Humayun: Difference between revisions

| image = Contemporary portrait of Humayun seated (made in Kabul in 1550-1555).jpg

| caption = Portrait from life painted in [[Kabul]], attributed to [[Abd al-Samad]], {{circa|1550–55}}, Humayun is seated, wearing the ''[[Tāj-i 'Izzat]]''

| name = Humayun<br/> همایون

| title = [[Padishah]]<br />[[Imperial and royal titles of the Mughal emperors|Al-Sultan Al-Azam]]

| succession = [[Mughal emperor]]

| coronation = 29 December 1530{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}<br />[[Agra Fort]]

| reign-type = First reign

| reign = 26 December 1530 – 17 May 1540

| predecessor = [[Babur]]

| regent = [[Al-aman Mirza]]

| reg-type = [[Heir-apparent]]

| successor = [[Sher Shah Suri]] (as [[Sur Empire#List of rulers|Sur Emperor]])

| reign-type1 = Second reign

| reign1 = 22 June 1555 – 27 January 1556

| successor1 = [[Akbar|Akbar I]]

| birth_name = Nasir al-Din Muhammad<ref name="Mehta1981">{{cite book |last1=Mehta |first1=Jaswant Lal |year=1981 |title=Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India |volume=II |edition=1st |publisher=Sterling Publishers |page=108 |oclc=221798951}}</ref>

| birth_date = 6 March 1508

| birth_place = [[Kabul]], [[Kabulistan]], [[Mughal Empire]] (present-day [[Afghanistan]])

| death_date = {{death date and age|1556|1|27|1508|3|17|df=yes}}

| death_place = [[Sher Mandal]], [[Old Delhi|Delhi]], [[Mughal Empire]] (present-day [[India]])

| burial_place = [[Humayun's Tomb]], Delhi, India

| spouse = {{Collapsible list|

| spouse-type = Consort

| issue = {{plainlist|

| full name = Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad Humayun<ref name="Mehta1981" />

| regnal name = Al‑Sulṭān al‑'A'ẓam wa‑l‑Khāqān al‑Mukarram, Jam‑i‑Sulṭānat‑i‑Ḥaqīqī wa‑Majāzī, Sayyid al‑Salāṭīn, Abu'l‑Muẓaffar Naṣīr‑ud‑Dīn Muḥammad Humayūn Pādshāh Ghāzī, Ẓillu'llāh

| house = [[Mughal dynasty]]

| dynasty = [[Timurid dynasty]]

| father = [[Babur]]

| mother = [[Maham Begum]]

| signature = Seal of Prince Humayun of the Mughal Empire, ca.1508–1530.jpg

| religion = [[Sunni Islam]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Story of second Mughal emeperor Humayun &#124; Farbound.Net |date=April 2017 |url=https://farbound.net/humayun-the-merciful/?srsltid=AfmBOoopukcQMeNQ16gIf2aj4iUP7rt8nnghReCxhq-REgXPKt-Ya3fj}}</ref>

| module = {{Infobox military person | embed=yes

   | commands      =

'''Nasir al-Din Muhammad''' ({{langx|fa|نصیرالدین محمد|rtl=yes}}, 6 March 1508<ref name="Mehta1981" /> – 27 January 1556), commonly known by his [[regnal name]] '''Humayun''' ({{langx|fa|همایون|rtl=yes|link=no}}, {{IPA|fa|hu.mɑː.juːn}}), was the second [[Mughal emperors|Mughal emperor]], who ruled over territory in what is now eastern [[Afghanistan]], [[Bangladesh]], [[North India|Northern India]], and [[Pakistan]] from 1530 to 1540 and again from 1555 to his death in 1556.<ref>Mitchiner, M. 1977. ''Oriental coins and their values: The world of Islam''. London: Hawkins Publications. p. 378.</ref> At the time of his death, the Mughal Empire spanned almost one million square kilometers.

