Babur: A Brief Background
Babur: The First Mughal Babur Mirza is descended from the Great Historical Emperor Timur and the Mongol warrior Genghis Khan on his maternal side. His mother was Kutlugh Nigar Khanum, and he was born in the kingdom of Ferghana in modern-day Afghanistan as a prince in the lineage of Umar Shaikh Mirza the Second. Babur was not the only son; he had a half-brother, Jahangir Mirza, who was the son of Umar Shaikh's second wife. After Umar Sheikh Mirza died "while feeding pigeons in an ill-constructed dovecote that tumbled into the valley below the palace" in 1494, Babur, then eleven years old, became the ruler of Fergana, in modern-day Uzbekistan. During this period, his succession to the throne was endangered by two of his uncles from neighbouring kingdoms who were opposed to his father, as well as a group of nobles who wanted his younger brother Jahangir to be the monarch. His uncles were adamant on removing him from this position, as well as many of his other geographica...
