Babur | |||||||||
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Ghazi[1] | |||||||||
![]() Idealized portrait of Babur, early 17th century | |||||||||
Mughal Emperor (Padishah) | |||||||||
Reign | 21 April 1526 – 26 December 1530 | ||||||||
Predecessor | Ibrahim Lodhi (as sultan of Delhi) | ||||||||
Successor | Humayun | ||||||||
Amir of Kabul | |||||||||
Reign | October 1504[2]–21 April 1526 | ||||||||
Predecessor | Mukin Begh | ||||||||
Successor | Himself as the Mughal Emperor | ||||||||
Amir of Ferghana | |||||||||
Reign | 10 June 1494–1497 | ||||||||
Predecessor | Umar Sheikh Mirza | ||||||||
Born | Andijan, Timurid Empire | 14 February 1483||||||||
Died | 26 December 1530 Agra, Mughal Empire | (aged 47)||||||||
Burial | Gardens of Babur, Kabul, Afghanistan | ||||||||
Consort | |||||||||
Wives more... | |||||||||
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House | House of Babur | ||||||||
Dynasty | Timurid dynasty | ||||||||
Father | Umar Shaikh Mirza II | ||||||||
Mother | Qutlugh Nigar Khanum | ||||||||
Religion | Sunni Islam[3] |
Babur (Persian: [βɑː.βuɾ]; 14 February 1483 – 26 December 1530; born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively.[4][5][6] He was also given the posthumous name of Firdaws Makani ('Dwelling in Paradise').[7]
Born in Andijan in the Fergana Valley (now in Uzbekistan), Babur was the eldest son of Umar Shaikh Mirza II (1456–1494, governor of Fergana from 1469 to 1494) and a great-great-great-grandson of Timur (1336–1405). Babur ascended the throne of Fergana in its capital Akhsikath in 1494 at the age of twelve and faced rebellion. He conquered Samarkand two years later, only to lose Fergana soon after. In his attempt to reconquer Fergana, he lost control of Samarkand. In 1501, his attempt to recapture both the regions failed when the Uzbek prince Muhammad Shaybani defeated him and founded the Khanate of Bukhara.
In 1504, he conquered Kabul, which was under the putative rule of Abdur Razaq Mirza, the infant heir of Ulugh Beg II. Babur formed a partnership with the Safavid emperor Ismail I and reconquered parts of Turkestan, including Samarkand, only to again lose it and the other newly conquered lands to the Shaybanids.
After losing Samarkand for the third time, Babur turned his attention to India and employed aid from the neighbouring Safavid and Ottoman empires.[8] He defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the Sultan of Delhi, at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526 and founded the Mughal Empire. Before the defeat of Lodi at Delhi, the Sultanate of Delhi had been a spent force, long in a state of decline.
The rival adjacent Kingdom of Mewar under the rule of Rana Sanga had become the most powerful native power in North India.[9][10][11][12] Sanga unified several Rajput clans for the first time after Prithviraj Chauhan and advanced on Babur with a grand coalition of 80,000-100,000 Rajputs, engaging Babur in the Battle of Khanwa. Babur arrived at Khanwa with 40,000-50,000 soldiers. Nonetheless, Sanga suffered a major defeat due to Babur's skillful troop positioning and use of gunpowder, specifically matchlocks and small cannons.[13]
The Battle of Khanwa was one of the most decisive battles in Indian history, more so than the First Battle of Panipat, as the defeat of Rana Sanga was a watershed event in the Mughal conquest of North India.[14][15][16]
Religiously, Babur started his life as a staunch Sunni Muslim, but he underwent significant evolution. Babur became more tolerant as he conquered new territories and grew older, allowing other religions to peacefully coexist in his empire and at his court.[17] He also displayed a certain attraction to theology, poetry, geography, history, and biology—disciplines he promoted at his court—earning him a frequent association with representatives of the Timurid Renaissance.[18] His religious and philosophical stances are characterized as humanistic.[19]
Babur married several times. Notable among his children are Humayun, Kamran Mirza, Hindal Mirza, Masuma Sultan Begum, and the author Gulbadan Begum.
Babur died in 1530 in Agra and Humayun succeeded him. Babur was first buried in Agra but, as per his wishes, his remains were moved to Kabul and reburied.[20] He ranks as a national hero in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Many of his poems have become popular folk songs. He wrote the Baburnama in Chaghatai Turkic; it was translated into Persian during the reign (1556–1605) of his grandson, the emperor Akbar.
The Mughals-Persianized Turks who invaded from Central Asia and claimed descent from both Timur and Genghis – strengthened the Persianate culture of Muslim India.
From 1326, Mewar's grand recovery commenced under Lakha, and later under Kumbha and most notably under Sanga, till it became one of the greatest powers in northern India during the first quarter of sixteenth century.
Babur, the founder of the Turk power in India, says in his Memoirs that Rana Sanga was the most powerful sovereign in Hindustan when he invaded it, and that he attained his present high eminence by his own valour and sword. Eighty thousand horse, 7 Rajas of the highest rank, 9 Raos and 104 chieftains bearing the titles of Rawal and Rawat, with 500 war elephants, followed him into the field. The princes of Marwar and Amber (Jodhpur and Jaipur) did him homage, and the Raos of Gwalior, Ajmer, Sikri, Raisen, Kalpi, Chanderi, Boondi, Gagroon, Rampura and Abu served him as tributaries or held of him in chief.
Before describing his early power, it is worthwhile to say a word or two concerning the personality and the previous history of the man (Rana Sanga) who was destined to be the acknowledged leader of Hindu India of the first half of the 16th century.
The battle of khanua was one of the most decisive battles in Indian history certainly more than that of Panipat as Lodhi empire was already crumbling and Mewar had emerged as major power in northern India. Thus, Its at Khanua the fate of India was sealed for next two centuries
The battle of Kanwaha was more important in its result even than the first battle of panipat. While the former made Babur ruler of Delhi alone the later made him King of hindustan. As a result of his success, the Mughal empire was established firmly in India. The sovereignty of India now passed from Rajputs to Mughals
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