section_path: Early years
section_name: Early years
paragraph_text: Early years
  
  After Mughal Emperor Humayun was defeated at Chausa (1539) and Kannauj (1540) by the forces of Sher Shah Suri, Humayun fled westward to modern-day Sindh. There, he met and married the 14-year-old Hamida Banu Begum, daughter of Shaikh Ali Akbar Jami, a Persian teacher of Humayun's younger brother Hindal Mirza. Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar was born to them the next year on 25 October 1542 (the fifth day of Rajab, 949 AH) at the Rajput Fortress of Amarkot in Rajputana (in modern-day Sindh), where his parents had been given refuge by the local Hindu ruler Rana Prasad.
  
  During the extended period of Humayun's exile, Akbar was brought up in Kabul by his paternal uncles, Kamran Mirza and Askari Mirza, and aunts, in particular, Kamran Mirza's wife. He spent his youth learning to hunt, run, and fight, and although he never learned to read or write, when he retired in the evening, he would have someone read to him. On 20 November 1551, Humayun's youngest brother, Hindal Mirza, died in a battle against Kamran Mirza's forces. Upon hearing the news of his brother's death, Humayun was overwhelmed with grief.
  
  About the time of nine-year-old Akbar's first appointment as governor of Ghazni, he married Hindal's daughter, Ruqaiya Sultan Begum, his first wife. Humayun gave Akbar command of Hindal's troops and conferred on the imperial couple all of Hindal's wealth. Akbar's marriage to Ruqaiya was solemnised in Jalandhar, Punjab, when they were both 14 years old.
  
  Following chaos over the succession of Sher Shah Suri's son Islam Shah, Humayun reconquered Delhi in 1555, leading an army partly provided by his Persian ally Tahmasp I. A few months later, Humayun died. Akbar's guardian, Bairam Khan, concealed his death to prepare for Akbar's succession. Akbar succeeded Humayun on 14 February 1556, while in the midst of a war against Sikandar Shah to reclaim the Mughal throne. In Kalanaur, Punjab, the 14-year-old Akbar was enthroned by Bairam Khan on a newly constructed platform (which still stands) and was proclaimed Shahanshah (Persian for "King of Kings"). Bairam Khan ruled on his behalf until he came of age.