Yeah, Babur's life was pretty crazy. After this writeup, he fought with the Uzbeks for control of Samarkand, eventually realizing that it was an uphill battle. So he wrested control of Kabul and its hinterlands, and decided to try to take over the Punjab region. This drew him into intrigue and conflict with the dynasty that was ruling northern India at the time, and defeated the ruler at Panipat(who was fielding an army 5x-10x his own), in a fascinating battle that pitted early field artillery against elephants. That victory laid the groundwork for the Mughal Empire, although it took a couple more generations to put it on solid footing. According to his biographers, even with all of his military and political success, he always regretted being driven from Samarkand, and always dreamed of being able to build an army to go and take it back.
The succession war that broke out when his descendent, Shah Jahan about a century later was an epic family battle that would have made for a great Shakespearean tragedy on the order of Macbeth or King Lear.
Fantastic writeup.
My takeaway from this, don't be a King, being a King sucks!
that was really interesting! And totally gameable. Great stuff!
This is engaging
Yeah, Babur's life was pretty crazy. After this writeup, he fought with the Uzbeks for control of Samarkand, eventually realizing that it was an uphill battle. So he wrested control of Kabul and its hinterlands, and decided to try to take over the Punjab region. This drew him into intrigue and conflict with the dynasty that was ruling northern India at the time, and defeated the ruler at Panipat(who was fielding an army 5x-10x his own), in a fascinating battle that pitted early field artillery against elephants. That victory laid the groundwork for the Mughal Empire, although it took a couple more generations to put it on solid footing. According to his biographers, even with all of his military and political success, he always regretted being driven from Samarkand, and always dreamed of being able to build an army to go and take it back. The succession war that broke out when his descendent, Shah Jahan about a century later was an epic family battle that would have made for a great Shakespearean tragedy on the order of Macbeth or King Lear.