Humayun (March 6, 1508 - February 22, 1556), second Mughal Emperor, and ruled in India from 1530-1540 and 1555-1556. He was 22 and inexperienced when he came to power. Humayun succeeded his father Babur in India in 1530, while his brother Kamran obtained the sovereignty of Kabul and Lahore. Humayun was thus left in possession of his father's recent conquests, which were in dispute with the Indian Afghans under Sher Shah, governor of Bengal and an ethnic Afghan from Eastern India, and his ally, the Lodi dynasty. Sher Shah defeated Humayun at The Battle of Chausa on June 26, 1539. After ten years of fighting, Humayun was driven out of India and fled to Persia.

The rule of Sher Shan was a time of economic reform for the Mughal Empire. Humayun fled to the refuge of the Safavid Empire and reluctantly converted to Shi'a Islam to secure the protection of Tahmasp I. Sher Shah died in 1546, and although he was one of the greatest rulers of India, his son was not so able a leader. in 1555, Humayan, enlisting the aid of the armies of Tahmasp I, reoccupied Delhi and returned to his throne in India.

During his period in exile, Humayun's wife, Hamida Begum, gave birth to Akbar the Great. Humayun died in 1556 from injuries sustained after falling down a flight of stairs while descending from the second floor of his library to answer the muezzin call to prayer. Although an accomplished soldier his greatest accomplishment was his support for the arts. His exposure to Safavid art in Iran inspired him to recruit painters to his court who developed the celebrated Mughal style of painting. Humayun's greatest architectural feat was his Din-Panah (Refuge of Religion) citadel at Delhi which was destroyed by Sher Shah. Humayun's Tomb, built by his widow after his death in the south of Delhi, is a precursor to the Taj Mahal in style and one of the finest of all the Mughal monuments in India.

External Links

• The Reign of Humayun
• Kamat's Potpourri
• Humayun's Tomb