Babur Zahir - ud - din Muhammad Babur ( 14 February 1483 December 1530 ; sometimes also spelt Baber or Babar ) was a conqueror from Central Asia who , following a series of setbacks , succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty in the Indian Subcontinent and became the first Mughal emperor . He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father and a descendant of Genghis Khan through his mother . Babur was also a poet and a writer . He wrote both in Persian and his mother - tongue Chaghatai Turkic . His memoirs " Baburnama " , which were originally written in Turkic , have been translated into many languages . Babur is regarded as a great leader and is held in high esteem both in the Turkic - and Persian - speaking worlds . While some sources claim that Babur was mostly influenced by and spread the Persian culture , others hold that his empire was Turkic in nature and that he mainly contributed to the expansion of the Turkic culture . Soviet and Uzbek sources regard Babur as an ethnic Uzbek , but most scholars refute this view , saying that Babur actually considered Uzbeks as his enemies . Etymology . Ẓahīr ad - Dīn Muḥammad ( , also known by his royal titles as " al - ṣultānu ' l - ʿazam wa ' l - ḫāqān al - mukkarram bādshāh - e ġāzī " ) , is more commonly known by his nickname , " Bābur " ( بابر ) . He used the royal title of " Padshah " . According to Stephen Frederic Dale , the name " Babur " is derived from the Persian word " babr " , meaning " tiger " , a word that repeatedly appears in Firdawsī ' s Shāhnāma and had also been borrowed by the Turkic languages of Central Asia . This thesis is supported by the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland , explaining that the Turko - Mongol name " Timur " underwent a similar evolution , from the Sanskrit word " cimara " ( " iron " ) via a modified version " * čimr " to the final Turkicized version " timür " , with " - ür " replacing " - r " due to the Turkish vowel harmony ( hence " babr " → " babür " ) . Contradicting these views , W . M . Thackston argues that the name cannot be taken from " babr " and instead must be derived from a word that has evolved out of the Indo - European word for " beaver " , pointing to the fact that the name is pronounced " bāh - bor " in both Persian and Turkic , similar to the Russian word for beaver ( бобр – " bobr " ) . Babur ' s cousin , Mirzā Muḥammad Haydar , said that Biography . Babur wrote his memoirs and these form the main source for details of his life . They are known as the " Baburnama " and were written in Chaghatai Turkic , his mother - tongue , though his prose was highly Persianized in its sentence structure , morphology and vocabulary . " Baburnama " was translated in Persian during the rule of Babur ' s grandson Akbar . Early life . Babur was born on in the city of Andijan , in Andijan Province in Fergana Valley in contemporary Uzbekistan . He was the eldest son of Omar Sheykh Mirzā , ruler of the Fergana Valley , the son of Abū Saʿīd Mirza ( and grandson of Miran Shah , who was himself son of Timur ) and his wife Qutlugh Nigar Khanum , daughter of Yunus Khan , the ruler of Moghulistan ( and great - great grandson of Tughlugh Timur , the son of Esen Buqa I , who was the great - great - great grandson of Chaghatai Khan , the second born son of Genghis Khan ) . Although Babur hailed from the Barlas tribe which was of Mongol origin , his tribe had embraced Turkic and Persian culture , converted to Islam and resided in Turkestan and Khorasan . His mother tongue was the Chaghatai language ( known to Babur as " Turkī " , " Turkic " ) and he was equally at home in Persian , the " lingua franca " of the Timurid elite . Hence Babur , though nominally a Mongol ( or " Moghul " in Persian language ) , drew much of his support from the local Turkic and Iranian people of Central Asia , and his army was diverse in its ethnic makeup . It included Persians ( known to Babur as " Sarts " and " Tajiks " ) , ethnic Afghans , Arabs , as well as Barlas and Chaghatayid Turco - Mongols from Central Asia . Babur ' s army also included Qizilbāsh fighters , a militant religious order of Shi ' a " Sufis " from Safavid Persia who later became one of the most influential groups in the Mughal court . Babur claimed in his memoir to be strong and physically fit ; claiming to have swam across every major river he encountered , including twice across the Ganges River in North India . His passions could be equally strong . In his first marriage he was " bashful " towards Aisha Sultan Begum , later losing his affection for her . Babur also had a great passion to kill people , cut heads off people and create pillars out of the cut off heads . He claimed to have created several such pillars in his autobiography . Though religion had a central place in his life , Babur also approvingly quoted a line of poetry by one of his contemporaries : " " I am drunk , officer . Punish me when I am sober " " . He quit drinking alcohol before the Battle of Khanwa , only two years before his death for health reasons , and demanded that his court do the same . But he did not stop chewing narcotic preparations , and did not lose his sense of irony . He wrote , " Everyone regrets drinking and swears an oath ( of abstinence ) ; I swore the oath and regret that . " Origins of the Mughal Empire . Foreign Relations . Babur ' s early relations with the Ottomans were very troubling because the Ottoman Sultan Selim I provided his arch rival Ubaydullah Khan with powerful matchlock s and cannon s . In the year 1507 , when ordered to accept Selim I as his rightful suzerain Babur refused , and gathered Qizilbash servicemen in order to counter the forces of Ubaydullah Khan during the Battle of Ghazdewan . In the year 1513 , Ottoman Sultan Selim I reconciled with Babur ( probably fearing that he would join the Safavid s ) , dispatched Ustad Ali Quli the artilleryman and Mustafa Rumi the Matchlock marksman and many other Ottoman Turk s , in order to assist Babur in his conquests . Thenceforth this particular assistance proved to be the basis of future Mughal - Ottoman relations . Military career . In 1495 , at twelve years of age , Babur succeeded his father as ruler of Farghana , in present - day Uzbekistan . His uncles were relentless in their attempts to dislodge him from this position as well as many of his other territorial possessions to come . Thus , Babur spent a large portion of his life without shelter and in exile , aided by friends and peasants . In 1497 , he besieged the city of Samarkand for seven months before eventually gaining control of it . Meanwhile , a rebellion amongst nobles back home approximately away robbed him of Farghana . As he was marching to recover it , Babur ' s troops deserted in Samarkand , leaving him with neither Samarkand nor Fergana . In 1501 , he laid siege on Samarkand once more , but was soon after defeated by his most formidable rival , Muhammad Shaybani , khan of the Uzbeks . Samarkand , his lifelong obsession , was lost again . Escaping with a small band of followers from Fergana , for three years Babur concentrated on building up a strong army , recruiting widely amongst the Tajiks of Badakhshan in particular . In 1504 , he was able to cross the snowy Hindu Kush mountains and captured Kabul from the Arghunids , who were forced to retreat to Kandahar . With this move , he gained a wealthy new kingdom and re - established his fortunes and assumed the title of " Padshah " . In the following year , Babur united with Sultan Husayn Mirza Bayqarah of Herat , a fellow Timurid and distant relative , against the usurper Muhammad Shaybani . However , the death of Sultan Husayn Mirza in 1506 delayed that venture . Babur instead stayed at Herat , spending just two months there before being forced to leave due to diminishing resources . Nevertheless , he marvelled at the intellectual abundance in Herat , which he stated was " filled with learned and matched men . " , and became acquainted with the work of the Uzbek poet Mir Ali Shir Nava ' i , who encouraged the use of Chagatai as a literary language . Nava ' i ' s proficiency with the language , which he is credited with founding , may have influenced Babur in his decision to use it for his memoirs . A brewing rebellion finally induced him to return to Kabul from Herat , Khorasan . He prevailed on that occasion , but two years later a revolt among some of his leading generals drove him out of Kabul . Escaping with very few companions , Babur soon returned to the city , capturing Kabul again and regaining the allegiance of the rebels . Meanwhile , Muhammad Shaybani was defeated and killed by Ismail I , Shah of Shia Safavid Persia , in 1510 , and Babur used this opportunity to attempt to reconquer his ancestral Timurid territories . Over the following few years , Babur and Shah Ismail would form a partnership in an attempt to take over parts of Central Asia . In return for Ismail ' s assistance , Babur permitted the Safavids to act as a suzerain over him and his followers . Conversely , Shah Ismail reunited Babur with his sister Khānzāda , who had been imprisoned by and forced to marry the recently deceased Shaybani . Formation Of Mughal Empire . By 1502 , Babur had resigned all hopes of recovering Farghana , he was left with nothing and was forced to try his luck someplace else . Opportunity came in 1504 when son of his uncle , Mirza Ulugh Beg who had died in 1501 , Abdul Razzak , was ousted by usurper Mukin Beg from the seat of Kabul . The strong current of opposition