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 geographical holdings in the future. Babur was able to secure his reign thanks to the assistance of his maternal grandmother, Aisan Daulat Begum, as well as some luck.

Most of his kingdom's lands were administered by his relatives, who were either Timur or Genghis Khan descendants and were continuously at odds. At the time, opposing rulers were warring over his paternal cousin's capital of Samarkand in western Afghanistan. [citation needed] Babur was hell-bent on conquering the city. He besieged Samarkand for seven months in 1497 before taking possession of the city. He was fifteen years old at the time, and the campaign was a big success for him. Despite desertions in his army, Babur was able to hold the city, but he eventually became gravely ill.

Meanwhile, an uprising among nobles who favoured his brother stripped him of Fergana some 350 kilometres (220 miles) distant. He lost Samarkand to a rival prince while moving to reclaim it, leaving him with neither. He had held Samarkand for 100 days and considered it his greatest defeat, obsessing over it even after his conquests in India later in life.