Humayun Defeating the Afghans Before Reconquering India — Akbarnama Folio, circa 1590 — Restored Mughal Wall Art

This battle folio from the Akbarnama depicts Emperor Humayun's symbolic triumph in the 1555 reconquest that restored Mughal rule after fifteen years of exile. Painted around 1590 by artists in Akbar's imperial workshop of nearly fifty painters, the composition shows Humayun—identifiable by his golden helmet and red tunic—riding victoriously among the chaos of cavalry combat against Afghan forces. The scene immortalizes the Battle of Sirhind, where Humayun's Iranian-backed forces defeated Sikandar Shah Suri, though Humayun's heroic placement in the thick of battle is symbolic rather than literal; Abu'l Fazl's text tells us the emperor did not personally participate in this engagement.

Son Akbar commissioned this folio to illustrate the beginning of his own biography—a testament to his father's remarkable return from the Persian court with Safavid military aid. Just months after reclaiming Delhi in July 1555, Humayun would die from a library staircase fall, passing the throne to thirteen-year-old Akbar. This painting embodies the fragility and drama of early Mughal sovereignty: a wandering emperor made exile into transformation, absorbing Persian artistic brilliance that would define the Mughal atelier for generations.

This painting is part of Aurah Living's restored Mughal collection — digitally cleaned and color-corrected from archival sources, with the folio's painted inset, decorative hashiya, and original paper margins preserved.

Premium matte paper print, framed in solid wood with a beveled cream mat. Three frame finishes: Black, Red Oak, White. Free shipping in the continental United States.