Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur laid the foundation of Mughal Empire in India. He was the first great Mughal emperor of India. Babur was born on February 14, 1483 in the small kingdom of Farghana of which his father Umar Sheikh was the ruler. Babur was only eleven years of age when his father died and he became the king of Farghana. His early life was full of hardships but he was ambitious and daring. Balmy's greatest ambition was to conquer Samarkand. He twice captured Samarkand but lost it each time. In 1504, he left his native land, crossed the Hindukush and conquered Kabul. From Kabul he made one more attempt to occupy Samarkand and entered the city of his dreams in the midst of great pomp and splendour. But Babur was not destined to enjoy the fruit of his victory for long. He was driven out of Samarkand next year. Babur, now abandoned all hopes of reascending the throne of Samarkand which he had won and lost no less than three times. Babur made up his mind to conquer the rich plains of Hindustan.

First Expedition (1519) :

• Before the final conquest of Delhi in 1526, Babur led as many as four expeditions to India. In 1519, Babur led his first expedition to India. He occupied Bhera on the Jhelum without much resistance. Next, he occupied Khushab. After this victory, Babur sent his agent Mulla Murshad to Sultan Ibrahim Lodhi demanding the restoration of the territories which once formed a part of the Timurid Empire. But nothing came out of the mission and after waiting for five months, Babur returned to Kabul.

Second and Third Expeditions (1519-20) :

• A few months later Babur undertook his second expedition to India. This time he advanced as far as Peshawar. He wanted to fortify Peshawar to make it the base for his further conquests into the interior of Hindustan. But his mission failed because he had to return to Kabul to suppress some disturbances in Badakhshan.
• Babur undertook his third expedition in 1520. He recovered Bijour and Bhera from where his general Hindu Beg had been expelled. Babur advanced to Sialkot which he easily occupied. But Babur met with a tough resistance at Sayyidpur (Eminabad) but ultimately occupied it. Guru Nanak Dev, who was living in this land in those days, tells the story of Babur's cruelties at Sayyidpur in detail in the Adi Granth of the Sikhs. He writes : "With the bridal procession of sin, Babur issued forth from Kabul and by force demanded the hand of the bride. Modesty and religion have disappeared and falsehood marched in the van. People sing the paean of murder and smear themselves with saffron of blood.

Fourth Expedition (1524) :

• In 1524, Babur again determined to invade India. This time Daulat Khan Lodhi, the Afghan governor of Lahore invited Babur to invade India. He sent his son Dilawar Khan to Kabul to assure Babur of his help against Ibrahim Lodhi. Babur was already in possession of a part of the Punjab. He welcomed his support and left Kabul with his army to conquer the Punjab and Delhi. He captured Lahore, Jalandhar Doab and Dipalpur without meeting with much resistance. But his rapid progress alarmed the Afghans of the Punjab. Some of them even offered resistance to him and defended Lahore but in vain. His soldiers plundered its inhabitants and burnt its bazaars. Next Babur conquered Dipalpur and overran whole of the Jalandhar Doab. A large part of the Punjab thus fell into his hands.
• After the conquest of the Punjab, Daulat Khan had expected that Babur would appoint him the governor of the Punjab. But Babur offered him only the territories of Jalandhar and Sultanpur. He gave the western part of the Punjab including Dipalpur to another Afghan noble, Alam Khan Lodhi. Daulat Khan turned against Babur and in desperation rose in revolt against him, but was defeated and driven to Shivalik hills. Babur went back to Kabul and began to make fresh preparations for his final bid for the throne of Delhi.
• Before leaving for Kabul, Babur had made administrative arrangements for the Punjab. Lahore was handed over to one of the Mughal chiefs Abdul Aziz. Sialkot was given to Khusrau Ghotlash. Dipalpur and its neighbouring territories were entrusted to Alam Khan Lodhi. The Jalandhar Doab and Sultanpur after the revolt of Daulat Khan were put under the charge of his son Dilawar Khan. Dilawar was also ordered to make a hot pursuit of his father and to arrest him.
• Soon after Babur's departure, Daulat Khan came out of his retreat. He attacked Alam Khan and Dilawar Khan and the Muslim chiefs who had occupied practically the whole of the Punjab. He even defeated Ibrahim Lodhi's forces which he had stilt to reassert his authority over the Punjab.
• Expelled from his territory in the Alam Khan tied straight to Kabul and approached Babur for help for the recovery of the Punjab from his rival Daulat Khan. A secret treaty was signed between Babur and Alam Khan by which it was agreed that Babur would help Alam Khan to install him on the throne of Delhi and in return, he would allow Babur to retain the whole of the Punjab. Babur directed the Mughal chiefs of Punjab to help Alam Khan in conquering Delhi. But before Alam Khan could make any attempt in this direction, he was seduced by Daulat Khan who made him break off his alliance with Babur. The combined forces of Daulat Khan and Alam Khan soon marched against Ibrahim Lodhi, who, however, inflicted a defeat upon them.
• With the defeat of Alam Khan and the Mughal chiefs, Daulat Khan felt encouraged and drove out the Mughals from the Punjab. When Babur came to know of these happenings, he decided to undertake his fifth and the final invasion of India.

Fifth Invasion (1525) :

• In November 1525, Babur left Kabul at the head of a large army of 12000 soldiers. He was also joined by his son Humayun and Khwaja Kalan. On his way to Lahore he subjugated the turbulent tribes of Gakhars, Jats and Gujjars who had recovered their independence from the rule of Mughal chiefs. When Babur reached Kalanaur, he learnt that Daulat Khan and his son Haji Khan had left Lahore and taken shelter in Malot. He, therefore, marched towards them and besieged the fort. Daulat Khan was this time determined to offer tough resistance to Babur. But to his ill-luck, his brother Alam Khan deserted him and his army melted away at Babur's approach. Consequently, Daulat Khan sent a message to the Mughal invader that he was ready to submit and begged to forgive him. The magnanimous Padshah not only forgave him but also restored to him some Jagirs. Daulat Khan was sent to Bhera where he died after a short while.

First Battle of Panipat (1526) :

• Having occupied the territories of Punjab, Babur now marched towards Delhi. In two marches Babur reached the town of Panipat. Ibrahim Lodhi also advanced to meet the Mughal invader on the historic field of Panipat in 1526. Although Babur's army was much smaller in number, it had the advantage of a fine artillery. Ibrahim Lodhi alongwith 15 to 16 thousand soldiers died in the battlefield. Babur won a decisive victory. He lost no time in following up his victory. He occupied Delhi in April and Agra in May, 1526 A.D.

Significance :

• The First Battle of Panipat is a great landmark in the history of India. It placed the empire of Delhi in Babur's hands. It shattered to pieces the three hundred years old tottering Delhi Sultanate.For the Mughals, the battle of Panipat was a great victory which resulted in the establishment of the Mughal dynasty in India and it was this dynasty which gave to India a line of those remarkably successful rulers under whom the country was to undertake a new experiment of having a composite culture for this land.Just as Clive's victory at Plassey has a great significance in the establishment of the British rule in India ; similarly Babur's victory in the First Battle of Panipat has a great significance in the establishment of Mughal Kingdom in India.