Editing Humayun (section)

==Strife with Sher Shah Suri==
[[File:Flight of Sultan Bahadur During Humayun's Campaign in Gujarat 1535.jpg|thumb|The [[Mughal Emperor]] Humayun, fights [[Bahadur Shah of Gujarat]], in the year 1535.]]

Shortly after Humayun had marched on Gujarat, [[Sher Shah Suri]] saw an opportunity to wrest control of Agra from the Mughals. He began to gather his army together hoping for a rapid and decisive siege of the Mughal capital. Upon hearing this alarming news, Humayun quickly marched his troops back to Agra allowing Bahadur to easily regain control of the territories Humayun had recently taken. In February 1537, however, Bahadur was killed when a botched plan to kidnap the Portuguese viceroy ended in a fire-fight that the Sultan lost. Bahadur's passing caused a power vacuum in Gujarat, which ultimately paved the way for the Mughals to become the region's dominant force.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}

While Humayun was occupied in Gujarat, in the east Sher Khan invaded Bengal and besieged [[Gaur, West Bengal|Gaur]], its capital.<ref>{{harvnb|Richards|1993|p=10}}</ref> Humayun set off to relieve the siege, but was delayed while taking [[Chunar]], a fort occupied by Sher Shah's son, in order to protect his troops from an attack from the rear. Meanwhile, Gaur fell, the large stores of grain there were emptied, and Humayun arrived to see corpses littering the roads.<ref>{{harvnb|Gascoigne|1971|pp=50–51}}</ref> The vast wealth of Bengal was depleted and brought east, giving Sher Shah a substantial war chest.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eaton |first1=Richard Maxwell |author-link=Richard M. Eaton |title=India in the Persianate age, 1000-1765 |year=2019 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-97423-4 |page=208}}</ref>

Sher Shah withdrew to the west, but Humayun did not follow; instead, he "shut himself up for a considerable time in his Harem, and abandoned himself to every kind of luxury".<ref name="Gascoigne1971p50" /> Hindal, Humayun's 19-year-old brother, had agreed to aid him in this battle and protect the rear from attack, but he abandoned his position and withdrew to Agra, where he decreed himself acting emperor. When Humayun sent the grand ''Mufti'', Sheikh Buhlul, to reason with him; the Sheikh was killed. Further provoking the rebellion, Hindal ordered that the ''Khutba'', or sermon, in the main mosque be surrounded.<ref name="Gascoigne1971p50">{{harvnb|Gascoigne|1971|p=50}}: "Hindal ... had been stationed ... for the purpose of securing Humayun's rear, but he had deserted his post ... another brother, Kamran, ... was also converging on Delhi from his territories in the Punjap – ostensibly to help Humayun but in reality ... to stake his own claim to his brother's crumbling empire. [Kamran] dissuaded Hindal from further open disloyalty, but ... the two brothers now disregarded Humayun's urgent appeals for help on his dangerous journey back through the territory which had been relinquished by Hindal to Sher Khan."</ref>

[[File:Rohtas Fort Magnificent Kabuli Gate.jpg|thumb|[[Raja Todar Mal]], an ally of [[Sher Shah Suri]], constructed the [[Rohtas Fort]] to check Humayun from [[Persia]], and also halt the local [[Indus River Valley|Muslim tribes]] from joining the claimant emperor.<ref>''The Life and Times of Humāyūn'' by Ishwari Prasad, Published by Orient Longmans, 1956, p. 36</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Rehman |first=Abdur |year=1989 |chapter=Salt Range: History and Culture |editor1=Kamil Khan Mumtaz |editor2=Siddiq-a-Akbar |title=Temples of Koh-e-Jud & Thar: Proceedings of the Seminar on Hindu Shahiya Temples of the Salt Range, Held in Lahore, Pakistan, June 1989 |publisher=Anjuman Mimaran |page=8 |oclc=622473045 |quote=Babar established good relations with them [the Ghakhars] and hereafter they always sided with the Mughals. Sher Shah Suri therefore determined to crush the Ghakhars and built a fort at Rohtas;}}</ref>]]

Humayun's other brother, [[Kamran Mirza]], marched from his territories in the Punjab, ostensibly to aid Humayun. However, his return home had treacherous motives as he intended to stake a claim for Humayun's apparently collapsing empire. He brokered a deal with Hindal providing that his brother would cease all acts of disloyalty<ref name="Gascoigne1971p50"/> in return for a share in the new empire, which Kamran would create once Humayun was deposed.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}