Early in his reign, Humayun lost his entire empire to [[Sher Shah Suri]] but regained it 15 years later with [[Safavid]] aid. His return from [[Persia]] was [[Emigration of Iranians to India during the 16-18th centuries|accompanied by a large retinue of Persian noblemen]], signaling an important change in Mughal court culture. The [[Moghulistan|Central Asian origins]] of the dynasty were largely overshadowed by the influences of [[Persian art]], [[Persian architecture|architecture]], [[Persian language|language]], and [[Persian literature|literature]]. To this day, stone carvings and thousands of [[Persian language in the Indian subcontinent|Persian]] manuscripts in India dating from the time of Humayun remain in [[Indian subcontinent|the subcontinent]]. Following his return to power, Humayun quickly expanded the Empire, leaving a substantial legacy for his son, [[Akbar]].

The decision of Babur to divide the territories of his empire between two of his sons was unusual in India, although it had been a common Central Asian practice since the time of [[Genghis Khan]]. Unlike most monarchies, which practised [[primogeniture]], the Timurids followed the example of Genghis and did not leave an entire kingdom to the eldest son. Although under that system only a [[Chingissid]] could claim sovereignty and Khanal authority, any male Chinggisid within a given sub-branch had an equal right to the throne (though the Timurids were not Chinggisid in their paternal ancestry).<ref name="Multiple">Sharaf Al-Din: "Zafar-nama".</ref> While Genghis Khan's empire had been peacefully divided between his sons upon his death, almost every Chinggisid succession since had resulted in fratricide.<ref>{{cite book |last=Soucek |first=Svat |date=2000 |title=A History of Inner Asia |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-65704-4 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofinneras00souc}}</ref>{{page needed|date=November 2012}}

After Timur's death, his territories were divided among [[Pir Muhammad (son of Jahangir)|Pir Muhammad]], [[Miran Shah]], [[Khalil Sultan]] and [[Shah Rukh]], which resulted in inter-family warfare.<ref>William Bayne Fisher, Peter Jackson, Peter Avery, Lawrence Lockhart, John Andrew Boyle, Ilya Gershevitch, Richard Nelson Frye, Charles Melville, Gavin Hambly, ''The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume VI'' (1986), pp. 99–101</ref> Not all ''[[Umrah|umarah]]'' (nobles) viewed Humayun as Babur's rightful successor. While Babur was still alive, some of the nobles tried unsuccessfully to install his brother-in-law, Mahdi Khwaja, as ruler.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Roy |first1=S. |editor1-last=Majumdar |editor1-first=Ramesh Chandra |editor1-link=R. C. Majumdar |chapter=Humayun |title=The History and Culture of the Indian People |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/mughal-empire-r.-c.-majumdar-1974/page/65/mode/1up |year=1974 |volume=VII |location=Bombay |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |page=65}}</ref> Upon Babur's death, Humayun's territories were the least secure.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

When Humayun came to the throne of [[Mughal Empire]], several of his brothers revolted against him after he split the empire among them. Another brother, [[Hindal Mirza]], supported Humayun but was assassinated.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Saifi |first=Tanish |date=2023-01-15 |title=Top Interesting Facts about Humayun - TS HISTORICAL |url=https://tshistorical.com/top-interesting-facts-about-humayun/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |language=en-US}}</ref> The Emperor commenced construction of a tomb for his brother, but this was not yet finished when he was forced to flee to Persia. [[Sher Shah Suri]] destroyed the structure and no further work was done on it after Humayun's restoration.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}

[[file:Humayun and Babur (Late Shah Jahan Album) Humayun detail.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Portrait of Humayun, wearing the ''[[Tāj-i 'Izzat]]'' headdress, in the ''Late Shah Jahan Album'', painted {{Circa|1640}}. Smithsonian Collections.<ref>{{cite web |title=Babur and Humayun with Courtiers, from the Late Shah Jahan Album |url=https://asia-archive.si.edu/object/S1986.401/ |website=Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art |quote=The first Mughal emperor, Babur, who reigned from 1526 to 1530, is shown seated on the right with his son and successor, Humayun.}}</ref>]]

