ADVENT OF BABUR

ADVENT OF BABUR
INTRODUCTION
Babur laid the foundation of the Mughal empire after defeating Ibrahim Lodi in the first battle of
Panipat in 1526 AD. It was a much more centralised and strong empire and ruled for a further
period of more than two hundred years. At the height of its power, the Mughal empire stretched
from Afghanistan to Bengal and from Kashmir down to the Tamil region in the south.

Who were the Mughals?

● Mughals were descendants of two great lineages of rulers.
o From their mother’s side they were descendants of Genghis Khan (died 1227), ruler of
the Mongol tribes, China and Central Asia.
o From their father’s side they were the successors of Timur (died 1404), the ruler of Iran,
Iraq and modern-day Turkey.
● Mughals did not like to be called Mughal or Mongol. This was because-
o Genghis Khan’s memory was associated with the massacre of innumerable people.
o It was also linked with the Uzbegs, their Mongol competitors.
● However, the Mughals were proud of their Timurid ancestry, not least of all because their
great ancestor had captured Delhi in 1398.
o They celebrated their genealogy pictorially, each ruler getting a picture made of Timur
and himself.
.
THE GREAT MUGHALS
The Six major rulers of Mughal dynasty were Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan and
Aurangzeb. They were also known as the Great Mughals

BABUR (1526-1530 AD)

● Native Place: Farghana (a small state in Trans-Oxiana).
● Original name: Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur.
● Arrival to India: Babur ascended to the throne at Farghana in 1494 AD at the age of 12.
○ However, due to instability in Central Asia, he lost Farghana and Samarqand to the Uzbek
chief Shaibani Khan.
○ After years of wandering he seized Kabul in 1504 and assumed the title of Badshah.
○ Then, he moved towards India because of its great wealth and to overcome his financial
difficulties.

Major battles faught by Babur

The First Battle ● Babur fought with the Sultan of Delhi Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat. He
of Panipat defeated him and captured Delhi and Agra.
(20 April, 1526 o Dilawar Khan (Son of Daulat Khan, the Govemor of Punjab) and Rana
AD) Sanga had invited Babur to India to displace Lodi.
● After this battle, Babur proclaimed himself as the Emperor of Hindustan.
● Though his soldiers were 12000 only against 40,000 odd soldiers of Lodi,
the organisation of Babur's army was far superior than that of Lodi.
o This was one of the earliest battle in India involving gun powder,
firearms and field artillery.
o Ustad Ali and Mustafa were two Ottoman master gunners whose
services were secured by Babur.
The Battle of ● This battle was fought at Khanwa (40 km away from Agra) between Babur
Khanwa and Rana Sanga of Mewar.

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 ADVENT OF BABUR

(17th March, ● To raise the morals of his soldiers against the army of Rana Sanga, Babur
1527 AD) declared the war as Jihad.
o To demonstrate adherence to Islam, he emptied his wine jars.
● Sanga was defeated and this battle secured the position of Babur in Delhi-
Agra region.
o He conquered number of forts like Gwalior and Dholpur etc. and
annexed large parts of Alwar from Hasan Khan Mewati.
● After his victory against Rana Sanga, Babur assumed the title of ghazi.
Battle of ● In this battle, Medini Rai (Rajput ruler of Malwa) was defeated by Babur
Chanderi and Rajput resistance was completely shattered.
(Malwa, 1529 o Jauhar was performed by Rajput women after this battle and Babur
AD) also stopped his campaigns in this area because of the growing
activities of the Afghans in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Battle of ● This battle was fought against the Afghans under the leadership of
Ghagra Mahmud Lodi (brother of Ibrahim Lodi) near river Ghagra on 6th May,
(Near Bihar, 1529 AD.
1529 AD) o Afghans were completely defeated and Babur entered into a treaty
with Nusrat Shah.
● This was the last battle fought by Babur in which he used his both army
and navy powers.

● Babur was an orthodox Sunni, but he was the follower of Naqshbandiya Sufi Khwaja
Ubaidullah Ahrar.
● Babur was a scholar of Persian and Arabic languages.
o Mubaiyan was invented by him, which was a new style of verse in Persian and he wrote a
Diwan in Turkish.
● Babur was also known as the prince of Autobiography.
o He wrote his autobiography Tuzuk-i-Baburi/ Baburnama in Chaghatai Turkish language, in
which he described the flora and fauna of India.
o During the reign of emperor Akbar, this work was translated into Persian by Mughal
courtier Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan.
o He also wrote Masnavi.
● Babur died in the year 1530AD. After his death, his son Humayun succeeded him.

Problems Left By Babur for Mughal Rule

● Administration had not yet been consolidated.
● Finances were precarious.
● The Afghans and other provincial rulers were trying to expel the Mughals from India like Sher
Khan (powerful Afghan of Bihar) and Bahadur Shah (ruler of Gujarat).
● The Chaghatai nobles did not support him.

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