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{{Short description|Physician (hakim) and an official in the service of the Mughal emperor Akbar}}
{{Infobox person
| name =
| image = Portrait of Hakim Humam, c. 1615-20.png
| caption = Portrait of Hakim Humam, c. 1615-20.
| birth_name = Najib al-Din Humayun
| birth_date =
| birth_place = [[Gilan]], [[Safavid Iran]]
| death_date = 30 October 1595
| death_place = [[Mughal Empire]]
| alma_mater =
| known_for = Royal physician to Mughal emperor [[Akbar]]
| title = Humayun Quli
| children =
| relatives = Hakim Abu'l-Fath Gilani (brother)
Hakim Nuru'd-Din Qarari (brother)
Hakim Lutfullah Gilani (brother)
}}
'''Najib al-Din Humayun''' (died 30 October 1595), commonly known as '''Hakim Humam''' or '''Hakim Hamam''', was a physician (''hakim'') and an official in the service of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] emperor [[Akbar]]. A native of [[Gilan]] in present-day Iran, he migrated to present-day India with his brothers to escape [[Safavid]] persecution. He held several positions in Akbar's service, and served as the Mughal ambassador to [[Abdullah Khan II]] of [[Khanate of Bukhara|Bukhara]].

== Early life ==

Hakim Humam was a native of the [[Gilan]] region in present-day Iran. His father ''[[Mawlana]]'' 'Abdu'r Razzaq Gilani was a ''[[Sadr (title)|sadr]]'' known for drawing horoscopes. In 1566-1567, the [[Safavid]] ruler [[Tahmasp I]] imprisoned Gilan's ruler [[Khan Ahmad Khan]]. During this period, 'Abdu'r Razzaq was also imprisoned, and his sons migrated to the Mughal Empire in present-day India.<ref name="SAAR"/>

''Hakim'' Najib al-Din Humam entered the service of the Mughal emperor Akbar, along with his brothers: ''Hakim'' Abu'l-Fath Gilani and ''Hakim'' Nuru'd-Din Qarari, and ''Hakim'' Lutfullah Gilani.<ref name="AB">{{cite book |author=Asoke K. Bagchi |title=Medicine in Medieval India: 11th to 18th Centuries |year=1997 |publisher=Konark |isbn=9788122004687 |page=88,92 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EwHbAAAAMAAJ }}</ref> They were [[Shia Muslims]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi |chapter=The Philosophy of Mulla Sadra and Its Influence on India |editor=Irfan Habib |title=Religion in Indian History |year=2015 |publisher=Tulika |isbn=9789382381549 |page=182 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R_VYDQEACAAJ }}</ref>

== In Akbar's service ==

Humam's real name was '''Humayun''', but when he came to Akbar's court, he called himself '''Humayun Quli''' ("slave of Humayun") out of respect for Akbar's father [[Humayun]]. Later, he changed his name to ''Hakim'' Humam.<ref name="SAAR">{{cite book |author=Saiyid Athar Abbas Rizvi |title=A Socio-Intellectual History of the Isnā 'Asharī Shī'īs in India |volume=2 |year=1986 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal / Ma'rifat |oclc=716001280 |pages=186–190 |url=https://archive.org/details/Intellectualhistoryofindia/A%20Socio-Intellectual%20History%20of%20the%20Isna%20Ashari%20Shi%27is%20in%20India%20Vol2/ }}</ref>

Officially, Humam held the position of ''mir bakawal'' or ''bakawal begi'' (superintendent of the kitchen), and his performance in this role greatly impressed Akbar.<ref name="SAAR"/><ref name="AS_SCW"/> However, he was also known as a [[Persian calligraphy|calligrapher]], connoisseur of poetry, scientist, doctor (''hakim''), and diplomat.<ref name="AS_SCW">{{cite book |editor1=Annemarie Schimmel |editor2=Stuart Cary Welch |title=Anvari's Divan: A Pocket Book for Akbar |year=1983 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |isbn=9780870993312 |page=36 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4pdFXGw_4MsC }}</ref> Akbar appointed him to the board of authors of ''[[Tarikh-i Alfi]]'', a history of the first thousand years of Islam. Humam also held the military rank of ''[[mansabdar]]'' of 600 soldiers.<ref name="SAAR"/>

Around 1588, Akbar sent Humam as an ambassador to [[Abdullah Khan II]] of [[Khanate of Bukhara|Bukhara]]. The letter drafted by [[Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak|Abu'l-Fazl]] on behalf of Akbar introduces Humam as an "asylum of instruction and talent, cream of devoted loyalties, best of our confidants, the skilful Hakim Humam, who is a right-speaking and right-acting man".<ref name="SAAR"/>

== Death and legacy ==

Humam died of [[tuberculosis]] on 30 October 1595, after two months of illness.<ref>{{cite book |author=Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava |title=Akbar the Great: Volume 1 - Political History, 1542-1605 A.D |year=1962 |publisher=Shiva Lal Agarwala |oclc=25699197 |page=403 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gn4bAAAAIAAJ }}</ref> According to [[Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak|Abu'l-Fazl]], he "was endowed with a good countenance, was a jewel of purity, and a sweet-spoken man."<ref name="SAAR"/> Later sources count him among the [[Navaratnas]] or nine prominent courtiers of Akbar.<ref name="GSS">{{cite journal |author=G.S. Sardesai |author-link=Govind Sakharam Sardesai |title=The Nine Gems of Akbar's Court |editor1=Ramananda Chatterjee |editor2=Kedar Nath Chatterji |journal=The Modern Review |volume=74 |issue=1–6 |year=1943 |page=133 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.170937/page/n153/mode/1up?view=theater }}</ref> He is buried at the [[Tomb of the Hakims]] in present-day Pakistan.<ref>{{cite news |author=Shiraz Hassan |title=The tomb where a princess lies |newspaper=Dawn |date=2014-08-31 |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1128954 |access-date=2022-12-16 }}</ref>

Humam's elder son Kamal al-Din, born at [[Fatehpur Sikri]] and better known as ''Hakim'' Hadhiq, gained prominence as a poet and prose-writer.<ref name="AB"/> His other son, ''Hakim'' Khushhal, held the [[mansabdar]] rank of 6000 soldiers, and served as a ''[[Bakhshi (Mughal Empire)|bakhshi]]'' (military paymaster) and ''waqianawis''(court writer) in the [[Deccan]] region.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Radhey Shyam |title=Presidential Address |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=45 |year=1984 |page=272 |jstor=44140205 }}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.rct.uk/collection/1005038-ag/portrait-of-hakim-humam Portrait of Hakim Humam c.1615-20], Royal Collection Trust

[[Category:16th-century Mughal Empire people]]
[[Category:Indian Shia Muslims]]
[[Category:Unani practitioners]]
[[Category:16th-century deaths from tuberculosis]]
[[Category:1595 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Gilan province]]

[[Category:16th-century Iranian medical doctors]]

Hakim Humam - Revision history

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