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This article is about the Mughal Emperor Babur. For the male given name, see Babar.
For the amphipod crustacean, see Babr.
Zahir-ud-din Muhammad
Babur
????????? ???? ????
Badshah of the Mughal Empire
Babur
Babur
Illustration of Babur
1st Mughal Emperor
Reign 20 April 1526 � 26 December 1530
Predecessor Ibrahim Lodhi (as Sultan of Delhi)
Successor Humayun
Ruler of Kabul
Reign 1504 - 1530
Ruler of Samarqand
1st reign 1497 - 1498
2nd reign 1500 - 1501
3rd reign 1511 - 1512
Ruler of Ferghana
1st reign 1494 - 1497
2nd reign 1498 - 1500
Born 14 February 1483
Andijan, Timurid Empire (present-day Uzbekistan)
Died 26 December 1530 (aged 47)
Agra, Mughal Empire (present-day India)
Burial Kabul, Bagh-e Babur (present-day Afghanistan)
Consort Maham Begum
Wives Aisha Sultan Begum
Zainab Sultan Begum
Masuma Sultan Begum
Bibi Mubarika
Gulrukh Begum
Dildar Begum
Gulnar Aghacha
Nazgul Aghacha
Saliha Sultan Begum (disputed)
Issue Humayun
Kamran Mirza
Askari Mirza
Hindal Mirza
Ahmad Mirza
Shahrukh Mirza
Barbul Mirza
Alwar Mirza
Faruq Mirza
Fakhr-un-Nissa Begum
Aisan Daulat Begum
Meher Jahan Begum
Masuma Sultan Begum
Gulzar Begum
Gulrukh Begum
Gulbadan Begum
Gulchehra Begum
Gulrang Begum
Full name
Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur
House Barlas Timurid
Dynasty Mughal
Father Umar Sheikh Mirza, ?Amir of Ferghana Valley
Mother Qutlugh Nigar Khanum
Religion Sunni Islam[1]
vte
Campaigns of Babur
Babur (Persian: ?????, romanized: Babur, lit. 'tiger';[2][3] 14 February 1483 � 26
December 1530), born Zahir ud-Din Muhammad, was the founder and first Emperor of
the Mughal dynasty in South Asia. He was a direct descendant of Emperor Timur
(Tamerlane) from what is now Uzbekistan.[4][5]

Babur was born in Andijan, in the Fergana Valley, in modern Uzbekistan. He was the
eldest son of Umar Sheikh Mirza, governor of Fergana and great-great grandson of
Timur. Babur ascended the throne of Fergana in its capital Akhsikent in 1494 at the
age of twelve and faced rebellion. He conquered Samarkand two years later, only to
lose Fergana soon after. In his attempt to reconquer Fergana, he lost control of
Samarkand. In 1501, his attempt to recapture both the regions went in vain as he
was defeated by Muhammad Shaybani Khan. In 1504, he conquered Kabul, which was
under the rule of the infant heir of Ulugh Beg II. Babur formed a partnership with
Safavid ruler Ismail I and reconquered parts of Turkistan, including Samarkand,
only to again lose it and the other newly conquered lands to the Sheybanids.

After losing Samarkand for the third time, Babur turned his attention to the Indian
Subcontinent. At that time, the Indo-Gangetic Plain of the Indian subcontinent was
ruled by Ibrahim Lodi of the Afghan Lodi dynasty, whereas Rajputana was ruled by a
Hindu Rajput Confederacy, led by Rana Sanga of Mewar. Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi
at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526 CE and founded the Mughal empire. He faced
opposition from Rana Sanga, who first invited Babur to defeat Ibrahim Lodi and then
consolidated his forces against the battle weakened forces of Babur. The Rana was
defeated in the Battle of Khanwa.

Babur married several times. Notable among his sons are Humayun, Kamran Mirza and
Hindal Mirza. Babur died in 1530 in Agra and was succeeded by Humayun. He was first
buried in Agra but, as per his wishes, his remains were moved to Kabul and
reburied.[6] Being a patrilineal descendant of Timur, Babur considered himself a
Timurid and Chagatai Turkic.[7] He is considered a national hero in Uzbekistan and
Kyrgyzstan. Many of his poems have also become popular folk songs. He wrote the
Baburnama in Chaghatai Turkic which was translated into Persian during Akbar's
reign.

Contents
1 Name
2 Background
3 Ruler of Central Asia
3.1 As ruler of Fergana
3.2 At Kabul
4 Foreign relations
5 Formation of the Mughal Empire
5.1 First battle of Panipat
5.2 Battle of Khanwa
5.3 Battle of Chanderi
6 Personal life and relationships
7 Family
7.1 Consorts
7.2 Issue
7.2.1 Sons
7.2.2 Daughters
8 Death and legacy
8.1 Babri Masjid
9 Ancestry
10 Notes
11 References
12 Further reading
13 External links
Name
?ahir-ud-Din is Arabic for "Defender of the Faith" (of Islam), and Muhammad honours
the Islamic prophet.

