Page:History of India Vol 3.djvu/301

 DEATH OF HUMAYUN 241 a Rustam." This quotation is sufficient to indicate the influence which Sher Shah exerted during his short sway. His brief but beneficent rule came to an end in 1545, when he was killed at the siege of Kalinjar during a vigorous attempt to subdue the indomitable Rajputs. He left no fit successor to carry on his wise schemes, on which he was still meditating as he lay wounded in his tent. Under his son, Islam Shah, the ancient rival- ries of the Afghans revived, and when Islam Shah died nine years later, everything was in confusion. His son, a boy of twelve, was murdered by his uncle Adil Shah (or Adali), a debauched brute, who left all real power in the hands of his Hindu vizir Himu. Rebellions natu- rally arose. Ibrahim Sur seized Delhi and Agra, and Sikandar Sur, another nephew of Sher Shah, took pos- session of the Panjab, and then drove Ibrahim from his new sovereignty. In the midst of this turmoil Humayun, for once, grasped his opportunity. Descending from Kabul with only fifteen thousand horse in 1555, and seizing the Panjab, he routed Sikandar at Sirhind, drove him to the Himalayas, and took possession of Delhi and Agra. Prince Akbar was sent in pursuit of the fugitive Afghans, while Humayun set about organizing his recovered kingdom. It seemed as if his luck had turned at last. But nothing ever went well for long with this unfortunate monarch. Scarcely had he enjoyed his throne at Delhi for six months when he slipped down the polished steps of his palace, and died in his forty-