In June 1539, Sher Shah met Humayun in the [[Battle of Chausa]] on the banks of the Ganges, near [[Buxar]]. This was to become an entrenched battle in which both sides spent a lot of time digging themselves into positions. The major part of the Mughal army, the artillery, was now immobile, and Humayun decided to engage in some diplomacy using Muhammad Aziz as ambassador. Humayun agreed to allow Sher Shah to rule over Bengal and Bihar, but only as provinces granted to him by his Emperor, Humayun, falling short of outright sovereignty. The two rulers also struck a bargain in order to save face: Humayun's troops would charge those of Sher Shah whose forces then retreat in feigned fear. Thus honour would, supposedly, be satisfied.<ref>{{harvnb|Gascoigne|1971|pp=50}}</ref>

Once the Army of Humayun had made its charge and Sher Shah's troops made their agreed-upon retreat, the Mughal troops relaxed their defensive preparations and returned to their entrenchments without posting a proper guard. Observing the Mughals' vulnerability, Sher Shah reneged on his earlier agreement. That very night, his army approached the Mughal camp and finding the Mughal troops unprepared with a majority asleep, they advanced and killed most of them. The Emperor survived by swimming across the Ganges using an air-filled "water skin", and quietly returned to Agra.<ref>{{harvnb|Gascoigne|1971|pp=50–51}}: "Humayun's brief advance brought his army out of its prepared defensive position, and Sher Shah, having withdrawn a few miles, returned at night to find the Mogul camp asleep and unprepared. The emperor himself escaped only because one of his water-bearers inflated his water-skin with air for Humayun to hold in his arms and float [across the Ganges] ... Humayun crept back to Agra."</ref> Humayun was assisted across the Ganges by Shams al-Din Muhammad.<ref name="Lal2005">{{cite book |author=Ruby Lal |title=Domesticity and Power in the Early Mughal World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B8NJ41GiXvsC&pg=PA64 |date=22 September 2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-85022-3 |pages=64}}</ref>

===In Agra===
[[File:Хумаюн. Деталь миниатюры из Бабурнаме. 1590е гг. Москва, ГМВ.jpg|thumb|Humayun, detail of miniature of the ''[[Baburnama]]'']]

When Humayun returned to Agra, he found that all three of his brothers were present. Humayun once again not only pardoned his brothers for plotting against him, but even forgave Hindal for his outright betrayal.<!-- ? — he was probably not in a position to inflict any punishment by this stage in any case.--> With his armies travelling at a leisurely pace, Sher Shah was gradually drawing closer and closer to Agra. This was a serious threat to the entire family, but Humayun and Kamran squabbled over how to proceed. Kamran withdrew after Humayun refused to make a quick attack on the approaching enemy, instead opting to build a larger army under his own name.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}

When Kamran returned to Lahore, Humayun, with his other brothers Askari and Hindal, marched to meet Sher Shah {{convert|200|km|mi}} east of Agra at the battle of [[Kannauj]] on 17 May 1540. Humayun was soundly defeated. He retreated to Agra, pursued by Sher Shah, and thence through [[Delhi]] to Lahore. Sher Shah's founding of the short-lived [[Sur Empire]], with its capital at Delhi, resulted in Humayun's exile for 15 years in the court of [[Shah Tahmasp I]].<ref name="sen2">{{cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra Nath |year=2013 |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |page=154 |isbn=978-93-80607-34-4 |quote=Kamran withdrew from Agra to Lahore. ... In the Battle of Kanauj (17 May 1540) ... Humayun was defeated. His two younger brothers, Askari and Hindal, also ... Humayun fled to Agra but was pursued by the Afghans, who drove him first to Delhi and then to Lahore. ... Finally ... he took shelter at the court of the Iranian king, Shah Tahmasp. Thus began a weary exile which lasted for nearly 15 years.}}</ref>

===In Lahore===
The four brothers were united in [[Lahore]], but every day they were informed that Sher Shah was getting closer and closer. When he reached [[Sirhind]], Humayun sent an ambassador carrying the message "I have left you the whole of Hindustan [i.e. the lands to the East of Punjab, comprising most of the Ganges Valley]. Leave Lahore alone, and let Sirhind be a boundary between you and me." Sher Shah, however, replied "I have left you Kabul. You should go there". [[Kabul]] was the capital of the empire of Humayun's brother Kamran, who was far from willing to hand over any of his territories to his brother. Instead, Kamran approached Sher Shah and proposed that he actually revolt against his brother and side with Sher Shah in return for most of the [[Punjab region|Punjab]]. Sher Shah dismissed his help, believing it not to be required, though word soon spread to Lahore about the treacherous proposal, and Humayun was urged to make an example of Kamran and kill him. Humayun refused, citing the last words of his father, Babur, "Do nothing against your brothers, even though they may deserve it."<ref>{{harvnb|Gascoigne|1971|pp=47, 52}}</ref>