The difficulty of pronouncing the name for his Central Asian Turco-Mongol army may
have been responsible for the greater popularity of his nickname Babur,[8] also
variously spelled Baber,[2] Babar,[9] and Babor.[4] The name is generally taken in
reference to the Persian babr, meaning "tiger".[2][3] The word repeatedly appears
in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh and was borrowed into the Turkic languages of Central Asia.
[9][10] Thackston argues for an alternate derivation from the PIE word "beaver",
pointing to similarities between the pronunciation Babor and the Russian bobr
(????, "beaver").[11]

Babur bore the royal titles Badshah and al-?ultanu 'l-?azam wa 'l-?aqan al-
mukkarram padshah-e gazi. He and later Mughal emperors used the title of Mirza and
Gurkani as regalia.[citation needed]

Background

Babur Family Tree

17th-century portrait of Babur

Babur's memoirs form the main source for details of his life. They are known as the
Baburnama and were written in Chaghatai Turkic, his mother-tongue,[12] though,
according to Dale, "his Turkic prose is highly Persianized in its sentence
structure, morphology or word formation and vocabulary."[3] Baburnama was
translated into Persian during the rule of Babur's grandson Akbar.[12]

Babur was born on 14 February 1483 in the city of Andijan, Andijan Province,
Fergana Valley, contemporary Uzbekistan. He was the eldest son of Umar Sheikh
Mirza,[13] ruler of the Fergana Valley, the son of Abu Sa?id Mirza (and grandson of
Miran Shah, who was himself son of Timur) and his wife Qutlugh Nigar Khanum,
daughter of Yunus Khan, the ruler of Moghulistan (and great-great grandson of
Tughlugh Timur, the son of Esen Buqa I, who was the great-great-great grandson of
Chaghatai Khan, the second-born son of Genghis Khan).[14]

Babur hailed from the Barlas tribe, which was of Mongol origin and had embraced
Turkic[15] and Persian culture.[16] They had also converted to Islam centuries
earlier and resided in Turkestan and Khorasan. Aside from the Chaghatai language,
Babur was equally fluent in Persian, the lingua franca of the Timurid elite.[17]

Hence, Babur, though nominally a Mongol (or Moghul in Persian language), drew much
of his support from the local Turkic and Iranian people of Central Asia, and his
army was diverse in its ethnic makeup. It included Persians (known to Babur as
"Sarts" and "Tajiks"), ethnic Afghans, Arabs, as well as Barlas and Chaghatayid
Turko-Mongols from Central Asia.[18]
Ruler of Central Asia
As ruler of Fergana
In 1494, eleven-year-old Babur became the ruler of Fergana, in present-day
Uzbekistan, after Umar Sheikh Mirza died "while tending pigeons in an ill-
constructed dovecote that toppled into the ravine below the palace".[19] During
this time, two of his uncles from the neighbouring kingdoms, who were hostile to
his father, and a group of nobles who wanted his younger brother Jahangir to be the
ruler, threatened his succession to the throne.[8] His uncles were relentless in
their attempts to dislodge him from this position as well as from many of his other
territorial possessions to come.[20] Babur was able to secure his throne mainly
because of help from his maternal grandmother, Aisan Daulat Begum, although there
was also some luck involved.[8]

Most territories around his kingdom were ruled by his relatives, who were
descendants of either Timur or Genghis Khan, and were constantly in conflict.[8] At
that time, rival princes were fighting over the city of Samarkand to the west,
which was ruled by his paternal cousin.[citation needed] Babur had a great ambition
to capture the city.[citation needed] In 1497, he besieged Samarkand for seven
months before eventually gaining control over it.[21] He was fifteen years old and
for him the campaign was a huge achievement.[8] Babur was able to hold the city
despite desertions in his army, but he later fell seriously ill.[citation needed]
Meanwhile, a rebellion back home, approximately 350 kilometres (220 mi) away,
amongst nobles who favoured his brother, robbed him of Fergana.[21] As he was
marching to recover it, he lost Samarkand to a rival prince, leaving him with
neither.[8] He had held Samarkand for 100 days, and he considered this defeat as
his biggest loss, obsessing over it even later in his life after his conquests in
India.[8]

In 1501, Babur laid siege to Samarkand once more, but was soon defeated by his most
formidable rival, Muhammad Shaybani, Khan of the Uzbeks.[21][22] Samarkand, his
lifelong obsession, was lost again. He tried to reclaim Fergana but lost it too
and, escaping with a small band of followers, he wandered to the mountains of
central Asia and took refuge with hill tribes. Thus, during the ten years since
becoming the ruler of Fergana, Babur suffered many short-lived victories and was
without shelter and in exile, aided by friends and peasants.[23] He finally stayed
in Tashkent, which was ruled by his maternal uncle. Babur wrote, "During my stay in
Tashkent, I endured much poverty and humiliation. No country, or hope of one!"[23]
For three years Babur concentrated on building a strong army, recruiting widely
amongst the Tajiks of Badakhshan in particular. By 1502, he had resigned all hopes
of recovering Fergana; he was left with nothing and was forced to try his luck
someplace else.[24]

At Kabul

Coin minted by Babur during his time as ruler of Kabul. Dated 1507/8
Kabul was ruled by Babur's paternal uncle Ulugh Beg II, who died leaving only an
infant as heir.[23] The city was then claimed by Mukin Begh, who was considered to
be a usurper and was opposed by the local populace. In 1504, Babur was able to
cross the snowy Hindu Kush mountains and capture Kabul from the remaining
Arghunids, who were forced to retreat to Kandahar.[21] With this move, he gained a
new kingdom, re-established his fortunes and would remain its ruler until 1526.[24]
In 1505, because of the low revenue generated by his new mountain kingdom, Babur
began his first expedition to India; in his memoirs, he wrote, "My desire for
Hindustan had been constant. It was in the month of Shaban, the Sun being in
Aquarius, that we rode out of Kabul for Hindustan". It was a brief raid across the
Khyber Pass.[23]

