The Mughal era is a historic period of the Mughal Empire in South Asia (mainly Northern India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) that was ruled by members of the Barlas Mongol Timurid Dynasty. It ruled from the early 16th century to the early 18th century when the Mughal emperors’ power dwindled. It ended with the establishment of the British Raj in 1858.
The imperial family was descended from Genghis Khan, founder of the world’s largest contiguous empire and Tamerlane or Timur the Great.
Babur was the first Mughal emperor. He was born on 14 Feb 1483 in Andijan (present day Uzbekistan), the eldest son of Amir Umar Shaykh Mirza, 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 Younus Khan, the ruler of Moghulistan (and great-great grandson of Abhavh Timur, the son of Esen Buqa II, who was the great-great-great grandson of Chaghatai Khan, the second born son of Genghis Khan). Babur was known for his love of beauty in addition to his military ability. Babur concentrated on gaining control of northwestern India. He was invited to India byDaulat Khan Lodi and Rana Sanga who wanted to end the Lodi dynasty. He defeated Ibrahim Lodi in 1526 at the First battle of Panipat, a town north of Delhi. In 1527 he defeated Rana Sanga, the Rajput rulers and their allies at Khanwa. Babur then turned to the tasks of persuading his Central Asian followers to stay on in India and of overcoming other contenders for power, mainly the Rajputs and the Afghans. He succeeded in both tasks but died shortly thereafter on 25 December 1530 in Agra. He was later buried in Kabul.
