Babur Information Sheet

Babur
Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur was born in 1483, he was known as Babur, which means “Lion”.
He became king of Farghana, when he was 14, when his father died in an accident.

His greatest ambition was to rule Samarkand. He fought many battles in the pursuit of this goal, winning and losing his kingdom many times in the process.

In 1504, he ventured into what is now Afghanistan and conquered Kabul.

He invaded India five times, crossing the River Indus each time.

On the fifth invasion Babur met Ibrahim Lodhi in the first battle of Panipat in April 1526.

Babur's army was better equipped than Lodhi's, but Lodhi had 100,000 men;

Lodhi relied on hundreds of war elephants.


The most successful of Babur's innovations was the introduction of gunpowder, which had never been used before in India. This combined with Babur's newer tactics gave him a greater advantage. Babur's strategy won the war
Ibrahim Lodhi and 20, 000 of his men died fighting

After Panipat, the Hindu princes united under Rana Sanga, resulting in a huge force.
Babur's army showed signs of panic at the size of the huge opposing army. To prevent his forces retreat, Babur tried to instill confidence in his soldiers by breaking all his drinking cups and vessels, and vowed never to drink again if he won.


His soldiers took heart, and when the armies met in the battle at Kanwaha, near Agra on March 16, 1527, Babur was able to win decisively.

Babur became the king of Central India.


In 1528, he captured Chanderi from the Rajput chief, Medini Rao


In 1529 he defeated the Afghan chiefs under Mahmud Lodhi in the battle of Ghagra in Bihar.

Babur’s empire

Babur did not live long to rule his Kingdom. Towards the end of Babur's life, his eldest son Humayun fell seriously ill. It is said that he transferred his son's illness to himself to save Humayun. As Humayun recovered, Babur became worse and after two or three months.
Babur died at Agra on December 26, 1530


Babur possessed in him the qualities of a born leader, a brilliant general and also a great swordsman. He rode 80 miles a day.

Babur was pre-eminently a man of faith. "Nothing happens" he used to say, "but by the will of God".


Babur knew that he had to be nice to his soldiers – he gave them money and presents from the lands he had conquered.
Babur could be very cruel – when a slave woman and a cook tried to poison him, he had them killed.
The slave woman was trampled to death by elephants and he had the cook skinned alive!


Babur was not just a soldier.
He was a cultured man, who wrote fine poetry.
He was interested in the culture, natural history and geography of India.