UPSC CORE GEOGRAPHY · NCERT · SATISH CHANDRA VOL II CH 1-7: MUGHAL FOUNDATION + AKBAR + JAHANGIR + SHAH JAHAN + AURANGZEB
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Babur's lineage + early life?
ZAHIRUDDIN MUHAMMAD BABUR (1483-1530) — descendant of TIMUR (paternal) + GENGHIS KHAN (maternal). Born FERGANA (modern Uzbekistan); king of Fergana at age 12. Lost it to UZBEKS; lost SAMARKAND twice; spent years as a wandering king + warrior. Seized KABUL 1504 (his "consolation" base). Per his autobiography Baburnama — moving + honest about his struggles + failures + alcohol + opium.
Why did Babur invade India?
Multiple factors: (i) Lost ancestral SAMARKAND to Uzbeks — could never recover it; INDIA was the alternative empire; (ii) He had RAIDED India 5 times (1519-1526) to gather intelligence + wealth; (iii) Invitations from DAULAT KHAN LODI (Punjab governor) + ALAM KHAN LODI (Ibrahim's uncle) + RANA SANGA (Mewar) to overthrow Ibrahim Lodi; (iv) AFGHAN nobility was DIVIDED + weak.
First Battle of Panipat (21 April 1526) — TACTICAL innovation?
Babur had ~12,000 vs Lodi's ~50,000-100,000. WON because of: (i) OTTOMAN-style FIELD ARTILLERY (cannons supplied + operated by Ottoman master gunner USTAD ALI QULI — first major use of cannons in Indian battle); (ii) ARABA / Carts roped together as PORTABLE FIELD FORTIFICATIONS (anchor for cannons + protection from cavalry charges); (iii) TULGHUMA — wheeling cavalry that flanked Lodi's army from rear; (iv) MATCHLOCK MUSKETS (matchlocks — first mass use in India). Battle lasted ~3-4 hours; Ibrahim Lodi was KILLED. End of Sultanate; Mughal era began.
Battle of KHANWA (16 March 1527) — significance?
BABUR vs RANA SANGA of MEWAR + Rajput confederacy (~80,000 + 500 elephants); near BHARATPUR (Rajasthan). BABUR adopted JIHAD rhetoric (declared the war religious — became "GHAZI"); broke wine vessels; promised troops the spoils of war. CRUSHED the Rajput coalition. RANA SANGA escaped wounded but his men dispersed; he died of wounds 1528 (poisoned by his own nobles per some versions). BROKE Rajput resistance to Mughal rule for a generation.
Battle of GHAGHRA (6 May 1529) — significance?
BABUR vs AFGHAN-BIHARI coalition (led by Mahmud Lodi, sometimes called "Sultan Mahmud" by Afghans + Sultan Nusrat Shah of Bengal); fought near the GHAGHRA-GANGA confluence in Bihar. Babur won; consolidated Mughal hold up to BENGAL frontier. FINAL major battle of his reign — completed his Indian conquest.
Why is BABURNAMA significant?
WRITTEN by Babur himself in CHAGATAI TURKISH (his mother tongue); translated to Persian (1589 by Akbar's order, by Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan); ENGLISH (1921, Annette Beveridge). Among the GREAT memoir-autobiographies of world history. Contains: vivid first-person on battles, friendships, gardens, fruits of Kabul, regret for not having mountains in India, his alcoholism, his relationship with his sister Khanzada Begum (his most intimate companion), etc. Known for HONESTY about failures + drinking — unusual in royal autobiographies of any era.
How did Babur die?
December 1530 at AGRA, aged 47. LEGEND says he sacrificed his life for his sick son Humayun (walking around Humayun's sickbed praying for his death to be transferred to himself; soon Humayun recovered + Babur fell ill). BURIED first at Agra; later as per his wishes, body re-interred at his BAGH-I BABUR garden in KABUL (still there) — he had asked to be buried in his beloved garden in Kabul, not in India.
Why did HUMAYUN lose to Sher Shah?
Strategic blunders: (i) WASTED 2 years on the GUJARAT campaign (1535) while Sher Shah grew stronger in Bihar; (ii) gave Sher Shah TIME to consolidate; (iii) at CHAUSA (June 1539) — Humayun was tricked by a fake peace + surprise night attack; barely escaped on a leather inflatable + lost most of his army; (iv) at KANNAUJ (May 1540) — Sher Shah decisively destroyed the Mughal army; Humayun fled west.
What happened during Humayun's 15-year exile?
(i) Wandered through SINDH; sister Khanzada and son Akbar were born here at UMARKOT (15 October 1542 — under stars during a battle, hence "AKBAR" = "the great"). (ii) Reached PERSIA where SHAH TAHMASP I gave him refuge + 12,000 troops in exchange for adopting SHIA Islam (publicly converted; his court records show Persian Shia influence afterwards). (iii) RECONQUERED Kandahar (1545) + Kabul (1545); (iv) Defeated Sur successors + retook DELHI on 23 July 1555 — fifteen years after losing it!
SHER SHAH SURI's 5 great reforms?
(i) LAND REVENUE — measurement (zabti) + cash payment; basis of Akbar's system later. (ii) CURRENCY — silver RUPIYA (basis of modern rupee — ~178 grains silver); copper DAM. (iii) ROADS — built/repaired GRAND TRUNK ROAD (Sasaram to Peshawar, 2,500 km, with sarais every 4 km). (iv) POSTAL SYSTEM — using sarais (caravanserai) as way-stations + relays of horses. (v) CIVIL ADMINISTRATION — efficient district-level system (PARGANA → SARKAR hierarchy); STRICT JUSTICE (proverbial — "everyone in the realm could leave a bag of gold on the road and find it again"); merit-based recruitment.
How did Sher Shah die?
1545 — at KALINJAR fortress (Bundelkhand, MP) — explosion of his own gunpowder magazine while besieging the fort. Died of burns. His son ISLAM SHAH SURI (r. 1545-54) ruled briefly; on his death (1554), the Sur dynasty FRAGMENTED amongst rivals; this was the OPPORTUNITY for Humayun to RECAPTURE Delhi 1555.
Who was Hemu and why is he significant?
HEMU / HEMACHANDRA VIKRAMADITYA — Hindu trader-turned-general of the Sur successor ADIL SHAH; captured DELHI + AGRA in October 1556 — declared himself "VIKRAMADITYA"; BRIEFLY restored Hindu rule in Delhi after ~350 years of Sultanate. Defeated and killed at SECOND BATTLE OF PANIPAT (5 November 1556) by 13-year-old Akbar + Bairam Khan (Akbar's regent); head sent to Kabul, body to Delhi. END of Hindu attempt to reclaim Delhi until Marathas in 1750s.
This topic is part of the NCERT UPSC Core History syllabus, drawn from the chapter Satish Chandra Vol II Ch 1-7: Mughal foundation + Akbar + Jahangir + Shah Jahan + Aurangzeb. Content is cross-referenced against the latest NCERT textbook editions + standard reference works.
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