Student ID: 201904326
B.A (Honours) Islamic Studies – Semester 4
JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA, NEW DELHI
Under supervision of:
Dr Mohd. Umar Farooque
Babur is highly regarded for his “building” one of the great empires of the human history, based on his bold and courageous character. Born in Fergana to Umar Shaykh Mirza on 14 February 1483, he had got a little state in inheritance, but when he died, he left a great empire behind him, that spread from the Jaxartes to the Narmada River. He was a descendant of Taimūr on his father’s side and of Genghis Khan, on that of his mother. His father Umar Shaykh Mirza was the son of Abu Sa’īd Mirza, who was a grandson of Miran Shah, the son of Taimūr.
As I.H Qureshi points out that,
“A Timurid prince, 'Umar Shaykh Mirza, ruler of Fergana, died in 1494, leaving little more than a title to his principality for his son Babur, then eleven years old. Babur had to fight not only to defend Fergana but also to fulfill his ambition of possessing Samarqand because of its prestige as the main city of Central Asia.”1
Despite ruling, rather being a founder of such a great empire, his life was regarded an epitome of generosity, mercy and humanness.2 Stephen Frederic Dale mentions in his “BABUR: Timurid Prince and Mughal Emperor” that “Babur was never at any point in his life a barbarous, pastoral nomadic tribesman. He matured in a civilized urban environment.”3
Delhi before the Mughal Empire
Prior to the establishment of Mughal Empire, there existed the Delhi Sultanate that had been established long ago in 1206. The Delhi Sultanate was ruled subsequently by five dynasties viz. Mamluk dynasty, Khilji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, Sayyid dynasty and the Lodi dynasty. The Sultanate consisted parts of modern day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and partial parts of Nepal. The Lodi dynasty lost the Sultanate to Babur, in the Battle of Panipat, which was fought between Ibrāhīm Lodi and Babur in Panipat, in April 1526, leaving Ibrahim Lodi killed in the field, and the Sultanate being replaced by the Mughal Empire.
Babur’s early works
Going towards the biographical accounts of Babur, we find his father, Umar Shaykh Mirza, a just ruler of Fergana. Farishta records that Mirza died on 4 Ramadan 899 AH, when he was in his dovecote, which collapsed, and he died a freak accident; leaving behind twelve-year Babur to rule the Fergana valley.4
Dale explores that “Not only was the Fergana valley historically, during Babur’s lifetime, a region of sedentary agricultural and urban settlement, but it was in direct and constant contact with the great urban civilizations to the west and east, and it served for nearly two millennia as one of the principal routes for Silk Road commerce.”5
As Babur inherited the governorship of the Fergana valley, his Timurid and Chagatai Mongol relatives did not approve his authority, but they mobilised troops and marched on Andijan with an intention to seize Fergana province and either capture Babur or kill him. Dale writes, and it is evident from Farishta’s Tārīkh that,
“His uncle and father-in-law, Ahmad Mirza, invaded the valley from the southwest, seizing several towns. At roughly the same time, his maternal uncle, Mahmud Khan of Tashkent, entered the valley from the northwest and besieged Akshi, while his distant Mongol kinsman Abu Bakr Dughlat invaded Fergana by crossing the mountains from Xinjiang and occupying Uzgend. The young Babur was able to retain control of the central valley, although he lost a number of small towns in the west.”6
It is related that Babur joined Baisunghar Mirza’s two contending brothers to besiege Samarqand in the fall of 1496 and again, after a winter’s pause, in the spring and summer of 1497, finally entering the beleaguered city in November 1497.7 Farishta records, Babur sat on the throne of Samarqand in Rabi’ al Awwal 903 AH, and granted royal gifts to his old friends.8
I.H Qureshi recalls that Babur did succeed in occupying Samarqand, but only to lose it again. He later occupied Kabul in 1504, which became his headquarters. He lost everything else, including the Fergana valley in struggle.9 Qureshi says,
“The rise of the Ozbegs and the Safavids affected Babur’s career deeply. The Ozbegs were able to extinguish the power of Timurids because they proved incapable of serious and joint effort. The Safavids came into conflict and defeated them. Babur was restored to the kingdom of Samarqand as a vassal of Shah Isma’īl I after the defeat and death of Shaybāni Khan Ozbeg. The Safavids were defeated in the battle of Ghujduwān, and Babur lost all hope of ruling Samarqand, and returned to Kabul in 1512.”10
Towards Founding the Mughal Empire
Indian historian Zafar Dasnawi mentions,
“Ibrahim Lodi became the sultān of Delhi after his father Sikander Lodi, however firstly he started to fight his brother for Jaunpur, and he successfully got it, and later he conquered to Fort of Gwalior. In such conditions, a number of amīrs were accused of plotting against him, and he got them punished. Nonetheless, his governor of Lahore, Dawlat Khān, invited Babur to invade Delhi.11 We know that, Babur had lost everything in his struggle, and was then ruling over Kabul. In such a condition, after Babur felt secure, he turned his mind towards India.
