Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur: Babur was the founder of the ...€¦ · A few years before the birth of Babur, Umar Sheikh Mirza had transferred his capital from Andijan to Akshi. Umar

Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur:

Babur was the founder of the Mughal

Empire in India. He came from the race

of Mongols which had created havoc

across Asia and Europe a few centuries

ago. He was also related to the family

of Taimur from his mother’s side.

Umar Sheikh Mirza:

Umar Sheikh Mirza was a man of

restless energy. He ruled the northern

part of Marwara-un-Nahar

(Transoxiana). He was not on good

terms with his elder brother, Ahmed

Mirza, the ruler of Samarqand and

Bukhara and brothers-in-law Mahmud

Khan and Ahmed Khan. As long as his

father-in-law, Yunus Khan Mongol

was alive, the rivalries were kept in

control.

When he died in 1487, Ahmed Khan

and Mahmud Khan invaded Farghana

and its capital town of Andijan.

Leaving Babur incharge of capital,

Umar Sheikh Mirza marched to the

town of Akshi where he died on 8 June

1494.

Early Life of Babur:

Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur was the

eldest son of Umar Sheikh Mirza. He

was born in 14 February 1483 in

Andijan.

A few years before the birth of Babur,

Umar Sheikh Mirza had transferred his

capital from Andijan to Akshi.

Umar Sheikh Mirza died on 8 June

1494. Babur memoir says that he fell

off the roof of his house while flying

pigeons and died instantly.

Accession and Early Difficulties:

Thus, Babur ascended the throne of

Farghana at the age of 11. Soon after

his accession, his small principality

came under attack from all sides by his

uncles: Ahmed Mirza and Sultan

Mahmud Khan.

Babur sent a message to his uncle

Ahmed Mirza to the effect that after

the conquest of Farghana, he would

hand it over to someone else; why not,

then entrust the work to him. But the

offer was rejected and it led to war.

But mainly with the support from his

grandmother Aishya Daulat Begum and

with the firmness of his subjects, Babur

was able to ward off these attacks.

Years of Struggle and quest for

Samarqand:

Babur invaded Samarqand in 1497

when he was just 15 years of age. He

was aided in his campaign by a split in

the camp of Timurid ruler Baisanghar

Mirza whose brother had joined Babur.

But his illness and a conspiracy in his

own ranks forced him retreat.

Meanwhile, his begs installed his

younger brother Jahangir Mirza to the

throne of Farghana. Babur was obliged

to abandon the throne of Samarqand

after one hundred day also.

He was not left with only a tract of

Khojend.

When Babur was busy dealing with his

internal problems, Uzbek chief Shaibani

Khan was invited by the Uzbek wife of

Baisanghar Mirza to invade Samarqand

and giving her son land somewhere

else.

Shaibani Khan immediately marched

and captured Bukhara and the entire

region of Marwara-un-Nahar

(Transoxiana). It was in this background

that Babur invaded Samarqand for the

second time in 1501.

Babur captured Samarqand again in

1501 with the help of its citizens but

could not hold it because of the lack of

resources. Uzbek chief Shaibani Khan

defeated Babur in the battle of Sar-i-

Pul (1502). It was in this battle that

Uzbeg chief used Tulghuma (wheeling

military tactics) which Babur adopted

and used against Ibrahim Lodhi in

1526.

Babur and Shaibani Khan agreed to

come to terms and though Babur has

not mentioned it in his autobiography,

one of the terms was the marriage of

Babur’s eldest sister, Khanzada Begum

to Shaibani Khan. Even this marriage

alliance could not bring lasting peace

between the Timurid states and the

Uzbek khanate.

Ultimately, the Mongol Khans decided

to eliminate the Uzbek threat and

marched with a large army to counter

the forces of Shaibani Khan.

But Shaibani Khan defeated the

Mongols in the battle of Archian

(1503).

The defeat of the Mongols established

Uzbek supremacy in Transoxiana.

After Babur’s retreat from Samarqand

in 1501, Shaibani Khan defeated the

ruler of Qunduz, Khusrav Shah and

dispersed his army. Many of his troops

now joined Babur.

