Humayun Loses Delhi, Then Recovers It With Persian Help
An Afghan rebel drives Babur's son out of India, and fifteen years in exile end in a single decisive campaign
Quick facts
- Delhi lost to
- Sher Shah Suri, within a decade of Panipat
- Humayun's refuge
- Court of Shah Tahmasp, Safavid Iran
- Recovered Delhi and Agra
- 1555, after nearly 17 years
- Died
- 1556, after a fall on his library stairs
- Successor
- Akbar, age 13
What happened
Babur died in 1530, four years after Panipat, having built new gardens and a few buildings in the Persian style but leaving his conquest militarily fragile. His son Humayun succeeded him but, in the V&A's description, lacked his father's determination and military brilliance. Within ten years the Afghan noble Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun's forces and drove him out of Hindustan entirely, taking Delhi and ruling from there himself; Sher Shah's own rule was short, but the V&A notes he instituted an extremely effective administrative system that outlasted him. Humayun fled with a small band of followers to the Safavid court of Shah Tahmasp in Iran. With Safavid backing he retook Kabul from his own brother Kamran, then launched a campaign back into Hindustan, and after nearly 17 years away from his former capital he defeated the remaining Sur forces and regained Delhi and Agra in 1555.
Why it matters
The loss shows how thin Babur's conquest still was at his death: a single capable rival could unseat his heir within a decade. Humayun's recovery, however incomplete his hold once he returned, kept the Mughal line alive and put the empire back in Mughal hands just as his son Akbar was old enough to inherit it; without this second conquest, the dynasty founded at Panipat would have ended within a single generation.
How we know
The V&A's institutional history of Mughal art traces Humayun's exile, Safavid-backed recovery, and death directly from Mughal court chronicles held in its manuscript collection.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Timeline: Mughal Empire · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry.
- Victoria and Albert Museum. The arts of the Mughal Empire · Reputable sourcevam.ac.uk · The domain "vam.ac.uk" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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