His eldest son, Houmaioun, who had been the com panion of his victories, and the partaker of his fame, suc ceeded him ; but the short reign of Haber had not allowed time enough to compose the distractions that prevail ed, or to exterminate the seeds of lc:hellion. After hav ing subjugated the valuable provinces of Guzaret and Mal wa on the west, and those of Bengal and Bahar on the cast, the viceroys of which, as it has been stated, had de clared themselves independent of the supreme govern ment, he found himself compelled to abstain from future conquest, and to turn his whole attention to his domestic concerns. The Patans were encouraged to disturb the tranquillity of his kingdom by his own brothers, to whom he had generously offered to give up one half of the em pire. This they refused ; and after twelve years of civil war, and encountering every species of distress and dif ficulty, llonmaioun was obliged to flee for refuge and protection, first towards the Indus, and the Raj poot princes of Ajmeer, and afterwards to the court of Shah Tamash, king of Persia.
In the mean time Shcre, an Afghan chief, ascended the throne of Delhi ; and one of the brothers of the exiled em peror possessed the provinces to the west of the Indus. Shere was a man of extraordinary talents, and a brave and skilful warrior. He built caravansaries for every sect at every stage, from Bengal to the Indus, a distance of 3000 miles ; and planted fruit trees along the road, for the ac commodation of the passengers. lie was the first who established horse-ports in India, for the purposes of gov ernment and commerce. In his reign such was the vigi lance of the police, that travellers rested and slept with their goods in the highways with perfect security. These are proofs of the good qualities which he possessed, and exercised for the improvement and benefit of his country;, but, on the other hand, he was cruel, vindictive, and treach erous. He was killed by the bursting of a shell at the seige of Cheitore, after a reign of five years, A. D. 1545.
lis eldest son Adil succeeded hint ; but this prince was so totally unlit, and so little willing to govern, that, before he was crowned, he resigned his title to Selim his brother. So very unsettled was the state of Ilindostan at this period, that no fewer than five sovereigns appeared on its throne in the course of nine years. In effect, there could not es. ist in the minds of the people any idea of regular and "fix ed government ; for there had been scarcely twelve years in succession during two centuries, that did not furnish some example of successful rebellion. This induced a strong party in ilindostan to invite Houmaioun back. Se cunder, the nephew of Shere, who had assumed the im perial title, and reigned at Agra, made great preparations to resist the invasion ; but Houmaioun, having been as sisted by the king of Persia, and by the troops of several Tartar and Mogul tribes, was too powerful for him. The
battle of Serhind, which was fought in the year 1554, was decisive of the fate of Delhi, and destroyed for ever the Pa tan power. Houmaioun, however, did not long enjoy his crown; for, in consequence of an accident, he died the year subsequent to his victory. He was celebrated for the mild ness and benevolence of his disposition, and not less for his great personal bravery.
He was succeeded by his son Acber, who had been born when he was an exile among the princes of Ajmeer. Ac hes was about fourteen years of age when his father died. The reign of this sovereign is the most prosperous :mil brilliant in the history of the Mahomedan empire of India. Even at the commencement of his reign, he conducted himself with a prudence and dignity rarely found united in so young a person, especially in the difficult circumstances in which he was placed. lie had been left by his fathe• under the special guidance of Byram Khan, who was ap pointed minister during his minority, and who was a inan of great abilities, hut of a boundless ambition and an im perious temper. Acber had the consummate address to ren der his minister's talents solely subservient to the necessi4 ties and advantage of the state ; while at the sante time, ht asserting his own authority on every proper occasion, he restrained the passions of Byram, and placed limits to his ambition. The unsettled state is which the empire had been left, required all the talents and resolution, and occa sionally all the harshness of the minister, and all the bravery and gentleness of the prince, to reduce to any kind of order the discordant materials of which it was composed.
The first act of Acber gave pleasing and satisfactory pre sage of the principles on which he intended to regulate his conduct. He issued orders prohibiting the exaction of the present money, on the accession of the new sovereign, from the farmers, forbidding the pressing of labouring men krg the wars, and permitting all goods to pass from one part of his dominions to another toll free.
The first years of Acher's reign were employed in the reduction of the revolted provinces, from Ajmeer to Ben gal. In this enterprize Byrarn was a principal actor. As soon as these provinces were restored to the empire, Acber endeavoured to preserve them, by a proper choice of go vernors; by wise regulations ; by an unlimited toleration in religious matters ; and by a proper attention to the habits and wishes of the people. The Hindoos still formed the great mass of his subjects ; and the emperor had learnt from past events, that the passive religion and temper of these people would, if left to themselves, never disturb the established government.