On his father's side, he was a Timurid, a Persianized Turk descended fromTimur the Lame. On his mother's side, Babur was descended fromGenghis Khan.

Childhood:Zahir-ud-din Muhammad, nicknamed "Babur" or "Lion," was born into the Timurid royal family in Andijan, now inUzbekistan, on February 23, 1483. His father, Umar Sheikh Mirza, was the Emir of Ferghana; his mother, Qutlaq Nigar Khanum, was the Moghuli king Yunus Khan's daughter.

By the time of Babur's birth, the remaining Mongol descendants in western Central Asia had intermarried with Turkic and Persian peoples, and assimilated into local culture. They were strongly influenced byPersia(using Farsi as their official court language), and they had converted to Islam. Most favored the mysticSufism-infused style ofSunni Islam.Babur Takes the Throne:In 1494, the Emir of Ferghana died suddenly, and 11-year-old Babur ascended his father's throne. His seat was anything but secure, however, with numerous uncles and cousins plotting to replace him.Evidently aware that a good offense is the best defense, the young emir set out to expand his holdings. By 1497, he had conquered the famousSilk Roadoasis city of Samarkand. While he was thus engaged, however, his uncles and other nobles rose in rebellion back in Andijan. When Babur turned to defend his base, he once again lost control of Samarkand.The determined young emir had regained both cities by 1501, but the Uzbek ruler Shaibani Khan challenged him over Samarkand, and dealt Babur's forces a crushing defeat. This marked the end of Babur's rule in what is now Uzbekistan.

Exile in Afghanistan:For three years, the homeless prince wandered Central Asia, trying to attract followers to help him retake his father's throne. Finally, in 1504, he and his small army looked to the southeast instead, marching over the snow-bound Hindu Kush mountains into Afghanistan. Babur, now 21 years old, besieged and conquered Kabul, creating a base for his new kingdom.Ever optimistic, Babur would ally himself with the rulers of Herat and Persia, and try to take back Fergana in 1510-1511. Once more, however, the Uzbeks utterly defeated the Moghul army, driving them back to Afghanistan. Thwarted, Babur began to look south once more.Babur's character and writingsAs a person, Babur was very emotional and affectionate towards his family, his people, his empire and his servants and workers. He believed that peace can only be obtained by accepting and tolerating other races and religions and not creating any sort of difference. He told Humayun that Islam can better be preached by the arms of love and affection, rather than the sword of tyranny and persecution. Giving love to his people would be the only way of uniting everyone, was one of Baburs central beliefs, which became the foundation ofMughalsuccess and reached its highest point under his grandson,Akbarthe Great.Apart from his liberal, tolerant personality, Babur was also a fine poet and prose-writer. His famous memoirs, theTuzk i Baburiare ranked amongst the world's great autobiographies.Conquest of India:Babur says that from the time he Captured Kabul (1504) to his victory at Panipat, I had never cease to think of the conquest of Hindustan. But he had never found a suitable opportunity for undertaking it. Like other earlier invaders of Central Asia, Babur was attracted to India by the force of its fabulous wealth. India was the Land of gold and riches. Baburs ancestor, Timur had not only carried away a vast treasure and many skillful artisans, but also take control of some areas of the Punjab. These areas remained in the possession of Timurs successors for several generations. When Babur conquered Afghanistan, he felt that he had a legitimate right to these areas.Another reason for Baburs conquest of India was insufficient income of Kabul. According to the Historian Abul Fazl, Babur ruled over Badakhshah, Kandhar and Kabul which did not yield sufficient income for the requirements of the army. In-fact the expenses on controlling the armies and administration were greater than the income. With these measure resources Babur could not provide well for his Kingdom and Kingsmen. He was also nervous of an Uzbek attack on Kabul and considered India to be a good place of refuge, and a suitable base for operations against the Uzbeks.Further the Political situation in the north-west Kingdoms of India was suitable for Babur. Their relation was so bitter that they could not be united against any foreign aggression. Ibrahim Lodi, the Sultan of Delhi was not liked by his own Afghan Chiefs and