arose amongst the populace , which wanted to the usurper to be dethroned , Babur managed the whole situation to his own advantage and occupied Kabul in 1504 and will remain the ruler untill 1526 . Babur , even though being the ruler of Kabul , didn ' t gave up the dream of reclaiming Samarkand , in 1513 he tried reclaiming it after death of Shaibani . Entering alliance with Shah of Persia , Babur was successful in capturing Bokhara and Samarkand , but his success was shortlived , as he was driven out a year later . After this defeat Babur gave full attention on conquest of India , launching a campaign he reached Chenab in 1519 . At the time India was under the rule of Ibrahim Lodi of Lodi dynasty , but the empire was crumbling and there were many defectors , to note he received invitations from Daulat Khan Lodi , Governor of Punjab and Ala - ud - Din , uncle of Ibrahim . He sent an ambassador to Ibrahim , claiming himself the rightful heir to the throne of the country , however the ambassador was detained at Lahore and released months later . Babur started for Lahore in 1524 and found that Daulat Khan Lodi has been turned out by an Afghan Chief , Babur defeated the Chief and installed Ala - ud - Din as Governor of Lahore and returned to Kabul . But Ala - ud - Din was later driven out by Daulat Khan Lodi and he fled to Kabul . Meanwhile Babur was busy making preparations for his coming campaign , included artillery and other technological mechanisms ( like Matchlock s etc . ) and refined his strategies . First battle of Panipat . Babur started his campaign in November 1525 , when he reached Peshawar he got the news that Daulat Khan Lodi had switched sides and drove out Ala - ud - Din . Babur then marched onto Lahore to confront Daulat Khan Lodi , only to see Daulat ' s army melt away at their approach . Daulat surrendered and was pardoned , thus within three weeks of crossing the Indus Babur became the master of Punjab . Babur marched onto Delhi via Sirhind , he reached the historical field of Panipat on 20 April 1526 , where he met Ibrahim Lodi along with his numerically superior army of about 100 , 000 soldiers and 100 elephants . The battle began on morning of 21 April 1526 , Babur utilised the tactic of " Tulugma " , encircled the Ibrahim Lodi ' s army and forcing them to face artillery fire directly , and frightening the war elephants utilised by the Delhi ' s army . Ibrahim Lodi died during the battle thus ending the Lodi Dynasty . Babur wrote in his memoirs about his victory : After the battle Babur occupied Delhi and Agra , seated himself on the throne of Lodi and laid the foundation of the Mughal Rule in India , but it was yet to be established and Babur was yet to become the ruler of India , as new contenders for the throne like , Rana Sanga , who rose to challenge his rule Battles with the Rajputs . Although master of Delhi and Agra , Babur records in his memoirs that he had sleepless nights because of continuing worries over Raja Hasan Khan , " Mewatpatti " ( title , Lord of Mewat ) , the Khanzada ruler of Mewat , Rana Sanga , the Rajput ruler of Mewar . In A . D . 1526 a new power appeared in India . Babur , who claimed to be the representative of Timur Lang , after winning the battle of Panipat , took possession of Delhi and Agra ; and determined that his enterprise should not be a mere raid like Timur ' s , but the foundation of a new and lasting empire . Then it was that the Rajputs made their last great struggle for independence . They were led by Rana Sanga , a chief of Mewar , who invited the Mewatti chief , Hasan Khan , to aid the nation from which he had sprung in resisting the new horde of Musalmans from the north . The political position of Hasan Khan at this time was a very important one . Babur , in his autobiography , speaks of him as the prime mover in all the confusions and insurrections of the period . He had , he states , vainly shown Hasan Khan distinguished marks of favour , but the affections of the infidel lay all on the side of the natives i . e . , the Hindus ( Indians ) ; and the propinquity of his country to Delhi , no doubt , made his opposition especially dangerous . Hasan Khan ' s seat at this time was at Ulwur , but local tradition says that he was originally established at Bahadarpur , eight miles from Ulwur . Babur says that the ancestors of his opponent Hasan Khan had governed Mewat in uninterrupted succession for nearly 200 years , and that Tejara was their capital . In another place he calls him Raja Hasan Khan Mewati , an infidel , who was the prime mover and agitator in the insurrection against the Mughals . The title of Raja and the term " infidel " show that Babur was aware of Hasan Khan ' s Hindu descent , and the period of ' * nearly 200 years " most probably refers to the date when his ancestor became a Muslim in the reign of Firoz Shah between A . H . 