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The first BattLe OF Panipat,
& dawn of the Mughals - Part 1
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Important changes took place in Central and West Asia during the fifteenth century. After the disintegration of the Mongol Empire in the fourteenth century, Timur united Iran and Turan under one rule once again. Timur's Empire extended from the lower Volga to the river Indus, and included Asia Minor (modern Turkey), Iran, Trans-Oxiana, Afghanistan and a part of the Punjab. Timur died in 1404, but his grandson, Shahrukh Mirza (d.1448), was able to keep intact a large part of his Empire. He gave patronage to arts and letters; and in his time, Samarqand and Herat became the cultural centres of West Asia. The ruler of Samarqand had great prestige in the entire Islamic world.
The power of the Timurids declined rapidly during the second half of the fifteenth century, largely owing to the Timurid tradition of partitioning the Empire. The various Timurid principalities which arose always fought and wrangled among themselves. This provided an opportunity to two new elements to come to the forefront. From the north, a Mongol tribe, the Uzbeks, thrust into Trans-Oxiana. The Uzbeks had become Muslims, but were looked down upon by the Timurids who considered them to be uncultured barbarians. Further to the west, a new dynasty, the Safavid dynasty, began to dominate Iran. The Safavids were descended from an order of saints who traced their ancestry to the Prophet. They supported the Shiite sect among the Muslims, and persecuted those who were not prepared to accept the Shiite tenets. The Uzbeks, on the other hand, were Sunnis. Thus, political conflict between these two elements was embittered by sectarian strife. Further to the west of Iran, the power of the Ottoman Turks was growing. They wanted to dominate eastern Europe as well as Iraq and Iran. Thus the scene was set for the conflict of three mighty Empires in Asia during the sixteenth century.
2.0 BABAR (BABUR)
In 1494, at the young age of 14, Babur came to occupy the throne of Farghana, a small state in Trans-Oxiana. Oblivious of the Uzbek danger, the Timurid princes were busy fighting one another. Babur, too, made a bid to conquer Samarqand from his uncle. He won the city twice but lost it in no time on both the occasions. The second time the Uzbek chief, Shaibani Khan, was called in to help oust Babur. Shaibani defeated Babur and re-conquered Samarqand.
Soon, he overran the rest of the Timurid kingdoms in the area. This forced Babur to move towards Kabul which he conquered in 1504. For the next 14 years, Babur kept biding his time for the re-conquest of the homeland from the Uzbeks. He tried to enlist the help of his uncle, the ruler of Herat, in the enterprise but to no avail. Ultimately, Herat, too, was overrun by Shaibani Khan. This led to a direct conflict between the Uzbeks and the Safavids since the latter also laid claim to Herat and the surrounding area which is called Khorasan by contemporary writers. In a famous battle in 1510, Shah Ismail, the Shah of Iran, defeated and killed Shaibani Khan. Babur now made another attempt to recover Samarqand, this time with the help of the Iranian forces. He was duly installed at Samarqand, but chafed under the control of the Iranian generals who wanted to treat Babur as the governor of an Iranian province rather than as an independent prince. Meanwhile, the Uzbeks recovered rapidly from their defeat. Once again Babur was ousted from Samarqand and had to return to Kabul. Finally, Shah Ismail himself was defeated by the Ottoman Sultan in 1512, thus leaving the Uzbeks masters of Trans-Oxiana.
These developments finally forced Babur to look towards India.
2.1 Conquest of India
Babur says that from the time he obtained Kabul (1504) to his victory at Panipat "I had never ceased to think of the conquest of Hindustan." But he had never found a suitable opportunity for undertaking it, "hindered as I was sometimes by the apprehensions of my Begs, sometimes by the disagreement between my brothers and myself."
Like countless earlier invaders from Central Asia, Babur was drawn to India by the lure of its fabulous wealth. India was the land of gold and riches. Babur's ancestor, Timur, had not only carried away a vast treasure and many skilful artisans, who helped him to consolidate his Asian Empire and beautify his capital, but also annexed some areas in the Punjab. These areas remained in the possession of Timur's successors for several generations. When Babur conquered Afghanistan, he felt that he had a legitimate right to these areas.
According to the historian Abul Fazl, another reason why Babur coveted the Punjab parganas was the meagre income of Kabul. "He (Babur) ruled over Badakhshan, Qandhar and Kabul which did not yield sufficient income for the requirements of the army; in fact, in some of the border territories the expense on controlling the armies and administration was greater than the income."
With these meagre resources Babur could not provide well for his begs and kinsmen. He was also apprehensive of an Uzbek attack on Kabul and considered India to be a good place of refuge, and a suitable base for operations against the Uzbeks.
