Hinduism: Details about 'Babur'
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Zahir-ud-din Mohammad Babur (Persian: محمد بابر) (February 14, 1483 – December 26, 1530), (also spelled Zahiriddin, Muhammad, Bobur, Baber, Babar, etc.), Emperor and Founder of the Mughal dynasty of India.
BackgroundBabur's name was derived from the Persian "Babr" meaning "leopard". He was born on February 14, 1483. There are three suggestions to where he was born, which are Fergana, Fergana Valley or Andijan all of which are in Uzbekistan. He was the eldest son of Omar Sheikh Mirza (also spelled as Umar Shaykh Mirza or Umar Shaikh Mirza), ruler of the Fergana Valley, and his wife Qutlugh Nigar Khanum. He was a descendant of the famous Mongol warlord, Timur (also known as Tamarlane) on his father's side and a descendant of Genghis Khan on his mother's side. Although Babur hailed from the Barlas tribe which was of Mongol origin, his tribe had embraced Turkic culture, converted to Islam and resided in Turkic regions. Hence Babur, though nominally a Mongol (or Mughal in Persian), drew much of his support from the Turks, and his army was diverse in its ethnic makeup. Babur is said to have been extremely strong and physically fit. Allegedly, he would carry two men, one on each of his shoulders, and then climb slopes on the run, just for exercise. Legend holds that Babur swam across every major river in India, again for exercise. Military careerWhen only eleven years of age, Babur succeeded his father as ruler of Fergana in 1494. His uncles were relentless in their attempts to dislodge him from this position; Babur spent a major portion of his life shelterless and in exile. In 1497, Babur attacked and gained possession of the Uzbek city of Samarkand. While he was winning that city, a rebellion among Uzbek nobles back home robbed him of Fargana. As he was marching to recover it, his troops deserted him; he lost Samarkand as well as Fargana. Babur did manage to regain both cities within a relatively brief period. In 1501, however, he was again defeated, this time by his most formidable enemy, Muhammad Shaybani, Khan of the Uzbeks; Samarkand, his lifelong obsession, was lost again. For three years, Babur concentrated on building up a strong army. In 1504, he was able to cross the snowy Hindu Kush mountains and capture Kabul. With this move, he gained a wealthy new kingdom and re-established his fortunes and assumed the title Padshah. In the following year, Babur united with Husayn Bayqarah of Herat against Muhammad Shaybani. The death of Husayn Bayqarah in 1506 put paid to that venture, but Babur occupied his ally's city of Herat and spent a year there, enjoying the pleasures of that city. A brewing rebellion finally induced him to return to Kabul from Herat. He prevailed on that occasion, but two years later, a revolt among some of his leading generals drove him out of Kabul; he was compelled to escape with very few companions. Babur however soon returned; he again captured Kabul and compelled the allegiance of the rebels. Muhammad Shaybani died in 1510. Babur used this opportunity to regain his ancestral Timurid territories. He received considerable aid from Shah Ismail I, Safavid ruler of Persia, and made a triumphant entry into Samarkand in 1511. However, he was again defeated by the Uzbeks in 1514 and returned to Kabul with great difficulty. Conquest of North IndiaBabur now resigned all hopes of recovering Fergana. Although he dreaded an invasion from the Uzbeks to his West, his attention increasingly turned towards India. He had made several preliminary incursions, including an attack on the Gakhar stronghold of Pharwala, when an opportunity for a more extended expedition presented itself in 1521. Ibrahim Lodi, ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, was widely detested; several of his Afghan nobles invited Babur's intervention. Babur assembled a 12,000-man army, complete with artillery, which was then a great novelty, and marched into India. This number actually increased as Babur advanced as members of the local population joined the invading armies. Ibrahim Lodi advanced against him with 100,000 soldiers and 100 elephants. Their main engagement, the First battle of Panipat, was fought on April 21, 1526. Ibrahim Lodi was slain and his army was routed; Babur quickly took possession of both Delhi and Agra. Now Babur was having sleepless nights because of Rana Sanga, the Rajput ruler of Mewar. Babur sent about 1500 choice cavalry to attack Sanga. These were butchered by Sanga's rajputs. Babur wanted to discuss peace terms. For discussions Sanga sent his general Silhadi (Shiladitya). Babur won this general by promising him independent kingdom. Silhadi came back and reported that Babur did not want peace and he wanted to fight. Battle of Khanwa started on March 17, 1527 and Babur's army was being knocked out of the field and victory was certain for Sanga. At this juncture Silhadi and his army left the field and this tilted the war in favor of Babur and he won. . On May 6, 1529, Babur defeated Mahmud Lodi, brother of Ibrahim Lodi, at the Battle of Ghagra, thus crushing the last remnant of resistance in North India. Last daysBabur spent the later years of his life consolidating his new empire and its revenue and taxation. He wrote his memoirs, the Baburnama, in the Turkic dialect known as Chaghatai. Towards the end of Babur's life, his son, Humayun, became deathly ill, and was declared by the physicians to have little chance of survival. Babur was devastated and began to constantly pray for his son. In these prayers, which he recited while circumambulating his son, Babur said that he wanted to take the disease away from Humayun, and die in his place. Strangely enough, Babur's prayers were answered; Humayun recovered while Babur grew ill. He died at the age of 48, and was suceeded by his eldest son, Humayun. As per his wishes, Babur was buried at Kabul, Afghanistan. References
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. Babur Babur بابر Bâbur Babur バーブル Babur Babur Бабур 巴布尔
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