Humayun had two major rivals for his lands: [[Sultan Bahadur]] of Gujarat to the southwest and Sher Shah Suri (Sher Khan) settled along the [[river Ganges]] in [[Bihar]] to the east. Humayun's first campaign was to confront Sher Shah Suri. Halfway through this offensive, Humayun had to abandon it to focus on Gujarat, where a threat from Ahmed Shah had emerged. Humayun was victorious annexing [[Gujarat]], [[Malwa]], [[Champaner]] and the great fort of [[Mandu, Madhya Pradesh|Mandu]].<ref name="Keay">{{cite book |last1=Keay |first1=John |title=India : A History |date=2000 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=London |isbn=0002557177 |page=298}}</ref>

 

In 1535 Humayun was made aware that the Sultan of Gujarat was planning an assault on the Mughal territories in Bayana with Portuguese aid. Humayun gathered an army and marched on Bahadur. Within a month he had captured the forts of Mandu and Champaner. However, instead of pressing his attack, Humayun ceased the campaign and consolidated his newly conquered territory. Sultan Bahadur, meanwhile escaped and took up refuge with the Portuguese.<ref name="Banerji1938">{{harvnb|Banerji|1938}}</ref> Like his father, Humayun was a frequent user of opium.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Honchell |first=Stephanie |date=August 2010 |title=Pursuing pleasure, attaining oblivion: the roles and uses of intoxicants at the Mughal court |type=M.A. |publisher=University of Louisville |doi=10.18297/etd/628 |url=https://ir.library.louisville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1627&context=etd |access-date=9 September 2020 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In a popular revolt Bahadur Shah recaptured all of Gujarat in 1536 and began an attack on Malwa.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nMWSQuf4oSIC&dq=tatar+khan+lodi+bahadur+shah&pg=RA2-PA24 |title=History of Medieval India |page=25 |author=V. D. Mahajan |date=2007 |publisher=S. Chand |isbn=9788121903646}}</ref>

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

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>

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"/>

After Humayun set out from his expedition in [[Sindh]], along with 300 camels (mostly wild) and 2000 loads of grain, he set off to join his brothers in Kandahar after crossing the [[Indus River]] on 11 July 1543 along with the ambition to regain the Mughal Empire and overthrow the [[Suri dynasty]]. Among the tribes that had sworn allegiance to Humayun were the [[Leghari tribe|Leghari]], Magsi, [[Rind (Baloch tribe)|Rind]] and many others.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Humayun |first1=Mirza Nasir al-Din Muhammad |title=Humayun |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Humayun-Mughal-emperor |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=14 March 2024}}</ref>

Once again Humayun turned toward Kandahar where his brother Kamran Mirza was in power, but he received no help and had to seek refuge with the [[Shah]] of [[Safavid Iran|Persia]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Ikram |first=S. M. |author-link=S. M. Ikram |date=1964 |chapter=X. The Establishment of the Mughal Empire |chapter-url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00islamlinks/ikram/part2_10.html |title=Muslim Civilization in India |location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press |quote=He ... turned toward Qandahar where his brother Kamran was in power, but he received no help and had to seek refuge with the Shah of Persia.}}</ref>

[[File:Encounter of Humayun (left) and Tahmasp I (right) in Isfahan in 1544. Chehel Sotoun Palace, painted circa 1647.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Encounter of Humayun (left) and [[Shah Tahmasp I]] (right) in [[Soltaniyeh]] in 1544. [[Chehel Sotoun]] Palace, [[Isfahan]], painted a century later circa 1647. Shah Tahmasp provided Humayun with 12,000 cavalry and 300 veterans of his personal guard along with provisions, so that his guest could recover his lost domains.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eraly |first1=Abraham |author-link=Abraham Eraly |year=2000 |title=Emperors of the Peacock Throne: The Saga of the Great Mughals |publisher=Penguin Books India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=04ellRQx4nMC&q=Shah+Tahmasp+Humayun+12,000+cavalry&pg=PA108 |isbn=978-0-14-100143-2}}</ref>]]