The political situation in north-west India was suitable for Babur's entry into India. Sikandar Lodi had died in 1517, and Ibrahim Lodi had succeeded him. Ibrahim's efforts to create a large centralised Empire had alarmed the Afghan chiefs as well as the Rajputs. One of the most powerful of the Afghan chiefs was Daulat Khan Lodi, the governor of the Punjab, who was almost an independent ruler. Daulat Khan attempted to conciliate Ibrahim Lodi by sending his son to his court to pay homage. At the same time, he wanted to strengthen his position by annexing the frontier tracts of Bhira, etc.
In 1518-19, Babur conquered the powerful fort of Bhira. He then sent letters and verbal messages to Daulat Khan and Ibrahim Lodi, asking for the cession of the areas which had belonged to the Turks. But Daulat Khan detained Babur's envoy at Lahore, neither granting him audience nor allowing him to go to Ibrahim Lodi. When Babur returned to Kabul, Daulat Khan expelled his agent from Bhira.
In 1520-21, Babur once again crossed the Indus, and easily captured Bhira and Sialkot, the twin gateways to Hindustan. Lahore also capitulated to him. He might have proceeded further but for the news of a revolt at Qandhar. He retraced his steps, and after a siege of a year and a half recaptured Qandhar. Thus reassured, Babur was once again able to turn his attention towards India.
It was about this time that Babur received an embassy from Daulat Khan Lodi, led by his son, Dilawar Khan. They invited Babur to India, and suggested that he should displace Ibrahim Lodi since he was a tyrant and enjoyed no support from his nobles. It is probable that a messenger from Rana Sanga arrived at the same time, inviting Babur to invade India. These embassies convinced Babur that the time was ripe for his conquest of the whole of the Punjab if not of India itself.
In 1525, while Babur was at Peshawar, he received the news that Daulat Khan Lodi had changed sides again. He had collected an army of 30,000-40,000 men, ousted Babur's men from Sialkot and was marching on Lahore. At Babur's approach, the army of Daulat Khan melted away. Daulat Khan submitted and was pardoned. Thus, within three weeks of crossing the Indus, Babur became the master of the Punjab.
2.2 The (first) Battle of Panipat (20 April 1526)
A conflict with Ibrahim Lodhi, the ruler of Delhi, was inevitable, and Babur prepared for it by marching towards Delhi. Ibrahim Lodhi met Babur at Panipat (in Haryana) with a force estimated at 1,00,000 men and 1000 elephants. Since the Indian armies generally contained large hordes of servants, the fighting men on Ibrahim Lodhi side must have been far less than this figure. Babur had crossed the Indus with a force of 12,000, but this had been swelled by his army in India, and the large number of Hindustani nobles and soldiers who joined Babur in the Punjab. Even then, Babur's army was numerically inferior. Babur strengthened his position by resting one wing of his army in the city of Panipat which had a large number of houses, and protected the other by means of a ditch filled with branches of trees. In front, he lashed together a large number of carts, to act as a defending wall. Between two carts, breastworks were erected on which soldiers could rest their guns and fire. Babur calls this device an Ottoman (Rumi) device, for it had been used by the Ottomans in their famous battle against Shah Ismail of Iran. Babur had also secured the services of two Ottoman master-gunners, Ustad Ali and Mustafa. The use of gunpowder had been gradually developing in India. Babur says that he used it for the first time in his attacks on the fortress of Bhira. Apparently, gunpowder was known in India but its use became common in north India from the time of Babur's advent.
Ibrahim Lodhi had no idea of the strongly defended position of Babur. He had apparently expected Babur to fight a mobile mode of warfare, which was usual with the Central Asians; making rapid advance or retreat as the need arose. After skirmishing for seven or eight days, Ibrahim Lodi's forces came out for the fateful battle. Seeing the strength of Babur's position, they hesitated. While Ibrahim was still reorganising his forces, the two extreme wings of Babur's army wheeled round and attacked Ibrahim's forces from the side and rear. Babur's gunners used their guns with good effect from the front. But Babur gives a large part of the credit of his victory to his bowmen. Curiously, he makes little reference to Ibrahim's elephants. Apparently Ibrahim had little time to use them.
