Background
Baber, Babur, or Babar, was born in 1483. His name was Zahir ud-Din Muhammad, and his surname Baber, meaning "tiger," was derived from the Mongols. In 1495 he succeeded his father, Sheikh Omar Mirma, as king of Ferghana, a realm in western Turkestan, but was driven out by intrigues and revolts on the fringes of his domain. By 1501 he had lost almost all of his parental heritage, but through a series of daring military exploits he soon recaptured Kashgar, Kunduz, Kandahar, and Kabul--the last-named in 1504--as steps toward the subjection of Hindustan. Attempts to reconquer his capital at Samarkand having failed, he penetrated Hindustan in 1519-1524 and crossed the Indus River in 1525. He overthrew the Afghan sultan, Ibrahim Lodi, established his government at Delhi, and in 1527 won a decisive victory at Agra. The remaining years of Baber's life at Delhi were disturbed by insurrections.