In the same year, Babur united with Sultan Husayn Mirza Bayqarah of Herat, a fellow
Timurid and distant relative, against their common enemy, the Uzbek Shaybani.[25]
However, this venture did not take place because Husayn Mirza died in 1506 and his
two sons were reluctant to go to war.[23] Babur instead stayed at Herat after being
invited by the two Mirza brothers. It was then the cultural capital of the eastern
Muslim world. Though he was disgusted by the vices and luxuries of the city,[26] he
marvelled at the intellectual abundance there, which he stated was "filled with
learned and matched men".[27] He became acquainted with the work of the Chagatai
poet Mir Ali Shir Nava'i, who encouraged the use of Chagatai as a literary
language. Nava'i's proficiency with the language, which he is credited with
founding,[28] may have influenced Babur in his decision to use it for his memoirs.
He spent two months there before being forced to leave because of diminishing
resources;[25] it later was overrun by Shaybani and the Mirzas fled.[26]

Babur became the only reigning ruler of the Timurid dynasty after the loss of
Herat, and many princes sought refuge from him at Kabul because of Shaybani's
invasion in the west.[26] He thus assumed the title of Padshah (emperor) among the
Timurids�though this title was insignificant since most of his ancestral lands were
taken, Kabul itself was in danger and Shaybani continued to be a threat.[26] Babur
prevailed during a potential rebellion in Kabul, but two years later a revolt among
some of his leading generals drove him out of Kabul. Escaping with very few
companions, Babur soon returned to the city, capturing Kabul again and regaining
the allegiance of the rebels. Meanwhile, Shaybani was defeated and killed by Ismail
I, Shah of Shia Safavid Persia, in 1510.[29]

Babur and the remaining Timurids used this opportunity to reconquer their ancestral
territories. Over the following few years, Babur and Shah Ismail formed 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.[30] Thus, in 1513, after leaving his brother Nasir Mirza to rule
Kabul, he managed to take Samarkand for the third time; he also took Bokhara but
lost both again to the Uzbeks.[24][26] Shah Ismail reunited Babur with his sister
Khanzada, who had been imprisoned by and forced to marry the recently deceased
Shaybani.[31] Babur returned to Kabul after three years in 1514. The following 11
years of his rule mainly involved dealing with relatively insignificant rebellions
from Afghan tribes, his nobles and relatives, in addition to conducting raids
across the eastern mountains.[26] Babur began to modernise and train his army
despite it being, for him, relatively peaceful times.[32]

Foreign relations
Zahiruddin Muhammad (Babar) 1526�1530
Nasiruddin Muhammad (Humayun)
1530�1540
1555�1556
Jalaluddin Muhammad (Akbar) 1556�1605
Nooruddin Salim (Jahangir) 1605�1627
Shahryar Mirza (de facto) 1627�1628
Shahabuddin Khurram (Shah Jahan) 1628�1658
Muhiuddin Aurangzeb (Alamgir) 1658�1707
Qutbuddin Muhammad (Azam Shah) 1707
Muhammad Mu'azzam (Bahadur Shah Alam) 1707�1712
Muizuddin Muhammad (Jahandar Shah) 1712�1713
Muinuddin Muhammad (Farrukhsiyar) 1713�1719
Shamsuddin Muhammad (Rafi ud-Darajat) 1719
Rafiuddin Muhammad (Shah Jahan II) 1719
Roshan Akhtar (Muhammad Shah) 1719�1748
Mujahiduddin Gazi (Ahmad Shah Bahadur) 1748�1754
Azizuddin (Alamgir II) 1754�1758
Muhi-ul-Millat (Shah Jahan III) 1759�1760
Jalaluddin Abdullah (Ali Gohar Shah Alam) 1760�1806
Mahmud Shah Bahadur 1788
Muinuddin Akbar (Akbar Shah II) 1806�1837
Sirajuddin Muhammad (Bahadur Shah Zafar) 1837�1857
vte

The meeting between Babur and Sultan Ali Mirza near Samarkand
The Safavid army led by Najm-e Sani massacred civilians in Central Asia and then
sought the assistance of Babur, who advised the Safavids to withdraw. The Safavids,
however, refused and were defeated during the Battle of Ghazdewan by the warlord
Ubaydullah Khan.[33]

Babur's early relations with the Ottomans were poor because the Ottoman Sultan
Selim I provided his rival Ubaydullah Khan with powerful matchlocks and cannons. In
1507, when ordered to accept Selim I as his rightful suzerain, Babur refused and
gathered Qizilbash servicemen in order to counter the forces of Ubaydullah Khan
during the Battle of Ghazdewan. In 1513, Selim I reconciled with Babur (fearing
that he would join the Safavids), dispatched Ustad Ali Quli the artilleryman and
Mustafa Rumi the matchlock marksman, and many other Ottoman Turks, in order to
assist Babur in his conquests; this particular assistance proved to be the basis of
future Mughal-Ottoman relations.[34] From them, he also adopted the tactic of using
matchlocks and cannons in field (rather than only in sieges), which would give him
an important advantage in India.[32]

Formation of the Mughal Empire

Main articles: Lodi dynasty, Delhi Sultanate, and Siege of Kabul (1504)

Babur's coin, based on Bahlol Lodhi's standard, Qila Agra, AH 936

Babur still wanted to escape from the Uzbeks, and he chose India as a refuge
instead of Badakhshan, which was to the north of Kabul. He wrote, "In the presence
of such power and potency, we had to think of some place for ourselves and, at this
crisis and in the crack of time there was, put a wider space between us and the
strong foeman."[32] After his third loss of Samarkand, Babur gave full attention to
the conquest of North India, launching a campaign; he reached the Chenab River, now
in Pakistan, in 1519.[24] Until 1524, his aim was to only expand his rule to
Punjab, mainly to fulfill the legacy of his ancestor Timur, since it used to be
part of his empire.[32] At the time parts of north India were under the rule of
Ibrahim Lodi of the Lodi dynasty, but the empire was crumbling and there were many
defectors. He received invitations from Daulat Khan Lodi, Governor of Punjab and
Ala-ud-Din, uncle of Ibrahim.[35] He sent an ambassador to Ibrahim, claiming
himself the rightful heir to the throne, but the ambassador was detained at Lahore
and released months later.[24]

