Babur – 1st Mughal Emperor – GK

Babur founded the Mughal empire by defeating Ibrahim Lodi in the First Battle of Panipat in 1526 AD. The rulers of the first phase of the Mughal Empire were Babur and Humayun. Shershah’s invasion brought an end to the first phase of this empire.

Notable Facts of Babur:

• The real name of Sultan Babur is Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur.
• He was a native of Fargana of the Turkic Chaghtai clan.
• 1483: He was born on 14th February 1483.
• His father was Omar Sheikh Mirza (descendant of Timur Long.
• His mother was Katlu Nigar Khatun (descendant of Genghis Khan).
• In Persian word, the word Babur means Tiger.
• 1495: He became the ruler of Fergana (now in Uzbekistan) when he was 12 years old.
• Babur’s autobiography is ‘Tuzuk-e-Babri‘ or ‘Babarnama‘.
• Daulat Khan Lodi (ruler of Punjab province) invited Babur to invade India.
• His reign was from 1526 to 1530 AD in India.

Info: Historians believe that Babur was an eminent scholar of the Persian and Arabic language.

Info: Babur was a great statesman.

Military Conquests of Babur:

1. 1504: Occupied Kabul (Afghanistan).
2. 1524: Occupied Lahore (now in Pakistan). However, Daulat Khan retreated and pushed back Babur to Kabul.
3. 1525: He attacked Punjab and occupied the region.
4. 1526: The first battle of Panipat was fought between Babur and Ibrahim Lodi on 21^st April 1526. Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi and seized Delhi. In this battle, Babur was the first to use cannon and guns in India. Using this advantage he won the battle despite having 12000 troops compared to the large army (1 lakh) of Lodi.
5. 1527: Battle of Khanua: Babur defeated the forces of Rana Sangram Singh of Marwar (combined forces of Marwar, Amber, Gwalior, Ajmer and Chanderi) in the Battle of Khanua.
6. 1528: Babur defeated Medini Raya in the Battle of Chanderi.
7. 1529: He defeated the Afghan forces (allied forces of Bihar and Bengal) led by Mahmud Lodi in the Battle of Ghaghara (near Patna).

Info: Babur took the title of Ghazi after the Battle of Khanwa.

Info: Babur made the first Mughal garden called “Aram Bagh“.

Notable architectural works built during his time were Lodi Fort (Agra), Kabulibagh Mosque (Panipat), and Jama Masjid (Rohilkhand).

Babur died on December 26, 1530, at the age of 47. Initially, his body was brought to Arambagh in Agra. However, his body was taken out and buried in Kabul later. After his death, Humayun ascended the throne of Mughal Empire.