BABUR (1526-1530)

BABUR (1526-1530)

Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur was descended -in the male line from Timur and in the female line from Chengiz Khan. His family belonged to the Chaghtai section of the Turkish race, but he was commonly known as 'Mughal'. He became the ruler of Farghana in Trans-Oxania at the age of eleven years. Unable to fulfil his desire of recapturing Samarkhand, he conquered Kabul in 1504 and then turned his eyes towards India and attacked it four times. His fifth invasion in 1526 was the decisive one.
Having got the submission of Daulat Khan Lodi and Alam _Khan Lodi, Babur proceeded towards Delhi. Meeting the forces()f1b~him Lodi at Panipat on April 21, 1526, he ­
inflicted a crushing defeat on Ibrahim. The First Battle of Panipat marked the advent of Mughal rule in India. Babur next came to grips with Rana Sanga (Sangram Singh) of Mewar, the most powerful Rajput prince of the time.

Despite a tough show of strength by Rana Sanga, the Battle of Khanua (near Fatehpur Sikri) in March 1527 went in Babur's favour. This weakened the Rajput confederacy and strengthened Babur's position. In 1528, Babur captured the fort of Chanderi, defeating the Rajput ruler, Medini Rai. The backbone of the Rajputs broken, Babur turned to the Afghan chiefs of Bengal and Bihar who were supporting Mahmud Lodi. In the Battle of Ghagra near Patna on May 6, 1529; Babur emerged victorious and concluded a treaty with Nusrat Shah. He next added the fortress of Ranthambhor to his catch.

Babur's success is attributed to the effective use of artillery under Ustad Ali and Mustafa. Though his army was not huge, he was a good general with a keen sense of military strategy and arranged his men to facilitate easy movement from one part of the battle to another. He brought under his hold Punjab, Delhi and the Ganga plains up to Bihar.

Babur died in 1530 and was buried at Arambagh in Agra; later his body was taken to Kabul and buried there. He was, besides being a good general, a cultured and literary man who wrote Persian poetry. His memoirs in Turki Tuzuk-i-Baburi is a valuable work and shows his humane outlook and sensitivity to the beauty of nature.