MUGHALS

Medieval: Babur rules the Whole of North India The period between 1526 and 1707 is known as the Mughal period in Indian History.The Mughal rule was established in India by Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur in 1526. As a result of the Battle of Panipat in 1526,Babur became the ruler of Delhi and Agra.He now had to fight against two other enemies,the Afghan nobles of Bihar and Bengal,and the Rajputs under Rana Sanga of Mewar.Babur sent his nobles to unconquered parts of the country to expel the Afghans chiefs from there,while he was engaged in collecting the resources to wage a war against the Rajputs.Rana Sanga was a brave warrior.He was joined by some Muslim supporters of the Lodi dynasty.He marched with an army of 120 chiefs,80,000 horses and 500 war elephants, and the rulers of Ajmer,Gwalior,Amber,Marwar against Babur.Babur's army was comparatively small and were struck with terror and panic.So Babur appealed to his men to fight bravely.His men promised to support him.The Mughals and the Rajputs met in the decisive battle of Khanwa in on March 16, 1527.The Rajputs fought bravely but Babur used the same tactics that he used in the battle of Panipat and thus defeated the Rajputs.Rana Sanga escaped with the help of some of the followers but died after about two years.This victory facilitated Babur's task as it enabled him to establish the rule of the Mughals in India. Babur defeated the Afghans Chiefs then he turned to the them who had formed a confederacy against him under the Ibrahim Lodi's brother Mahmud Lodi.He met the Afghans on the banks of Ghagra, near the confluence of that river with the Ganga above Patna.Babur defeated the Afghans on May 6,1529. Thus as a result of these three victorious battle (Battle of Panipat,Battle of Khanwar and Battle of Ghagra),Babur became the master of the whole of northern India.Agra became the capital of Babur's empire. Medieval: 1530-1540: Rule of Humayun after Babur Early times of Humayun In 1530, after the death of Babur, his elder son Humayun succeeded the throne.At the age of twenty-three,Humayun became the ruler of the Mughal empire in India.The conditions were not easy for Humayun.There were many enemies in disguise.His own cousins were pretenders to the throne. Humayun's three brothers - Kamran,Hindal and Askari - also coveted the throne. Also, the empire left by Babur was not a consolidated one. This left Humayun with many difficulties. The growing power of Gujarat under Bahadur Shah was a great threat to Humayun.Bahadur Shah,who had won a great victory over the Rajputs, was now making plans to invade Agra.The Afghans of Bihar and Bengal found a new leader in Sher Khan and were trying to regain their lost power. Humayun himself was his worst enemy.He was neither a gifted general nor a wise statesman.He was incapable of taking prompt decisions. What he lacked was the preserverance of his father Babur and thus he could not pursue his plans with determination. In private life,he might be a good companion and a staunch friend but as a king he was a failure. The Early wars of Humayun Humayun was favoured by fortune.He fought successful wars against Sher Khan and Bhadur Shah of Gujarat.But he could not remove his enemies from their roots as he lacked the essential qualities of sustained effort.Bahadur Shah had given definite provocation to Humayun by annexing Malwa and besieging the famous fortress of Chitor.In 1534,the Rajputs solicitated Humayun's assistance against Bahadur Shah.However Humayun ignored their appeal and that was the biggest blunder he made. Humayun was busy in his campaign against Bahadur Shah which gave time to Sher Khan to mobilise his forces. |PALAS| |PRATIHARAS| |RASHTRAKUTAS| |MUSLIM INVASION| |DELHI SULTANATE| |SLAVE DYNASTY| |KHILJIS| |TUGHLAKS| |TIMUR| |SAYYADS| |LODHIS| |VIJAYANAGARA | |BAHAMANI| |BHAKTI MOVEMENT | |SUFISM| |SHERSHAH| |MUGHALS RE-ESTABLISHED| |SIKH POWER|