Battle of Panipat
This battle has the historical significance as it laid the foundation of India’s finest and major empire, overthrowing the Lodi dynasty. The battle was fought in Panipat, but it is worth noting that Babur did occupy the Punjab, prior to moving here. IH Qureshi recalls,
“Dawlat Khan, the governor of Lahore, sent messengers to Kabul offering allegiance in return for help. Ibrahim's uncle, 'Alam Khan, also went to Kabul seeking assistance to capture the throne of Delhi. Babur, who had made some incursions into the Punjab before, now marched, ostensibly to help Dawlat Khan, and captured Lahore, Dawlat Khan, finding that Babur had no intention of handing over Lahore to him, turned hostile.”12
Babur controlled Lahore and marched towards Delhi; and Ibrahim Lodi on the next side wasn’t unaware either. He marched towards Panipat alongside a huge army. Babur reached the spot, and the battle dated April 1526.13 Ibrāhīm had a large army, however they were not well equipped and trained as well, and Babur’s army was well-equipped and well-trained, alongside they possessed artillery, and Ibrahim’s army was completely ignorant of it. Babur had a little army of 25,000 whilst Ibrahim’s army numbered 100,000 along with the possession of 1000 elephants.14 With the artillery, Babur managed to disperse Ibrahim’s army scattered, and then attacked them, until the army stopped responding. The Lodi army was defeated and Babur entered Delhi, as a conqueror.15 Farishta writing about the Battle of Panipat mentions,
Babur, after having personally given orders to his generals, and marshaled the troops, took post in the centre of the first line. Ibrahim Lodi drew up his forces in one solid mass, and, according to the practice of the Indians, ordered his cavalry to charge. This attack the Mogul army received so steadily, that the
Indians began to slacken their pace long before they reached the enemy's line. Those divisions which advanced were repulsed; but when they attempted to retreat, they found themselves surrounded; for the two corps in reserve in rear of the Mogul line being ordered to wheel round their flanks, met in the centre, and fell upon the rear of those who had advanced, by which means the Afghans were almost all cut to pieces: 5000 men fell around the person of Ibrahim, who was found among the slain.16
Farishta however records five attacks of Babur on India, in advance of this major battle. The first campaign, he launched in 925 AH, and this campaign proved helpful for him. According to Farishta, on that occasion he marched his army as far as the Indus, to where it is called the Neelab; he overran with his troops all the countries on his route, and crossing the river, advanced to Berah in Punjab. In this province he levied a contribution of 400,000 sharookhies on the inhabitants, instead of permitting his troops to plunder.17 The second campaign dates 926 AH, during which Babur intended to invade Lahore. Farishta records that Babur marched a third time towards India in 926 AH, attacking the Afghans on his
route. On reaching Sialkot the inhabitants submitted, and thus saved their property from plunder: not so the people of Syedpoor, who making a vigorous defense, the garrison was put to the sword, and their families carried into captivity.18 Farishta again records that in the year 930, Babur having augmented his army, advanced through the territory of the Gukkurs, to within six coss of Lahore, where he was opposed by Behar Khan Lodi, Mubarak Khan Lodi, and Bhikun Khan Lohany, Indian officers stationed in the Punjab; but they being defeated with great slaughter, Babur entered Lahore in triumph, when he set fire to the market, a superstitious practice common among the Mongols.19 According to Farishta, Babur marched the fifth time towards India in 932 AH. All this set background to his major battle, the Battle of Panipat, which replaced the Delhi Sultanate by a mighty new empire, named the Mughal Empire. As stated elsewhere, Babur entered Delhi and his eldest son, Humayun, was sent to Agra. Babur's name was read in the khutba as the emperor of Hindustan. Thus was established the Mughal empire.
