Hemu

Hemu
King
A statue of Hemu at Panipat in modern Haryana
Reign	7 October 1556-5 November 1556
Coronation	7 October 1556
Predecessor	Akbar
Successor	Akbar
Died	5 November 1556 Panipat, Haryana
Regnal name Vikramaditya
Religion	Hinduism

Hemu (/ˈheɪˌmuː/; also known as Hemu Vikramaditya and Hemchandra Vikramaditya) (died 5 November 1556) was a Hindu Emperor during 1556. Earlier he was the Chief of Army and Prime Minister of Adil Shah Suri of the Suri Dynasty during a period in Indian history when the Mughals and Afghans were vying for power across North India. He fought Afghan rebels across North India from the Punjab to Bengal and the Mughal forces of Akbar and Humayun in Agra and Delhi, winning 22 battles for Adil Shah.

Hemu claimed royal Samrat (emperor) status after defeating Akbar's Mughal forces on 7 October 1556 in the Battle of Delhi and assumed the ancient title of that had been adopted by many Hindu kings in the past. A month later, Hemu was wounded by a chance arrow and captured during the Second Battle of Panipat. Akbar's regent, Bairam Khan beheaded him shortly thereafter.

Contemporary accounts of Hemu's early life are fragmentary, due to his humble background, and often biased, because they were written by Mughal historians such as Bada'uni and Abu'l-Fazl who were employed by Hemu's rival, Akbar. Modern historians differ on his family's ancestral home and caste, and the place and year of his birth. What is generally accepted is that he was born in a Hindu family of limited means, and that he spent his childhood in the town of Rewari, in the Mewat region, south-west of Delhi. Due to his family's financial condition, Hemu at a young age started working as a tradesman, either as a green-grocer or selling saltpetre.