page_title: Humayun
section_title: Restoration of the Mughal Empire
hierarchical_section_title: Humayun / Restoration of the Mughal Empire
caption_attribution_description: English: Indian and Himalayan Art Humayun Receives the Head of Qaracha Khan Page from the dispersed manuscript of the first Akbarnama (Narrative of the Emperor Akbar) by Abu'l Fazl Made in Lahore, Punjab Province, Pakistan, Asia c. 1590 Ascribed to Burah, Indian, active 1580 - 1590. Faces ascribed to Miskin, India, active 1582 - 1596. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper 14 1/2 x 10 1/16 inches (36.8 x 25.6 cm) Currently not on view 1947-49-1 Purchased with the George W. B. Taylor Fund, 1947 Label This page, from the first of several illustrated copies of the Akbarnama commissioned by the Emperor Akbar, reveals how artists in the imperial Mughal workshop blended indigenous Indian and Persian painting traditions. Indian features include the use of bold colors, dramatic poses, and substantial bodies. Persian characteristics include the modulated colors, fleshlike rocks, forward-tilting picture plane, and faces in smooth three-quarter profile. Rather than being placed as a caption at the top or back of the page, as in works done for Hindu patrons of the time, the rectangle of text is placed in the middle of the composition following Persian tradition.
context_page_description: Nasir-ud-Din Muḥammad, better known by his regnal name, Humayun, was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern India, and Bangladesh from 1530–1540 and again from 1555–1556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early but regained it with the aid of the Safavid dynasty of Persia, with additional territory. At the time of his death in 1556, the Mughal Empire spanned almost one million square kilometres.
  In December 1530, Humayun succeeded his father to the throne of Delhi as ruler of the Mughal territories in the Indian subcontinent. Humayun was an inexperienced ruler when he came to power, at the age of 22. His half-brother Kamran Mirza inherited Kabul and Kandahar, the northernmost parts of their father's empire. Kamran was to become a bitter rival of Humayun.
  Humayun lost Mughal territories to Sher Shah Suri, but regained them 15 years later with Safavid aid. Humayun's return from Persia was accompanied by a large retinue of Persian noblemen and signalled an important change in Mughal court culture.
context_section_description: Sher Shah Suri had died in 1545; his son and successor Islam Shah died in 1554. These two deaths left the dynasty reeling and disintegrating. Three rivals for the throne all marched on Delhi, while in many cities leaders tried to stake a claim for independence. This was a perfect opportunity for the Mughals to march back to India.
  The Mughal Emperor Humayun gathered a vast army, which included the Baloch tribes of Leghari. Magsi and Rind, and attempted the challenging task of retaking the throne in Delhi. Humayun placed the army under the leadership of Bairam Khan, a wise move given Humayun's own record of military ineptitude, and it turned out to be prescient as Bairam proved himself a great tactician. At the Battle of Sirhind on 22 June 1555, the armies of Sikandar Shah Suri were decisively defeated and the Mughal Empire was re-established in India.
caption: Humayun receiving the head of his opponent, Qaracha Khan.
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