Babur Wins First Battle of Panipat, Founds Mughal Empire

Context

Babur, a Timurid prince born in 1483 in the Ferghana Valley, traced his lineage to both Timur on his father’s side and Genghis Khan on his mother’s. After losing his Central Asian holdings to Uzbek forces, he captured Kabul in 1504 and used that city as a base for further expansion. From there he looked southeast toward the Punjab, where political instability offered an opening.

What Happened

By 1524 disaffected nobles including Daulat Khan Lodi, governor of the Punjab, had invited Babur to intervene against Sultan Ibrahim Lodi, whose rule had alienated many Afghan and local leaders. Babur advanced into the region, briefly withdrew, then returned in force at the end of 1525. Crossing the Indus in December, he secured Lahore and other Punjab centers before marching south toward Delhi.

Aftermath

On 21 April 1526 the two armies met near the town of Panipat, roughly 65 kilometers northwest of Delhi. Babur’s roughly 12,000 troops included matchlock musketeers and 15–20 field cannons obtained from Ottoman contacts. Ibrahim commanded an estimated 50,000–70,000 men and 1,000 war elephants but possessed no gunpowder artillery. Babur chained about 700 wagons into a defensive laager with intervals for cavalry sallies, protected one flank with the town and the other with a trench.

Legacy

Ibrahim’s center was shattered by concentrated cannon and musket fire while Babur’s horse archers and flanking cavalry exploited the gaps. The elephants panicked under the noise and smoke. Ibrahim himself fell in the fighting; some 20,000 of his men were killed and the remainder fled. Babur occupied Delhi and Agra within days.