Days of Adversity

Chapter – 3 (Babur)

An Empire Builder of The Sixteenth Century

• Babur had won Samarkand for the second time, but his troubles were far from over.
• Babur only had 200 men of his veterans and had to rely on the undisciplined town mob for support.
• Outside the city, Shaibani Khan had a force of 5,000-6,000 men, well-trained and well-equipped, eager to retake the city.
• Despite these overwhelming odds, the countryside began to rally to Babur’s side, with regions like Shavdar, Sogd, and neighboring fortresses declaring loyalty to him.
• At the same time, Shaibani Khan’s situation worsened, and he decided to retreat to Bokhara, planning to observe Babur’s progress and strike later.
• Babur knew the difficulty of his position but was determined to hold onto Samarkand.
• Babur saw this as an opportunity to curb Shaibani Khan’s ambition, which posed a threat to the Timurid dynasty.
• Babur called for his wife and mothers to join him, and shortly after, his first child, Fakhruhi-nisa, was born but died six weeks later.
• Babur continued to send embassies to his Timurid kinsmen, asking for help to defeat Shaibani, but his requests were mostly ignored or rejected.
• Only his maternal uncles sent about 400-500 men, and his brother Jahangir sent an additional 200 men.
• In early 1501, Babur decided to take the field despite the lack of substantial support.
• Shaibani had regained ground by taking the forts of Qara-Kul and Dabusi, and Babur hoped that a regular campaign would prompt his kinsmen to join him.
• In April-May 1501, Babur marched out of Samarkand and set up a fortified camp at Bridge-head, preparing for the confrontation.
• Shaibani Khan attempted several night attacks to overwhelm Babur, but despite his numerical superiority, he could not break Babur’s strong position.
• Shaibani’s situation grew desperate, as reinforcements were on the way to Babur’s side, including Baqi Turkhan with 2,000 men and Muhammad Mirza Dughlat with another 2,000.