BABUR

INTRODUCTION Daulat Khan Lodi (A cousin of Sultan Ibrahim)

unsatisfied by the Sultan’s rule, persuaded Zahiruddin Muhammad to invade India and defeat the Sultan. So, at the Great Battle Of Panipat Ibrahim Lodi’s large army was defeated by Babur and a new dynasty was founded by Babur:

THE GREAT MUGHAL DYNASTY

The Battle

of Panipat

EARLY LIFEBabur was born on 14 February 1483 in the town of Andijan in the Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan. He belonged

to the Mongol tribe that also embraced Turkish and Persian. Babur is a Arabic word meaning tiger, the nickname given to him because of his attitude shown in battle. His actual name was Zahiruddin Muhammad, yet he was commonly

known as Babur. Babur is said to have been born, extremely strong and physically fit. He could allegedly carry two men, one on each of his shoulders, and then climb slopes on the run, just for exercise. Legend holds that Babur swam across every major river he encountered. At the age of 11 Babur, succeeded his father, Omar Sheikh Mirza.

BABUR , THE TIGER

The Reign of Babur (1526-1530)

Babur established his empire after defeating Ibrahim Lodi at the Battle of Panipat, the Rajputs under Rana Sanga of Mewar at the battle of Kanwar and the consolidated Afghans chiefs at the banks of river Ghagra. His kingdom extended from Kabul and Kandhahar in the north-west to Bihar in the east and from the Himalayas in the north to Gwalior in the south. However he was not able enjoy the fruits of his hard-earned victories. Still,his rule was a brilliant one and had a great influence on Arts and Architecture in India. However , after only 4 years of his rule he died And his son, Humayun became emperor after him.

Babur’s successor Humayun

Babur’s expansion in India

BABUR’S INTERESTSBabur the Moghul had many interest’s. His memoir’s reflect that he had an interest in reading, society, hunting, nature, politic’s and economics. He had ideas about architecture, administration, and civilizationAlthough Babur ruled only four years, his love of

nature led him to create gardens of great beauty which became an intrinsic part of every Mughal fort, palace and state buildings during the centuries that followed. While alive, Emperor Babur laid out the classical Moghul-style gardens located on a high point in west Kabul which comprised a series of beautiful landscaped hillside terraces

Babur enjoying Hunting

BABUR’S INTERESTS

BABUR’S ACHIEVEMENT’S The achievements of Babur can be stated as follows:

Babur established the Mughal dynasty in India by defeating Ibrahim Lodi, the last Delhi Sultan, bringing an end to the Delhi Sultanate, in the 1st Battle of Panipath in 1526 AD.

In 1527 AD, Babur defeated the Rajput confederacy formed by Rana Sangram Singh of Mewar along with a number of Rajput kingdoms like Marwar, Gwalior, Ajmeer, Ambar, etc. under the leadership of Mahmud Lodi, the brother of Ibrahim Lodi, in the Battle of Khanua.

In 1529 AD, Babur defeated the Eastern Afghans i.e. of Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Orissa, etc., who has formed a powerful alliance with Mahmud Lodi, in the Battle of Gogra. It temporarily weakened the anti-Babur strategies and saved the fledgling Mughal reign.

Due to the conquests of Babur, the Mughal empire extended from Kabul in the west to Gogra in the east, from the Himalayas in the north to Gwalior in the south.

Babur was a great patron of cultural activities, and welcomed poets, authors and littérateurs at his court. He was adept in Arabic, Turkish and Persian, and his autobiography, Tuzuk-i-Baburi, occupies a glorious place in not only the Turkish literature but also in world history.

BABUR’S VICTORIES◦Babur as well as being a brilliant conqueror

and warrior, was also very clever. For example he divided his empire into a brilliant military state. He also used firearms (cannons, matchlock pistols etc) to win numerous numbers of battles

◦FIREARMS USED BY BABUR IN BATTLES

The Battle Of Panipat

In the year 1526, the first Battle of Panipat took place at Panipat, few miles away from Delhi. Babur had only twelve thousands army while the opponent Sultan Ibrahim Lodi; the Sultan of Delhi had a much larger force. Babur was equipped with more advanced weapons, both matchlock men and field cannon, which proved to be very useful against the Afghan cavalry. Like the other Indian rulers Lodi was not also introduced with firearms. Ibrahim Lodi was killed in the battle along with dozens of other Indian chiefs. Babur emerged victorious and occupied Delhi. Then he sent his son Humayun to Agra, the capital of Lodi to capture the Royal palace and the treasure. Shortly after that Babur joined Humayun at Agra, distributed the seized treasures among his followers. Then he ascended the throne of Agra and turned it to his capital. 

