He fought Afghan rebels across North India from Punjab to Bengal and Mughal forces of Humayun and Akbar in Agra and Delhi, winning 22 battles for Adil Shah Suri.

Hemu claimed royal status after defeating Akbar's Mughal forces on 7 October 1556 in the Battle of Delhi and assumed the title of Vikramaditya that many Indian kings had adopted in the past.

A month later, Hemu was wounded by a chance arrow and captured unconscious during the Second Battle of Panipat and was subsequently beheaded by Akbar, who took the title of Ghazi.

Contemporary accounts of Hemu's early life are incomplete due to his humble background and often biased because they were written by Mughal historians such as Bada'uni and Abu'l-Fazl who served in the court of Akbar.

What is generally accepted is that he was born into a Hindu family of limited means and spent his childhood in the town of Rewari southwest of Delhi.

[1] But Hemu threw in his lot with Adil Shah, and his military successes led him to be elevated to the position of Chief Minister and the general supervisor of the state.

[5] Hemu, besides being a competent civil administrator, was also the finest military mind on the Afghan side after the demise of Sher Shah Suri.

While the main army could not be spared due to the belligerent presence of Sikandar Shah Suri, Akbar's regent, Bairam Khan, realising the gravity of the situation, sent his most capable lieutenant, Pir Muhammad Sharwani, to Delhi.

[14] After winning Agra, Hemu, who had set off in pursuit of the city's governor, reached Tughlaqabad, a village just outside Delhi where he ran into Tardi Beg Khan's forces.

The Mughals, while outnumbered, put up a gallant fight against Hemu's forces, which, according to Bada'uni,[4] included 1000 war elephants, 50,000 cavalry, 51 cannons, and 500 falconets.

Imagining victory already gained, many of Tardi Beg's followers dispersed to plunder the enemy camp, and he was left in the field very thinly guarded.

At the impetuous advance of the huge beasts and the dense cavalry behind them, many of the Mughal officers fled away in terror without waiting to offer a defence.

[14] When the previously victorious Mughal vanguard and left wing returned from their pursuit, they realised the day was lost and dispersed without offering a fight.

[8] Other historians describe Hemu's claim to be an attempt to set himself up as an independent ruler,[16] throwing off the yoke of Adil Shah's authority.

[17] Abraham Eraly quotes Ahmad Yadgar[18] who states in his history of the Afghans that Hemu "raised the royal canopy over him, and ordered coin to be struck in his name".

Ali Quli Khan Shaibani, sent ahead with a 10,000-strong cavalry force, chanced upon Hemu's artillery, which was being transported under a weak guard.

Both the wings of the Mughal army had been driven back, and Hemu moved his contingent of war elephants and cavalry forward to crush their centre.

However, this is not attested by contemporary chronicler Muhammad Arif Qandhari who composed the "Tarikh-i-Akbari" states that Akbar followed Bairam Khan's advice and himself beheaded Hemu and took the title of Ghazi.

[33] Hemu's rise from his humble beginnings in Rewari to the assumption of the imperial title of Raja Vikramaditya is considered a notable turning point in history.

But if not for the stray arrow in a battle where he was in a position of strength, Hemu Vikramaditya could have restored a "Sanskritic monarchical tradition" to a region that had been subject to Muslim rule for centuries.

[15] However, given that Hemu's army and administrative base consisted of ethnic Afghans loyal to the 'Sur Dynasty', the feasibility of him retaining the royal status is questioned.

Abu'l-Fazl praises his lofty spirit, courage, and enterprise, wishing that young Akbar or perhaps a wise member of his court had deigned to keep Hemu prisoner rather than executing him in the hope that he could have been persuaded to join Imperial Mughal service where he would surely have distinguished himself.