Courtesy our high school history lessons, most of us remember Humayun as the ruler who was trounced by Sher Shah Suri in 1539 in Bihar and then had to flee to Iran. However, a group of Humayun fans believe that Humayan was just as glorious a ruler as his son, Akbar. Turning their thoughts into deeds, these Humayun fans have created a Humayun museum in Delhi (near Humayun’s Tomb which as most people know is one the great sights to visit in Delhi). So why is Humayun deemed by his fans to be a great ruler? Antara Baruah gives us a timely blast from the past so that we don’t forget this great Mughal.
Reason 1: “There’s a gap of a little over 20 years between the death of Isa Khan and that of Humayun. But within that short span of time—the second Mughal emperor orchestrated an architectural coup. He amped up the scale and made sure stylistics were different. Humayun’s tomb was a “benchmark”, a paragon of architecture, till the 17th century—when it was replaced by Shah Jahan’s Taj Mahal.”
Reason 2: “Archana Saad Akhtar, programme director at the Aga Khan Trust for Culture…described the emperor as the most “cosmopolitan” of Mughal emperors. As for his travels—he ventured out more than the much-lauded explorer Marco Polo. They weren’t easy either. He had a helmet that once doubled up as a cooking utensil for horse meat.
“Humayun travelled 36,000 kilometres throughout his life. And he brought back influences from the places he visited,” Akhtar said. “He met with miniature painters in Iran, got them to India, and laid the foundation of Mughal miniature paintings.””
Reason 3: “One of the most common perceptions of Humayun is that he was an incompetent military ruler, by and large because he was defeated by Sher Shah Suri. But a section of the museum—peppered with artefacts, such as chain-link helmet replica—is dedicated to his military endeavours. Humayun played a “significant role” in Babur’s military campaigns, and did his bit to stretch the empire—which he extended to Bengal in the east, and Gujarat in the west.”
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