Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty in India, was the son of Shiekh Umar Mirza, the ruler of Farghana. He was born in A.D. 1483.
Babur was not content with ruling over the small kingdom of Farghana. He attacked Samarkand, but his uncles defeated him. He gathered a small army and and attacked Samarkand again. In his attempt to capture Samarkand, he even lost his own kingdom Farghana.
Thus, he became a wanderer. It was during this Period that he came to Kabul and captured it. He gave up the idea of the conquest of Samarkand. Babur had heard of the rich land called India and remembered his grandfather Timur’s invasion of India. He now plans to divert his attention towards this country. He soon got an opportunity to invade India when Daulat Khan, the governor of Punjab, invited him and promised to help him against Ibrahim Lodi.
The prevailing political condition of India at that time proved to be of great advantage to Babur. Thus, “Babur’s invasion of India was well-timed.”
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The First Battle of Panipat (A.D. 1526):
Babur welcomed Dault Khan’s proposal and marched towards India with an army of 12,000 soldiers. His first encounter in India was with Daulat Khan himself as the latter refused to help Babur against Ibrahim Lodi. This enraged Babur. Daulat Khan was defeated and taken as prisoner.
Next Babur marched towards Delhi. Ibrahim met Babur at the battlefield of Panipat , with a huge army. A fierce battle was fought in A.D. 1526. The battle lasted only for two to three hours and within this short time, Babur defeated the Indian army. Ibrahim himself was killed. This battle sounded the death knell of the Delhi Sultanate. Delhi passed into the hands of Babur, who laid the foundation of the Mughal dynasty.
After this, Babur sent his son Humayun to subdue the Afghans in Agra. Agra was won by him and a huge booty including Kohinoor diamond fell into the hands of the Mughals.
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Although the battle of Panipat made Babur the master of Delhi, he was yet to become the master of India. He had to fight the brave Rajputs and defeat their leader Rana Sanga of Mewar to capture the powerful Rajput state. He arranged his army at Khanua- a place 10 miles from Sikri, in the same fashion as he had done at Panipat. Once again due to his superior generalship and the use of artillery he was able to defeat Rana Sanga. The Rajput confederacy was shattered. Babur now became the master of Hindustan.
After defeating Rana Sanga, Babur proceeded towards Chanderi in Malwa, where the Rajputs had gathered under the leadership of Medini Rao. Babur defeated them and besieged the fort of Chanderi. He then marched against the Lodi Afghans of Bihar and Bengal. He defeated the Afghans and captured the whole of Bihar up to the river Ganga.
Barbur now controlled a vast region including Kabul, Kandhar and Badakshan. Within India, he had acquired the regions of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Malwa and Bihar. Babur died in A.D. 1530 and was buried in Kabul, the place he loved very much.