| image1  = Allegory of the Celebrations for Akbar's Circumcision at Khwaja Seh Yaran Mughal at Kabul, c. 1546 AD Detail of Humayun's portrait (detail), photographed c. 1985.jpg

| image2  = Allegory of the Celebrations for Akbar's Circumcision at Khwaja Seh Yaran Mughal at Kabul, c. 1546 AD, photographed c. 1985 MET catalogue.jpg

| footer=Portrait of Humayun and his brothers, from life, by Persian artist [[Dust Muhammad]], c.1546, Kabul. [[:File:Portrait of Humayun. Dust Muhammad, c.1546, Kabul.jpg|Humayun's face was later damaged]] as it travelled to the ''India! Art and Culture exhibition'' in 1985.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Parodi |first1=Laura E. |last2=Wannell |first2=Bruce |title=The Earliest Datable Mughal Painting |journal=www.asianart.com |date=2011 |url=https://www.asianart.com/articles/parodi/index.html}}</ref>}}

On 21 March 1545, Humayun, with the Safavid support, reached the area around [[Kandahar]] with 14,000 Persian soldiers and began a siege. During the siege, he sent [[Bairam Khan]] to [[Kabul]] in an effort to win over the Timurid princes and nobles. On 3 September 1545, Mirza Askari gave up the fort, and Kandahar was handed over to the Persians as agreed. However, the Persian troops stopped offering further assistance. With his own supporters gathering but lacking shelter, Humayun felt forced to act. One month later, he launched a surprise attack on Kandahar, drove out the Persian garrison, and took control of the city despite having promised it to Shah Tahmasp.<ref name="Majumdar Mughal Empire">{{cite book |last1=Majumdar |first1=R. C. |title=The Mughal Empire |year=1974 |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |location=Bombay |isbn= |page=59}}</ref> After appointing Bairam Khan as governor of Kandahar, Humayun set off for Kabul. Mirza Hindal joined him on the journey, while desertions in his own camp forced [[Kamran Mirza]] to escape into [[Sind]]. By 18 November 1545, Humayun entered Kabul without resistance and soon met his son Akbar after nearly two years. With both Kandahar and Kabul under his control, he effectively dominated southern [[Afghanistan]].<ref name="Majumdar Mughal Empire"/>

In March 1546, Humayun began a campaign in northern Afghanistan, [[Badakhshan]], against the local ruler, Mirza Sulaiman, who had recently been freed from Kamran's influence in Kabul. Accompanied by Askari, Humayun ordered the execution of Yadgar Nasir Mirza because he was showing signs of disloyalty. At Tirgiran, he defeated Sulaiman, who then fled to [[Kulab]]. Humayun continued on to Kishm and Qila Zafar, but a serious illness weakened his forces and allowed Kamran to leave [[Sindh]]. With help from his father-in-law Shah Husain, Kamran returned to Afghanistan, captured [[Ghazni]] (executing its governor Zahid Beg), and advanced on Kabul. Kamran took Kabul by force, terrorising many of Humayun's supporters. Despite harsh winter conditions, Humayun hurried back, besieged the city for several months, and the fighting became so fierce that Kamran even placed Akbar on the battlements, exposing him to enemy fire. Realising he could not hold the fort, Kamran escaped through a breach in the wall on 27 April 1547, narrowly avoiding capture. Initially seeking support from Mirza Sulaiman, Kamran then allied with the Uzbek chief [[Pir Muhammad Khan]] of Balkh to capture much of Badakhshan.  

