1. CENTRAL ASIA AND BABUR
(i) Timur united and extended Iran and Turan under one rule after disintegration of the Mongol Empire.
(ii) Timurid empire declined in the 2nd half of the 15th century dur tradition of partitioning the empire amongst sons and relatives.
(iii) Conflict between 3 mighty empires: Timurid, Uzbeks and Safavids forced Babur towards Afghanistan and then India
(iv) Emperor Babur was the founder of Mughal Empire in India. His name was derived from Persian language, Babur which means lion. Babur was a successor of Timur from his father's side and Genghis Khan from his mother's side.
(v) His original name was Zahiruddin Muhammad.
(vi) In 1494 at the age of 11, Babur became the ruler of Farghana (at present in Chinese Turkistan) succeeding Umar Shaikh Mirza, his father.
(vii) Uzbeks made Babur move towards Kabul.
2.CONQUEST OF INDIA
(i) Daulat Khan, the most powerful noble of Punjab, who was discontented with Ibrahim Lodhi, invited Babur to invade India.
(ii) He undertook four expeditions to India in order to conquer it between the years 1519 and 1523.
(iii) Babur was drawn to India because of its wealth and riches and Kabul gave meagre income to sustain large and efficient army against Uzbeks
(iv) Thus, time was ripe for him to enter India.
(v) In 1524, Babur occupied Punjab but had to retreat to Kabul after Daulat Khan turned against him.
3.BATTLE OF PANIPAT
(i) The First Battle of Panipat marked the foundation of Mughal dominion in India.
(ii) Ibrahim Lodi & Babur fought the war
(iii) Baburs army was numerically weak but had strategy to deal the numbers
(a) Mobile mode of warfare
(b) Made ditch filled with trees
(c) Carts as defending walls and arm rest for gun bearing soldiers
(d) Use of Gunpowder
(iv) It broke the back of Lodi power.
(v) Babur got control of Delhi and Agra and also relieved his financial difficulties.
4.BATTLE OF KHANWA
(i) Rana Sangha gave the toughest resistance to Babur's expansion plans.
(ii) On March 16,1527, Rana Sangha, along with rulers of Marwar, Amber, Gwalior, Ajmer and Chanderi and Sultan Mahmud Lodi (whom Rana Sangha had acknowledged as ruler of Delhi) met Babur in a decisive contest at Kanhwa, a village near Agra.
(iii) Babur succeeded over them by using similar tactics as in the Battle of Panipat.
(iv) The battle secured Babur's Position in Delhi-Agra Region and strengthened his position for further conquests.
5.THE AFGHANS
(i) The afghans were still strong in the Eastern U.P region showed their allegiance to Babur but were ready to throw them at any point of time
(ii) The afghan hailed Sultan Mahmud Lodi as their ruler even after the defeat at the battle of khanwa.
(iii) This was a threat which Babur could not ignore
(iv) He faced combined forces of Afghans and Nushrat Jahan of Bengal after crossing Ghagra River but there was no decisive victory for Babur
(v) Soon after he died while on his way to Kabul.
6.SIGNIFICANCE OF BABUR'S ADVENT INTO INDIA
(i) After Kushan Empire with Babur Kabul and Qandhar became an integral part of Indian Empire once again which are Strategic places for future conquests + trade route
(ii) Destroyed Balance of power of North india- Lodis and Rajputs
(iii) Introduced new mode of warfare
(iv) He wrote his memoirs, Tuzuk-i-Baburiin in Turkish language.
(v) An orthodox sunni but was not a bigot. Only few instances of temple destruction can be found.
(vi) He introduced new concept of the state based on the strength and prestige of the crown, absence of bigotry and careful fostering of fine arts and culture providing a precedent.
7. HUMAYUN'S CONQUEST OF GUJARAT & TUSSLE WITH SHERSHAH
(i) Humayun succeeded Babur in 1530 at the age of 23.
(ii) Six months after his succession, Humayun besieged the fortress of Kalinjar in Bundelkhand, gained a decisive victory over Afghans at Douhrua and drove out Sultanl Mahmood Lodhi from Jaunpur, and even defeated Bahadur Shah of Gujarat. Hisl victories, however, were short-lived due to the weakness of his character.
(iii) Humayun divided the empire among his three brothers, Kamran, Askari and Hindal but this proved to be a great blunder on his part.
(iv) Humayun captured Gujarat from Bahadur Shah who was gaining prominence in the region.large treasures hoarded by Gujarat rulers at Mandu and Champaner fell into thel hands of Humayun.
