Mughal Emperor Babur, was the founder of Mughal Dynasty (Mughal Empire) in India. He was born in 1488 in a family of the Chaghtai Turks. On his father’s side he was connected with Tamerlane and on his mother’s side he could trace his origin from Chinghiz Khan. He lost his father when he was only eleven years old. From his father he inherited Farghana, a small principality of Turkestan.
In 1497, he conquered Samarkand, but he was unable to retain his kingdom for long. He, however, would not give it up as lost forever. He reconquered it only to lose it again. Baffled in his attempt to recover it, he turned his attention eastward and made himself king of Kabul in 1504. In 1522, he added Kandahar to his newly won kingdom.
He thereupon led several expeditions against the neighboring posts on Indian frontier. Soon after he received an invitation from Daulat Khan Lodi and Rana Sangram Singh to come and help them in a war against Ibrahim Lodi, the reigning Sultan of Delhi. To the adventurous nature of Babur, no invitation could be more tempting. He responded at once and came at the head of a well-equipped army. In the battle of Panipat (1526 A.D.) he defeated the last of the Delhi Sultans. He followed up his success by occupying Delhi and Agra.
But Babur now stood face to face with Rana Sanga. The Rana invited Babur in the hope that like Tamerlane his successor would retire after collecting spoils. But Babar had no intention of leaving India. Thus Sanga’s dream of founding a neo-Hindu Empire on the ruins of Sultanate had little chance, of being fulfilled. A trial of strength between Babur and Sanga thus became inevitable. The encounter took place on the field of Khanua where Babur’s military superiority won the day. On the field of Khanua was decided the fate of India. Babur occupied Chanderi and strengthened his position further by defeating his Afghan rivals in the Battle of Ghagra. In 1530, the founder of the Mughal Empire died.
Babur was an interesting and colourful personality. Beginning life as a soldier of fortune, he ended as the founder of one of the greatest empires of the cast. He was a tactful general, shrewd judge of man, and an enterprising and bold personality. To his military talents he combined the polished manners of a cultured gentleman. He possessed a fine literary taste and composed exquisite poems in Persian language. He was also conversant with a very elegant prose style, as revealed in his memoirs.