The Arrival of the Mughal Empire (Part 4): Emperor Humayun’s Succession and Early Crises

The history of the Mughal Empire’s rise and fall shows that Emperor Humayun's life was full of extreme drama. After his father Babur passed away, he took on the responsibility of a massive but unstable empire at the young age of just 23.

Taking the Throne: A Crown of Thorns

The founder of the Mughal Empire, Babur, passed away on December 26, 1530. Just four days after his father's death, on December 30, 1530, Nasiruddin Muhammad Humayun took the throne in Agra. Even though Babur had chosen Humayun as his successor before dying, getting the throne was not easy at all. This was because the empire Babur left behind was not well-organized yet; it was basically just a collection of lands captured by military force.

Betrayal and Family Conflict

The biggest mistake or tragedy in Humayun’s life was his extreme kindness and blind loyalty to his father’s final wish. Before his death, Babur had told Humayun to always be kind to his brothers. To keep his father’s promise, Humayun divided the empire among his brothers:

Kamran was given the responsibility of Kabul and Kandahar.

Askari received the Sambhal region.

Hindal was given Mewat.

However, these very brothers stabbed Humayun in the back instead of helping him during his worst times. Especially Kamran, who always dreamed of removing Humayun to become the ruler of Delhi himself. This weakened the Mughal power from the inside out.

Enemies Everywhere and Early Crises

After sitting on the throne, Humayun found himself surrounded by enemies on all sides. The main threats came from three directions:

The Return of the Afghans: In the Bihar and Jaunpur regions, the Afghans were uniting again. The most dangerous among them was Sher Khan. He was a very clever and sharp leader who was secretly planning to drive the Mughals out of India.

The Threat from Bahadur Shah: The Sultan of Gujarat, Bahadur Shah, was highly ambitious. He conquered Malwa, moved closer to the Mughal borders, and started giving shelter to Humayun’s enemies.

Financial Crisis: Because of Babur’s extreme generosity and continuous wars, the royal treasury was almost empty. Humayun did not have the massive amount of money needed to run and protect a new empire.

The First Military Campaign: Kalinjar Fort (1531)

Right after taking the throne, Humayun realized that if he did not show his power, his enemies would destroy him. Therefore, in 1531, he surrounded the Kalinjar Fort in Bundelkhand. The main goal of this mission was to stop the Afghans. However, after hearing news of Bahadur Shah’s attack from Gujarat, Humayun quickly made a peace treaty with the King of Kalinjar and rushed back. As a result, he gained no permanent political or military advantage from this campaign.

The empire Emperor Humayun inherited was actually like a burning volcano. With his brothers plotting against him from the inside, and powerful enemies like Sher Khan and Bahadur Shah attacking from the outside, Humayun’s early days were filled with complete uncertainty.