Brothers at War

Alex Rutherford Brothers at War

Main Characters

Humayun’s family

Babur, Humayun’s father and the first Moghul emperor

Maham, Humayun’s mother and Babur’s favourite wife

Khanzada, Humayun’s aunt, the sister of Babur

Baisanghar, Humayun’s maternal grandfather

Kamran, Humayun’s eldest half-brother

Askari, Humayun’s middle half-brother and full brother of Kamran

Hindal, Humayun’s youngest half-brother

Gulbadan, Humayun’s half-sister and full sister of Hindal

Hamida, Humayun’s wife

Akbar, Humayun’s son

Humayun’s inner circle

Kasim, Humayun’s vizier

Jauhar, Humayun’s attendant and later his comptroller of the household

Baba Yasaval, Humayun’s master-of-horse

Ahmed Khan, Humayun’s chief scout and later governor of Agra

Sharaf, Humayun’s astrologer

Zahid Beg, a senior commander

Salima, Humayun’s favourite concubine

Suleiman Mirza, Humayun’s cousin and general of his cavalry

Maham Anga, Akbar’s wet-nurse

Adham Khan, Akbar’s milk-brother

Nadim Khwaja, one of Humayun’s commanders and Maham

Anga’s husband

Others

Gulrukh, Babur’s wife and mother of Kamran and Askari

Dildar, Babur’s wife and mother of Hindal and Gulbadan

Nizam, a water-carrier

Zainab, Hamida’s waiting woman

Sultana, Moghul concubine of Raja Maldeo

Wazim Pathan, a retired soldier rewarded by Humayun for his courage

Shaikh Ali Akbar, Hindal’s vizier and father of Hamida

Darya, son of Nasir, commander of Humayun’s garrison in Kabul

Mustapha Ergun, Turkish cavalry officer

Hindustan

Sultan Bahadur Shah, ruler of Gujarat

Tartar Khan, member of the previous ruling dynasty, the Lodi, defeated by Humayun’s father Babur, and a claimant to the throne of Hindustan

Sher Shah, an ambitious ruler of humble origins in Bengal

Islam Shah, Sher Shah’s son

Mirza Husain, Sultan of Sind

Raja Maldeo, ruler of Marwar

Tariq Khan, ruler of Ferozepur and vassal of Sher Shah

Adil Shah, Islam Shah’s brother-in-law and a claimant to the throne of Hindustan

Sekunder Shah, cousin of Islam Shah and claimant to the throne of Hindustan

Persians

Shah Tahmasp

Rustum Beg, elderly general and cousin of Shah Tahmasp

Bairam Khan, nobleman, military commander and later Humayun’s khan-i-khanan, commander-in-chief

Humayun’s ancestors

Genghis Khan

Timur, known in the west as Tamburlaine from a corruption of Timur-i-Lang (Timur the Lame)

Ulugh Beg, Timur’s grandson and a famous astronomer

‘If you wish to be king, put brotherly sentiment aside …

This is no brother! This is Your Majesty’s foe!’

From the Humayunnama by Gulbadan, half-sister of Humayun

Part I

Brotherly Love

Chapter 1

Riding the Tiger

The wind was chill. If Humayun closed his eyes he could almost imagine himself back among the pastures and mountains of the Kabul of his boyhood, rather than here on the battlements of Agra. But the short winter was ending. In a few weeks the plains of Hindustan would burn with heat and dust.

Drawing his fur-lined scarlet cloak more tightly around him, Humayun walked slowly along the walls. He had ordered his bodyguards to leave him because he wanted to be alone with his thoughts. Raising his head, he gazed up into clear skies that were splashed with stars. Their intense, jewel-like brightness never failed to fascinate him. It often seemed that everything was written there if only you knew where to look and how to interpret the messages. .

A firm, light footstep from somewhere behind him disturbed him. Humayun turned, wondering which courtier or guard had been rash enough to disobey their emperor’s expressed wish for solitude. His angry gaze fell on a slight, tall figure in purple robes, a thin gauze veil pulled over the lower face, with above it the raisin eyes of his