Babur

• The fifteenth century was the age of change and empire building in Central and West Asia. From the ruins of Mongol and Timurid empires, three great empires were in the making again.
  • In the north of Trans-Oxiana (present Uzbekistan) were the Uzbeks,
  • in the West it was the Safavid dynasty in Iran and
  • Ottoman Turks in present day Turkey.
• Remarkably, Babur laid the foundation of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. Babur was the founder of the Mughal empire which was established in 1526 after Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi in the first battle of Panipat.
  • Thus a new epoch and a new empire in India began, lasting for nearly three centuries beginning from 1526 to 1857.
  • Six major rulers of this dynasty, Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, known as the “Great Mughals”, left their mark on Indian history.
  • The empire declined after the death of Aurangzeb in 1707.

Babur

• Babur was a descendent of the Mongol Emperor Genghis Khan and Timur, thus a Timurid Prince. Zahir-ud-din Muhammad, known as “Babur” or “Lion,” was born on February 14, 1483, into the Timurid royal dynasty in Andijan, now in Uzbekistan.
  • Babur’s father, Umar Sheikh Mirza, was the Emir of Ferghana, and his mother, Qutlaq Nigar Khanum, was the daughter of Moghuli King Yunus Khan.
  • The last Mongol forebears intermarried with Turkic and Persian people and became assimilated into local culture by the time Babur was born. They had converted to Islam after being greatly influenced by Persia. The majority favoured the mystic Sufi-infused style of Sunni Islam.
• In 1494, the Emir of Ferghana died unexpectedly, and 11-year-old Babur ascended to the throne of Ferghana, a small state in Trans-Oxiana.
• To expand his kingdom, he made several attempts to acquire Samarqand, which had great prestige in the entire Islamic World, from his uncle.
• However, this infighting among the Timurid Princes, ultimately led to the Uzbek Chief, Shaibani Khan overrunning their kingdoms. This forced Babur to move towards Kabul which he conquered in 1504.
• When the Herat province was also overrun by Shaibani Khan, it led to a direct conflict between the Uzbeks and the Safavids as both coveted the Khorasan area (Herat and the surrounding area).
  • In a famous battle in 1510, Shah Ismail, the Shah of Iran, defeated and killed Shaibani Khan. This enabled Babur to become ruler of Samarqand with Iranian help.
  • However soon, the Uzbeks recovered from their defeat and retook Samarqand thus forcing Babur to return to Kabul.
• Finally, Shah Ismail himself was defeated by the Ottoman Sultan in 1514, thus leaving the Uzbeks as the masters of Trans-Oxiana. These developments forced Babur to look towards India.

Conquest of India

• Babur’s conquest of India was influenced by the following factors:
  • Lure of wealth and resources of India:
    • Like countless other invaders from Central Asia, Babur was drawn to India by the lure of fabulous wealth and resources.
      • Since early childhood, Babur had heard stories of the ransacking and plunder of Delhi by his ancestor Timur during the reign of Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq in 1398.
      • After the Delhi massacre, Timur had carried away a vast treasure and many skilful artisans who helped him to consolidate his Asian Empire and beautify his capital.
    • He also annexed some areas in Punjab. When Babur conquered Afghanistan, he felt that he had a legitimate right to these richly endowed areas of Punjab.
  • Meagre resources of Kabul and the ever-present Uzbek threat:
    • Kabul yielded a meagre income as it was not resource-rich like Punjab. With these meagre resources in areas that he ruled (Badakhshan, Qandhar and Kabul), Babur could not provide well for his begs (noblemen) and kinsmen. Moreover, the Uzbek threat was always present on Kabul.
    • So Babur considered India to be a good place of refuge with immense wealth and thus, a suitable base for operations against the Uzbeks.
  • Chaotic political situation in North India:
    • The political situation in northwest India was suitable for Babur’s entry into India as it was chaotic.
    • In the beginning of the sixteenth century, India was a confederacy of a number of small independent states which could easily fall prey to any strong and determined invader.
    • After the death of Sikandar Lodi in 1517, Ibrahim Lodi succeeded him. Ibrahim Lodi’s plan to create a strong, centralised empire had alarmed the Afghan chiefs and the Rajputs. The chief among them were Daulat Khan Lodi, who was governor of Punjab and Rana Sanga, the chief of Rajput confederacy.
      • At various times, they sent embassies to Babur to invite him to India and suggested that he should displace Ibrahim Lodi since he was a tyrant.
      • Finally, in 1525, after multiple attempts, Babur became the master of Punjab.

Battles

• Beginning with the Battle of Panipat in 1526, Babur had fought a couple of battles, which paved the way for establishment of Mughal Empire in India.

First Battle of Panipat (1526)

• In Panipat, near Delhi, a war took place between Babur and the ruler of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi. Babur was a master strategist and battle hardened. He used gun powder in artillery to his great advantage. He strengthened his position by resting one wing of his army in the houses of the city of Panipat and protected the other by means of a ditch filled with branches of trees and a defending wall.
• He created a device called as Ottoman (Rumi) device which was a combination of defence and attack positions. Moreover, Babur had two Ottoman master-gunners, Ustad Ali and Mustafa, in his ranks to operate the artillery attacks.
• At the same time, Ibrahim Lodi was unaware about Babur’s war strategy and his strongly defended position.
• After a week of war, the two extreme wings of Babur’s army attacked Ibrahim’s forces from the side and rear. Babur’s gunners used their guns with good effect from the front. Lodi was caught in between and was attacked from all sides by Babur. Babur gives a huge credit to his bowmen for the victory.
• The battle of Panipat is regarded as one of the decisive battles of Indian history. Its real importance lies in the fact that it opened a new phase in the struggle of domination of North India.
• It broke the back of Lodi power, and brought under Babur’s control the entire area upto Delhi and Agra. The treasures stored by Ibrahim Lodi at Agra relieved Babur from his financial difficulties.