Humayun Badshah
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HUMAYUN ON THE THRONE HUMAYUN BADSHAH BY S. K. BANERJI, M.A., PH.D. (LOND.) READER IN INDIAN HISTORY, LUCKNOW UNIVERSITY WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY SIR E. DENISON ROSS FORMERLY DIRECTOR, SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL STUDIES, LONDON HUMPHREY MILFORD OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 1938 OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS AMEN HOUSE, LONDON, B.C. 4 EDINBURGH GLASGOW NEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE CAPETOWN BOMBAY CALCUTTA MADRAS HUMPHREY MILFORD PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY PRINTED IN INDIA AT THE MODERN ART PRESS, CALCUTTA INTRODUCTION It was with great pleasure that I accepted Dr S. K. Banerji's invitation to write a few words by way of intro1 duction to his Life of the Emperor Humayun, seeing that it was under my supervision, at the School of Oriental Studies, London, that he prepared his PH.D. thesis on the early years of Humayun 's reign. During the two years that he spent here I had ample opportunity of seeing his work and formed a high opinion of his capacity and enthusiasm. Since his return to India he has become Reader in Indian History at the Lucknow University, and he has devoted such leisure as his duties permitted him to the expansion of his thesis and a continuation of the life of Humayun, with a view to producing a full and definite history of that gifted but unfortunate monarch. The present volume brings the story down to the defeat of Humayun at the hands of Sher Shah in 1540 and his consequent abandonment of his Empire : the rest of the story will be told in a second volume which is under preparation. The fact that Dr Banerji will now have at his dis- posal two important works Dr Commisariat's History of Gujerat and Vol. IV of the Cambridge History of India goes to prove how great is the activity of scholars in this particular field at the present time. The materials for the history of Humayun are very rich comprising as they do not merely special biographies and special Mughal histories like the Akbar-nama but also the local histories of kingdoms with which Humayun was in contact or conflict. Dr Banerji has, I believe, con- sulted every available authority in Persian, Arabic and Hindi and has of course made full use of English writers on Indian History. The task he seems to have set himself ( vi ) is to supply not merely the facts but also a kind of run- ning commentary on all the main events of Humayun's life. He delights in weighing in the balance the evidence of conflicting authorities and in setting out in tabular form the possible reasons for or against whatever action or inaction Humayun is responsible for. At the end of several chapters he moreover supplies a useful chrono- logical summary of the events therein dealt with. Especially full are Dr Banerji's chapters on Huma- yun's dealings with Sultan Bahadur of Gujrat, and here he has had at his disposal a number of texts which were not known (or available) to Erskine or Bayley when they wrote on this subject. The details of the great battles of Chausa (1539) and Qanauj (1540) are well put together and are accompanied by carefully prepared sketch plans illustrating the progress of the fights. I have not yet had the opportunity of seeing more than the proofs of this volume, but I feel sure that the bibliography will be found complete and if, when the book is finished, the index is up to the standard of the text, students will have a really comprehensive work of reference for this important period. In conclusion I wish to congratulate Dr Banerji on what he has already achieved and to say how much I look forward to the appearance of this volume. E. DENISON Ross LONDON 28 December 1937 PREFACE This book on Humayun Badshah has grown out of the thesis approved by London University in 1925 for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. I have utilized these thirteen years to recast the entire thing. The original six chapters have been expanded into twenty; faulty or un- tenable reasoning has been omitted; useless details have been excised; and the conclusions re-sifted. This volume deals, primarily, with three great men of the period: Humayun the Mughal, Sher Shah the Afghan, and Bahadur the Gujrati. Besides dealing with their political achievements, I have attempted to assess their contributions to Culture and Administration. Humayun 's noble mission in founding Din-panah, Sher Shah's lofty ideals of government, and Bahadur's solici- tude for the well-being of the Gujratis, provide a set-off to the narrative of their political exploits or their selfish schemes against one another. I have also indicated the political relationship of a Muslim king to his Muslim or non-Muslim neighbours. New light