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