The Decisive Battles of World History

Lecture 17: 1526 & 1556 Panipat—Babur & Akbar in India

distributed around the carts, giving further protection to the slow-

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x Babur’s horse archers were in left, right, and center formations, and

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his line against the structures of the town of Panipat, and the other

against the banks of a river. The left and right cavalry wings were

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from the powerful Mongol bows, and herd them toward the middle,

impeding their mobility by crowding them and providing a dense

target for the gunpowder weapons.

x On April 21, 1526, the sultan commanded his men to advance. His

strategy was unimaginative, consisting of a frontal charge and the

hope that his greater numbers would overwhelm the enemy. The

charge seems to have been badly coordinated, and it bogged down

among the carts and obstacles.

x Meanwhile, Babur’s cavalry were deploying on both sides as

planned, hemming in and harassing the attacking ranks. An attempt

to break Babur’s line near the town was repulsed, and surrounded

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5,000 men in his reserve and, somewhere in the melee, was killed.

x Babur had defeated a much larger force by virtue of superior

generalship, training, and technology. He offered a harsh but

probably accurate assessment of his opponent: “Ibrahim Lodi was

an inexperienced man, negligent in his movements. He marched

without orders or halted without plan and engaged in battle

without foresight.”

Effects of the First Battle

x Babur was succeeded by his son, Humayan, who died in 1556.

Humayan’s son and heir, Akbar, was 13, and the Mughal dynasty

seemed on the verge of coming to a premature end. Several strong