(v) appointed Askari as governor of Gujarat but he was inexperienced and nobles rift got Bahadur Shah back at Gujarat. Humayan helped his brother escape losing both Malwal and Gujarat but the resources of Bahadur Shah were cutoff
(vi) now humayun can concentrate wholly on Sher Shah and Afghans.
(vii) n the east, Sher Khan became powerful. Humayun marched against him and in the Battle of Chausa, held in 1539, Sher Khan destroyed the Mughal army and Humayunl escaped from there.
(viii) Humayun reached Agra to negotiate with his brothers.
(ix) In 1540, in the Battle of Bilgram or Ganges also known as Battle of Kanauj, Humayun was forced to fight with Sher Khan alone and after losing his kingdom, Humayun became an exile for the next fifteen years.
(x) In 1952, during his wanderings in deserts of Sindh, Humayun married Hamida Banil Begum, daughter of Sheikh AN Amber Jaini, who had been a preceptor of Humayun'sl brother Hindal.
(xi) On November 23,1542, Humayun's wife gave birth to Akbar
(xii) Amarkot's Hindu chief RanaPrasad promised Humayun to help him to conquer Thattal.
(xiii) However, Humayun could not conquer Bhakker or secure Thus, he left India and lived under the generosity of ShahTahmashp of Persia.
(xiv) Shah of Persia agreed to help Humayun and lend him a force of 14,000 men on a condition to confirm to Shia creed, to have the Shah's name proclaimed in his Khutbal and to give away Kandhar to him on his success.
(xv) In 1545, with Persian help, Humayun captured Kandhar and Kabul but refused to cede Kandhar to Persia.
(xvi) Humayun sought help from the Iran ruler.
(xvii) Later, he defeated his brothers Kamran and Askari.
(xviii) In 1555, Humayun defeated the Afghans and recovered the Mughal throne.
(xix) After six months, he died in 1556 due to his fall from the staircase of his library.
SHER KHAN
(i) Sher Shah was the founder of Sur Dynasty.
(ii) His original name was Farid.
(iii) He was the son of Hasan Khan, a jagirdar of Sasaram in Bihar.
(iv) He was given the title Sher Khan for his bravery under the Afghan Rule of Bihar.
(v) He ascended the throne at the age of 54
Sur Empire
(i) Sher Shah Sur's conquests include Bundelkhand, Malwa, Multan, Punjab, and Sind.
(ii) His empire occupied the whole of North India except Assam, Gujarat, Kashmir, and Nepal.
(iii) Though his rule lasted for only 5 years, he has organized centralized administrative system.
(iv) The king was aided by four important ministers.
(a) Diwan -i- Wizarat or Wazir - in charge of Revenue and Finance
(b) Diwan-i-Ariz - in charge of Army
(c) Diwan-i-Rasalat-Foreign Minister
(d) Diwan-i-lnsha - Minister for Communications
(v) Sher Shah's empire was divided into forty-seven Sarkars. Each Sarkars was further divided into various Parganas and in charge of various officers.
(a) Shiqdar-Military Officer
(b) Amin - Land Revenue
(c) Fotedar- Treasurer
(d) Karkuns-Accountants
(e) Iqtas - various administrative units
(vi) Under Sher Shah, the land revenue administration was well organized. The land surve was sensibly done. All cultivable lands were classified into three classes - good, middle and bad.
(vii) The state's share was one-third of the average production and it was paid in cash or crop.
His Contribution
(i) Reestablishment of peace and stability in Delhi.
(ii) Police were competently restructured and crime was less during his regime.
(iii) Sher Shah had also developed the communications by laying four important highways.
(a) Sonargaon to Sind= Grand Trunk road
(b) Agra to Burhampur
(c) Jodhpur to Chittor
(d) Lahore to Multan
(iv) Sher Shah remained a pious Muslim and generally tolerant towards other religions.
(v) He also employed Hindus in important offices.
(vi) Currency reforms led to improving trade and commerce. Sher Shah introduced new silver coins called "Dam" and they were in circulation till 1835
(vii) Strong army. Every soldier had chehra (descriptive rolls) and horses had dagh system, Shah borrowed many ideas like the branding of horses from Alauddin Khalji
(viii) The old fort called Purana Qila and its mosque was built during his period.
(ix) He also built a Mausoleum at Sasaram, which is considered as one of the masterpieces of Indian architecture.
(x) The famous Hindi work Padmavat by Malik Muhammad Jayasi was written during his reign.
(xi) In 1545, Sher Shah died and his successors ruled till 1555 later which Humayun reconquered India.