The Battle Of Khanua

The very next war there was a battle between Babur and Rajput confederacy at Khanua. The Rajputs were led by Rana Sanga, ruler of the State of Mewar in Rajastan. The Rajput cavalry was huge with eighty thousand soldiers and five hundred armored war elephants while the Mughal force was much smaller in size. But Babur had guns and the cavalry was well practiced with Central Asian tactics, which proved to be very effective against the Rajput. This battle also brought victory to Babur. Rana Sanga and many other renowned Rajput leaders died at battle of Khanua that ended the possibility of resurgence of Rajput power in the north India. In the year 1528 Babur marched to the great bastion of Chanderi, which was the fort of a feudal leader under the Rana of Mewar. The Mughal army attacked the fort and slaughtered many lives there. 

BATTLE OF GHAGRA Although the Rajput menace was removed, there were still the Afghans who had to

be subdued. Mahmud Lodi, a brother of Ibrahim Lodi, had fled and taken refuge in Bihar and established his position there. He had a large army estimated at about one lakh strong. Supported by this army, he went to Banaras and from there to Chunar. When he laid siege to Chunar, Babur sent his own son Askari against Mahmud Lodi and later on himself marched against him.

When the Afghans came to know of the movements of Babur, they raised the siege of the Chunar and withdrew. On his way to Buxar through Allahabad, Chunar and Banaras, a number of Afghan Chiefs offered their submission to Babur. Mahmud Lodi had taken refuge in Bengal. Althout h its Ruler Nusrat Shah had assured Babur of his friendship, Babur decided to put an end to ti, Afghan menace, even at the risk of a war and marched towards Bengal. The Battle of Ghagra was fought on 6 May, 1529 and the Afghans were completely defeated. Babur's artillery rendered him great service in his action against the Afghans. The defeat of Ghagra was final so far as the Lodis were concerned. Babur entered into a Treaty with Nusrat Shah by which both the parties agreed to respect each other's sovereignty and Nusrat Shah agreed not to give shelter to the enemies of Babur in future.

It was in this way that "in three battles Babur had reduced Northern India to submission." The rest of his life was spent in organizing the administration of the provinces which formed his new kingdom. His system was purely feudal. He divided his territory into a large number of Jagirs and those were distributed among his officers.

‘THE TIGER’ IN BATTLES

Art’s and ArchitectureMughal Architecture influenced greatly in Babur’s rule.

Mughal architecture under Babur was a beginning of an imperial movement, impressed by local influences. Babur’s elegant and stylish buildings evolved gradually because of the gifted artists in those provinces.

Babur constructed many mosques around India, mostly taken from desecrated Hindu temples. Three of the famous mosques are the Babri Mosque, The Partnipat Mosque and The Jama Masjid.

Babri Mosque: The Babri mosque was built in Ayodhya, a city in Faizabad. It was constructed in 1527. The Mosque was also called Masjid-i-Janmasthan which means City Of The Birthplace. The Babri Mosque was one of the largest mosques in Uttar Padesh. he Babri Masjid was a large

imposing structure with three domes, one central and two secondary. It is surrounded by two high walls, running parallel to each other and enclosing a large central courtyard with a deep well, which was known for its cold and sweet water. On the high entrance of the domed structure are fixed two stone tablets which bear two inscriptions in Persian declaring that this structure was built by one Mir Baqi on the orders of Babur. The walls of the Babri Mosque are made of

coarse-grained whitish sandstone blocks, rectangular in shape, while the domes are made of thin and small burnt bricks. Both these structural ingredients are plastered with thick chunam paste mixed with coarse sand. It was destroyed in 1992 in a riot by a political rally.

Bagh-e-Babur: The Gardens of Babur locally called Bagh-e-Babur is a historic park in Kabul, Afghanistan, and also the last resting-place of the first Mughal emperor Babur. The gardens are thought to have been developed around 1528 AD. The site of Bagh e Babur is thought to be that of the "paradise.” It is one of several gardens that Babur had laid out for recreation and pleasure during his life, while choosing this site as his last restingplace. Initially buried in Agra, Babur's body was laid to rest in the 1540s in the garden.

Babur’s tomb inside the garden

Panipat Mosque:The mosque that Babur himself provided is located in

Panipat, presently laced in Karnal District of Haryana State. Inscriptions indicate that the mosque was not set of well into motion. The structure of the mosque is now gone, and the location was not found, until later. The mosque has a rectangular prayer chamber which is dominated by a large central dome. The northwest and the southwest corners of the mosque were marked by octagonal towers crowned by domed pavilions,

although only one survives. It was completed

in 1528 by Babur.

BABUR THE

WARRIOR

THE BABURNAMA The main source for Babur's biography is a written account of his

life, written by Babur himself. His memoirs are known as the Baburnama and are considered the first true autobiography in Islamic literature. He wrote the Bāburnāma in Chaghatai Turkic, his mother-tongue, though his prose was highly Persianized in its sentence structure, morphology, and vocabulary.[4] The work gives a valuable impression of Babur's surrounding environment.[9]

I have not written all this to complain: I have simply written the truth. I do not intend by what I have written to compliment myself: I have simply set down exactly what happened. Since I have made it a point in this history to write the truth of every matter and to set down no more than the reality of every event, as a consequence I have reported every good and evil I have seen of father and brother and set down the actuality of every fault and virtue of relative and stranger. May the reader excuse me; may the listener take me not to task.

