90
1500–1700
Ibrahim Lodi, who had ruled
the Sultanate of Delhi since 1517,
was unpopular with his nobility due
to his repressive policies. Daulat
Khan Lodi, the Governor of Punjab,
eventually reached out to Zahir
ad-Din Muhammad—better known
as Babur, the ruler of Kabul—for help. In response, Babur
set out in force in November 1525, crossing the Indus River
with an army 12,000 strong. Local allies and mercenaries
recruited en route swelled this army to around 20,000 men.
Lodi, meanwhile, had gathered an army of 50,000 or more
and advanced slowly north from Delhi, eventually camping
near Panipat in present-day north India.
Panipat
1526
◼
NORTHERN INDIA
◼
MUGHALS VS. LODI DYNASTY AND AFGHANS
MUGHAL CONQUESTS
3
WAR ELEPHANTS
Elephants had been used in war in India since at least the 4th century BCE,
Later , they were used in southeast Asia and Mediterranean countries—most famously by
Alexander of Macedonia. Specially trained and often protected by armor, they were mainly used
to charge the enemy’s troops, break their ranks, and spread panic and terror. Panipat was the
rst time that artillery and guns had been used against elephants. The results were devastating,
and the use of elephants in warfare swiftly declined.
1
EMPEROR BABUR
A Timurid prince
descended from the Mongol leaders Timur and
Genghis Khan, Babur inherited a small Central
Asian kingdom. Struggling against the Safavids
and the Uzbeks, he captured and lost Samarkand
three times before moving south to Kabul in
Afghanistan. There he dreamed of a new empire
east of the Indus. The invitation to oust Lodi
gave him his opportunity.
Babur reached Panipat on April 12, 1526, and for eight days
the two armies faced each other without making a decisive
move. Finally, in an attempt to goad Lodi into attacking him,
Babur ordered a nighttime cavalry raid. This was repelled, but
it had the desired eect: believing his opponent to be weak,
the next day Lodi advanced his army onto the elds of Panipat.
Lodi’s most fearsome weapons were several hundred war
elephants, which had played a major role in defeating previous
Mongol invasions. However, Babur had something that these
invaders did not: cannons. Their sound terried the elephants,
which panicked and trampled Lodi’s men; his forces were also
encircled by cavalry and entangled in Babur’s defenses. Lodi
died on the battleeld, and Babur took Delhi, where he founded
the Mughal dynasty. His descendants ruled India for 330 years.
In context
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91
2
BABUR’S TACTICS
Vastly outnumbered, Babur
won by superior tactics. He
protected the anks of his
army with trenches covered
by branches. In the center,
he defended himself with
carts tied together with
ropes, and between these
he placed his cannon and
riemen. This forced Lodi
to ght on a narrower front,
which greatly constricted
his movements. As seen in
this Mughal painting, Babur
then attacked Lodi’s anks,
using horsemen wielding
deadly composite bows.
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