Subject – History
Topic – Medieval India
Sub topic – Mughal Empire
Topic for this page – Babur
By: Dr. Neha Singh
Introduction –
Babur in his famous book Baburnama tells us about the establishment of Mughal empire in India. He defeated Ibrahim Lodhi in the first battle of Panipat in 1526. He writes,
“Many men like us have taken breath at this spring,
And have passes away in the twinkling of an eye;
We took the world by courage and might,
But we could not take it with us to the grave.”
The word mughals is said to be derived by Mongols. Their ancestral roots are from Turks and Uzbegs. Their lineage is the most successful lineage of Muslim rulers of India. They ruled around 181 years from Babur to Aurangzeb. They have the credit of having an organized and a better administration for the country with supreme authority.
The first half opf the sixteenth century is the evident witness of a new dynasty – the Mughals who moved from central Asia to India. Mughals have left behind a great legacy of administrational structures. They have given the concept of the fusion of Indo-Islamic art, architecture and culture.
Their successor pattern was that of Timurid tradition where the throne was inherited ad shared among brothers. Therefore, all the brothers had a desire to rule the mighty mughal empire. This can be interpreted and inferred as there are many rebellions in the contemporary accounts of historians.
Time line of Mughal empire
The first mughal king was Babur who was followed by Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. After Aurangzeb, mughal rulers were not able to keep their kingdom intact. The failure of Bhadur Shah Zafar lead to the establishment of British rule in India.
| S. No. | Name of the ruler | Time Period |
| 1. | Babur | 1526-1530 |
| 2. | Humayun | 1530-1540 and 1555-56 |
| 3. | Sher Shah | 1540-1555 |
| 4. | Akbar | 1556-1605 |
| 5. | Jahangir | 1605-1627 |
| 6. | Shah Jahan | 1628-1658 |
| 7. | Aurangzeb | 1658-1707 |
Note- Sher Shah was not a mughal ruler, still he managed to give a stable rule for the country.
Babur (1526-1530 Common Era (CE))
- Zahir-ur-din Babur succeeded the throne of Farghana a place in Central Asia in 1494 at a very tender age of 12.
- Babur lost his kingdom to many tribes and they moved to India in search of new lands to conquer.
- Rana Sanga who ruled Mewar and Daulat Khan Lodhi who was the governor of Bengal invited Babur to throw Ibrahim Lodhi from the throne of Delhi.
- The ill disciplinary army of Lodhi was defeated by the small and well trained army of Babur.
- However, he received threats from Rana Sanga of Mewar and the Afghan chief of Bengal, Nusrat Shah.
- He defeated Rana Sanga in Battle of Khanua in 1527.
- The Aghans were defeated in the Battle of Ghagra in 1528.
- He also defeated Rajputs in the battle of Chanderi in 1528.
- After these wars, Babur was able to lay a string and vast foundation of a powerful mughal empire.
- Babur is known for the development of new techniques of warfare.
- He is given the share of effectively using canons in a battle.
- He invaded India five times.
- He died at the age of 48 years in 1536.
- Humayun who was his oldest son became his successor.
Reasons for Babur’s success in the first battle of Panipat
- Babur introduced many new and strong weapons against Indian army.
- He had built a well trained chivalry.
- He had a good and effective war planning. His soldiers were arranged in a way where they can move easily from one place to another.
- The Mughals were the descendants of two great heredities – Gengis Khan and Timur, the famous ruler of Iran.