Then, he turned his attention towards

east and captured Kabul in 1504. In

1507, he annexed Heart, Kandhar and

Badkshan. Babur book (Babarnama)

says:

“I captured Herat without using my

artillery.”

In 1507, he assumed the title Padshah

which was to be adopted by all the

Mughal Emperors from Humayun to

Bahadur Shah Zafar.

Babur journeyed to Herat at the

invitation of Sultan Hussain Baiqara

and wanted him to join in campaign

against Uzbek chief Shahbani Khan. But

Hussain Baiqara died and Babur’s

journey came to nothing.

Shaibani Khan realized the danger and

invaded the last Timurid state in the

area. Babur adopted the title Padshah

to raise the morale of his kinsmen in

1507.

After the annexation of Khurasan and

Transoxiana, the Uzbek Khanate came

dangerously close to the borders of

Safavid Iran. Shah Ismail Safavi

marched against Shaibani Khan and

defeated him in the battle of Merv in

1510.

It was this defeat of Uzbek that

prompted Babur to invade Samarqand

for the third time in 1510.

The first to adopt the title Sultan was

Mahmud Ghaznavi.

The first to adopt the title Sultan

among the rulers of India was

Shamshuddin Iltutmish.

Babur invaded Samarqand with the

help of a Persian army in 1510 but he

left the city and retreated in 1513. He

captured and lost Samarqand thrice.

Soon after the death of Shaibani Khan,

Babur entered into an alliance with

Shah Ismail Safavi. The river Oxus had

become the de facto border between

the Uzbeks and the Safavids.

Shah Islamil demanded from Babur

that he substitute the Shah’s name in

Khutba. But he was permitted to issue

his own coins in Afghanistan.

But Uzbeks regrouped and defeated

Babur near Bukhara in the battle of

Kul-i-Malik. Babur thus lost

Samarqand in 1513.

Babur biography (Tuzuk-i-Baburi) says:

“Ever since the days I subdued Kabul, I

was bent upon annexing Punjab.”

Babur has written in Babarnama soon

after his conquest of Kabul in 1505, he

marched into India and captured the

town of Jalalabad.

He led five invasions into Punjab.

Invasion of India:

1. First invasion in June 1519 and

annexed Bajaur with the help of

his artillery and Bhera on Jhelum

after defeating Yusafzai tribe.

2. Second invasion in September

1519 and annexed Peshawar. He

sent an ambassador to Delhi who

was detained by Daulat Khan

Lodhi.

3. Third invasion in 1520 and

annexed Sialkot and Sayyidpur. He

met Guru Nanak here.

4. His fourth invasion was against

Punjab as the estranged governor

Daulat Khan Lodhi invited Babur to

invade India. Ibrahim Lodhi had

already defeated Daulat Khan and

drove him away from Punjab.

Babur captured and plundered

Lahore.

5. He was joined by Daulat Khan at

Dipalpur but Babur kept Punjab

for himself and offered Jalandhar

and Sultanpur to Daulat Khan.

Daulat Khan treacherously advised

Babur to divide his army into two

wings But his son Dilawar Khan,

acting against his father’s wishes

informed Babur of his hostile

designs. Babur assigned Sultanpur

to Dilawar Khan, Jalandhar to

Daulat Khan and Dipalpur to Alam

Khan.

6. As soon as Babur’s back was

turned, Daulat Khan defeated

Dilawar Khan and Alam Khan and

seized Sultanpur and Dipalpur.

Alam Khan escaped to Kabul and

entered into a pact with Alam

Khan whereas Babur agreed to

support Alam Khan’s claim to the

throne of Delhi and he would

leave Punjab to Babur.

7. Babur’s financial difficulties

prompted him to invade India. The

main income from Kabul was from

Tamgha on imports and exports.

8. Many Mongol and Timurid begs

and princes had joined Babur soon

after the defeat of Shah Islamil

Safavi at the battle of Chaldiran

(1514).

Babur’s objective in the beginning was

to conquer those parts of India to

which he had laid hereditary claim and

which had been conquered by Taimur.