nobles. Further his efforts to establish a large centralized empire had alarmed not only the Afghan Chiefs but also the Rajputs. Daulat Khan Lodi, a powerful Afghan Chief and the Governor of Punjab, was an ardent enemy of Ibrahim Lodi.He was ruling Punjab like an independent ruler. Other important enemies of Ibrahim Lodi were Alam Khan Lodi and Rana Sangram Singh, the king of Mewar and head of the Rajput confederacy. It is said that all of them most probably invited Babur against Ibrahim Lodi. However before the battle of Panipat, Babur had conducted five expeditions to India between 1519 and 1525 A.D. In 1519 Babur established his control over Bayour. In his first expedition, Babur tried to avoid war against Ibrahim Lodi of Delhi and Daulat Khan Lodi of Punjab and asked them to surrender but he failed in this mission. In 1520 Babur proceeded to Sialkot and established his authority there by suppressing the rebellious Afghan tribes.In 1524 Babur made the fourth expedition against India. On the initiation of Daulat Khan Lodi, the Governor of Punjab who wanted to dethrone Ibrahim Lodi in favour of his uncle Alam Khan. Babur took this opportunity and proceeded to India. In the mean while Ibrahim Lodi had summoned Daulat Khan Lodi to Delhi but he did not go there in person and sent his son Dilawar Khan. Therefore the relations between the two had become quite tense. Ibrahim defeated Daulat Khan and expelled him from Punjab. By the time Babur realized and captured Lahore. Dault Khan helped Babur to occupy Dipalpur which was given to Alam Khan. Daulat Khan has expected that Babur would return Punjab to him. But he gave him Jalandhar and Sultanpur.It disappointed Dault Khan. He tried to play treachery with Babur but was caught by his ambitious son Dilwar Khan. Babur rewarded Dilwar by offering him Sultanpur and imprisoned Daulat Khan for his treachery. Later he released Dault Khan and gave him Jalandhar only. He did not accept the charge of Jalandhar and fled to the hills.Then Babur left for Kabul after keeping a small contingent at Lahore and Sialkot. After Baburs departure, Daulat Khan Lodi came back from the hills and conquered Sultanpur, Sialkot and Dipalpur. Alam Khan Lodi fled away to Kabul and Dilawar Khan apologised before his father. On hearing this news Babur made his fifth expedition in 1525 and defeated Daulat Khan and his son Dilwar Khan who beg apology for their misconduct.Daulat Khan was sent to Bwerea for imprisonment but he breathed his last on the way. Babur established his full control over Punjab. The army and officials of Daulat Khan also extended their whole hearted co-operation to him. Alam continued his support to Babur till the battle of Panipat. Now after destroying the powers of Afghans and establishing his control over Punjab, Babur decided to move against his greatest enemy Ibrahim Lodi, the Sultan of Delhi.It is said that Babur had received an better assistance from Rana Sangha of Mewar for his move against Ibrahim. But his accusation against Rana Sanga has been refuted by some scholars. But it was a fact that the officials and some nobles of Delhi had sent secret invitation to Babur against their Sultan. Babur was very much pleased to receive such invitations on the eve of the battle of Panipat. This had made him more bold and courageous.The Battle of Panipat (April 20 A.D. 1526):Now a war between Ibrahim Lodi and Babur become inevitable. Both the forces went to Panipat to test their luck. Ibrahim Lodis force was estimated at 100,000 men and 1000 elephants. Though his force was a vast one but the number of fighting men was far less as most of them were recruited hastily on the eve of the war.But in comparison to Lodis army that of Babur was much less in number but they were well trained and well equipped. Their war technique was superb and their fighting spirit was tremendous. Though the strength of Baburs army had increased due to addition of some Indian troops on his way to Panipat, but still the number was far less than that of Lodi. In April 1526 Babur reached Panipat through Sirhind and Ambala.War technique: He made a division of his army and posted one wing of it in the right side of the city of Panipat and another wing in left side by preparing a ditch. He made his centre secured and safe by a rent of some seven hundred carts. Between two carts, earthworks were erected on which soldiers could rest their guns and fire. Sultan Ibrahim also reached Panipat with a large army. The main difference between the two armies was not the strength but the technique. Babur was in an advantageous