Babur started for Lahore, Punjab, in 1524 but found that Daulat Khan Lodi had been
driven out by forces sent by Ibrahim Lodi.[36] When Babur arrived at Lahore, the
Lodi army marched out and his army was routed. In response, Babur burned Lahore for
two days, then marched to Dibalpur, placing Alam Khan, another rebel uncle of Lodi,
as governor.[37] Alam Khan was quickly overthrown and fled to Kabul. In response,
Babur supplied Alam Khan with troops who later joined up with Daulat Khan Lodi, and
together with about 30,000 troops, they besieged Ibrahim Lodi at Delhi.[38] He
easily defeated and drove off Alam's army and Babur realised Lodi would not allow
him to occupy the Punjab.[38]

First battle of Panipat

Main article: Battle of Panipat (1526)

Mughal artillery and troops in action during the Battle of Panipat (1526)
In November 1525 Babur got news at Peshawar that Daulat Khan Lodi had switched
sides, and he drove out Ala-ud-Din.[clarification needed] Babur then marched onto
Lahore to confront Daulat Khan Lodi, only to see Daulat's army melt away at their
approach.[24] Daulat surrendered and was pardoned. Thus within three weeks of
crossing the Indus River Babur had become the master of Punjab.[citation needed]

Babur marched on to Delhi via Sirhind. He reached Panipat on 20 April 1526 and
there met Ibrahim Lodi's numerically superior army of about 100,000 soldiers and
100 elephants.[24][35] In the battle that began on the following day, Babur used
the tactic of Tulugma, encircling Ibrahim Lodi's army and forcing it to face
artillery fire directly, as well as frightening its war elephants.[35] Ibrahim Lodi
died during the battle, thus ending the Lodi dynasty.[24]

Babur wrote in his memoirs about his victory:

By the grace of the Almighty God, this difficult task was made easy to me and that
mighty army, in the space of a half a day was laid in dust.[24]

After the battle, Babur occupied Delhi and Agra, took the throne of Lodi, and laid
the foundation for the eventual rise of Mughal rule in India. However, before he
became North India's ruler, he had to fend off challengers, such as Rana Sanga.[39]

Battle of Khanwa
Main article: Battle of Khanwa

Babur and the Mughal army at the Urvah valley in Gwalior.

The Battle of Khanwa was fought between Babur and the Rajput ruler Rana Sanga on 17
March 1527. Rana Sanga wanted to overthrow Babur, whom he considered to be a
foreigner ruling in India, and also to extend the Rajput territories by annexing
Delhi and Agra. He was supported by Afghan chiefs who felt Babur had been deceptive
by refusing to fulfil promises made to them. Upon receiving news of Rana Sangha's
advance towards Agra, Babur took a defensive position at Khanwa (currently in the
Indian state of Rajasthan), from where he hoped to launch a counterattack later.
According to K.V. Krishna Rao, Babur won the battle because of his "superior
generalship" and modern tactics: the battle was one of the first in India that
featured cannons. Rao also notes that Rana Sanga faced "treachery" when the Hindu
chief Silhadi joined Babur's army with a garrison of 6,000 soldiers.[40]

Battle of Chanderi
This battle took place in the aftermath of the Battle of Khanwa. On receiving news
that Rana Sanga had made preparations to renew the conflict with him, Babur decided
to isolate the Rana by inflicting a military defeat on one of his staunchest
allies, Medini Rai, who was the ruler of Malwa.[41][42][page needed]

Upon reaching Chanderi, on 20 January 1528, Babur offered Shamsabad to Medini Rao
in exchange for Chanderi as a peace overture, but the offer was rejected.[42] The
outer fortress of Chanderi was taken by Babur's army at night, and the next morning
the upper fort was captured. Babur himself expressed surprise that the upper fort
had fallen within an hour of the final assault.[41] Medini Rai organized a Jauhar
ceremony during which women and children within the fortress immolated themselves.
[41][42] A small number of soldiers also collected in Medini Rao's house and
proceeded to kill each other in collective suicide. This sacrifice does not seem to
have impressed Babur who does not express a word of admiration for the enemy in his
autobiography.[41]

Personal life and relationships

There are no descriptions about Babur's physical appearance, except from the
paintings in the translation of the Baburnama prepared during the reign of Akbar.
[23] In his autobiography, Babur claimed to be strong and physically fit, and
claimed to have swum across every major river he encountered, including twice
across the Ganges River in North India.[43] Unlike his father, he had ascetic
tendencies and did not have any great interest in women. In his first marriage, he
was "bashful" towards Aisha Sultan Begum, later losing his affection for her.[44]
Babur showed similar shyness in his interactions with Baburi, a boy in his camp
with whom he had an infatuation around this time, reccounting that: "Occasionally
Baburi came to me, but I was so bashful that I could not look him in the face, much
less converse freely with him. In my excitement and agitation I could not thank him
for coming, much less complain of his leaving. Who could bear to demand the
ceremonies of fealty?"[45] However, Babur acquired several more wives and
concubines over the years, and as required for a prince, he was able to ensure the
continuity of his line.

