on the December 1530. It was not a simple task to run the empire which Humayun had inherited. Babur had passed on an ill-organized empire, which had no treasures and unity. Even though he was kind to his brothers and gave Sambal to Askari, Alwar to Hindal and Kamran was given Kabul and Qandar. That division of country was a mistake, which made Kamran to take the army and control the whole of Punjab. As Humayun did not want to fight with his brother, he gave the Punjab, along with district of Hissar Firoz, to Kamran. Humayun was only left with the regions newly incorporated in the Mughal empire, and the empire which was ruled by his father for a long time was given to the brother.
Humayun lacked tact and will power, and this was the reason that he could not overcome his initial difficulties. In 1531, Humayun besieged the fort of Kalinjar but he failed to get it even after a long siege. The Kalinjar expedition is said to be one of the mistakes of Humayun. He gave up the siege because he had to face the Afghans, who were marching to the province of Jaunpur. The Afghans advanced up to Brabanki and Humayun defeated them in Dourah in August 1532. Afterwards, Humayun went on to conquer Chunar, which was under Sher Khan. The siege lasted for three months and eventually Humayun gave in. It was a mistake because Sher Khan was a rising star and he should have been crushed then.
Humayun, after defeating Bahadur Shah and capturing the fort of Mandu and Champanir, wasted a lot of time in merrymaking. He spent the treasure, which he had got as booty from Champanir, and did not try to consolidate his position.
In 1540, Sher Khan captured Humayun’s territory and left him with almost no land. And during these homeless years, Akbar was born to him in Umarkot. After the death of Sher Khan (who was popularly known as Sher Shah) in 1545, Humayun struggled to get back his lost territory. He occupied Peshawar in 1554, whereas Lahore was occupied in February 1555. Dipalpur was also taken and after fighting many battles, Humayun reached Delhi in July 1555.
Over all, it is said that Humayun was a gentleman, kindhearted and sensitive. As a son, husband, father and brother, he was an ideal one. He was a thoroughly cultured man.
When talking about the Mughal reign, there is a need to look into the socio-economic conditions of the region and the people they invaded. The Mughals were not the natives of the subcontinent. They had come from Afghanistan and got this land by sheer power, and they ended up being considered as heroes. On the other hand, the natives of the land were treated as the villains.
History is interpreted in strange ways. The invader is remembered in glorified terms while those who defend their land, trying to protect what has been theirs for centuries, are considered as rebels. So was the case with the Mughals, the natives who lived there for thousands of years were described unfavourably, while the invaders, who by dint of power got the land, were termed as peace-loving. People of this land had always been economically sound but these wars brought rainy days for them. The reason was that the losses that occurred in war were recovered from the poor natives in the form of tax.
Foreign rule also brought much social disturbance. A local king was always merciful to his fellow men, but an outsider treated them in an inhuman way. Though Islam advocates equality, it was not properly established by these Muslim rulers.
When Humayun lost his territory to Sher Shah, he turned towards Sindh and during his stay there he forcefully married a young woman who attracted him. That young woman gave birth to Akbar. It’s always accepted that a king made a historian write about the events of his times in his presence and it may be possible that Humayun tried to show himself as kindhearted and a gentleman. Prior to the period of Humayun, Sikism started to flourish but the founder of Sikism died in the reign of Humayun in 1539. Angad the second Guru died when Humayun lost his territory. And the third Guru, Amar Das was alive when Humayun’s period ended.
Humayun is known as ‘the fortunate one’ because he managed to get back his territory from Sher Shah. He was fortunate to get a son like Akbar, who expanded and consolidated the empire to become the greatest of the Mughals.
During Humayun’s reign when the people of the subcontinent were engaged in wars, Europe was making rapid progress in science. But one of the most disheartening things is that these rulers thought that they were more powerful than the rest of the world. And this pride was the cause of their backwardness and fall.