 

Around mid-1550, Humayun marched from Kabul toward Ghurband to punish his unruly brother. In a narrow pass known as the Qibchaq defile, Kamran ambushed him, causing significant casualties and wounding Humayun. Kamran quickly took control of Kabul and held it for three months, while many believed Humayun to be dead as he hid in Andarab. Reinforcements sent by Mirza Sulaiman's wife enabled Humayun to challenge Kamran, and after a hard-fought battle for Kabul, Kamran was forced to flee. His ally, Mirza 'Askari, was captured and exiled.<ref name="Majumdar Mughal Empire"/> Even after regaining Kabul, Humayun still faced the threat from Kamran, who had teamed up with the influential officer Haji Muhammad Khan. To deal with this danger, Humayun recalled Bairam Khan from Qandahar. Bairam Khan succeeded in persuading Haji Muhammad Khan to switch sides. Already hardened by past betrayals—evident in the executions of Yadgar Nasir Mirza and the exile of 'Askari—Humayun ordered the execution of Haji Muhammad Khan. Kamran then rallied Afghan forces and stirred up trouble between Kabul and the Indus. On the night of 20 November 1551, Kamran launched a surprise attack at Jiryar in Nangarhar. Although Kamran was ultimately defeated, Mirza Hindal was killed in the conflict. Humayun pursued Kamran, who fled to [[Punjab]] and sought refuge with [[Islam Shah]], though he received little support there. Eventually, Kamran found temporary shelter with [[Adam Khan Gakhar|Sultan Adam]], a local [[Gakkhar]] chief, who hesitantly handed him over to Humayun. On his nobles' advice, Humayun had Kamran blinded in 1553 and sent him off to [[Mecca]]. Later historians noted that Kamran suffered more from the turmoil than he caused.<ref name="Majumdar Mughal Empire"/>

After these events, Humayun planned an expedition into [[Kashmir]], where a brief Mughal rule under Haidar Mirza had ended two years earlier, but opposition from his advisors forced him to return to Kabul in December 1553.<ref name="Majumdar Mughal Empire"/> Throughout these struggles in Afghanistan, Humayun's position was strongly supported by Bairam Khan, who managed Kandahar as a secure base. By 1554, Bairam Khan left Kandahar to join Humayun as he prepared for an Indian campaign. At that time, Humayun had firm control over Kandahar, Kabul, and Ghazni, and with his brothers out of the picture, no rival threatened his throne. When news arrived of Islam Shah's death and of widespread chaos in India marked by the rule of the young Firuz and civil war among the Afghans—Humayun realized it was time to make another bid for the throne of Delhi.<ref name="Majumdar Mughal Empire"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Tripathi |first=Ram Prasad |editor1-last=Alam |editor1-first=Muzaffar |editor1-link=Muzaffar Alam |editor2-last=Subrahmanyam |editor2-first=Sanjay |editor2-link=Sanjay Subrahmanyam |year=1998 |chapter=The Turko-Mongol Theory of Kingship |title=The Mughal State 1526–1750 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=124 |isbn=0-19-563905-7}}</ref>

Humayun gathered a vast army and attempted the challenging task of retaking the throne in Delhi. Due to the Safavid role in Humayun's army, the vast majority of the soldiers were of the Shi'a faith. As one Shaikh Ahmad described to Humayun, "My king, I see the whole of your army are [[Rafida|Rafizi]]... Everywhere the names of your soldiers are of this kind. I find they are all Yar Ali or Kashfi Ali or Haider Ali and I have, not found a single man bearing the names of the other [[Companions of the Prophet|Companions]]."<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44141140 |title=LIBERTY AND RESTRAINT—A STUDY OF SHIAISM IN THE MUGIAL NOBILITY |page=276 |first1=Afzal |last1=Husain |first2=Afzal |last2=Husan |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |year=1981 |volume=42 |jstor=44141140}}</ref> Humayun placed the army under the leadership of [[Bairam Khan]], a wise move given Humayun's record of military ineptitude, and it turned out to be prescient as Bairam proved himself a great tactician.