Babur annexed Lahore, Jalandhar and

Sultanpur. Daulat Khan changed sides

and made peace with Ibrahim Lodhi.

He began to conspire against Babur but

his son Dilawar Khan divulged his

father’s intentions to Babur.

In return, Babur made Dilawar Khan

the governor of Sultanpur. Dilawar

Khan became the first noble to be

bestowed upon the greatest Mughal

title Khan-i-Khana.

9. It was during his fifth invasion that

the first Battle of Panipat was

fought.

Evolution of Babur’s military

techniques:

1. From Uzbeks, he learnt the art of

Tulghuma which consisted in

turning the enemy’s flanks and

charging him simultaneously from

front and rear.

2. From the Afghans and the

Mongols, he learnt the art of

ambush, luring the enemy away to

a place previously marked and

then falling upon him.

3. From the Persians, he learnt the

use of artillery. As A matter of

fact, Babur made use of fire-arms,

not artillery.

4. From Turkish kinsmen, he learnt

the use of mobile cavalry.

5. In 1514, Babur employed master

gunner Ustad Ali and Mustafa.

Factors that led to the Battle:

One day when Babur was a guest of the

head of the village of Dikhkat during his

days of wandering, he heard the story

of Taimur’s invasion of India from 111

years old mother of the village

headman. It was there that he formed

the resolution of repeating the exploits

of Taimur.

1. Several estranged Indian rulers

like Daulat Khan Lodhi, Rana Sanga

and Alam Khan Lodhi invited

Babur to invade India with the

hope that he would return to

Kabul like his predecessors.

2. Both political divisions and

disunity captivated Babur.

3. Babur had no hope in Central Asia.

Ferishta has written:

“Like a King on the chessboard, he kept

moving from one place to another.”

4. Stanley Lane-Poole has written:

“Economic prosperity was an additional

attraction for Babur.”

The First Battle of Panipat:

In November 1525, Babur left Kabul

with a cavalry of 12000 horsemen. On

his way to Delhi, he met feeble

resistance from Daulat Khan Lodhi who

was defeated and arrested.

The first engagement between the

forces of Babur and Ibrahim took place

at Hissar Firoza where Humayun

completely routed Delhi forces under

Hamid Khan.

The armies of Babur and Ibrahim Lodhi

met on the fateful plains of Panipat

that has thrice decided the fate of

India. Contemporary resources say that

Ibrahim Lodhi had an army of around 1

Lakh,

Babur followed the Uzbek tactics of

warfare.

With his advanced guards, he kept 700

wooden carts. They were tied to each

other with rubber belts.

He stationed artillery in the middle

guard which was led by Mustafa.

Reserves were kept in the rear guard.

He dug trenches on the left side and

covered them with branches and grass

so as to conceal them from advancing

armies. Behind it was stationed

infantry.

Cavalry was stationed on the right

hand side.

Babur stationed himself on the top of a

hill to keep an eye on the whole

battlefield.

The Babur book (Tuzuk-i-Baburi) says:

“With divine grace, that mighty task

was made easy for me. Ibrahim’s army

was raised to the ground in less than a

day.”

Causes of Babur’s Success:

1. The most important cause was the

use of artillery. Babur introduced

scientific artillery in India.

2. Babur was a great general.

Ibrahim Lodhi was incapable.

3. Political ambition and disunity of

Indian rulers prevented from

forging a united front against a

common enemy.

Results of the First Battle of Panipat:

1. The Sultanate of Delhi came to an

end.

2. This battle laid the foundations of

the Mughal Empire.

3. This battle laid the foundations of

the great socio-cultural synthesis

in India. Every sphere of the Indian

society from life-style and

literature to religion, food and

social pattern was influenced.

4. This influence reached its

culmination in Akbar’s policy of

Sulh-i-Kul (Universal Peace among

all the faiths).

Soon after the battle, Babur wrote

about Ibrahim Lodhi:

“He was an incapable and

inexperienced young man, careless in

movement. He marched without

order, halted without method and

engaged without foresight.”

The Sequel:

Immediately after the first battle of

Panipat, Akbar dispatched a

detachment under Humayun and

Khwaja Kalan to capture Agra and to

secure the treasure there.