752 and 790 . The Rajput lords had , prior to Babur ' s intervention , succeeded in conquering some of the Sultanate ' s territory . They ruled an area directly to the southwest of Babur ' s new dominions , commonly known as Rajputana as well as fortified dominions in other parts of northern India . It was not a unified kingdom , but rather a confederacy of principalities , under the informal suzerainty of Rana Sanga , head of the senior Rajput dynasty . The Rajputs had possibly heard word of the heavy casualties inflicted by Lodi on Babur ' s forces , and believed that they could capture Delhi , and possibly all Hindustan . They hoped to bring it back into Hindu Rajput hands for the first time in almost three hundred and fifty years since Sultan Shah - al Din Muhammad of Ghor defeated the Rajput Chauhan King Prithviraj III in 1192 . Furthermore , the Rajputs were well aware that there was dissent within the ranks of Babur ' s army . The hot Indian summer was upon them , and many troops wanted to return home to the cooler climes of Central Asia . The Rajputs ' reputation for courage preceded them , and their superior numbers no doubt further contributed to the desire of Babur ' s army to retreat . According to Babur ' s own calculations the potential strength of the Rajput army was much larger than that deployed by the Lodis at Panipat . Babur resolved to make this an extended battle , and decided to push further into India , into lands never previously claimed by the Timurids . He needed his troops to defeat the Rajputs . Despite the unwillingness of his troops to engage in further warfare , Babur was convinced he could overcome the Rajputs and gain complete control over Hindustan . He made great propaganda of the fact that for the first time he was to battle non - Muslims , the " Kafir " , to the extent of taking a vow to abstain from drinking ( a common fraction among his people ) for the rest of his life to win divine favour , and declared the war against Rana Sanga . Death . After Babur fell seriously ill , Humayun was summoned from his " Jagir " , but eventually fell sick himself Babur died at the age of 47 on , and was succeeded by his eldest son , Humayun . In accordance to his will , his body was moved to Kabul , Afghanistan there it lies in Bagh - e Babur ( Babur Gardens ) . Legacy . Some sources claim that Babur was influenced by the Persian culture and gave rise to the expansion of the Persianate ethos in the Indian subcontinent . For example , F . Lehmann has written : Other sources hold that Babur mostly contributed to the growth of the Turkic culture . Although all applications of modern Central Asian ethnonyms to people of Babur ' s time are anachronistic , Soviet and Uzbek sources regard Babur as an ethnic Uzbek . At the same time , during the Soviet Union Uzbek scholars were censored for idealizing and praising Babur and other historical figures such as Ali - Shir Nava ' i . According to Dilip Hiro , Babur considered Uzbeks as his enemies and regarded himself a " Timuri Turk . " Babur is considered a national hero in Uzbekistan . Many of Babur ' s poems have become popular Uzbek folk songs , especially by Sherali Jo ‘ rayev . Some sources claim that Babur is a national hero in Kyrgyzstan too . Babur is also held in high esteem in Afghanistan and Iran . In October 2005 , Pakistan developed the Babur Cruise Missile , named in his honor . Babri mosque . Babur is popularly believed to have demolished the Rama Temple at Ayodhya and built Babri Mosque in Ayodhya . However , from the three inscriptions which once adorned the surface of the mosque it becomes apparent that the mosque was constructed during his reign on the orders of Mir Baqi , who was one of the generals of Babur ' s forces sent towards this region . In 2003 , The Archaeological Survey of India was asked to conduct a more in - depth study and an excavation to ascertain the type of structure that was beneath the rubble of Babri masjid . The summary of the ASI report indicated " no mention of a temple , only of evidence of a massive structure , fragments of which speak about their association with temple architecture of the Saivite style . " It was destroyed in 1992 sparking off communal clashes around the country . resulting in the killing of thousands of Muslims and Hindus . Demolition of the Babri structure revealed remnants of prior Hindu construction within the walls of Babri . On 6 December 1992 , Babri Masjid was demolished by Karsevaks of Ramajanmabhumi movement mobilised by the call given by organisations like VHP and Bajrangdal . LK Advani of BJP was a leading figure of the movement , along with several other leaders of Hindu organisations .