Facts about Babur

Babur immediately assembled a 12,000-man army, complete with limited artillery, and marched into India.

Babur was born February 14, 1483, in the Uzbekistan city of Andijan.

Babur himself, unfortunately, contributed to communitarian conflict in India but his dynasty's record was often more positive.

Babur allegedly built the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, on the site of a Hindu temple that marked Ram's birthplace, in 1528.

After crossing the snowy Hindu Kush, Babur besieged and captured the strong city of Kabul.

The death of Husayn Bayqarah in 1506 put a stop to this expedition, but Babur spent a year at Herat, enjoying the pleasures of that capital.

Babur was a follower of Islam and believed very strongly in his religion.

Babur's account does relate how he ordered the destruction of idols at Urwahi in Gwalior, which were “twenty yards tall stark naked, with their private parts exposed” (Thackston 2002, 415-6).

Had Babur not established the empire, the Taj Mahal may never have been built.

Ibrahim advanced against Babur with 100,000 soldiers and one hundred elephants.

Babur was devastated and began to constantly pray for his son.

Babur, though only 12 years of age, succeeded to the throne that Omar Sheikh had once held.

Babur's father, Omar Sheikh, was king of Ferghana, a district of modern Uzbekistan.

Babur wrote his memoirs, the Baburnama, in the Turkish common language, Chagatai.

During the end of Babur’s life, his son, Humayun, became deathly ill with little chance of survival.

Babur returned to Kabul from Herat just in time to quell a formidable rebellion, but two years later a revolt among some of the leading Mughals drove him from his city.

Babur’s army was surrounded, tired, hot, and homesick.

Babur managed to restore their courage but secretly did not believe he had a good chance of defeating Rana Sanga.

Babur now resigned all hopes of recovering Ferghana.

Hence Babur, though called a Mughal (Mongol in Persian), drew most of his support from Turks, and the empire he founded was Turkish in character.

Ibrahim Lodi, sultan of the Indian Delhi Lodhi Sultanate, was detested and several of his Afghani nobles asked Babur for assistance.

Babur soon returned to Kabul and struck the army of his opponents with such power that they returned to their allegiance to Babur and gave up the kingdom.

Babur was a descendant of the famed Mongol warrior Timur.

The kingdom that Babur founded developed into the largest empire in India prior to the arrival of the European powers.

Babur spent the later years of his life arranging affairs and revenues of his new empire, and improving his capital, Agra.

Babur was compelled to escape with his very few companions.

Thackston decribes Rajaram as a “deconstructionist of Indian ‘secular myths’ and an apologist for their destruction of the Babri Mosque.” Babur prided himself on being a ghazi, a holy warrior for Islam.

The text says very little about what Babur did in or near Ayodhia and makes no mention of demolishing a Temple or building a mosque (viii).

Babur was known to be incredibly strong and physically fit.

Babur died at the age of 48 from this disease.

Surprisingly, in the Battle of Khanua on March 16, 1527, Babur won a great victory and made himself absolute master of North India.

Ibrahim Lodi was slain and had his army routed, and Babur quickly took possession of Agra.

In 1497 Babur attacked and gained possession of the Uzbek city of Samarkand.

Babur’s memoirs represent a significant contribution to literature, a pioneer work of autobiography.

Zahir-ud-din Mohammad was known as Babur, derived from the common Indo-European word for "Beaver" (The notion that it comes from the Persian word Babr meaning “tiger” is erroneous; see Thackston 2002, 463).