Other Problems?
Once Babur was successful in setting up the empire, he faced few other issues, subsequently. In 1527, he defeated Rāna Sānga of Chitor in the Battle of Khanwa, who saw in the debacle of the Lodis the opportunity of gaining vast territories. The Rajputs were defeated, and Babur’s victory played a great role in consolidating the Mughal rule in India. Meanwhile, the remnant of the Afghan nobles, elected Ibrāhim’s brother Mahmūd, as the sultān, and as Babur became free from cleaning off the Rajput problem, he turned to Mahmūd, and both met in the decisive battle of Ghagra, in May 1529. Mahmūd was supported by Nusrat Shah of the Sultanate of Bengal. Babur was victorious in this major battle again, and continued consolidating his empire until his death in the year following the Battle of Ghagra. Babur also managed to sign a peace treaty with Nusrat Shah, the king of the Bengal.20
Humayūn’s succession
Babur fell ill in Rajab 936 AH, and died in the next year 937 AH, coinciding 26 December 1530. He appointed Humayun as his successor to the newly established Mughal Empire. His body was departed to Kabul, and re-buried there only in Bagh-e-Babur, first being buried in Agra. According to what history relates, Babur was buried first in Agra, where he remained until 1539, but his remains were later transferred to Kabul as per his wish, where he was buried by 1544.21
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Dasnawi, Sayyid Abu Zafar. Mukḥtasar
Tārīkh-e-Hind. (in Urdu) (1948 ed.).
Azamgarh: Matba Ma’ārif.
2. Muḥammad Saīd al-Haqq. Muḥammad ibn Qāsim
se Aurangzeb Tak (in Urdu) (2019 ed.).
New Delhi: Areeb Publications.
3. Farishta, Muḥammad Qāsim.
Tārikh-e-Farishta. (in Urdu). 1. Translated by
Abdul Hai Khwajah. Deoband: Maktaba Millat.
4. Farishta, M. (2013). BABUR PADSHAH. In J.
Briggs (Trans.), History of the Rise of
the Mahomedan Power in India, till the Year AD 1612 (Cambridge
Library Collection - Perspectives from
the Royal Asiatic Society, pp. 1-69). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
doi:10.1017/CBO9781139506663.002
5. Dale, S. (2018). Babur: Timurid Prince
and Mughal Emperor, 1483–1530.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781316227558
6. Qureshi, I. (1977). INDIA UNDER THE
MUGHALS. In P. Holt, A. Lambton, & B.
Lewis (Eds.), The Cambridge History of Islam (The Cambridge History of
Islam, pp. 35-63). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521219488.004
Foot
Notes
1:
India under the Mughals, p. 35
2:
Muḥammad ibn Qāsim se Aurangzeb tak, p. 238
3:
Babur: A Timurid Prince and Mughal Emperor, p. 27
4:
Tārīkh-e-Farishta, v. 1, p. 562-563
5:
A Timurid Prince and Mughal Emperor, p. 29
6:
Ibid, p. 33
7:
Ibid, p. 37
8:
Tārīkh-e-Farishta, v. 1, p. 566
9:
India under the Mughals, p. 35
10:
ibid
11:
Mukḥtasar Tārīkh-e-Hind, p. 75
12:
India under the Mughals, p. 35
13:
Mukḥtasar Tārīkh-e-Hind, p. 75
14:
India under the Mughals, p. 35-36
15:
Mukḥtasar Tārīkh-e-Hind, p. 75
16:Tārīkh-e-Farishta,
v. 1 , p. 594-595
17:
Ibid, p. 586
18:
Ibid, p. 587
19:
Ibid, p. 588
20:
India under the Mughals, p. 36
21:
Necipoğlu, Gülru (1997), Muqarnas: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the
Islamic World, BRILL, p. 135, ISBN
90-04-10872-6