1. Central Asian Political Background
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Timurids: Once-dominant dynasty; Babur descended from Timur.
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Uzbeks under Shaibani Khan: Aggressive rise, captured key Timurid cities like Samarkand and Bukhara.
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Safavid Iran: Rival power, occasionally clashed with Uzbeks.
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Region marked by power vacuums, constant warfare, and shifting alliances.
2. Shaibani Khan’s Impact
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Played a key role in ending Timurid control in Transoxiana.
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Forced Babur to retreat from Central Asia.
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Defeated Babur multiple times, especially in Samarkand.
3. Babur’s Early Life and Struggles
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Born in Fergana (1483), claimed descent from Timur (paternal) and Genghis Khan (maternal).
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Ambitious but struggled to hold power in Central Asia.
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Repeated attempts to reclaim Samarkand failed.
4. Shift to Afghanistan
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Captured Kabul (1504) and later Kandahar.
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Rebuilt forces and consolidated power.
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Used Kabul as a strategic base to plan Indian campaigns.
5. Why India?
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Delhi Sultanate under Ibrahim Lodi was weak and unpopular.
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India was politically fragmented—opportunity for conquest.
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Babur had earlier inherited a claim to Punjab from Timur’s legacy.
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Saw India as a more achievable empire-building project than Central Asia.
6. Key Military Campaigns
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First Battle of Panipat (1526): Defeated Ibrahim Lodi; established Mughal power.
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Used superior tactics and gunpowder warfare (Ottoman influence).
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Later victories: Battle of Khanwa (1527) against Rajputs, Battle of Ghaghra (1529).
🔑 Key Terms to Remember
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Timurid-Uzbek conflict
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Shaibani Khan
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Safavid-Persian rivalry
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Babur’s Kabul conquest
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Decline of Delhi Sultanate
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First Battle of Panipat
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Gunpowder Empires
Quick Analogy:
Babur’s shift from Central Asia to India is like a UPSC aspirant giving up a failing strategy, adopting a new approach, and finally cracking the exam. His years of failure shaped his final success.
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