BABUR’S MILITARY TACTICS AND TRIBAL WARFARE: ADAPTATION TO THE INDIAN CONTEXT
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Khalid Basir
Ishfaq Ahmad Mir
Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, is known for his military genius forged through years of Central Asia's complex world of politics. After Babur invaded India, he was faced by a new environment altogether, where he had to cope with established local and regional practices of warfare, like those practiced by Rajput’s and Afghan nobles. In this paper, the authors make a deliberate effort to trace the development of Babur's military strategies in response to the unique challenges of the Indian subcontinent. It masterfully combines older precepts of warfare from the steppes of Central Asia with newer technologies-having absorbed gunpowder, firearms, and cannons-it explains how Babur so elegantly welded horse archery and steppe warfare into this new framework. Synthesizing his native military heritage with an understanding of warfare traditions in India, Babur triumphantly established a new martial order, reshaped the battlefield, and cemented Mughal dominance in India.
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