Humayun

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Humayun
Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun  was the
second Mughal Emperor who ruled present
day Afghanistan,Pakistan, and parts of
northern India from 15301540 and again from
15551556. Like his father,Babur, he lost his
kingdom early, but with Persian aid, he
eventually regained an even larger one. On the
eve of his death in 1556, the power. Humayun lost
his Indian territories to the Pashtun
(Afghan) noble, Sher Shah Suri, and, with Persian
aid, regained them fifteen years later. Humayun's
return from Persia, accompan ied by a large
retinue of Persian noblemen, signaled an
important change in Mughal court culture, as
theCentral Asian origins of the dynasty were
largely overshadowed by the influences of Persian
art,architecture, language and literature.
Mughal empire spanned almost one million square
kilometers. He succeeded his father in India in
1530, while his half-brother Kamran Mirza, who
was to become a rather bitter rival, obtained the
sovereignty of Kabul and Lahore, the more
northern parts of their father's empire. He
originally ascended the throne at the age of 22
and was somewhat inexperienced when he came to
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Humayun
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Humayun Personal Traits
Humayun was portrayed in the biography
"Humayun-nama" written by his sister Gulbadan
Begum, as being extraordinarily lenient,
constantly forgiving acts which were deliberately
aimed at angering him. In one instance the
biography records that his youngest brother
Hindal killed Humayun's most trusted advisor, an
old Sheikh, and then marched an army out of Agra.
Humayun, rather than seek retribution, went
straight to his mother's home where Gulbadan
Begbear no grudge against his younger brother,
and insisted he return home. His many documented
acts of mercy may have stemmed largely from
weakness, but he does seem to have been a gentle
and humane man by the standards of the day. He
lacked his fathers craftiness and athleticism.
Though he could be a formidable warrior when he
chose to be, he was more laid back and
indolent. He was also deeply superstitious, and
fascinated by Astrology and the Occult. Upon his
accession as Padishah (Emperor), he began to
re-oerganis the administration upon mystically
determined principles. The public offices were
divided into four distinct groups, for the four
elements. The department of Earth was to be in
charge of Agriculture and the agricultural
sciences, Fire was to be in charge of the
Military, Water was the department of the Canals
and waterways while Air seemed to have
responsibility for everything else. His daily
routine was planned in accordance with the
movements of the planets, so too was his
wardrobe. He refused to enter a house with his
left foot going forward, and if anyone else did
they would be told to leave and re-enter. His
servant, Jauhar, records in the Tadhkirat
al-Waqiat that he was known to shoot arrows to
the sky marked with either his own name, or that
of the Shah of Persia and, depending on how they
landed, interpreted this as an indication of
which of them would grow more powerful. He was a
heavy drinker, and also took pellets of Opium,
after which he was known to recite poetry. He
was, however, not enamoured of warfare, and after
winning a battle would spend months at a time
indulging himself within the walls of a captured
city even as a larger war was taking place
outside.