Despite these early setbacks, Ibrahim Lodi's army fought valiantly. The battle raged for two or three hours. Ibrahim Lodi fought to the last, with a group of 5000-6000 people around him. It is estimated that besides him, more than 15,000 of his men were killed in the battle. The battle of Panipat is regarded as one of the decisive battles of Indian history. It broke the back of Lodhi power, and brought Under Babur's' control the entire area up to Delhi and Agra. The treasures stored up by Ibrahim Lodhi in Agra relieved Babur from his financial difficulties. The rich territory up to Jaunpur also lay open to Babur. However, Babur had to wage two hard fought battles, one against Rana Sanga of Mewar, and the other against the eastern Afghans, before he could consolidate his hold on this area. Viewed from this angle, the battle of Panipat was not as decisive in the political field as has been made out. Its real importance lies in the fact that it opened a new phase in the struggle for domination in north India.
The difficulties of Babur after his victory at Panipat were manifold. Many of his begs were not prepared for a long campaign in India. With the onset of the hot weather, their misgivings had increased. They were far away from home in a strange, and hostile land. Babur tells us that the people of India displayed "remarkable hostility", abandoning their villages at the approach of the Mughal armies. Obviously, the memories of Timur' s sacking and plundering of the towns and villages were still fresh in their minds.
Babur knew that the resources in India alone would enable him to found a strong Empire and satisfy his begs. "Not for us the poverty of Kabul again," he records in his diary. He thus took a firm stand, proclaiming his intention to stay on in India, and granting leave to a number of his begs who wanted to go back to Kabul. This immediately cleared the air. But it also invited the hostility of Rana Sanga who began his preparations for a showdown with Babur.
2.3 Rana Sanga and the Battle of Khanwa (17 March, 1527)
After defeating Mahmud Khalji of Malwa, the influence of the Rana had gradually extended up to Piliya Khar - a small river in the neighbourhood of Agra. The establishment of an Empire in the Indo-Gangetic valley by Babur was a threat to Rana Sanga. Sanga set preparations afoot to expel Babur or, at any rate, to confine him to the Punjab.
Many Afghans, including Mahmud Lodi, a younger brother of Ibrahim Lodi, rallied to Rana Sanga, in the hope of regaining the throne of Delhi in case Sanga won. Hasan Khan Mewati, the ruler of Mewat, also cast in his lot with Sanga. Almost all the Rajput rulers of note sent contingents to serve under Rana Sanga.
The reputation of Rana Sanga, and his early success against some of the outlying Mughal posts such as Bayana, demoralised Babur's soldiers. To rally them, Babur solemnly declared the war against Sanga to be a jihad. On the eve of the battle, he emptied all the wine jars and broke the wine flasks to demonstrate what a staunch Muslim he was. He also banned the sale and purchase of wine throughout his dominions and abolished customs taxes on the Muslim.
Having carefully selected a site, Babur entrenched himself at Khanwa about 40 km from Agra. As at Panipat, he lashed together a number of wagons as an outer bastion and dug a trench in front for double protection. Gaps were left in the defences for his musketeers to fire and advance behind wheeled tripods.
The battle of Khanwa (1527) was fiercely contested. According to Babur, Sanga's forces exceeded 2,00,000 including 10,000 Afghan cavalrymen, and an equal force fielded by Hasan Khan Mewati. As usual, these figures may be greatly exaggerated, though Babur's forces were undoubtedly inferior in number. Sanga made ferocious attacks on Babur's right and almost breached it. However, the Mughal artillery took a heavy toll of life, and slowly, Sanga's forces were pushed back. At this juncture, Babur ordered his soldiers in the centre, who had been sheltering behind their tripos, to launch an attack. The artillery also advanced behind the chained wagons. Sanga's forces were thus hemmed in, and were defeated after a great slaughter. Rana Sanga escaped and wanted to renew the conflict with Babur. But he was poisoned by his own nobles who considered such a course to be dangerous and suicidal.
Thus died one of the most valiant warriors produced by Rajasthan. With Sanga's death, the dream of a united Rajasthan extending up to Agra received a serious setback.
The battle of Khanwa secured Babur's position in the Delhi-Agra region. Babur strengthened his position further by conquering the chain of forts - Gwalior, Dholpur, etc., east of Agra. He also annexed large parts of Alwar from Hasan Khan Mewati. He then led a campaign against Medini Rai of Chanderi in Malwa. Chanderi was captured after the Rajput defenders had died fighting to the last man and their women performed jauhar. Babur had to cut short his plan of further campaigns in the area on hearing of the growing activities of the Afghans in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
2.4 The Afghans
Although the Afghans had been defeated, they had not been reconciled to the Mughal rule. Eastern Uttar Pradesh was still under the domination of the Afghan chiefs who had tendered their allegiance to Babur but were prepared to throw it off at anytime. The Afghan sardars were being backed by Nusrat Shah, the ruler of Bengal, who had married a daughter of Ibrahim Lodi. Earlier, the Afghans had ousted the Mughal officials in eastern Uttar Pradesh and reached up to Kanauj. But their greatest weakness was the lack of a popular leader. After some time, Mahmud Lodi, a brother of Ibrahim Lodi, who had fought against Babur at Khanwa, reached Bihar. The Afghans hailed him as their ruler, and mustered strength under him.