Bairam Khan led the army through the [[Punjab]] virtually unopposed. The only major battle faced by Humayun's armies was against [[Sikandar Shah Suri]] in [[Sirhind]], where Bairam Khan employed a tactic whereby he engaged his enemy in open battle but then retreated quickly in apparent fear. When the enemy followed after them, they were surprised by entrenched defensive positions and were easily annihilated.{{cn|date=March 2026}} At the [[Battle of Sirhind (1555)|Battle of Sirhind]] on 22 June 1555, the armies of Sikandar Shah Suri were decisively defeated and the Mughal Empire was reestablished.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Panag |first=H. S. |author-link=H. S. Panag |date=2018-03-18 |title=Battles for India at Sirhind |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/shooting-straight/battles-for-india-at-sirhind/ |access-date=2022-10-25 |work=The Times of India |language=en-US}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Soon after Babur's death, his successor, Humayun, was in AD 1530 supplanted by the Pathan Sher Shah, who, in AD 1545, was followed by Islam Shah. During the reign of the latter a battle was fought and lost by the Emperor's troops at Firozpur Jhirka, in Mewat, on which, however, Islam Shah did not loose his hold. Adil Shah, the third of the Pathan interlopers, who succeeded in AD 1552, had to contend for the Empire with the returned Humayun.

* [[Bega Begum]] (died 1581), daughter of Yadgar Beg;{{sfn|Begum|1902|p=218}}

* Gulbarg Begum, daughter of Nizam-ud-din Ali Barlas, Babur's ''Khalifa'' and Sultanum Begum. She was a former wife of Mir Shah Hussain Arghun;{{sfn|Begum|1902|p=230}}

* Maywa Jan or Mewa Jan, daughter of Khazang ''yasawal'' and a servant of [[Gulbadan Begum]];{{sfn|Mukhia|2004|p=124}}{{sfn|Begum|1902|p=263}}

* [[Hamida Banu Begum]] (m. 1541, died 1604), daughter of Sheikh Ali Akbar Jami;{{sfn|Begum|1902|pp=237, 240, 241}}

* [[Mah Chuchak Begum]] (m. 1546; murdered in 1564), sister of Bairam Oghlan and Faridun Khan Kabuli;{{sfn|Begum|1902|p=260}}

* Khanish Aghacha, daughter of Jujuq Mirza Khwarizmi;{{sfn|Begum|1902|pp=189, 248}}

=== Issue ===

[[File:Portrait of Mirza Muhammad Hakim (detail). Attributed to Aqa Riza (Persian, active in India about 1580–1620) Indian, Mughal period 1584-1590. Possibly Lahore, Northern India or Pakistan. MFA Boston, 14.609.jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait of [[Mirza Muhammad Hakim]], a son of Humayun. Attributed to [[Aqa Riza (Mughal)|Aqa Riza]], 1584-1590. [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston|Museum of Fine Arts]], Boston, 14.609.<ref>{{cite web |title=Portrait of Mirza Muhammad Hakim |url=https://collections.mfa.org/objects/148508 |website=collections.mfa.org |publisher=MFA Boston}}</ref>]]

 

 

 

 

 

 

! colspan=4 | ''By [[Bega Begum]] ({{Circa|1511}} - 17 January 1582)''

 

|[[Heir apparent]] of Mughal Empire

 

|{{sfn|Begum|1902|p=208}}

 

 

! colspan=4 | ''By [[Hamida Banu Begum]] ({{Circa|1527}} - 29 August 1604'')

 

|-

 

 

! colspan=4 | ''By Gunwar Bibi''

 

|Married to Mirza Sharif-ud-din Hussain Ahrari;{{sfn|Begum|1902|p=214}}

 

 

|Jahan Sultan Begum

|1545

|1547

|{{sfn|Begum|1902|p=184}}

 

 

|[[Bakht-un-Nissa Begum]]

|1547

|2 June 1608

|married twice, and had two sons

 

|Sakina Banu Begum

|25 August 1604

|married to Shah Ghazi Khan;{{sfn|Begum|1902|p=275}}

 

|Amina Banu Begum

 

|[[Mirza Muhammad Hakim]]

 

