Babur
Babur (Persian pronunciation: [bɑː.buɾ]; 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. He was also given the posthumous name of Firdaws Makani ('Dwelling in Paradise').
| Babur | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghazi | |||||||||
Idealized portrait of Babur, early 17th century | |||||||||
| Mughal Emperor (Padishah) | |||||||||
| Reign | 20 April 1526 – 26 December 1530 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Ibrahim Lodhi (as sultan of Delhi) | ||||||||
| Successor | Humayun | ||||||||
| Amir of Kabul | |||||||||
| Reign | 1504–1526 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Mukin Begh | ||||||||
| Successor | Himself as the Mughal Emperor | ||||||||
| Amir of Ferghana | |||||||||
| Reign | 1494–1497 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Umar Sheikh Mirza | ||||||||
| Born | 14 February 1483 Andijan, Timurid Empire | ||||||||
| Died | 26 December 1530 (aged 47) Agra, Mughal Empire | ||||||||
| Burial | Gardens of Babur, Kabul, Afghanistan | ||||||||
| Consort |
Maham Begum
(m. 1506) | ||||||||
| Wives more... | Zainab Sultan Begum
(m. 1504; died 1506)Masuma Sultan Begum
(m. 1507; died 1509) | ||||||||
| Issue more... |
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| House | House of Babur | ||||||||
| Dynasty | Timurid dynasty | ||||||||
| Father | Umar Shaikh Mirza II | ||||||||
| Mother | Qutlugh Nigar Khanum | ||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||
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. 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 aspirations of becoming the major power in North India. Sanga unified several Rajput clans for the first time after Prithviraj Chauhan and advanced on Babur with a grand coalition of 100,000 Rajputs, engaging Babur in the Battle of Khanwa. Babur arrived at Kanwah with less than 10,000 soldiers. Nonetheless, Sanga suffered a major defeat due to Babur's skilful troop positioning and use of gunpowder, specifically matchlocks and small cannons.
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.
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. 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. His religious and philosophical stances are characterized as humanistic.
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. 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.