Babur Indian Conquest

First Battle Of Panipat(Ad 1526)

Babur made four preliminary expeditions to India. He was then invited by Maharana Sangram Singh,the king of Mewar(aka Rana Sanga) and Daulat Khan

Lodi, the governor of Punjab, to come to India and defeat Ibrahim Lodi. Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at the First Battle of Panipat, in Ad 1526.

Babur’s Artillery was very strong, For the first time ,guns were used in North India. Babur was also a better general. At the end of the battle ,1500 of the Lodi army lay dead. The victory at Panipat brought Babur areas around Delhi and Agra.

Battle of Khanua (Ad 1527)

Although Rana Sanga had invited Babur into India, when he realised that Babur had come to stay, Rana Sanga organised a confederacy (i.e. a union) of Rajput princes against invader. Babur and Rana Sanga met at the battle of Khanua near Fatehpur Sikri in AD 1527. Rana Sanga had a large army ; he was also the hero of several battles and had lost an arm and a eye in combat. However , babur defeated him with superior artillery and tactics. The Battle of Khanua was a more decisive battle than the Battle of Panipat because it firmly established the Mughal empire in India.

The Battle of Ghagra

After defeating the Rajputs, Babur turned to the east and defeated the Afghans on the banks of the river Ghagra , in the Battle of Ghagra in AD 1529. As a result , Babur’s authority extended over nearly the whole of northern India , which included Punjab, Agra, Awadh , Gwalior , Bihar and the parts of Rajasthan besides Kabul which became a part of the outer territory of the empire. Babur made Delhi the capital of the Mughal Empire.

Babur did not live long enough to enjoy the fruits of his victories. Babur died in AD 1530, four years after the Battle of Panipat . Although Babur is remembered as the founder of Mughal Empire , he was also a great poet and a writer. His biography , the Baburnama in Persian , and Tuzk-i-Baburi in the Turki original gives information about his life , and the life and conditions of those times.

Babur was great lover of Nature and was drawn to natural beauty. He was very fond of gardens . He laid out many gardens all over his kingdom. The most famous of these gardens in Rambagh in Agra . He was able to command the love and respect of his people

References- Std 7th and 9th textbook of ICSE