Babur

Babur
Ghazi[1]
Babur
Idealized portrait of Babur, early 17th century
Mughal Emperor (Padishah)
Reign21 April 1526 – 26 December 1530
PredecessorIbrahim Lodhi (as Sultan of Delhi)
SuccessorHumayun
Emir of Kabul
ReignOctober 1504[2] – 21 April 1526
PredecessorMukin Begh
SuccessorHimself as the Mughal Emperor
Emir of Fergana
Reign10 June 1494 – February 1497
PredecessorUmar Shaikh Mirza II
SuccessorJahangir Mirza II
Emir of Samarkand
ReignNovember 1496 – February 1497
PredecessorBaysonqor Mirza
SuccessorAli Mirza
Born(1483-02-14)14 February 1483
Andijan, Timurid Empire
Died26 December 1530(1530-12-26) (aged 47)
Agra, Mughal Empire
Burial
Gardens of Babur, Kabul, Afghanistan
Consort
(m. 1506)
Wives
more...
(m. 1499; div. 1503)
(m. 1504; died 1506)
(m. 1507; died 1509)
(m. 1519)
Issue
more...
Names
Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad Bābur
Posthumous name
Firdaws Makani (Dwelling in Paradise)
HouseHouse of Babur
DynastyTimurid dynasty
FatherUmar Shaikh Mirza II
MotherQutlugh Nigar Khanum
ReligionSunni Islam[3]
SealBabur's signature

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.

  1. ^ Dale, Stephen F. (2018). Babur. p. 154.
  2. ^ Avali, Raghu (17 December 2023). "The Conquest of Kabul (1504)". Indian History for Everyone. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  3. ^ Christine, Isom-Verhaaren (2013). Allies with the Infidel. I.B. Tauris. p. 58.
  4. ^ Baumer, Christoph (2018). The History of Central Asia: The Age of Islam and the Mongols. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 47.
  5. ^ "Ẓahīr-al-Dīn Moḥammad Bābor" at Encyclopædia Iranica
  6. ^ Canfield, Robert L. (1991). Turko-Persia in historical perspective. Cambridge University Press. p. 20. The Mughals-Persianized Turks who invaded from Central Asia and claimed descent from both Timur and Genghis – strengthened the Persianate culture of Muslim India.
  7. ^ Jahangir, Emperor Of Hindustan (1999). The Jahangirnama : memoirs of Jahangir, Emperor of India. Translated by Thackston, W. M. Washington, D.C. : Freer Gallery of Art, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution ; New York : Oxford University Press. p. 6. ISBN 9780195127188.
  8. ^ Gilbert, Marc Jason (2017), South Asia in World History, Oxford University Press, pp. 75–, ISBN 978-0-19-066137-3, archived from the original on 22 September 2023, retrieved 11 June 2021 Quote: "Babur then adroitly gave the Ottomans his promise not to attack them in return for their military aid, which he received in the form of the newest of battlefield inventions, the matchlock gun and cast cannons, as well as instructors to train his men to use them."
  9. ^ Bhatnagar, V. S. (1974). Life and Times of Sawai Jai Singh, 1688–1743. Impex India. p. 6. 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.
  10. ^ Sarda, Har Bilas (1918). Maharana Sanga; the Hindupat, the last great leader of the Rajput race. University of California Libraries. Ajmer, Scottish Mission Industries. pp. 01–03. 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.
  11. ^ Sharma, G. N. (1954). Mewar and the mughal emperors. pp. 8–45. 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.
  12. ^ Chandra, Satish (2005). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part - II. Har-Anand Publications. pp. 25–40. ISBN 978-81-241-1066-9.
  13. ^ Dale, Stephen F. (3 May 2018). Babur. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-47007-0.
  14. ^ Majumdar, R.C.; Raychaudhuri, H.C.; Datta, Kalikinkar (1950). An Advanced History of India (2nd ed.). Macmillan & Company. p. 419. 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
  15. ^ Chaurasia, Radheyshyam (2002). History of Medieval India: From 1000 A.D. to 1707 A.D. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 161. ISBN 978-81-269-0123-4. 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
  16. ^ Wink 2012, p. 27: "The victory of Mughals at khanua can be seen as a landmark event in Mughal conquest of North India as the battle turned out to be more historic and eventful than one fought near Panipat. It made Babur undisputed master of North India while smashing Rajput powers. After the victory at khanua, the centre of Mughal power became Agra instead of Kabul and continue to remain till downfall of the Empire after Aalamgir's death.
  17. ^ Hamès, Constant (1987). "Babur Le Livre de Babur". Archives de sciences sociales des religions. 63 (2): 222–223. Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  18. ^ Babur; Bacqué-Grammont, Jean-Louis; Taha Hussein-Okada, Amina (2022). Le livre de Babur: le Babur-nama de Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur. Série indienne. Paris: les Belles lettres. ISBN 978-2-251-45370-5.
  19. ^ Dale, Stephen Frederic (1990). "Steppe Humanism: The Autobiographical Writings of Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur, 1483–1530". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 22 (1): 37–58. doi:10.1017/S0020743800033171. ISSN 0020-7438. S2CID 161867251.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference Necipoğlu was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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