Askari Mirza: The Vanguard Hunter
Askari Mirza, The Vanguard Hunter
When people think of the Mughals, they may think of Akbar, or Aurangzeb, or whatever the villain of the day is. I want to highlight some of the interesting complex stories happening in the background. This is Askari, The Vanguard Hunter… Askari Mirza was the second youngest son of Babur. Far down from the traditional "heir and a spare" most Kings kept for succession. That said, he was a loyal son, at a young age, he fought on the front lines.
His father had him at a young age leading the battle of Ghagra. With the Ottoman cannon generals under his command, they dealt a crushing blow to the Lodhi / Bengal Sultanate alliance, allowing the Mughals to dominate the Gangetic Plain. When Babur died Humayun took the throne. However, everyone else seemed unsatisfied with this. Babur had asked Humayun on his death bed to be kind to his brothers, this probably ended up being his initial undoing.
Hindal, the youngest, was the first to rebel, but was eventually brought back in by his mother Dildar. Next Kamran, the second oldest, did not fully rebel... but he did refuse to help when the rest of the brothers were facing down Sher Shah Sur.
Askari stuck by His eldest brother, however, because of Kamran's political games the Mughals were smashed by Sher Shah, and Kamran, sitting comfortably away from the battle lines, refused to give refuge to Humayun. There was no Empire left to Humayun, he was now a man on the run. What else was Askari to do? Well, he may not have let Humayun in, but he did accept Askari and Hindal in with welcome arms. Hindal, refusing to have the khutba read in Kamran's name, was under house arrest…
Askari now knowing the consequences, his first task as a loyal brother to Kamran, was to hunt Humayun... Now retreating through Sindh, an old officer to Humayun, Jan Bahadur, tipped Bairam Khan off of Askari's approaching force. Leaving behind most of what they had, they expedited their retreat towards Qandahar and the Safavid Empire. While he did not capture Humayun, he did escort the infant Akbar and his caretaker party back to Kabul.
This is a mixed blessing, while this was clearly leveraged over Humayun, the child was still safer in the hands of Mughal Zenana, then being at the mercy of other empires. Years went by, and by some miracle Humayun and Bairam Khan convinced the Safavids to lend them 10,000 cavalry in an effort to take back the throne of the Mughal empire. In exchange, Humayun was to give the Safavids Qandahar when it was all said and done.
Defending Qandahar when he got there was Askari. And while a renowned warrior, had been defeated within 2 weeks. Defeated and shackled, he was spared the blinding punishment that was given to Kamran, and was allowed to go on a Hajj. Askari died on the way, as did his brother.
Often these old stories focus on the Kings of these empires, and more over usually focus on the winners. I think these stories are more rich when you get a fuller picture. Askari is one of those supporting narrative arcs that adds flavor to the period. I want people to think more about these fascinating narratives, and something a bit deeper than Mughal good or Mughal bad. Let me know if you enjoyed this story time, I would love to keep doing them if this is something people enjoy!