position from this point of view.Both armies remained stationed face to face for eight days from 12th of April to 19th of April, 1526. At last Babur started the war and with a small number of about five thousand soldiers he made a night attack on 20th April but it failed. As a result, the army of Ibrahim Lodi also moved in battle array but in the process they came much nearer to the army of Babur.As his army had reached quite near the army of Babur, they failed to escape from the reach of their guns. The army of Babur within no time wheeled round and attacked the enemy from both sides and rear simultaneously. No doubt Ibrahim Lodis Afghan forces fought valiantly but Babur was master of war strategy and his artillery was quite superior. He also used his Tulugham in the nick of time.Within a few hours Ibrahim Lodi was defeated and killed with a large number of his soldiers and Babur won the battle. Babur writes in his memories about the end of the battle. The sun had mounted speak high when the onset began and the battle lasted till mid-day, when the enemy were completely broken and routed and my people were victorious and triumphant. By the grace of almighty God, this difficult affair was made easy to me, in the course of half a day, the enemy was laid in the dust. Commenting on the results of the battle of Panipat. Dr. R.P. Tripathy writes that the battle of Panipat sealed the fate of Lodi dynasty as effectively as his ancestor Timur had done of the Tughluqs.Keene observes, The Land simply changed masters after supreme efforts. Lane-people writes, To the Afghans of Delhi, the battle of Panipat was their canne. It was the ruin of their dominions, the end of their power. Thus the battle of Panipat marks the end of the second stage in Baburs conquests of Hindustan. It also laid the foundation of the Mughal Empire and led to dissolution of Lodi dynasty.After the victory of Panipat, Babur immediately sent his son Humayun to Agra and Mehdi Khweja and others to Delhi in order to take charge of the fort and the treasure of Delhi. On 27th of April, 1526, Khutba was read in Delhi in the name of Babur and the citizens welcomed him with great rejoicing. Meanwhile Humayun had made all arrangements at Agra to welcome his father. When Babur reached Agra, Humayun and the citizens of Agra gave a warm welcome to him. Humayun presented a Dimond Koh-i-noor to his father on this accession.After the occupation of Delhi and Agra, Babur made his intentions clear to stay in India. He knew that the resources in India alone would enable him to found a strong empire and satisfy his ambitions. Not for us the poverty of Kabul again, he records in his diary. He thus took a firm stand, and proclaimed to stay in India and granted leave to a number of his followers who wanted to go back to Kabul. This immediately cleared the air. But this initiated hostility with Rana Sanga.The Battle of Khanwa:The establishment of an empire in the Indo-Gangetic Valley by Babur was a threat to Rana Sangha. He hoped that Babur like an invader would plunder health and leave India. But the situation was different now. Therefore Rana Sangha decided either to drive Babur out of the country or to confine him to the Punjab. Babur on the other hand accused Rana Sangha of breach of agreement. He said that Sangha had invited him to India and promised to join him against Ibrahim Lodi, but made no move while we conquered Delhi and Agra.Another battle was inevitable in the history and that was the battle of Khanwa. Many Afghans, including Mahmud Lodi, a younger brother of Ibrahim Lodi joined with Rana Sangha in the hope of regaining the throne of Delhi in case Sangha won. Sangha had also the support of many Rajputs as he was the chief of the Rajputana confederation. Rana Sangha himself bore the title of the hero of hundred fights. The reputation of Rana Sangha and his early success against some of the outlying Mughal posts such as Bayana, demoralised Baburs soldiers. Babur on the other-hand was not the man to retreat at this stage of his progress in India.He infused a fighting spirit in his soldiers by declaring Jihad on the eve of the war. Both the forces met at Khanwa, a place nearly 40 km. away from Agra. According to Babur, Sanghas forces exceeded 200,000 including 10,000 Afghan cavalry men. Baburs forces were undoubtedly inferior in number. The battle of Khanwa (1527) was fiercely contested battle. Rana Sangha made ferocious attacks on Baburs right and almost breached it.However, the Mughal artillery took a heavy toll of life, and slowly, Sanghas forces were