Editing Humayun (section)

===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.