Battle of Ghazdewan The Battle of Ghazdewan occurred in what is now Uzbekistan in 1512 AD between Babur ' s Mughal army and invading Uzbek tribes from Central Asia . It resulted in Babur ' s defeat after which he resigned hope of recovering his father ' s empire of Ferghana . It also helped solidify the alliance between the Murgai empire and the Ottoman empire . Prelude . After Babur ' s defeat at the Battle of Kul Malek , he applied for assistance from Biram Khan Karamanlu , the commander serving the Safavid Persian Shah Ismail I at Balkh . With additional support from Biram ' s detachment , the Uzbeks eventually withdrew from the country of Hissar . After this victory , and in response to his defeat at Kul Malek , Babur personally visited Shah Ismail I to solicit an additional force which he could use to finally defeat the Uzbeks from Mawarannahr ( Transoxiana ) . The Shah accordingly called on Amir Najm Sani , his minister of finance , whom he had entrusted with the settlement of Khurasan . Ismail gave him instructions to render assistance to Babur in recovering the dominions he had previously possessed . On reaching Balkh , Amir Najm resolved to march in person into Mawarannahr , taking with him the governor of Herat , the Amirs of Greater Khorasan | Khurasan , and Biram Khan of Balkh . During his journey , Amir Najm passed the Amu Darya and was soon joined by Babur , creating an army that is said to have been 60 , 000 men strong . Battle . Early in the Autumn the army advanced to Khozar , ultimately seizing the city . They then proceeded to Karshi , which had been strongly fortified and garrisoned by Sultan Ubaydullah Sultan , the chief of Bukhara . It was proposed to leave Karshi behind as had been done with success in preceding campaigns , but Amir Najm , believing it was Sultan Ubaydullah Sultan ' s lair , declared that it must be taken . The city was therefore besieged and carried by storm with all inhabitants , Uzbek or not , being put to the sword regardless of age , sex , or sanctity . The circumstances of this massacre disgusted Babur , who found himself playing a subordinate role in an army that was professedly acting under his authority . In his desire to save the inhabitants , who were Chaghatai Turks of his own race and sect , he earnestly besought Amir Najm Sani to comply with his wishes . But the unrelenting Persian , deaf to his entreaties , let loose all the fury of war on the devoted city . Among the casualties was the poet Maulana Binai , one of the most eminent minds of his time who happened to be in the town when it fell in the indiscriminate slaughter , along with many Syed s and holy men . From that time forward , Amir Najm failed to prosper in any more of his undertakings . The Uzbek chiefs , after the massacre at Karshi , appeared for some time to have retired and fortified themselves in their strongholds . Amir Najm eventually moved on to attack Ghazdewan , on the border of the desert , without having taken Bukhara . The Uzbek sultans now had time to assemble under the command of Ubaydullah Sultan . Joined by Timur Sultan from Samarkand , they threw themselves into the fort the very night that Babur and Amir Najm had taken their ground before it , preparing their engines and ladders for an assault . In the morning , the Uzbeks drew out their army and took up a position among the houses and gardens in the suburbs of the town with the confederates advancing to meet them . The Uzbeks , who were protected by the broken ground and by the walls of the enclosures and houses , had posted archers in every corner to pour a shower of arrows on the Qizilbash es as they approached . Once Biram Khan , the chief military command of the Qizilbash troops , had fallen off his horse and had been wounded , the main body of the army fell into disorder . In the course of an hour the invaders were routed with most of them falling in the field . Babur routed and discomfited fled back to Hissar . It is said that the Qizilbash chiefs , disgusted with the haughtiness and insolence of Amir Najm , did not use their utmost efforts to assist him and he was eventually taken prisoner and put to death . Many of the Persian chiefs who fled from the battle crossed the Amu Darya at Kirki and entered Greater Khorasan . Aftermath . The Uzbeks now not only recovered the country which they had lost in Transoxiana , but also made incursions into Greater Khorasan | Khurasan , ravaging the northern part of the province . Shah Ismail I , on hearing of this disaster , resolved to return . On his approach the Uzbeks retreated in alarm . He caused several of the officers who had escaped from the battle to be seized and some of them to be executed for deserting their commander . Certain inhabitants of the province , accused of having shown attachment to the Uzbeks and their creed and of having vexed the Shias , were consumed in the fire of his wrath . The fatal battle of Ghazdewan , the destruction of Babur ' s Persian allies , and the numbers and power of the Uzbeks seemed to leave him no hopes of again ascending the throne of Samarkand and Bukhara . Babur had now resigned all hopes of recovering Fergana , and although he dreaded an invasion from the Uzbeks to his West , his attention increasingly turned towards India and its lands in the East .