Babur took residence in Ibrahim’s

palace on 10th May 1526. Humayun

welcomed him and presented the

famed Koh-i-noor which was given to

him by the family of the deceased Raja

Vikramjeet of Gwalior.

Babur permitted Ibrahim Lodhi’s

mother to live in a mansion outside

Agra and assigned the revenue of a

Pargana for her expenses.

Babur had distributed so much money

among his soldiers and begs that he

came to be known as a Qalandar.

Challenges after Panipat:

Soon after the death of Ibrahim,

Afghans all around the country began

to rebel against the Central authority.

Qasim Sambhali set himself up as the

ruler of Sambhal, Nizam Khan became

the king of Bayana and Hassan Khan

that of Mewat.

Muhammad Zaitun declared himself

independent in Dholpur, Tatar Khan in

Gwalior, Hussain Khan in Rapri, Qutub

Khan in Etwah and Alam Khan in Kalpi

declared himself independent.

Bahar Khan declared himself

independent ruler of Bihar under the

title Sultan Muhammad.

Campaigns in Mid-Hindustan:

When it became clear that Babur had

chosen to stay in Hindustan, leading

Afghan nobles submitted to him.

Shaikh Guren, Sheikh Bayazid, Mahmud

Khan Lohani and other nobles were

confirmed in their territories.

Babur followed the clever tactics of

dividing unconquered towns and forts

between his begs and sent them with

troops to take possession. Thus,

Humayun captured Sambhal,

Muhammad Ali Jang-Jang Rapri,

Mehndi Khawaja conquered Etawah,

Sultan Muhammad Kanauj and Junaid

Barlas Dholpur.

There remained only two formidable

enemies to be dealt with:

1. Afghans of Awadh

2. Rajputs under Rana Sangram Singh

(Rana Sanga)

Battle of Khanwa (1527)

Babur and Rana Sanga blamed each

other for the breach of trust. Rana

blamed Babur for not returning back

and Babur blamed Babur for not

opening a second front as promised by

him during the first battle of Panipat.

Stanley Lane-Poole has written:

“This battle lay in the logic of history.

Babur understood that without the

destruction of the powerful Rajput chief

of Mewa, he can’t build a lasting

Empire in India.

Contrary, Rana Sanga considered Babur

a strong deterrence in his political

ambitions.”

For the first time in Indian history, a

Rajput king had succeeded in

organizing a confederation of the

Indian kings with the clear intention of

recovering Delhi and Agra from the

Mughals.

There was complete pessimism in the

Mughal camp before the battle. The

Mughal astrologer Muhammad Sherrif

had predicted the complete defeat of

the Mughal armies and the death of all

the soldiers except himself.

To heighten the morale of his forces,

Babur invited him to repeat his

prediction. As he repeat his prediction

for the second time, he was killed by

Babur on the spot.

According to Babur autobiography

book (Tuzuk-i-Baburi), Babur addressed

his soldiers thus:

“Everything in this world is subjected to

decay and death. Only the name of

Allah remains inalterable and

imperishable.”

Babur broke his wine cups and

promised not to touch the wine again if

Allah grants him victory in the battle.

He raised the religious war-cry of Jihad.

Rana Sanga marched on Bayana and

had defeated its governor Mehndi

Khwaja. He was not joined by a number

of powerful chiefs such as Silhadi of

Raisin, Hassan Khan Mewati and

Mahmud Lodhi. Rana had recognized

Mahmud Lodhi as the Sultan of Delhi in

place of Ibrahim Lodhi.

Rushbrook Williams has called the

Afghan Rajput alliance an unholy

alliance.

Babur dispatched Muhammad Sultan

Mirza with a body of light cavalry for

the relief of Bayana and himself began

making preparations for a final

showdown with the Rajputs.

It was in the battle of Khanwa that

Babur declared the war against

Rajputs Jihad.

He abolished Tamgha (stamp duty) for

all the Muslims.

Babur had arranged 1000 gun carts in

one long line and tied them together

by iron chains, not by the ropes of

animal skin as he had done at Panipat.

