Born 1508. Died 1556. Also known as Nasin-ud-din Muhammad. Mogul Emperor 1530-1540, and again from 1555-1556. Son of Emperor Babar, founder of the Mughal Empire. Father of Emperor Akbar "the Great".
Following the sudden death of his father, in 1530, Humayun acceded to the throne. Though he was an intelligent man, his rather absent-minded ways rendered him a weak monarch. In 1540, this led to his being deposed by Sher Khan, a sultan from Bengal. Humayun was driven into exile in Persia, at the court of Shah Tahmasp I, and only returned when Sher Khan died, leaving the throne to his son, Islam Shah. Reclaiming his birthright, Humayun was restored to his imperial dignity.
Alas, he did not have long to enjoy his restored glory. In 1556, just one year after his restoration, Humayun died in a fall from the staircase in his library (a most poetic death, to be sure - but perhaps not entirely suitable to a descendant of Genghis Khan). He was succeeded by his young son, Akbar, later to become the greatest of the Mughal Emperors.