Babur crossing the Indus River

Babur's first wife, Aisha Sultan Begum, was his paternal cousin, the daughter of
Sultan Ahmad Mirza, his father's brother. She was an infant when betrothed to
Babur, who was himself five years old. They married eleven years later, c.?1498�99.
The couple had one daughter, Fakhr-un-Nissa, who died within a year in 1500. Three
years later, after Babur's first defeat at Fergana, Aisha left him and returned to
her father's household.[46][32] In 1504, Babur married Zaynab Sultan Begum, who
died childless within two years. In the period 1506�08, Babur married four women,
Maham Begum (in 1506), Masuma Sultan Begum, Gulrukh Begum and Dildar Begum.[46]
Babur had four children by Maham Begum, of whom only one survived infancy. This was
his eldest son and heir, Humayun. Masuma Sultan Begum died during childbirth; the
year of her death is disputed (either 1508 or 1519). Gulrukh bore Babur two sons,
Kamran and Askari, and Dildar Begum was the mother of Babur's youngest son, Hindal.
[46] Babur later married Mubaraka Yusufzai, a Pashtun woman of the Yusufzai tribe.
Gulnar Aghacha and Nargul Aghacha were two Circassian slaves given to Babur as
gifts by Tahmasp Shah Safavi, the Shah of Persia. They became "recognized ladies of
the royal household."[46]

During his rule in Kabul, when there was a time of relative peace, Babur pursued
his interests in literature, art, music and gardening.[32] Previously, he never
drank alcohol and avoided it when he was in Herat. In Kabul, he first tasted it at
the age of thirty. He then began to drink regularly, host wine parties and consume
preparations made from opium.[26] Though religion had a central place in his life,
Babur also approvingly quoted a line of poetry by one of his contemporaries: "I am
drunk, officer. Punish me when I am sober". He quit drinking for health reasons
before the Battle of Khanwa, just two years before his death, and demanded that his
court do the same. But he did not stop chewing narcotic preparations, and did not
lose his sense of irony. He wrote, "Everyone regrets drinking and swears an oath
(of abstinence); I swore the oath and regret that."[47]

Family
Consorts
Maham Begum (married in 1506), chief consort
Aisha Sultan Begum (married 1499-1503), daughter of Sultan Ahmed Mirza
Zainab Sultan Begum (married in 1504), daughter of Sultan Mahmud Mirza
Masuma Sultan Begum (married in 1507), daughter of Sultan Ahmed Mirza and half-
sister of Aisha Sultan Begum
Bibi Mubarika (married in 1519), Pashtun of the Yusufzai tribe
Gulrukh Begum (not to be confused with Babur's daughter Gulrukh Begum, who was also
known as Gulbarg Begum)
Dildar Begum
Gulnar Aghacha, Circassian concubine
Nargul Aghacha, Circassian concubine
The identity of the mother of one of Babur's daughters, Gulrukh Begum is disputed.
Gulrukh's mother may have been the daughter of Sultan Mahmud Mirza by his wife
Pasha Begum who is referred to as Saliha Sultan Begum in certain secondary sources,
however this name is not mentioned in the Baburnama or the works of Gulbadan Begum,
which casts doubt on her existence. This woman may never have existed at all or she
may even be the same woman as Dildar Begum.

Issue
Babur had several children with his consorts:

Sons
Humayun (6 March 1508 � 27 January 1556), son with Maham Begum, succeeded Babur as
the second Mughal Emperor
Kamran Mirza (died 1557), son with Gulrukh Begum
Askari Mirza, son with Gulrukh Begum
Hindal Mirza, son with Dildar Begum
Ahmad Mirza, son with Gulrukh Begum, died young
Shahrukh Mirza, son with Gulrukh Begum, died young
Barbul Mirza, son with Maham Begum, died in infancy
Alwar Mirza, son with Dildar Begum, died in childhood
Faruq Mirza, son with Maham Begum, died in infancy
Daughters
Fakhr-un-Nissa Begum, daughter with Aisha Sultan Begum, died in infancy.
Aisan Daulat Begum, daughter with Maham Begum, died in infancy.
Mehr Jahan Begum, daughter with Maham Begum, died in infancy.
Masuma Sultan Begum, daughter with Masuma Sultan Begum. Married to Muhammad Zaman
Mirza.
Gulzar Begum, daughter with Gulrukh Begum, died young.
Gulrukh Begum (Gulbarg Begum). Identity of mother is disputed, may have been Dildar
Begum or Saliha Sultan Begum. Married to Nuruddin Muhammad Mirza, son of Khwaja
Hasan Naqshbandi, with whom she had Salima Sultan Begum, wife of Bairam Khan and
later the Mughal Emperor Akbar.
Gulbadan Begum (c. 1523 � 7 February 1603), daughter with Dildar Begum. Married
Khizr Khwaja Khan, son of her father's cousin Aiman Khwajah Sultan of Moghulistan,
son of Ahmad Alaq of Moghulistan, the maternal uncle of Emperor Babur.
Gulchehra Begum, daughter with Dildar Begum. Married firstly in 1530 to Sultan
Tukhta Bugha Khan, son of Ahmad Alaq of Moghulistan, the maternal uncle of Emperor
Babur. Married secondly to Abbas Sultan Uzbeg.
Gulrang Begum, daughter with Dildar Begum. Married in 1530 to Isan Timur Sultan,
ninth son of Ahmad Alaq of Moghulistan, the maternal uncle of Emperor Babur.
Death and legacy

Babur and his heir Humayun

Babur died in Agra at the age of 47 on 5 January [O.S. 26 December 1530] 1531 and
was succeeded by his eldest son, Humayun. He was first buried in Agra but, as per
his wishes, his mortal remains were moved to Kabul and reburied in Bagh-e Babur in
Kabul sometime between 1539�1544.[6][48]