The artillery was posted behind the

row of carts and was commanded by

Nizam-ud-din Ali Khalifa. Ustad Ali

Quli with his wheeled artillery and

mortars was positioned in the centre

and Mustafa Khan with his swivel

guns and musketeers was stationed in

front of the right wing.

Chin Taimur and Khusrav Kukaltash

were stationed to the right, Humayun

along with Dilawar Khan was

stationed in the rightwing and Mehndi

Khawaja commanded the left wing.

On account of Babur’s artillery and the

treachery of Silhadi who went over to

join the enemy, Rana had to modify

his original plan.

Rana Sanga’s forces were led by 120

Rajput chiefs. He also had a cavalry of

90,000 Rajputs. Till the midday, the

scale of battle was in the favor of

Rajputs. Babur then put his artillery to

work which sealed the fate of Rajputs.

Rana himself was wounded and was

forced to fled the battlefield. He died

in January 1528. Hassan Khan Mewati

died in the battlefield.

Rana Sanga fled the battlefield and

died in 1528.

Stanley Lane-Poole has written:

“The Battle of Khanwa was more

important than the first battle of

Panipat. It consolidated the

foundations of the dynasty and gave a

death blow to Rajput power.”

Battle of Chanderi:

This battle was fought in 1528 against

Medini Rai who had provided shelter to

the Rajputs soon after the battle of

Khanwa. The whole Rajput army of

5000 was cut into pieces.

Battle of Ghaggar:

It was the last battle fought by Babur.

He defeated Mahmud Khan Lodhi, the

Lodhi governor of Bihar.

Soon after his victory at Khanwa,

Babur invaded Mewat and entered its

capital Alwar on 7th April 1527.

Soon after the battle, Humayun was

sent to take charge of Badakshan on

account of his worsening health.

Babur then proceeded against Biban

who had defeated the Mughals in

Awadh and Lucknow. Biban was

defeated and driven into Bengal.

Babur tried to compromise a peace

between Nusrat Shah, the ruler of

Bengal. Nothing came out of it and he

fought a battle with the Sultan of

Bengal on river Ganges on 6th May

1529.The Afghans were defeated and a

compromise was effected between

Babur and Nusrat shah according to

which:

1. Both the sides agreed to respect

the sovereignty of the other.

2. Nusrat Shah agreed not to give

shelter to Babur’s enemies.

Babur’s concept of Kingship:

After the battle of Panipat and

Khanwa, Babur faced no serious

military challenge.

He now decided to establish a unique

theory of kingship. The Afghan theory

of kingship believed in the theory in

which the Monarch was the chief

among the nobles. Such an idea was

unsuitable and was likely to give rise to

troubles.

The title of Sultan did not find favor

with Babur. He accepted the divine

right of kings according to which the

king was the representative of God and

can’t be removed by any earthly

authority.

Death of Babur:

Soon after the battle of Khanwa,

Humayun was instructed to go to his

jagir at Sambhal but he fell ill there.

Babur consulted the famous saint of

the time Abu Baqa who advised him to

seek remedy from God and give away

in charity his most valuable thing.

On 30 December 1530, Babur died in

Agra and was buried there. His body

was extracted later and he was buried

in Ram/Aram Bagh later known as

Babur Bagh, Kabul.

Gulbadan Begum had written in

Humayun Nama that Babur went

around his bed for seven times. He

prayed to exchange his life for his son.

Mughal traditions believe that Babur

died and Humayun survived.

Professor Shri Ram Sharma in an

authoritative article published in

Calcutta Review disbelieves the story of

Babur’s taking away the illness of his

son.

He had proved that Babur fell ill nearly

six months after the recovery of

Humayun.

Babur Autobiography Name and

Significance:

Babur wrote Babarnama/Tuzuk-i-

Baburi in Chagtai Turkish.

In 1590, it was translated for the

first time into Persian by Pandya

Khan and Abdul Rahim Khan-i-

Khana.

In 1826, Erskine and Leyden

translated it into English from

Persian sources.

In 1871, Augnier translated it

into French.

