wsr27babur

Babur was born

Feb 14, 1483

Babur was born in the town of Andijan, in the Fergana Valley in contemporary Uzbekistan. He was the eldest son of Omar Sheykh Mirzā, ruler of the Fergana Valley.

Babur's lifespan

Period: Feb 14, 1483 to Dec 26, 1530

Babur took power

Jan 1, 1495

At only twelve years of age, Babur obtained his first power position, succeeding his father as ruler of Farghana, in present-day Uzbekistan. His uncles were relentless in their attempts to dislodge him from this position as well as many of his other territorial possessions to come.

Attacked Samarkand

Nov 1, 1497

Babur attacked the Uzbek city of Samarkand and after seven months succeeded in capturing the city. Meanwhile, a rebellion amongst nobles back home 350 kilometers away robbed him of Farghana. As he was marching to recover it, Babur's troops deserted in Samarkand, leaving him with neither Samarkand nor Fergana.

Tried to regain samarkand

Nov 1, 1501

By 1501, he was ready again to regain control of Samarkand, but was shortly thereafter defeated by his most formidable rival, Muhammad Shaybani, khan of the Uzbeks. Samarkand, his lifelong obsession, was lost again. Escaping with a small band of followers from Fergana, for three years Babur concentrated on building up a strong army, recruiting widely amongst the Tajiks of Badakhshan in particular.

Captured Kabul

Nov 1, 1504

With this move, he gained a wealthy new kingdom and re-established his fortunes and assumed the title of Padshah.

Muhammad Shaybani killed by Ishmail 1

Nov 1, 1510

Babur used this opportunity to attempt to reconquer his ancestral Timurid territories. Over the following few years, Babur and Shah Ismail would form a partnership in an attempt to take over parts of Central Asia. In return for Ismail's assistance, Babur permitted the Safavids to act as a suzerain over him and his followers.

matchlocks in army

Jan 1, 1519

Babur introduced matchlocks into his army, and allowed an Ottoman, Ustad Ali, to train his troops, who were then known as Matchlockmen, in their use. Babur's memoirs give accounts of battles where the opposition forces mocked his troops, never having seen a gun before, because of the noise they made and the way no arrows, spears appeared to come from the weapon when fired.

captured 100 prisoners and 8 war elephants

Feb 24, 1526

Babur's son, Humayun, led the Timurid army into battle against the first of Ibrahim's advance parties. Humayun's victory was harder fought than the previous skirmishes, but it was still a decisive victory. Over one hundred prisoners of war were captured along with around eight war elephants. However, unlike after previous battles, these prisoners were not bonded or freed; by decree from Humayun, they were shot.

first battle of panipat

Apr 21, 1526

Ibrahim Lodi advanced against him with 100,000 soldiers and 100 elephants; and though Babur's army had grown, it was still less than half the size of his opponents, possibly as few as 25,000 men. This was to be their main engagement, the First battle of Panipat

death

Dec 26, 1530

He died at the age of 47 on January 5 1531, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Humayun. Though he wished to be buried in his favourite garden in Kabul, a city he had always loved, he was first buried in a Mausoleum in the capital city of Agra. Roughly nine years later his wishes were fulfilled by Sher Shah Suri and Babur was buried in Bagh-e Babur in Kabul, Afghanistan.