At a glance
- Roles
- Politician · Patron
- Region
- South Asia
Summary
Khanzada Humayun was the wife of Husain Nizam Shah I of Ahmadnagar; the Tarif-i Husain Shahi praises her virtues alongside his, and she was regent after his death (1565–69). After bitter clashes with Bijapur she grew unpopular, and her son Murtaza, influenced by his tutor, imprisoned her in Shivner fort in 1569. Mark Zebrowski notes that few women held such political power in medieval India. 1
Her images
She appears in six of the twelve Tarif paintings, in an orange sari, sharing the sultan's throne; for the author the paintings are a visual record of her rise and fall — painted in 1565 at the height of her power, her figure scratched out of the court scenes in 1569, probably at her son's order. 2
Connections
- Lived in
- Ahmadnagar (Deccan)
People and things also explored
Abbasid tin-glazed ware· Ahmadnagar painting· Proportional script and the six pens (al-aqlam al-sitta)· Arabesque· Bijapur painting· Broken cursive (New Style)· Deccani painting· Divani script
Sources
- Mark Zebrowski, Deccani Painting (London: Sotheby Publications; Berkeley: University of California Press; New Delhi: Roli Books, 1983) , p. 16
- Mark Zebrowski, Deccani Painting (London: Sotheby Publications; Berkeley: University of California Press; New Delhi: Roli Books, 1983) , p. 17
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Khanzada Humayun (queen of Ahmadnagar)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/khanzada-humayun/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-04.
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