Bobur Square, Andijan, Uzbekistan in 2012

It is generally agreed that, as a Timurid, Babur was not only significantly
influenced by the Persian culture, but also that his empire gave rise to the
expansion of the Persianate ethos in India.[4][5]

For example, F. Lehmann states in the Encyclop�dia Iranica:

His origin, milieu, training, and culture were steeped in Persian culture and so
Babur was largely responsible for the fostering of this culture by his descendants,
the Mughals of India, and for the expansion of Persian cultural influence in India,
with brilliant literary, artistic, and historiographical results.[16]

Although all applications of modern Central Asian ethnicities to people of Babur's

time are anachronistic, Soviet and Uzbek sources regard Babur as an ethnic Uzbek.
[49][50][51] At the same time, during the Soviet Union Uzbek scholars were censored
for idealising and praising Babur and other historical figures such as Ali-Shir
Nava'i.[52]

The tomb of the first Mughal Emperor Babur in Kabul

Babur is considered a national hero in Uzbekistan.[53] On 14 February 2008, stamps
in his name were issued in the country to commemorate his 525th birth anniversary.
[54] Many of Babur's poems have become popular Uzbek folk songs, especially by
Sherali Jo'rayev.[55] Some sources claim that Babur is a national hero in
Kyrgyzstan too.[56] In October 2005, Pakistan developed the Babur Cruise Missile,
named in his honour.

One of the enduring features of Babur's life was that he left behind the lively and
well-written autobiography known as Baburnama.[11] Quoting Henry Beveridge, Stanley
Lane-Poole writes:

His autobiography is one of those priceless records which are for all time, and is
fit to rank with the confessions of St. Augustine and Rousseau, and the memoirs of
Gibbon and Newton. In Asia it stands almost alone.

[57] In his own words, "The cream of my testimony is this, do nothing against your
brothers even though they may deserve it." Also, "The new year, the spring, the
wine and the beloved are joyful. Babur make merry, for the world will not be there
for you a second time."[58]

Tombstone of Babur in Bagh-e Babur, Kabul, Afghanistan

Babri Masjid
Babri Masjid ("Babur's Mosque") in Ayodhya, is said to have been constructed on the
orders of Mir Baqi, one of the commanders of his army. In 2003, by the order of an
Indian Court, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was asked to conduct a more
in-depth study and an excavation to ascertain the type of structure that was
beneath the mosque.[59] The excavation was conducted from 12 March 2003 to 7 August
2003, resulting in 1360 discoveries. The ASI submitted its report to the Allahabad
high court.[60]

The summary of the ASI report indicated the presence of a 10th-century temple under
the mosque.[61][62] The ASI team said that, human activity at the site dates back
to the 13th century BCE. The next few layers date back to the Shunga period
(second-first century BCE) and the Kushan period. During the early medieval period
(11�12th century CE), a huge but short-lived structure of nearly 50 metres north-
south orientation was constructed. On the remains of this structure, another
massive structure was constructed: this structure had at least three structural
phases and three successive floors attached with it. The report concluded that it
was over the top of this construction that the disputed structure was constructed
during the early 16th century.[63]

