Following Babur's wishes, Humayun divided the empire among his brothers. Into how many parts was the kingdom shared among Humayun and his three brothers?

Following the Timurid custom and Babur's wishes, the empire was shared among Humayun and his three brothers, giving four parts in all, though Humayun remained the emperor.

The division:

• Humayun: the emperor, holding the main territories in India, such as Delhi and Agra.
• Kamran Mirza: Kabul and Qandahar; he later also seized Punjab.
• Askari Mirza: Sambhal (in present-day Uttar Pradesh).
• Hindal Mirza: Alwar (Mewat).

The Timurid custom:

• NCERT notes that the Mughals did not follow the rule of primogeniture (where the eldest son inherits the father's estate).
• Instead, they followed the Timurid custom of dividing the inheritance among all the sons.
• Babur had asked Humayun to treat his brothers kindly.

Problems caused by the division:

• The division weakened Humayun's position, as he did not have full control over the resources of the empire.
• Kamran's control over Kabul and Punjab cut Humayun off from the recruiting grounds of Central Asia and Afghanistan.
• His brothers often did not support him, and sometimes worked against him.
• Kamran in particular was ambitious, and tried to seize power when Humayun was in difficulty.
• After Humayun's defeat by Sher Shah, his brothers refused to help him, and he was forced into exile.

Humayun's other challenges:

• The Afghans in the east, led by Sher Khan.
• Bahadur Shah, the ruler of Gujarat.
• Humayun's own lack of decisive action at important moments.

The fate of the brothers:

• Hindal was killed in 1551 while fighting Kamran.
• Askari was sent to Mecca, where he died.
• Kamran was blinded on Humayun's orders in 1553 and sent to Mecca, where he died.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Two, three and five are incorrect; the kingdom was shared four ways.