Babur

Babur married several times. His first wife was Aisha Sultan Begum, his cousin, the daughter of Sultan Ahmad Mirza. He also married many other women and some of his well-known wives were Zaynab Sultan Begum, Maham Begum, Gulrukh Begum and Dildar Begum. He fathered numerous children through his wives and concubines.

He had deep interests in literature, art, music and gardening, and pursued them at times of relative peace.

He suffered from ill health during the last years of his life and died at the age of 47 on 26 December 1530. He was succeeded by his son, Humayun.

He was born as Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur on 14 February 1483 in the city of Andijan, Andijan Province, Fergana Valley, contemporary Uzbekistan, as the eldest son of Umar Sheikh Mirza, ruler of the Fergana Valley, and his wife Qutlugh Nigar Khanum.

He hailed from the Barlas tribe, which was of Mongol origin and had embraced Turkic and Persian culture. He was fluent in the Chaghatai language, Persian, and the lingua franca of the Timurid elite.

His father Umar Sheikh Mirza died in a freak accident in 1494. Babur, just 11 years old at that time, succeeded his father as the ruler of Fergana. Because of his young age, two of his uncles from the neighboring kingdoms threatened his succession to the throne.

Amidst the relentless attempts by his uncles to snatch away his throne, young Babur received great help from his maternal grandmother, Aisan Daulat Begum in his quest to retain his kingdom.

Babur proved to be an ambitious young man and nurtured a desire to capture the city of Samarkand to the west. He besieged Samarkand in 1497 and eventually gained control over it. He was just 15 at the time of this conquest. However, due to continued rebellions and conflicts, he lost control over Samarkand after just 100 days and also lost Fergana.

He laid siege on Samarkand again in 1501 but was defeated by his most formidable rival, Muhammad Shaybani, khan of the Uzbeks. Unable to attain Samarkand, he then attempted to reclaim Fergana but again met with failure. He somehow escaped with his life and took refuge with hill tribes, living in exile for some time.

He spent the next few years building a strong army and in 1504, he marched into the snow-bound Hindu Kush mountains into Afghanistan. He successfully besieged and conquered Kabul—his first major victory. This helped him to establish a base for his new kingdom.

The First Battle of Panipat was the biggest battle that Babur fought. It started in April 1526 when Babur’s forces invaded the Lodi Empire in north India. This was one of the earliest battles involving gunpowder firearms and field artillery. The battle led to the death of Ibrahim Lodi and resulted in a decisive victory for Babur, enabling him to initiate the establishment of the Mughal Empire.

The Battle of Khanwa, which was fought near the village of Khanwa, was another one of Babur’s major battles. Rajput ruler Rana Sanga considered Babur to be a foreigner and opposed his rule in India. Thus he decided to drive out Babur and extend his own territories by annexing Delhi and Agra. However Rana’s plans failed miserably and his army was crushed by Babur’s forces.