Ancestry
Ancestors of Babur
Notes
Christine Isom-Verhaaren, Allies with the Infidel, (I.B. Tauris, 2013), 58.
EB (1878).
Dale, Stephen Frederic (2004). The garden of the eight paradises: Babur and the
culture of Empire in Central Asia, Afghanistan and India (1483�1530). Brill. pp.
15, 150. ISBN 90-04-13707-6.
F. Lehmann: ?ahir-al-Din Mo?ammad Babor. In Encyclop�dia Iranica. Online Ed.
December 1988 (updated August 2011). "Babor, ?ahir-al-Din Mo?ammad (6 Mo?arram 886-
6 Jomada I 937/14 February 1483 � 26 December 1530), Timurid prince, military
genius, and literary craftsman who escaped the bloody political arena of his
Central Asian birthplace to found the Mughal Empire in South Asia. His origin,
milieu, training, and education were steeped in Muslim culture and so Babor played
significant role for the fostering of this culture by his descendants, the Mughals
of India, and for the expansion of Islam in India, with brilliant literary,
artistic, and historiographical results."
Robert L. Canfield, Robert L. (1991). Turko-Persia in historical perspective,
Cambridge University Press, p. 20. "The Mughals-Persianized Turks who invaded from
Central Asia and claimed descent from both Timur and Genghis � strengthened the
Persianate culture of Muslim India".
Necipoglu, G�lru (1997), Muqarnas: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic
World, BRILL, p. 135, ISBN 90-04-10872-6
Richards, John F. (1995), The Mughal Empire, Cambridge University Press, p. 6,
ISBN 978-0-521-56603-2
Eraly 2007, pp. 18�20.
EB (1911).
Thumb, Albert, Handbuch des Sanskrit, mit Texten und Glossar, German original, ed.
C. Winter, 1953, Snippet, p. 318
Babur, Emperor of Hindustan (2002). The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and
Emperor. translated, edited and annotated by W. M. Thackston. Modern Library. ISBN
0-375-76137-3.
Dilip Hiro (2006). Babur Nama: Journal of Emperor Babur. Mumbai: Penguin Books
India. p. xviii. ISBN 978-0-14-400149-1.
"Mirza Muhammad Haidar". Silk Road Seattle. University of Washington. Retrieved 7
November 2006. On the occasion of the birth of Babar Padishah (the son of Omar
Shaikh)
Babur. Babur Nama. Penguin Books. p. vii. ISBN 978-0-14-400149-1.
"Babur (Mughal emperor)". Encyclop�dia Britannica. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
Lehmann, F. "Memoirs of Zehir-ed-Din Muhammed Babur". Encyclop�dia Iranica.
Retrieved 2 April 2008.
"Iran: The Timurids and Turkmen". Encyclop�dia Britannica. Retrieved 29 August
2016.
Manz, Beatrice Forbes (1994). "The Symbiosis of Turk and Tajik". Central Asia in
Historical Perspective. Boulder, Colorado & Oxford. p. 58. ISBN 0-8133-3638-4.
"Babur, the first Moghul emperor: Wine and tulips in Kabul". The Economist. 16
December 2010. pp. 80�82. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
Lal, Ruby (25 September 2005). Domesticity and Power in the Early Mughal World. p.
69. ISBN 0-521-85022-3. It was over these possessions, provinces controlled by
uncles, or cousins of varying degrees, that Babur fought with close and distant
relatives for much of his life.
Ewans, Martin (September 2002). Afghanistan: A Short History of Its People and
Politics. HarperCollins. pp. 26�27. ISBN 0-06-050508-7. Babur, while still in his
teens, conceived the ambition of conquering Samarkand. In 1497, after a seven
months' siege, he took the city, but his supporters gradually deserted him and
Ferghana was taken from him in his absence. Within a few months he was compelled to
retire from Samarkand ... Eventually he retook Samarkand, but was again forced out,
this time by an Usbek leader, Shaibani Khan ... Babur decided in 1504 to trek over
the Hindu Kush to Kabul, where the current ruler promptly retreated to Kandahar and
left him in undisputed control of the city.
"The Memoirs of Babur". Silk Road Seattle. University of Washington. Retrieved 8
November 2006. After being driven out of Samarkand in 1501 by the Uzbek
Shaibanids ...
Eraly 2007, pp. 21�23.
Mahajan, V.D. (2007). History of medieval India (10th ed.). New Delhi: S Chand.
pp. 428�29. ISBN 81-219-0364-5.
Brend, Barbara (20 December 2002). Perspectives on Persian Painting: Illustrations
to Amir Khusrau's Khamsah. Routledge (UK). p. 188. ISBN 0-7007-1467-7.
Eraly 2007, pp. 24�26.
Lamb, Christina (February 2004). The Sewing Circles of Herat: A Personal Voyage
Through Afghanistan. HarperCollins. p. 153. ISBN 0-06-050527-3.
 Hickmann, William C. (19 October 1992). Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time. p. 473.
ISBN 0-691-01078-1. Eastern Turk Mir Ali Shir Neva'i (1441�1501), founder of the
Chagatai literary language
Doniger, Wendy (September 1999). Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World
Religions. Merriam-Webster. p. 539. ISBN 0-87779-044-2.
Sicker, Martin (August 2000). The Islamic World in Ascendancy: From the Arab
Conquests to the Siege in Vienna. p. 189. ISBN 0-275-96892-8. Ismail was quite
prepared to lend his support to the displaced Timurid prince, Zahir ad-Din Babur,
who offered to accept Safavid suzerainty in return for help in regaining control of
Transoxiana.
Erdogan, Eralp (July 2014). "Bab�r Imparatorlugu'nun Kurulus Safhasinda Sah Ismail
ile Bab�r Ittifaki" (PDF). Journal of History Studies (in Turkish). 6 (4): 31�39.
Eraly 2007, pp. 27�29.
Stuart Cary Welch. The Emperors' Album: Images of Mughal India. Metroplitian
Museum of Art. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-87099-499-9.
Farooqi, Naimur Rahman (2008). Mughal-Ottoman relations: a study of political &
diplomatic relations ... Retrieved 25 March 2014.
Chaurasia, Radhey Shyam (2002). History of medieval India : from 1000 A.D. to 1707
A.D. New Delhi: Atlantic Publ. pp. 89�90. ISBN 81-269-0123-3.
Satish Chandra, Medieval India:From Sultanat to the Mughals, Vol. 2, (Har-Anand,
2009), 27.
Chandra (2009, p. 27-8)
Chandra (2009, p. 28)
Mahajan (2007, p. 438)
Rao, K. V. Krishna. Prepare Or Perish: A Study of National Security. Lancer
Publishers. p. 453. ISBN 978-81-7212-001-6.
Lane-pool, Stanley (1899). "Babar". pp. 182�183. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
Chandra, Satish (2006). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals (1206�1526).
2. Har-Anand Publications.
Elliot, Henry Miers (1867�1877). "The Muhammadan Period". The History of India, as
Told by Its Own Historians. John Dowson (ed.). London: Trubner. Retrieved 2 April
2008. ... and on the same journey, he swam twice across the Ganges, as he said he
