Babur

The Life And Death Of Babur

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• published: 17 Aug 2015
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Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur (14 February 1483 – 26 December 1530; sometimes also spelt Baber or Babar) was a conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty in the Indian subcontinent and became the first Mughal emperor. He was a direct descendant of Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur(Timurlane) from the Barlas clan, through his father, and also a descendant of Genghis Khan through his mother. He was also influenced by the Persian culture and this affected both his own actions and those of his successors, giving rise to a significant expansion of the Persianate ethos in the Indian subcontinent. Though born as Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur, he was commonly known as Babur. He was the eldest son of Umar Sheikh Mirza. He ascended the throne of Fergana in 1495 at the age of twelve and faced rebellion from his own relatives. He conquered Samarkand two years later, only to lose the city of Fergana soon after. In his attempt to reconquer it, he lost control of Samarkand. In 1501, his attempt to recapture both cities went in vain as he was defeated by Muhammad Shaybani Khan. In 1504, he conquered Kabul, which was under the rule of the infant heir of Ulugh Begh. Babur formed a partnership with Safavid ruler Ismail I and reconquered parts of central Asia including Samarkand, only to lose again to the Uzbeks. After losing the city[clarification needed] for the third time, Babur turned his attention to creating his empire in north India. At that time, north India was ruled by Ibrahim Lodi of the Lodi dynasty. In 1524, Daulat Khan Lodi invited his nephew, Babur, to overthrow Ibrahim and become ruler. Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526 and so founded the Mughal empire. However, he again had to face opposition, this time from Rana Sanga of Mewar who considered Babur as a foreigner. The Rana was defeated at the Battle of Khanwa. Babur married several times. Notable among his sons are Humayun, Kamran Mirza and Hindal Mirza. He died in 1530 and was succeeded by Humayun. According to Babur's wishes, he was buried in Bagh-e-Babur at Kabul in Afghanistan. Being a patrilineal descendant of Timur, Babur considered himself as a Timurid and Turk, though Uzbek sources claim him as an ethnic Uzbek. He is considered a national hero in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Many of his poems also have become popular folk songs. He wrote his autobiography, Baburnama, in Chaghatai Turkic and this was later translated to Persian during Akbar's reign. Babur was born as Ẓahīr-ud-Dīn Muḥammad (Arabic: ظهیرالدین محمد‎), but was more commonly known by his nickname, Bābur (بابر). He had the royal titles Badshah and al-ṣultānu 'l-ʿazam wa 'l-ḫāqān al-mukkarram pādshāh-e ġāzī. Ẓahīr-ud-Dīn ("Defender of the faith") Muḥammad was an Arabic name and difficult to pronounce for the Central Asian Turko-Mongols, therefore the name Babur was adopted.