pushed back. At this juncture, Babur ordered his soldiers in the centre to launch an attack which drove the backbone of Sangs army. Rana Sangha was badly wounded and was taken to a place of safety. But he came back after a short while and renewed the war. It is said that apprehending the war to be dangerous and suicidal, one of Ranas associates poisoned him to death.However ended the battle of Khanwa with the defeat of Rana Sangha. The battle of Khanwa was decisive and significant. It proved the superiority of Mughal weapons upon Rajputs. According to Rush Brooke Williams, Hithereto the occupation of Hindustan might have been looked upon as a mere episode in Baburs career of adventure, but from hence forth, it became the keynote of the activities, the remainder of his life. Babur assumed the title of Ghari or victor in holy war. He also won the battle of Chander in 1528 A.D. over Rajputs.The next battle, a less important for Babur, was the battle of Ghaghra in which he met the combined forces of Mahmud Lodi, a younger brother of Ibrahim Lodi and Nusrat Shah who was a son- in-law of Ibrahim Lodi had marched up to Kanauja by defeating and ousting some Mughal officials in Uttar Pradesh.However, Babur defeated the combined forces of Mahmud Lodi and Nusrat Shah in the battle of Ghaghra in 1529. This was perhaps the last battle of his life. Babur had made his position safe and secured in India.But Babur did not live long to enjoy his empire. He fell ill and died in 1530 A.D. Just a few months, before his death Babur had nominated his eldest son Humanyu as his successor and had asked him to be liberal to his brothers.Baburs Place in History:All modern historians have assigned a highly respectable place to Babur in history. V.A. Smith wrote, Babur was the most brilliant Asiatic prince of the age and worthy of a high place among the reigns of any age and country. Havell described him as the most attractive figure in the history of Islam. Ereskine described, We shall probably find no Asiatic prince who can just be placed beside him.The character and personality of Babur, no doubt, deserves all these praises. But, Babur could not get his rightful place in history if he would have failed to conquer a large, part of northern India. He did not fare well in the politics of Asia and his conquest of Afghanistan was not glorious. It was only his success in India which assigned him the place of an important ruler.Babur fought three important battles in India viz, the battles of Panipat, Khanwa and Ghaghara and won all of them. He thus succeeded in laying down the foundation of the Mughal rule in India. Babur, of course, himself failed to provide stability to his empire and also failed to make it an all India empire. Yet by breaking the power of the Afghans and the Rajputs, he laid down the foundation of such an empire which the Rajputs and the Afghans had failed to create during the course of nearly one hundred and fifty years.Though Akbar had stabilized the Mughal empire and was known as the real founder of the Mughal empire, but in no sense Babur could be ignored. No doubt Akbar was the greatest Mughal ruler but Babur alone can be regarded as its founder. However, in the history of the world, Babur occupies a significant place as a great king. His writings, particularly, his autobiography, ranks among the best writings of the world written by kings.Death of Babur:In the autumn of 1530, Babur fell ill. His brother-in-law conspired with some of the Mughal court nobles to seize the throne after Babur's death, by-passing Humayun, Babur's eldest son and appointed heir. Humayun hurried to Agra to defend his claim to the throne, but soon fell gravely ill himself. According to legend, Babur cried out to God to spare Humayun's life, offering his own in return. Soon, the emperor once more grew weak.On January 5, 1531, Babur died at the age of just 47. Humayun, 22 years old, inherited a rickety empire, beset by internal and external enemies. Like his father, Humayun would lose power and be forced into exile, only to return and retake his claim to India. By the end of his life, he had consolidated and expanded the empire, which would reach its height under his son,Akbar the Great.Babur lived a difficult life, always battling to make a place for himself. In the end, however, he planted the seed on one of theworld's great empires. Himself a devotee of poetry and gardens, Babur's descendants would raise all kinds of arts to their apogee during their long reign. TheMughal Empirelasted until 1868, when it fell to the colonialBritish Raj.