Saturday, May 7, 2016

Babur

Babur, 1483-1530, founder of the Mughal Empire of India. Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur also called as Baber or Babar was the conqueror from the Central Asia who, following the serious of setbacks finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty in Indian Subcontinent and became the first Mughal emperor. Babur was the direct descendant of Timur, from the Barlas clan, through his father, and also the descendant of Genghis Khan through his mother. Culturally, he was greatly influenced by the Persian culture and his father, and also the descendant of the Genghis Khan through his mother.
Culturally, he was greatly influenced by the Persian culture and this affected both his own actions and those of his successors, giving rise to the significant expansion of the Persian ethos in the Indian subcontinent.

Though born as Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur, he was commonly known as Babur. He was the eldest son of Umar Sheikh Mirza, through whom he has his ancestral roots to Timur. He ascended the throne of Farghana in 1495 at the age of twelve and faced rebellion from his own relatives. He conquered Samarkhand two years later, only to lose Farghana soon after. In his attempt to re-conquer the city, he lost control of Samarkand. In 1501, his attempt to recapture the cities went in vain as he was defeated by Muhammad Shaybani Khan. In 1504, he conquered Kabul  which was under the rule of the infant heir of Ulugh Begh . Babur formed a partnership with Safavid ruler Ismail I and re-conquered parts of central Asia including Samarkand only to lose again to Uzbeks.

It was only after losing the city for the third time; he drew his attention to create his empire in India. At that time, north India was ruled by Ibrahim Lodi of the Lodi dynasty. In 1524, he got an invitation from his uncle Daulat Khan Lodi to overthrow Ibrahim and establish his rule. Babur then defeated Ibrahim Lodi at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526 to establish the Mughal Empire, which ruled India till 1857. However, he again had to face opposition, this time from Rana Sanga of Mewar who considered Babur as a foreigner. The Rana was defeated at the Battle of Khanwa.

Babur married several times and notable among his sons are Humayun, Kamran Mirza and Hindal Mirza. He died in 1530 and was succeeded by Humayun. According to Babur’s wishes, he was buried in Bagh-e-Babur at the Kabul in Afganisthan.

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