Battle of Panipat (1526)

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First Battle of Panipat
Part of Mughal conquests
Schlacht von Panipat.jpg
First Battle of Panipat from Baburnama
Date 21 April 1526
Location Panipat, Haryana, India
Result Decisive Mughal victory
Territorial
changes
Delhi Sultanate annexed by Mughals
Belligerents
 Mughal Empire Delhi Sultanate
Commanders
Babur Sultan Ibrahim Lodi
Strength
12,000 Mughals & Afghans,[1]
5,000 allied Indian troops,[1]
24 field artillery
130,000-140,000 troops,[1]
300 war elephants[2]
Casualties and losses
Low very High

The first battle of Panipat took place in Northern India, and marked the beginning of the Mughal Empire. This was one of the earliest battles involving gunpowder firearms and field artillery.

In 1526, the forces of Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur, the ruler of Kabul and of Timurid descent, defeated the much larger army of Ibrahim Lodi, the ruler of the large North Indian Delhi Sultanate.

The battle was fought on April 21 near the small village of Panipat, in the present day Indian state of Haryana, an area that has been the site of a number of decisive battles for the control of Northern India since the twelfth century.

It is estimated that Babur's forces numbered about 8,000 men and he had between 20 to 24 pieces of field artillery, however Lodi had around 130,000 men, though that number included camp followers, while the fighting force was around 100,000 to 110,000 men in total, along with at least 300 war elephants. Babur's guns proved decisive in battle, firstly because Ibrahim Lodi lacked any field artillery but also because elephants are scared of guns. Babur could use the guns to scare the elephants away, causing them to trample Lodi's own men. Babur was an inspirational leader of men and commanded a well disciplined army.

Ibrahim Lodi died on the field of battle, abandoned by his feudatories and generals (many of whom were mercenaries), most of whom would change their allegiance to the new master of Delhi.

The battle marked the foundation of the Mughal Empire in India. The word Mughal means Mongol and alludes to the Turkic and Mongol origins of Babur and his officers, though the majority of his troops were of Pathan, Indian and mixed Central Asian descent.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c (Davis 1999, pp. 181 & 183)
  2. ^ (Davis 1999, p. 181)

[edit] Source

[edit] See also