 

|{{sfn|Begum|1902|p=248}}

 

|}

On 24 January 1556, Humayun, with his arms full of books, was descending the staircase from his library [[Sher Mandal]] when the [[muezzin]] announced the [[Azaan]] (the call to prayer). It was his habit, wherever and whenever he heard the summons, to bow his knee in holy reverence. Trying to kneel, he caught his foot in his robe, slipped down several steps and hit his temple on a rugged stone edge. He died three days later.<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Vincent Arthur |author-link=Vincent Arthur Smith |year=1958 |orig-year=First published 1917 |title=Akbar: The Great Mogul 1542–1605 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.499248/page/n37/mode/1up |edition=2nd |publisher=[[S. Chand & Co.]] |pages=21–22}}</ref> His body was laid to rest in [[Purana Qila]] initially, but, because of an attack by [[Hemu]] on Delhi and the capture of Purana Qila, Humayun's body was exhumed by the fleeing army and transferred to [[Kalanaur, Gurdaspur|Kalanaur]] in Punjab where [[Akbar]] was crowned. After young Mughal emperor Akbar defeated and killed Hemu in the [[Second Battle of Panipat]], Humayun's body was buried in  [[Humayun's Tomb]] in Delhi the first very grand garden tomb in [[Mughal architecture]], setting the precedent later followed by the [[Taj Mahal]] and many other Indian monuments. It was commissioned by his favourite and devoted chief wife, [[Bega Begum]].<ref name=Takeo>{{cite web |last=Kamiya |first=Takeo |title=Humayun's Tomb in Delhi |url=http://www.kamit.jp/02_unesco/12_humayun/hum_eng.htm |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |access-date=12 July 2013}}</ref><ref name="Hum">{{harvnb|Banerji|1938|pp=97, 232}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Burke |first=S. M. |year=1989 |title=Akbar, the Greatest Mogul |url=https://archive.org/details/akbargreatestmog0000smbu/page/191/mode/1up |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers |page=191 |oclc=243709755 |quote=The mausoleum which Haji Begum built at Delhi to shelter her late husband's mortal remains ... Another pleasing feature is the laying out of a large garden round the building.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Eraly |first=Abraham |title=The Mughal world: Life in India's Last Golden Age |url=https://archive.org/details/mughalworldlifei00eral |url-access=limited |year=2007 |publisher=Penguin Books |page=[https://archive.org/details/mughalworldlifei00eral/page/n374 369] |isbn=978-0-14-310262-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Henderson |first=Carol E. |title=Culture and Customs of India |year=2002 |publisher=Greenwood Press |page=90 |isbn=978-0-313-30513-9 |quote=After Mughal emperor Humayan's death in 1556, his wife, Hajji Begum, assembled a team of architects and builders to create a grand tomb in Delhi. She placed the tomb in a grid with a garden. This setting became a signature of Mughal architecture and is most perfectly realized in the Taj Mahal.}}</ref><ref name=mau>{{cite news |title=Mausoleum that Humayun never built |url=https://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/04/28/stories/2003042800730200.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030708165811/http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/04/28/stories/2003042800730200.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 July 2003 |access-date=31 January 2013 |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |date=28 April 2003}}</ref>

*{{cite book |author=Jawhar |others=Translated by Charles Stewart |title=The Tezkereh Al Vakiāt: Or, Private Memoirs of the Moghul Emperor Humayun |url=https://archive.org/details/tezkerehalvakiat00jawhuoft |year=1832 |publisher=Oriental Translation Fund}}

*{{cite book |editor-last=Haig |editor-first=Wolseley |editor-link=Wolseley Haig |title=The Cambridge History of India |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1928 |volume=3 |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory035492mbp}}

*{{cite book |editor-last=Burn |editor-first=Richard |editor-link=Richard Burn (Indologist) |others=planned by [[Wolseley Haig]] |title=The Cambridge History of India |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1937 |volume=4 |url=https://archive.org/details/CambridgeHistoryOfIndiaVol.4TheMughulPeriod/mode/2up}}