had done with every other river he had met with.
"The Memoirs of Babur, Volume 1, chpt. 71". Memoirs of Zehir-ed-Din Muhammed Babur
Emperor of Hindustan, Written by himself, in the Chaghatai Turki. Translated by
John Leyden and William Erskine, Annotated and Revised by Lucas King. Oxford
University Press. 1921. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 2
April 2008. Aisha Sultan Begum, the daughter of Sultan Ahmed Mirza, to whom I had
been betrothed in the lifetime of my father and uncle, having arrived in Khujand, I
now married her, in the month of Shaban. In the first period of my being a married
man, though I had no small affection for her, yet, from modesty and bashfulness, I
went to her only once in ten, fifteen, or twenty days. My affection afterwards
declined, and my shyness increased; in so much, that my mother the Khanum, used to
fall upon me and scold me with great fury, sending me off like a criminal to visit
her once in a month or forty days.
Babur, Thackston (2002, p. 89)
Babur; Dilip Hiro. "Babur's wives and children". In Dilip Hiro (ed.). Babur
Nama:Journal of Emperor Babur (2006 ed.). Penguin. p. 362. ISBN 978-0-14-400149-1.
Pope, Hugh (2005). Sons of the Conquerors, Overlook Duckworth, pp. 234�35.
Mahajan (2007, p. 438)
Prokhorov, A. M., ed. (1969�1978). "Babur". Great Soviet Encyclopedia (in
Russian). Moscow: Soviet Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 16 September
2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
Muminov, Ibrohim, ed. (1972). "Bobur". Uzbek Soviet Encyclopedia (in Uzbek). 2.
Tashkent: Uzbek Soviet Encyclopedia. pp. 287�95.
Bobur, Zahiriddin Muhammad (1989). "About This Edition". In A'zam O?ktam (ed.).
Boburnoma (in Uzbek). Tashkent: Yulduzcha. p. 3.
William Fierman, ed. (1991). Soviet Central Asia. Boulder, Colorado: Westview
Press. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-8133-7907-4.
 "Grandeur and Eternity: Zahiriddin Muhammad Bobur in Minds of People Forever".
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"The country's history on postage miniatures". Uzbekistan Today. Archived from the
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"Sherali Jo?rayev: We Haven't Stopped. We Still Exist". BBC's Uzbek Service (in
Uzbek). 13 April 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
Dust in the Wind: Retracing Dharma Master Xuanzang's Western Pilgrimage by ??????,
Zhihong Wang, p. 121
Lane-Poole (1899, p. 12-3)
Sen, Sailendra Nath (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books.
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Ratnagar, Shereen (April 2004). "Archaeology at the Heart of a Political
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doi:10.1086/381044.
"ASI submits report on Ayodhya excavation". Rediff.com. PTI. 22 August 2003.
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Suryamurthy, R (26 August 2003). "ASI findings may not resolve title dispute". The
Tribune.
Prasannan, R. (7 September 2003) "Ayodhya: Layers of truth" The Week (India), from
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"Proof of temple found at Ayodhya: ASI report". Rediff.com. PTI. 25 August 2003.
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Edward James Rapson, Sir Wolseley Haig, Sir Richard Burn, The Cambridge History of
India Vol.IV (1937), p. 3
B. S. Chandrababu, L. Thilagavathi, Woman, Her History and Her Struggle for
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Rama Shanker Avasthy, The Mughal Emperor Humayun (1967), p. 25
John E Woods, The Timurid Dynasty (1990), p. 35
Morris Rossabi (28 November 2014). From Yuan to Modern China and Mongolia: The
Writings of Morris Rossabi. BRILL. p. 48. ISBN 978-90-04-28529-3.
Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat, Sir E. Denison Ross, N. Elilias, A History of the
Moghuls of Central Asia: The Tarikh-i-Rashidi (2008), p. 65
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Dughlat, Ross (1990, p. 86)
References
Wikisource Baynes, T.S., ed. (1878), "Baber" , Encyclop�dia Britannica, 3 (9th
ed.), New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 179
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911), "Baber" , Encyclop�dia Britannica, 3 (11th ed.),
Cambridge University Press, p. 92
"'Turks and Afghan' and 'The Mughal Period'", Cambridge History of India, Vol. III
& IV, Cambridge, 1928
Eraly, Abraham (2007), Emperors Of The Peacock Throne: The Saga of the Great
Moghuls, Penguin Books Limited, ISBN 978-93-5118-093-7
Further reading
Alam, Muzaffar; Subrahmanyan, Sanjay, eds. (1998). The Mughal State, 1526�1750.
Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-563905-6.
Thackston Jr., W.M., The Baburnama, (New York) 2010.
Balabanlilar, Lisa (2012). Imperial Identity in the Mughal Empire: Memory and
Dynastic Politics in Early Modern South and Central Asia. London: I.B. Tauris.
Gascoigne, Bamber The Great Moghuls (London) 1971. (Last revised 1987)
Gommans, Jos Mughal Warfare (London) 2002
Gordon, Stewart. When Asia was the World: Traveling Merchants, Scholars, Warriors,
and Monks who created the "Riches of the East" Da Capo Press, Perseus Books, 2008.
ISBN 0-306-81556-7.
Hasan, Mohibbul (1985). Babur: Founder of the Mughal Empire in India. New Delhi:
Manohar Publications.
Irvine, William The Army of the Indian Moghuls. (London) 1902. (Last revised 1985)
Jackson, Peter The Delhi Sultanate. A Political and Military History (Cambridge)
1999
Richards, John F. The Mughal Empire (Cambridge) 1993
External links
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Works by or about Babur at Internet Archive
Works by or about Babur in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
Babur
Timurid Dynasty
Born: 14 February 1483 Died: 26 December 1530
Regnal titles
New title
Dynasty founded
Mughal Emperor
20 April 1526 � 26 December 1530 Succeeded by
Humayun
vte
Mughal Empire
Authority control Edit this at Wikidata
BIBSYS: 97018368 BNF: cb11889779q (data) CiNii: DA02614240 GND: 118841807 ISNI:
0000 0001 0845 1285 LCCN: n50053659 LNB: 000156471 NDL: 00709319 NKC: jo2018981803
NLA: 35049106 NLA-person: 811776 NLI: 000013945 NTA: 068809522 SELIBR: 44209 SNAC:
w6pd0tfx SUDOC: 026699494 ULAN: 500212753 VIAF: 97090468 WorldCat Identities (via
VIAF): 97090468
Categories: Babur1483 births1530 deaths1530 in IndiaTimurid dynastyIndian people of
Turkic descent16th-century Indian monarchs15th-century Indian monarchs
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