INVASION OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE

                   

INVASION OF GREAT EMPIRE
1526

The political condition of india was chaotic in 1526, when babur invaded the country. There was anarchy and confusion in most part of the country. The dehli sultanate was tottering towards its fall. Sultan Ibrahim lodi was a weak and an unexperienced ruler. He failed to suppress the afghan nobles. Daulat khan lodi, the governor of Punjab, had declared his independence. Alam khan lodi, an uncle of Ibrahim, also aspired to become the sultan of delhi. Alam khan and daulat khan collected against Ibrahim and invited babur to invade india. The rajput chiefs were also putted against Ibrahim lodi. Rana sangha (The ruler of mewar) had also joined the afghan nobles who had invited babur to invade india.

 

The word ‘Mughal’ come from ‘mongol’. They are believed to have descended from Mongols. Babur claimed desent, on his mother’s side, from Genghis Khan, and on his father’s side from Timur. Now he deployed this formidable genetic heritage against a fragmented and disorganized land. It was not an even match; Babur went on to lay the foundation stone of the Mughal Empire in India.

 

The First Battle of Panipat, on 21 April 1526, was fought between the invading forces of Babur and the Lodi dynasty. It took place in north India and marked the beginning of the Mughal Empire  and the end of the Delhi Sultanate. This was one of the earliest battles involving gunpowder firearms and field artillery in the Indian subcontinent which were introduced by Mughals in this battle.

Battle

Hearing of the size of Ibrahim's army, Babur secured his right flank against the city of Panipat, while digging a trench covered with tree branches to secure his left flanks. In the centre, he placed 700 carts tied together with ropes. Between every two carts, there were breastworks for his matchlock men. Babur also ensured there.When Ibrahim's army arrived, he found the approach to Babur's army too narrow to attack. While Ibrahim redeployed his forces to allow for the narrower front, Babur quickly took advantage of the situation to flank (tulghuma) the Lodi army. Many of Ibrahim's troops were unable to get into action, and fled when the battle turned against them. Ibrahim Lodi was killed while trying to retreat and beheaded. 20,000 Lodi soldiers were killed in the battle.

                                                                                                                                    By Krish Rajput