Hemu

Hemu (/ˈheɪˌmuː/; also known as Hemu Vikramaditya and Hemchandra Vikramaditya) (died 5 November 1556) was a Hindu emperor of North India during the 16th century CE, a period when the Mughals and Afghans were vying for power in the region.

Born into a humble family, Hemu rose to become Chief of the Army and Prime Minister to Adil Shah Suri of the Suri Dynasty. He fought Afghan rebels across North India from the Punjab to Bengal and the Mughal forces of Akbar and Humayun in Agra and Delhi, winning 22 consecutive battles.

Hemu acceded to the throne of Delhi on 7 October 1556 after defeating Akbar's Mughal forces in the Battle of Delhi in the Tughlakabad area in Delhi, and became the de facto king assuming the title of Vikramāditya that had been adopted by many Hindu kings since Vedic times. He re-established native Hindu rule (albeit for a short duration of a month) in North India, after over 350 years of Muslim (Turkic and Mughal) rule.

Early life

Contemporary accounts of Hemu's early life are fragmentary, due to his humble background, and often biased, because they were written by Mughal historians such as Bada'uni and Abu'l-Fazl who were employed by Hemu's rival, Akbar. Modern historians differ on his family's ancestral home and caste, and the place and year of his birth. What is generally accepted is that he was born in a Hindu family of limited means, and that he spent his childhood in the town of Rewari, in the Mewat region, south-west of Delhi. Due to his family's financial condition, Hemu at a young age started working as a tradesman, either as a green-grocer or selling saltpetre.