She clearly had an unusual sense of conviction and adherence to her will for a young girl. Hamida Banu Begum made it quite apparent in many conversations that she did not want to marry Humayun. Finally one day, Dildar Begum - after a month-and-a-half of constantly pleading with and cajoling the young Hamida - in an effort to make the argument more pragmatic for an idealistic young girl, put forward a new argument. The argument from Dildar Begum ran as follows: as Hamida would have to marry someone or the other at some point, why not marry an Emperor?
Hamida must have startled Dildar with her blunt reply, “Yes, I shall marry someone,” Hamida said, “but preferably someone whose collar my hand can touch, not someone whose robe’s hem I cannot reach!”
This intrinsic urge for equality and respectability in the royal household made Dildar understand the reason for Hamida Begum’s anxiety. Dildar Begum most likely would then have assured young Hamida of her proposed status - that of the Emperor’s wife, with all the due esteem, prestige and tributes associated with that position. We know, of course, that Hamida agreed in the end.
Humayun, the Mughal emperor who lost it all - and then devoted himself to winning it all back
It was September 1541 when Emperor Humayun finally looked up his astrolabe to identify an auspicious hour for his wedding with Hamida Banu Begum. Preparations for the occasion commenced. The Emperor bestowed an elaborate alimony of two lakh (200,000) rupees on the bride. Thus, that ancient town of Sindh, Paat, became the venue of an imperial wedding - that of Hamida and Humayun. This was the town in which Hamida Banu Begum was born. It was in the very same town of Paat, many years ago, that Hamida’s parents Ali Akbar Jami and Mah Afroze Begum were also married.
Could it be that Humayun’s dream on the banks of the Ravi was ever narrated to them? We do not know.
Later, Humayun’s estranged brother Kamran Mirza also married a daughter of Shah Hussain Arghun, in Paat. Many generations later, Prince Dara Shikoh (1615-1659) took refuge there, while fleeing from his victorious rival and brother Aurangzeb, in Paat.
The argument from Dildar Begum ran as follows: as Hamida would have to marry someone or the other at some point, why not marry an Emperor?
Three days after his wedding, Humayun embarked on his quest to regain his empire. The Emperor, his army and the newly married Empress sailed up the Indus to attack the fort at Bhakkar again. For several months, Humayun and his army, amidst great hardships, wandered between Bhakkar, Sehwan and Thatta. In the end, Humanyun faced defeat when Yadgar Mirza defected. A trusted commander and a cousin of Humayun, Yadgar was promised Shah Hussain’s other daughter in marriage and a subsequent fiefdom of his own as a bribe.
Humayun’s odyssey continued.
Raja Maldeo of Jodhpur finally extended an offer of help. Humayun was delighted. The journey to Jodhpur, in the desert of Thar, was not just cumbersome but also filled with intense adversity. Food was scarce and water even scarcer. The blistering heat of the desert was unbearable. Inevitably, many people died. Humayun and his hapless entourage continued towards Jodhpur, until Humayun received inside information that the offer of help was a trap set up by his nemesis, the wily Sher Shah Suri at Delhi, to capture the fugitive Mughal emperor. This ordeal at the desert was the most treacherous, since they had been wandering with scant logistics.
Hamida Banu Begum travelling by boat to Agra
Humayun abandoned his army to face Maldeo’s attack. The Emperor and the Empress - who was by then seven months pregnant - and a few others ran for their lives in the desert. Some trusted people stayed back to ward off Raja Maldeo’s attack. They finally succeeded in this rearguard action and joined Humayun and the Empress. For three days they did not find any water. Thirst was tormenting them, people were dying again. Not only did the Emperor and his loyalists need water for themselves, but also for their horses and camels.
The unbearable intensity of the desert heat, and the lack of food and water ended up completely exhausted the Emperor and his people. After three days though, they did find a few wells and were able to continue their journey towards Amarkot (Umarkot).
Absolutely exhausted, haggard and tired, Emperor Humayun with a pregnant Hamida and a shrunken entourage arrived at the Amarkot fort.
Rana Prasad of Amarkot was a Sodha Rajput. His ancestors had ruled over the vast Amarkot jagir (fiefdom) since the 12th century AD – centuries by the time Humayun arrived.
Exhausted, haggard and tired, Emperor Humayun with a pregnant Hamida and a shrunken entourage arrived at the Amarkot fort
Rana Prasad accorded a welcome fit for an Emperor to Humayun. Not only was Humayun given the best of the living quarters in the fort, but the entourage and the Emperor were feted to the best ability of the hospitable Rana. Humayun, of course, was delighted at such a reception. He ordered elaborate costumes and gifts for the Rana and his family. The Mughal party rested and stayed on at the Amarkot Fort.
The fort was built between the 12th and 13th centuries. Here it was that at some point in history, Umar the Soomro king had imprisoned Marvi in the Amarkot Fort. In fact, a few miles away from the fort is Marvi jo Daro. In the 19th century, the British probably executed the then Rana of Amarkot in the same fort.
Shah Hussain Arghun, the ruler of Thatta and Bhakkar, had assassinated the then Rana’s father. Rana Prasad was now eager to support the Emperor and provide troops to attack Thatta.
Almost two months after the Mughals had arrived at Amarkot, Rana Prasad and Emperor Humayun decided to wage a joint attack on Shah Hussain’s capital of Thatta. Hamida’s baby was due very soon: she, of course, could not travel with her husband and stayed on at the fort. Humayun left a trusted courtier in charge of the harem, as he proceeded to try his luck one more time at defeating the Arghun forces.
The party had travelled a mere three to four miles from the Amarkot fort when news came that ‘the Emperor was blessed with a son’. On October 14, 1551, Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar was born under the same alignment of the stars as Humayun had predicted. It was an auspicious time of birth. There were no bounds to Humayun’s happiness. The Emperor had a large piece of musk with him. In those tumultuous times, Emperor Humayun considered this musk to be the most appropriate gift for his courtiers. He broke the piece of musk into several portions and distributed them amongst his party, praying that like the fragrance of the musk, the child’s fame might reach faraway corners of the world.
Of course, this was the child who grew up to be Akbar the Great...