===Meeting with the Sikh Guru – Guru Angad Sahib===

[[File:Historical photograph of Gurdwara Sri Khadur Sahib, ca.1920's. Published in the 1930 first edition of Mahan Kosh by Kahn Singh Nabha.jpg|thumb|Historical photograph of Gurdwara Sri Khadur Sahib, ca.1920's. Published in the 1930 first edition of Mahan Kosh by Kahn Singh Nabha.]]
Humayun visited [[Guru Angad]] at around 1540 after Humayun lost the [[Battle of Kannauj]], and thereby the Mughal throne to [[Sher Shah Suri]].<ref name="Fenech2014p41">{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Pashaura |last2=Fenech |first2=Louis |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780191004124 |page=41 |edition=First}}</ref> According to Sikh hagiographies, when Humayun arrived in Gurdwara Mal Akhara Sahib at [[Tarn Taran Sahib#Khadur Sahib|Khadur Sahib]], Guru Angad was sitting and teaching children.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Ajit |title=Suraj Prakash Granth part 5 ras 4 |date=2005 |isbn=81-7601-685-3 |page=177}}</ref> The failure to greet the Emperor immediately angered Humayun. Humayun lashed out but the Guru reminded him that “the time when you needed to fight when you lost your throne, you ran away and did not fight, and now you want to attack a person engaged in prayer.”<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Gurpreet |title=Ten Masters |date=2001 |publisher=Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd. |location=New Delhi |isbn=9788171829460 |page=53}}</ref> In the Sikh texts written more than a century after the event, Guru Angad is said to have blessed the emperor, and reassured him that someday he will regain the throne.<ref name="Fenech2014p41"/>

===Withdrawing further===
[[File:Humayun's Genealogical Order up to Timure.jpg|thumb|Humayun's Genealogical Order up to Timur]]
Humayun decided it would be wise to withdraw still further. He and his army rode out through and across the [[Thar Desert]], when the [[Hindu]] ruler [[Rao Maldeo Rathore]] allied with Sher Shah Suri against the Mughal Empire. In many accounts Humayun mentions how he and his pregnant wife had to trace their steps through the desert at the hottest time of year. Their rations were low, and they had little to eat; even drinking water was a major problem in the desert. When [[Hamida Banu Begum|Hamida Bano]]'s horse died, no one would lend the Queen (who was now eight months pregnant) a horse, so Humayun did so himself, resulting in him riding a camel for six kilometres (four miles), although Khaled Beg then offered him his mount. Humayun was later to describe this incident as the lowest point in his life. Humayun asked that his brothers join him as he fell back into [[Sindh]]. While the previously rebellious Hindal Mirza remained loyal and was ordered to join his brothers in Kandahar, Kamran Mirza and Askari Mirza instead decided to head to the relative peace of Kabul. This was to be a definitive schism in the family. Humayun headed for Sindh because he expected aid from the [[Emir]] of Sindh, Hussein Umrani, whom he had appointed and who owed him his allegiance. Also, his wife Hamida hailed from Sindh; she was the daughter of a prestigious ''pir'' family (a ''pir'' is an Islamic religious guide) of Persian heritage long settled in Sindh. En route to the Emir's court, Humayun had to break journey because his pregnant wife Hamida was unable to travel further. Humayun sought refuge with the Hindu ruler of the [[oasis]] town of [[Umerkot|Amarkot]] (now part of Sindh province).<ref>{{cite book |title=Tareekh-i- Sher Shahi |last=Sarwani |first=Abbas Khan |publisher=Sang-i-Meel Publishers |year=2006 |isbn=978-9693518047 |location=Lahore, Pakistan}}</ref>

Rana Prasad Rao of Amarkot duly welcomed Humayun into his home and sheltered the refugees for several months. Here, in the household of a Hindu [[Rajput]] nobleman, Humayun's wife Hamida Bano, daughter of a Persian family, gave birth to the future Emperor [[Akbar]] on 15 October 1542. The date of birth is well established because Humayun consulted his astronomer to utilise the [[astrolabe]] and check the location of the planets. The infant was the long-awaited heir-apparent to the 34-year-old Humayun and the answer of many prayers. Shortly after the birth, Humayun and his party left Amarkot for Sindh, leaving Akbar behind, who was not ready for the grueling journey ahead in his infancy. He was later adopted by Askari Mirza.

For a change, Humayun was not deceived in the character of the man on whom he has pinned his hopes. Emir Hussein Umrani, ruler of Sindh, welcomed Humayun's presence and was loyal to him, just as he had been loyal to Babur against the renegade [[Arghun]]s. While in Sindh, Humayun alongside Hussein Umrani, gathered horses and weapons and formed new alliances that helped regain lost territories. Until finally Humayun had gathered hundreds of [[Sindhis|Sindhi]] and [[Baloch people|Baloch]] tribesmen alongside his Mughals and then marched towards Kandahar and later Kabul, thousands more gathered by his side as Humayun continually declared himself the rightful [[Timurid dynasty|Timurid]] heir of the first Mughal Emperor, Babur.