Question

What was the main cause of failure of Humayun?
A. he divided his kingdom among his brothers
B. he wrongly estimated the increasing power of Sher Shah
C. he had no good generals in his army
D. he committed mistakes in the battle of Kannauj

Answer 1

Hint: Humayun was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire who ruled over the territories of Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India and Bangladesh from the period of 1530 to 1540. The second reign of Humayun started in 1555 and ended in 1556. Under his rule, the Mughal Empire expanded to almost 1 million square kilometres.

Complete answer: There are several reasons which led to the failure of emperor Humayun. Emperor Humayun lost Mughal territories to Sher Shah Suri but regained it with the help and assistance of the Safavid dynasty of Persia after 15 years. Apart from this the division of the empire among the Humayun brothers weakened the position of the king. One of the biggest mistakes Humayun made was his inability to understand the Afghan King’s power and Shershah deceptive trick. Afghan’s were present in large numbers across North India and were getting united under Shershah. Mughals did not have the support of local rulers and zamindars which made them numerically inferior.
The battle of Kanauj was fought between Humayun and Shershah Suri in 1540. After the defeat of Humayun in the battle of Chausa, he had no army left and asked his brothers to get the support. After getting the support from one of his brothers he fought the Battle of Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh. However, due to several mistakes, Humayun lost the battle and Shershah became ruler of Agra and Delhi.
Therefore, the wrong interpretation of Shershah's proposal made him lose his throne.
Hence, the correct answer is option-B.

Note: Before the battle of Kanauj the two rulers were involved in the battle of Chausa. Sher Shah defeated emperor Humayun in the battle of Chausa in 1539 and assumed the royal title of Farid al-din Shershah.