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Humayun's Tomb
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Humayun Tomb
Humayun's tomb is a complex of buildings built as
the Mughal Emperor Humayun's tomb, commissioned
by Humayun's wife Hamida Banu Begum in 1562 CE,
and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyath, a Persian
architect. It was the first garden-tomb on
the Indian subcontinent, and is located
in Nizamuddin East, Delhi, India, close to
the din-e- panah citadel also known as Purana
Qila, that Humayun founded in 1533. It was also
the first structure to use red sandstone at such
a scale 234 The complex was declared
a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, and since
then has undergone extensive restoration work,
which is still underway. The complex encompasses
the main tomb of the Emperor Humayun, which
houses the graves of his wife, Hamida Begum, and
also Dara Shikoh, son of the later Emperor Shah
Jahan, as well as numerous other subsequent
Mughals, including Emperor Jahandar
Shah,Farrukhsiyar, Rafi Ul-Darjat, Rafi
Ud-Daulat and Alamgir II.56 It represented a
leap inMughal architecture, and together with its
accomplished Charbagh garden, typical ofPersian
gardens, but never seen before in India, it set a
precedent for subsequent Mughal architecture. It
is seen as a clear departure from the fairly
modest mausoleum of his father, the first Mughal
Emperor, Babur, called Bagh-e Babur (Gardens of
Babur) in Kabul(Afghanistan). Though the latter
was the first Emperor to start the tradition of
being buried in a paradise garden.78 Modelled
on Gur-e Amir, the tomb of his ancestor and
Asia's conqueror Timur in Samarkand, it created a
precedent for future Mughal architecture of
royal mausolea, which reached its zenith with
the Taj Mahal, at Agra. 91011 The site was
chosen on the banks of Yamuna river, due to its
proximity to Nizamuddin Dargah, the mausoleum of
the celebrated Sufi saint of Delhi, Nizamuddin
Auliya, who was much revered by the rulers of
Delhi, and whose residence, Chilla Nizamuddin
Auliya lies just north-east of the tomb. In later
Mughal history, the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur
Shah Zafar took refuge here, during the Indian
Rebellion of 1857, along with three princes, and
was captured by Captain Hodson before being
exiled to Rangoon.112 At the time of
the Slave Dynasty this land was under the
'KiloKheri Fort' which was capital of Sultan
Kequbad, son of Nasiruddin (1268-1287).
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Places Made By Humayun
Entrance Of Humayun's Tomb
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Humayun's Mausoleum
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Sher Sha Suri Court
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End OF Huamayun's Reign
In 1555, after a long campaign, Humayun won back
Delhi and recovered his lost throne. His subjects
were extremely happy and excited that the Emperor
had returned victorious. The whole kingdom
turned out to cheer him, lining the streets
to the palace. All his subjects wanted to touch
his feet In 1555, after and sing his
praises. When the Emperor reached the palace, he
said to his army, "We have won, but it is all due
to Allah's Grace. Otherwise, we would not have
won. Let me go to the mosque and offer my
gratitude to Allah." In the mosque,
Humayun offered his soulful prayer and heart's
gratitude to Allah "OAllah, You have always been
kind to me. Even my own brothers, not to speak of
kith and kin, have deceived and betrayed me many
times. But I promised my father on his deathbed
that I would be kind to them. Therefore, I have
forgiven them every time. I myself have also done
so many wrong things in this life, and You have
forgiven me as I have forgiven my own brothers
and relatives. You have always taught me that
forgiveness is the answer and not revenge.
To satisfy oneself, forgiveness is the only
answer. Allah, accept my gratitude-life and my
gratitude-heart for this great victory." Unfortuna
tely, Humayun was not able to enjoy his victory
for long. One day, as the sunset call to prayer
was heard, Humayun fell down the steep steps
leading from the tower he used as a library and
fractured his skull. Shocked and horrified, his
attendants rushed to his side. Humayun whispered,
"Allah, this is my last prayer to You. Soon I am
going to be with You. My father died while
praying toYou. I was dying and he prayed that You
would take his life instead of mine. You listened
to his prayer. He died in my place and I was
cured. Now I am dying while praying to You. I
pray for my kingdom, for my people and for my
son. I know there is only one way togain victory
and that way is through prayer. Without prayer,
there is no success and noglory. No prayer,
no satisfaction. "Allah, Allah, may Your Glory be
praised in all human hearts throughout Your
creation. I leave my son here on earth in Your
Care. Do save him and protect him. Do give him
world-glory. My last prayer is not the prayer of
the great Emperor Humayun, but the prayer of a
soulful Muslim mendicant-seeker who needs no one
but Allah for eternal peace and eternal
satisfaction. Satisfaction is what I have always
needed and what I shall always need, forever and
forever. "Allah, You have given me that
satisfaction nownot in the victory of the
battlefield, but in allowing me to utter Your
compassionate Name. Your Name is all peace.
Satisfaction abides in peace and peace is
satisfaction, satisfaction alone. Allah, Allah,
Allah!"