Mrs. Beveridge translated it into

English directly from Turkish source.

Stanley Lane-Poole has written:

“Babur is the prince of autobiographer.

No one except Amir Sher Ali can

complete with him in chaste Turkish

Poetry”

Unfortunately, Babarnama is

incomplete and all the available

versions have gaps (from 1508 to 1519,

1520 to 1525 and from 1529 to 1530)

Babur is also considered as the

inventor of a style of poetry called

Mubaiyan.

His autobiography is not a simple

soldier’s description of marches and

counter-marches, descriptions of mines

and industries but it contains an active

reflection of the most cultured man of

the world history.”

The line of the Mughal dynasty and the

brilliant emperor who had followed

Babur have eclipsed, but this magnum

opus is inalterable and imperishable.

S.R. Sharma has written:

“His autobiography can be compared

to the great works of Rousseau and

Gandhi as it satisfies the basic

touchstone of a good autobiography. It

is a free and frank confession of his

strengths and failures.”

Babur Memoir (Babarnama) says:

“He never celebrated more than two

consecutive Ramzans at a single place.”

This fact is supported by Ferishta who

says that like a king on the chessboard,

he kept moving from one place to

another.

Babur biography book reveals his

fanaticism as he raised twice the cry of

Jihad during the battle of Khanwa and

Chanderi though it might have been

under political compulsions.

His truthfulness and frankness have

been revealed when he called his own

soldiers as deceivers.

Babur book also reveals his political

keenness when he mentions the

powerful Hindu kingdom of Vijaynagar

in the South ruled by Krishan Deva

Raya and the Rajput state of Mewar led

by Rana Sanga.

As a matter of fact, Babarnama should

be read as Babur notes about his life

and the geography as he states:

“The Indians are not handsome to look

at, have no social etiquettes, no social

interaction and they remain half nude.

The males wear dhoti and female wear

lehnga. Even their manufactured

products are not good.”

It seems that Babur was getting

nostalgic about Kabul.

“In India, there were 100 types of

artisans but they are unskilled. There is

abundance of gold and silver but they

have no sense to explore these precious

metals.”

He praised the Indian climate and has

written that it rained 10 to 15 times a

day. Rainbow after the rain provides an

excellent view. India has the richest

flora and fauna in the world.

Stanley Lane-Poole has written that

Babur failed to estimate India because

of two reasons:

1. He lived only for four years in

India and could not appreciate and

understood Indians properly.

2. He might be getting nostalgic

about Kabul.

Babur and Architecture

Babur was a lover of architecture. He

writes:

“I employed 680 stone cutters and

1491 masons to build my palaces in

Agra, Bayana, Dholpur, Gwalior,

Aligarh, Fatehpur and Koli.”

He built three structures in India:

1. Kabuli Bagh Mosque in black

sandstone (Panipat)

2. Sambhal Mosque in UP

3. Baburi Masjid built in 1528 by Mir

Muhammad Baqi in Ayodhya.

In 2019, the Babri verdict of the

Highest Court affirmed that the

disputed plot was the birthplace of lord

Ram Chandra and the Babri Masjid

constructed there was not built

according to the tenents of Islam.

Babur was also a lover of paintings. He

writes:

“I got Mandu characters in my

autobiography painted from Persian

painters.”

He was also a great swimmer:

“One day, I decided to cross river

Ganges which I did with 33 broad

steps.”

Babur was also keen to improve

administrative structure. He was

convinced that excellent

communication was pre-essential for

good governance. He established Dak

Chowkis every 15 miles and placed

good Arabian horses at every chowki to

keep himself in constant

communication with the latest state

developments.

V.A. Smith has written about Babur:

“Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur was the

most brilliant of Asiatic princes. His

personality captivates us. He was a

soldier and the founder of an Empire.”

Rushbrook Williams says:

“Babur laid the foundations of Mughal

Empire as a soldier and not as an

administrator. He was a complete

failure as an administrator. He

distributed land among the feudal lords

and did not make any effort to

consolidate his Empire. He introduced

no judicial and administrative reforms.

Humayun was a worthless successor

and he could not maintain such a

structureless empire.”