This was a threat which Babur could not ignore. Hence, at the beginning of 1529, he left Agra for the east. Crossing the Ganga near Banaras, he faced the combined forces of the Afghans and Nusrat Shah of Bengal at the crossing of the river Ghagra. Although Babur crossed the river, and compelled the Bengal and the Afghan armies to retreat, he could not win a decisive victory. Ill, and anxious about the situation in Central Asia, Babur decided to patch up an agreement with the Afghans. He put forward a vague claim for suzerainty over Bihar, but left most of it in the hands of the Afghan chiefs. He then returned to Agra. Shortly afterwards, Babur died near Lahore while on his way to Kabul.
3.0 Significance of Babur's Advent into India
Babur's advent into India was significant from many points of view. For the first time since the downfall of the Kushan Empire, Kabul and Qandhar became integral parts of an Empire comprising north India. Since these areas had always acted as staging places for an invasion of India, by dominating them Babur and his successors were able to give to India security from external invasions for almost 200 years. Economically also, the control of Kabul and Qandhar strengthened India's foreign trade since these two towns were the starting points for caravans meant for China in the east and the Mediterranean seaports in the west. Thus India could take a greater share in the great trans-Asian trade.
In north India, Babur smashed the power of the Lodis and the Rajput Confederacy led by Rana Sanga. Thereby, he destroyed the balance of power obtaining in the area. This was a long step towards the establishment of an all-India Empire. However, a number of conditions had still to be fulfilled before this could be achieved.
Babur introduced a new mode of warfare in India. Although gunpowder was known in India earlier, Babur showed what a skilled combination of artillery and cavalry could achieve. His victories led to rapid popularisation of gunpowder and artillery in India. Since artillery was expensive it favoured those rulers who had large resources at their command. Hence the era of large kingdoms began.
By his new military methods as well as by his personal conduct, Babur re-stablished the prestige of the Crown which had been eroded since the death of Firuz Tughlaq. Although Sikandar Lodi and Ibrahim Lodi had tried to re-establish the prestige of the Crown, Afghan ideas of tribal independence and equality had resulted in only a partial success. Babur had the prestige of being a descendant of two of the most famous warriors of Asia, Changez and Timur. None of his nobles could,therefore, claim a status of equality with him or aspire to his throne. The challenge to his position, if any, could come only from a Timurid prince. [Babur was descended from Tamerlane (Timur) who conqured mostly India and Central Asia and was a decendant of Genghis Khan.]
Babur endeared himself to his begs by his personal qualities. He was always prepared to share the hardships with his soldiers. Once at the height of winter, Babur was returning to Kabul. The snow was so deep that horses would sink into it and parties of soldiers had to trample the snow so that the horses could pass. Without hesitation, Babur joined in the back-breaking task. Following Babur's example, his begs also joined in the task.
Babur was fond of wine and good company and was a good and merry companion. At the same time, he was a stern disciplinarian and a hard taskmaster. He took good care of his begs, and was prepared to excuse many of their faults as long as they were not disloyal. He was prepared to adopt the same attitude towards his Afghan and Indian nobles. However, he did have a streak of cruelty, probably inherited from his ancestors, for he made towers of skulls from the heads of his opponents on a number of occasions.
An orthodox Sunni, Babur was not bigoted or led by the religious divines. At a time when there was a bitter sectarian feud between the Shias and the Sunnis in Iran and Turan, his court was free from theological and sectarian conflicts. He declared the battle against Sanga a jihad and assumed the title of ghazi after the victory, but the reasons were clearly political. Though his reign was a period of war, not too many instances can be found of destruction of temples.
Babur was deeply learned in Persian and Arabic, and is regarded as one of the two most famous writers in the Turkish language which was his mothertongue. As a prose writer, he had no equal, and his famous memoirs, the Tuzuk-i-Baburi, is considered one of the classics of world literature. His other works include a masnavi and the Turkish translation of a well-known Sufi work. He was in touch with the famous poets and artists of the time and describes their works in his memoirs. He was a keen naturalist, and has described thc flora and fauna of India in considerable detail. He laid out a numher of formal gardens with running water, thereby establishing a tradition.
Babur introduced a new concept of the state which was to be based on the strength and prestige of the Crown, absence of religious and sectarian bigotry, and the careful fostering of culture and the fine arts. He thus provided a precedent and a direction for his successors.
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