Babur (1526-1530)
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Babur was the founder of the Mughal Empire in India. His original name was Zahiruddin Muhammad.
He was related to Timur from his father's side and to Chengiz Khan through his mother.
Babur succeeded his father Umar Shaikh Mirza as the ruler of Farghana.
Military Conquests
On the eve of Babur‟s invasion of India, there were seven prominent rulers – the Sultans of Delhi, Gujarat, Malwa, Bengal and the Deccan – Mewar and the Vijayanagar Empire.
Once again by the end of 1525, Babur started from Kabul to conquer India.
He occupied Lahore easily by defeating its governor, Daulat Khan Lodi.
Then he proceeded against Delhi where Ibrahim Lodi was the Sultan.
On 21st April 1526 the first Battle of Panipat took place between Babur and Ibrahim Lodi, who was killed in the battle.
Babur‟s success was due to his cavalry and artillery.
Babur occupied Delhi and sent his son Humayun to seize Agra.
Babur proclaimed himself as “Emperor of Hindustan”.
His subsequent victories over Rana Sangha and the Afghans secured his position as the ruler of India. Rana Sangha of Mewar was a great Rajput warrior.
He marched against Babur and in the Battle of Khanwa (near Agra) held in 1527 Babur won a decisive victory over him.
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
Babur assumed the title Ghazi.
In 1528, Babur captured Chanderi from another Rajput ruler Medini Rai.
In the next year, Babur defeated the Afghans in the Battle of Gagra in Bihar.
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By these victories, Babur consolidated his power in India.
Babri Masjid ("Babur's Mosque") in Ayodhya, is said to have been constructed on the orders of one of Mir Baqi, one of the commanders of his army.
Babur died at Agra in 1530 at the age of forty seven.
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The garden where it is believed Babur requested to be buried in is known as Bagh-e Babur.
It was the tradition of Mughal princes to develop sites for recreation and pleasure during their lifetime, and choose one of these as a last resting-place.
Estimate of Babur
Babur was a great statesman and a man of solid achievements.
He was also a great scholar in Arabic and Persian languages.
in Uzbekistan 2008, stamps in his name were issued to commemorate his 525th birth anniversary.
Many of Babur's poems have become popular Uzbek folk songs,especially by Sherali Jo'rayev.
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Turki was his mother tongue.
He wrote his memoirs, Tuzuk-i-Baburi in Turki language.
It provides a vivid account of India.
He frankly confesses his own failures without suppressing any facts.
He was also a naturalist and described the flora and fauna of India.
Humayun (1530-1540)
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Humayun was the eldest son of Babur.
Humayun means “fortune” but he remained the most unfortunate ruler of the Mughal Empire.
Humayun had three brothers, Kamran, Askari and Hindal.
Humayun divided the empire among his brothers but this proved to be a great blunder on his part.
Kamran was given Kabul and Kandahar. Sambhal and Alwar were given to Askari and Hindal.
When Humayun was busy with fighting the Afghans in the east, he got the news that Bahadur Shah of Gujarat was advancing towards Delhi.
The old fort was the inner citadel of the city of Din Panah during Humayun's rule who renovated it in 1533 and completed five years later.
Humayun constructed a citadel at Delhi. Named Din-Panah (Refuge of Religion), this structure is thought to have been destroyed during the reign of Shir Shah Sur.
n 1535 Humayun was made aware that the Sultan of Gujarat was planning an assault on the Mughal territories with Portuguese aid.
Humayun gathered an army and marched on Bahadur. Within a month he had captured the forts of Mandu and Champaner.
However, instead of pressing his attack, Humayun ceased the campaign and consolidated his newly conquered territory. Sultan Bahadur, meanwhile escaped and took up refuge with the Portuguese
Therefore, he hastily concluded a treaty with the Afghan leader Sher Khan (later Sher Shah) and proceeded towards Gujarat.
Humayun lost Mughal territories to Sher Shah Suri, but regained them 15 years later with Safavid aid.
Islam Shah's unconciliatory nature alienated many Afghan chieftains. Eventually, the squabbling for succession among Shir Shah's followers allowed Humayun and the Mughals to return to power in 1555.
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Iran's Shah Tahmasb (1524-76) had provided Humayun with the necessary troops to recapture Kandahar and then Kabul. But less than a year after regaining power, Humayun died unexpectedly at the age of 48 when he fell down the steps of his library in his haste to obey the muezzin's call to prayer.
