Babur
بابر
Founder of the Mughal Empire
Born: 1483 CE, Andijan, Fergana Valley
Died: 1530 CE, Agra
Also known as: Zahir ud-Din Muhammad Babur, Zahiruddin Muhammad, Babar
A descendant of both Timur and Genghis Khan, Babur lost his ancestral kingdom of Fergana as a teenager, fought his way across Central Asia, and ultimately founded the Mughal Empire by defeating the Sultan of Delhi at Panipat in 1526. His memoir, the Baburnama, is one of the great autobiographies in world literature.
Key Accomplishments
- Founded the Mughal Empire by defeating the Delhi Sultanate at Panipat in 1526
- Authored the Baburnama, one of the great autobiographies in world literature
- Pioneered the use of gunpowder tactics on the Indian subcontinent
- Established the Timurid garden tradition in South Asia
The Full Story
Babur was born a prince of the Timurid dynasty in the Fergana Valley of Central Asia. At the age of twelve, he inherited a small kingdom, only to lose it in the turbulent power struggles that followed Timur's empire. For years he fought to reclaim Samarkand, the jewel of his ancestor Timur's legacy, capturing and losing the city multiple times before finally turning his ambitions eastward toward India.
In 1526, with a force of perhaps twelve thousand men equipped with matchlock firearms and field artillery, Babur defeated Sultan Ibrahim Lodi's army of over fifty thousand at the First Battle of Panipat, north of Delhi. His effective use of gunpowder weaponry, combined with brilliant cavalry tactics, established Mughal rule over northern India. A year later, he defeated the Rajput Confederacy under Rana Sanga at the Battle of Khanwa, securing his conquests.
Babur's Baburnama, written in Chaghatai Turkish, is a masterpiece of autobiographical literature. With extraordinary candor, he recorded his victories and defeats, his love of gardens and nature, his assessments of the lands he conquered, and his personal joys and sorrows. His detailed descriptions of Indian flora, fauna, and geography are among the earliest systematic observations by a foreign observer.
Despite founding one of history's greatest empires, Babur never fully adjusted to India, longing for the melons and cool breezes of Central Asia. He died in Agra in 1530 and was eventually buried, as he wished, in Kabul. His dynasty would rule India for over three centuries.
Notable Words
“If there is a paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this.”
- Attributed, on seeing a beautiful garden (widely cited in Mughal literature)
Places
Connected Figures
Notes
Sources
- [1]Wheeler M. Thackston, trans., The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor (Modern Library, 2002)
- [2]Stephen F. Dale, The Garden of the Eight Paradises: Babur and the Culture of Empire in Central Asia, Afghanistan and India (Brill, 2004)
- [3]Abraham Eraly, The Mughal Throne: The Saga of India's Great Emperors (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2003)