THINGS BABUR WROTE IN THE BABURNAMAHe is said to have created several pillars and pyramids of skulls  Babur is frank and open, but tends to describe actions rather than motivations. The Baburnama does, however, extend far beyond the military and political history summarised above. Babur includes descriptions of many of the

places he visits and is interested in flora and fauna and techniques of hunting, fishing, and agriculture; there are also set-piece geographical overviews of Fergana, Transoxiana, and the area around Kabul, as well

as a twenty page description of Hindustan. And on a few occasions he describes events at a distance, outside his own direct experience Babur writes extensively about people, including personal followers he wants to honour as well as more prominent figures. 

Babur nama was an action-packed and colourful book

Babur’s expedition to Uzabekistan

Babur in Andijan Babur visiting Hindustan

Babur enjoying feast at Herat

Babur and his companions warming

BABUR’S WEAKNESSESBabur the emperor did not have many

weaknesses except that he was a strong addict of alchohol and opium like his ancestors. Later, when Babur became very ill and was on his deathbed many historians think that he became ill because of taking too much opium. Babur did not have any political nor religious weaknesses either.

Babur’s Defeat’sThe Battle Of Kul-i-Malik:The battle of Kul-i-Malik (May 1512) was a defeat

for Babur that forced him to abandon Samarkand. The details of the battle are sadly obscure. It took place during one of a number of gaps in Babur's own memoirs, so his account is missing. . Babur was forced to abandon Tamerlane's city for the third and final time, and flee to Hisar. His supports attempted to hold out in Tashkent and Sairam, although both places eventually fell to the Uzbeks. Babur was able to hold on to Hisar for long enough for a Persian army to reach him, but after this army was defeated at Ghaj-davan on 12 November 1512 Babur was forced to return to his Afghan kingdom.

BABUR’S DEATH After Babur fell seriously ill, Humayun was told of a plot by the senior nobles of Babur's court to bypass the leader's sons and appoint Mahdi Khwaja, Babur's sister's husband, as his succe- BABURS TOMB

ssor. He rushed to Agra and arrived there to see his father was well enough again, although Mahdi Khwaja had lost all hope of becoming ruler after arrogantly exceeding his authority during Babur's illness. Upon his arrival in Agra it was Humayun himself who fell ill, and was close to dying.

Babur is said to have circled the sick-bed, crying to God to take his life and not his son's. The traditions that follow this tell that Babur soon fell ill with a fever and Humayun began to get better again. His last words apparently being to his son, Humayun, "Do nothing against your brothers, even though they may deserve it."

He died at the age of 47 on January 5 [O.S. 26 December 1530] 1531, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Humayun. Though he wished to be buried in his favourite garden in Kabul, a city he had always loved, he was first buried in a Mausoleum in the capital city of Agra. Roughly nine years later his wishes were fulfilled by Sher Shah Suri and Babur was buried inBagh-e Babur (Babur Gardens) in Kabul, Afghanistan. The inscription on his tomb reads (in Persian):

If there is a paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this! Babur is considered a national hero in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and is held in

high esteem in Afghanistan where he is buried. In October 2005 the Pakistan military developed the Babur (cruise missile), named in honour of him.

Babur’s tomb and location

Babur’s tomb inside the Bagh-e-Babur Babur’s grave

Babur’s tomb is inside the Gardens of Babur Babur died and his son Humayun was enthroned

Downfall Of The Mughal Dynasty After Emperor Aurangzeb's death in 1707, the empire fell into succession

crisis. Barring Muhammad Shah, none of the Mughal emperors could hold on to power for a decade. In the 18th century, the Empire suffered the depredations of invaders like Nadir Shah of Persia andAhmed Shah Abdali of Afghanistan, who repeatedly sacked Delhi, the Mughal capital. Most of the empire's territories in India passed to the Marathas, Nawabs , and Nizams by c. 1750. The Mughal Emperors lost effective power in favor of the British after the Battle of Buxar in 1764. In 1804, the ineffective Shah Alam II formally accepted the protection of the British East India Company. The company had already begun to refer to the weakened emperor as "King of Delhi", rather than "Emperor of India". The once glorious and mighty Mughal army was disbanded in 1805 by the British; only the guards of the Red Fort were spared to serve with the King of Delhi, which avoided the uncomfortable implication that British sovereignty was outranked by the Indian monarch. Nonetheless, for a few decades afterward the British East India Company continued to rule the areas under its control as the nominal servants of the emperor and in his name. After the Revolt of 1857, even these courtesies were disposed. The rebels declared their allegiance to Shah Alam's descendant, Bahadur Shah II which led to a protracted Siege of Delhi, after which the victorious British abolished the institution altogether with transfer of authority to the British crown. The last Mughal emperor was deposed and exiled to Burma, where he died in 1862.

British Soldiers looting Qaisar Bagh Decline Of Mughal Era

END OF MUGHAL ERA

Bahadur Shah Zafar 2 surrending to Britishs Bahadur Shah Zafar 2

EXTRA’S