Humayun's return from Persia was accompanied by a large retinue of Persian noblemen and signalled an important change in Mughal court culture.
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There are many stone carvings and thousands of Persian manuscripts in India dating from the time of Humayun.
Subsequently, Humayun further expanded the Empire in a very short time, leaving a substantial legacy for his son, Akbar.
Humayun's most noted achievement was in the sphere of painting.
His devotion to the early Safavid School, developed during his stay in Iran, led him to recruit Persian painters of merit to accompany him back to India.
These artists, writes Hambly, laid the foundation of the Mughal style which emerged from its Persian chrysalis as an indigenous achievement in which Indian elements blended harmoniously with the traditions of Iran and Central Asia.
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Humayun's tomb (Maqbaera e Humayun) is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun in Delhi, India. The tomb was commissioned by Humayun's first wife and chief consort, Empress Bega Begum (also known as Haji Begum), in 1569-70, and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyas and his son, Sayyid Muhammad,[8] Persian architects chosen by her. It was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent, and is located in Nizamuddin East
The complex encompasses the main tomb of the Emperor Humayun, which houses the graves of Bega Begum herself, Hamida Begum, and also Dara Shikoh, great-great-grandson of Humayun and son of the later Emperor Shah Jahan, as well as numerous other subsequent Mughals, including Emperor Jahandar Shah, Farrukhsiyar, Rafi Ul-Darjat, Rafi Ud-Daulat, Muhammad Kam Bakhsh and Alamgir II.
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it created a precedent for future Mughal architecture of royal mausolea, which reached its zenith with the Taj Mahal, at Agra.
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Sur Interregnum (1540-1555)
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The founder of the Sur dynasty was Sher Shah, whose original name was Farid.
He was the son of Hasan Khan, a jagirdar of Sasaram in Bihar.
Later, Farid served under the Afghan ruler of Bihar, who gave him the title Sher Khan for his bravery.
We have already seen how he defeated Humayun at the Battle of Chausa and became the ruler of Delhi in 1540.
Sher Shah Sur (1540-1545)
Sher Shah waged extensive wars with the Rajputs and expanded his empire.
His conquests include Punjab, Malwa, Sind, Multan and Bundelkhand.
His empire consisted of the whole of North India except Assam, Nepal, Kashmir and Gujarat.
Sher Shah’s Administration
Although his rule lasted for five years, he organized a brilliant administrative system.
The central government consisted of several departments. The king was assisted by four important ministers:
Diwan –i- Wizarat – also called as Wazir- in charge of Revenue and Finance.
Diwan-i-Ariz– in charge of Army.
Diwan-i-Rasalat- Foreign Minister.
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Diwan-i-Insha- Minister for Communications.
Sher Shah‟s empire was divided into forty seven sarkars.
Chief Shiqdar (law and order) and Chief Munsif(judge) were the two officers in charge of the administration in each sarkar.
Each sarkar was divided into several parganas.
Shiqdar(military officer), Amin(land revenue), Fotedar(treasurer) Karkuns (accountants) were in charge of the administration of each pargana.
There were also many administrative units called iqtas.
Sher Shah introduced new silver coins called “Dam” and they were in circulation till 1835.
During his seven-year rule from 1538 to 1545, he set up a new civic and military administration,
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Maldeo, who immediately (and wrongly) suspected his commanders of disloyalty left for Jodhpur with his own men, abandoning his commanders to their fate.
In the ensuing battle of Sammel (also known as battle of Giri Sumel), Sher Shah emerged victorious
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He further developed Humayun's Dina-panah city and named it Shergarh
revived the historical city of Pataliputra, which had been in decline since the 7th century CE, as Patna.
He extended the Grand Trunk Road from Chittagong in the frontiers of the province of Bengal in northeast India to Kabul in Afghanistan in the far northwest of the country.
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He built a new city Bhera of Pakistan in 1545 and inside the city built historical grand Sher Shah Suri Masjid.
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Qila-i-Kuhna mosque, built by Sher Shah in 1541, at Purana Qila, Delhi, a Humayun citadel started in 1533, and later extended by him, along with the construction of Sher Mandal, an octagonal building inside the Purana Qila complex, which later served as the library of Humayun.
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Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi (History of Sher Shah), written by Abbas Khan Sarwani, a waqia-navisunder later Mughal Emperor, Akbar around 1580, provides a detailed documentation about Sher Shah's administration.
Sher Shah was killed on 22 May 1545 during the siege of the Kalinjar fort of Rajputs
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