has been thrown on several controversial questions: the succession question after Babur's death; Humayun's relation with his rival, Mahdi Khwdja, and the Khalifa, Babur's minister; Kamran's occupation of the Punjab and his relations with Humayun; the strategic importance of Humayun's march to Gwalior, to Sarang- pur, to Ujjain, and to Mandasor; Sher Khan's behaviour on the battlefield at Dadrah; Humayun's continued neglect of Sher Khan till July, 1537; Humayun's march against Sher Khan to help Mahmud of Bengal; and Sher Khan's occupation of Rohtasgarh, and his behaviour towards the Raja. Without laying claim to finality of views, I may state that my conclusions represent careful evaluation of the data available. viii ( ) I would like to mention the two special features of this book: (i) the brief description of important towns like Chunar, Kalinjar, Gaur, Jaunpur, etc., and (2) at the end of most chapters, a list of principal events with their dates. I have sacrificed manner to matter and have avoided prolixity of language as best I could. I have attempted to spell correctly and mark diactrically every proper name or unfamiliar word. Where there is more than one spelling prevalent, I have selected either Mrs A. Beve- ridge's spelling in the Babur-nama, or that adopted in the Cambridge History of India, Vols, III and IV. In words like Shah Jahan, Jahangir, Jalaluddm, I have adopted the Indian pronunciation and rejected the spellings Jehan or Jelal, prevalent in Iran and hence considered more correct. I have always maintained that the study of the Mughals is not merely of academic interest : it is intensely practical, and, I may add, purposeful. Mughal Culture and Civilization filtered through India's mediaeval society; Mughal art and architecture enriched India's artistic heritage; and Mughal ideas and ideals of government influenced the development of Indian polity. Thus our present, which has its roots buried in its past, bears an unmistakable Mughal impress; and it is the duty of the historian properly to assess the Mughal contribution to the evolution of our national life. In the next volume, I hope to finish the political history of the rest of Humayun's reign, and to take up topics like Humayun's religion, Mughal painting and literature, Mughal art and architec- ture, and the Mughal system of administration. I am deeply indebted to Sir E. Denison Ross, formerly Director of the School of Oriental Studies, London, for making me share in his love for the Mughals, for initiating me into the methods of research, for his affectionate guidance of my work in London, and for helpful discussions on the various problems that arose in the course of study. I cannot adequately express my gratitude to him for contributing an Introduction to this book. It is a melancholy fact that the book could not be published in the lifetime of Sir W. Haig at whose sugges- tion it was thoroughly revised and to whom I was indebted for several valuable suggestions. I owe the two pictures, which are photographs of those preserved in the Alwar State Library, to the patronage of Alwar Durbar. My grateful thanks are due to Major Prior, the Prime Minister, and to my esteemed friend, Mr Babu Prasad, the Customs and Excise Commissioner and Assistant Advisory Minister of the State. I am indebted to the editors of the journals who published several chapters of my book and permitted me to incorporate them in the present work : Indian Culture, Calcutta, The Indian Historical Quarterly, Calcutta, The Journal of Indian History, Madras and The U. P. Historical Society Journal, Allahabad. I must here mention the help I obtained from Mr N. Bose and my pupil, Mr K. Mathur, B.A. (Hons.), M.A., ex-Fellow of Lucknow University, in revising the manu- script. Both of them went patiently through the self- imposed task and many improvements in expression and in the treatment of the subject are due to them. Mr Mathur also read the proofs. My thanks are also due to Dr Radha Kumud Mukherji, M.A., PH.D., P.R.S., Professor of Indian History, University of Lucknow, for his helpful suggestions. I should also like to record the enormous patience shown by the Modern Art Press in dealing with my numerous corrected proofs. But for the manager's interest in its printing, my book would not have been published so early. Lastly, I should like to thank the Oxford University Press for agreeing to be the publishers of my book. S. K. BANERJI The University LUCKNOW January 1938 CONTENTS I HUMAYON, THE PRINCE (1508-30 A. D.) ... I The birth of the prince, its significance his mother, Maham Begam the prince's education study of languages administrative and military training the battle of Panipat a campaign against the eastern Afghans the battle of Khanwah governor of Badakhshan sudden return to Agra stay in Sambhal the prince's illness Babur's illness and death.