Medieval Indian History Tutorial on Significance of Babur's Conquest

the significance of babur’s advent into india are as follows −

geo-strategic significance

  • kabul and qandhar had always acted as staging places for an invasion in india, babur’s advent made kabul and qandhar the integral parts of an empire comprising north india.

  • babur and his successors strengthen the india security from an external invasion, which were persistent from the last 200 years.

economic significance

  • geographically kabul and qandhar positioned in the trade route; therefore, the control of these two regions strengthened india's foreign trade.

  • babar attempted to re-establish the prestige of the crown, which had been eroded after the death of firuz tughlaq.

zahir al-din muhammad (babur)

  • babur born on 14 february 1483 at andijan in mughalistan (present day uzbekistan).

  • babur had the prestige of being a descendant of two of the most legendary warriors of asia namely changez, and timur.

  • babur groomed himself to his begs by his personal qualities. he was always prepared to share the hardships with his soldiers.

babur
  • babur was fond of wine and good company and was a good and cheerful companion. at the same time, he was a strict disciplinarian and a hard taskmaster.

  • babur took good care of his army and other employees, and was prepared to excuse many of their faults as long as they were not disloyal.

  • though babur was an orthodox sunni, but he was not prejudiced or led by the religious divines. once, there was a bitter sectarian conflict between the shias and the sunnis in iran and turan; however, in such a condition, babur’s court was free from theological and sectarian conflicts.

  • though babur declared the battle against rana sanga a jihad and assumed the title of ‘ghazi’ after the victory, but the reasons were noticeably political.

  • babur was master of persian and arabic languages, and is regarded as one of the most famous writers in the turkish language (which was his mother tongue).

  • babur’s famous memoirs, the tuzuk-i-baburi is considered as one of the classics of world literature. his other popular works are masnavi and the turkish translation of a well-known sufi work.

  • babur was a keen naturalist, as he described the flora and fauna of india in considerable details.

  • babur introduced a new concept of the state, which was to be based on −

    • the strength and prestige of the crown;

    • the absence of religious and sectarian bigotry; and

    • the careful fostering of culture and the fine arts.

  • babur, with all these three features (discussed above), provided a precedent and a direction for his successors.