Babur (1526-1530) was descended from two of history's most feared conquerors: Timur (Tamerlane) on his father's side and Genghis Khan on his mother's. Driven out of Fergana and Samarkand, he eventually ruled Kabul and saw northern India as a prize worth taking.

First Battle of Panipat (21 April 1526): Babur's army, usually put at around 12,000 men, defeated Ibrahim Lodi's much larger army (often said to be 100,000 or more). Artillery and the flanking tactic called the tulughma were decisive. Ibrahim Lodi was killed.

Why he succeeded: Gunpowder artillery was new to the armies of northern India. The noise and destruction caused the war elephants to flee in panic, breaking up Lodi's own formations.

Political challenge: Babur died in 1530 having barely consolidated control. He had no time to build administrative systems.

Humayun (1530-1556) inherited an unstable empire and lost it. The Afghan leader Sher Shah Suri defeated him at the Battle of Chausa (1539) and Kannauj (1540), forcing Humayun into about fifteen years of exile, mostly at the Safavid Persian court. This exile proved important: Humayun returned with Persian cultural and artistic influences that shaped the Mughal court. He took back Delhi in 1555 but died in a fall from his library steps in 1556, leaving the empire to his thirteen-year-old son, Akbar.

This deep dive covers Founding the Dynasty: Babur and Humayun, 1526-1556 within The Mughal Empire, 1526-1707 for GCSE History. Revise The Mughal Empire, 1526-1707 in Component Group 4 — Period Studies for GCSE History with 14 exam-style questions and 17 flashcards. This topic appears less often, but it can still be a useful differentiator on mixed-topic papers. It is section 2 of 14 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.

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What happened to Humayun and why does it matter?

Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun at Kannauj (1540), forcing about 15 years of exile, mostly at the Safavid Persian court. Humayun took back Delhi in 1555 but died in 1556. His Persian exile brought important artistic and cultural influences into the Mughal court.

What was Akbar's Rajput policy?

Akbar married Rajput Hindu princesses (including a princess of Amer) and appointed Rajput nobles as senior military commanders and court officials. This turned potential enemies into loyal allies, giving the Muslim Mughal emperor a strong Hindu power base.

Founding the Dynasty: Babur and Humayun, 1526-1556

Practice questions for The Mughal Empire, 1526-1707

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