The Battle of Panipat is a battle between the invading forces of Babur and the Delhi Sultan Ibrahim Shah Lodi , which occurred on April 21, 1526 in North India and marked the beginning of the Great Mogul Empire . One of the first battles with the use of firearms and artillery [3] .
| The first battle of Panipat | |||
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 Battle of Panipat. Illustration from the translation of " Babur-name " into Persian (circa 1590) | |||
| date | April 21, 1526 | ||
| A place | Panipat (current state of Haryana , India ) | ||
| Total | Babur's Victory | ||
| Opponents | |||
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| Commanders | |||
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| Forces of the parties | |||
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| Losses | |||
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Content
Alignment of forces
In 1526, the troops of Babur , the ruler of Kabulistan from the Timurid family, defeated the superior army of Ibrahim Shah Lodi , the Sultan of Delhi .
The battle took place on April 21 near the village of Panipat (now a city in the Indian state of Haryana ), which became the site of several more battles for control of Northern India since the XII century.
The army of Babur included about 15,000 people and from 20 to 24 guns. Babur was opposed by the army of Lodi in 30 000 - 40 000 soldiers, which included, according to various estimates, from 100 to 1000 war elephants [4] .
The course and outcome of the battle
Babur ordered the field fortifications to be erected from the wagons set in a circle . This practice was common among the Mongols, the inhabitants of Asia Minor and other eastern nations. Between the wagons there were warriors, armed with firearms and protected by shields. Despite the numerical superiority of Ibrahim Shah, Lodi did not dare to attack first, and to provoke him, Babur ordered a group of warriors to make a sortie . On the morning of April 21, Ibrahim Shah Lodi finally launched the first attack. He managed to succeed on the right flank, but in the center, where Babur’s artillery was concentrated, he failed. Delions fighting elephants, frightened by the noise of cannon shots, became unmanageable and finally destroyed the battle order of the Lodi troops. By the middle of the day, Babur's army went on the offensive, capturing the enemy camp. Babur ordered a number of prisoners to be beheaded.
Victory in the battle allowed Babur to occupy Delhi and Agra almost unhindered, thus subjugating the whole of North India.
See also
- Indian campaign Tamerlana
- Indian campaign Nadir Shah
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Davis, 1999 , pp. 181, 183.
- ↑ Davis, 1999 , p. 184.
- ↑ First battle of Panipat, 21 April 1526 . The date of circulation is October 5, 2011. Archived April 9, 2013.
- ↑ Davis, 1999 , p. 183.
Literature
- Davis, Paul K. 100 Decisive Battles: From Ancient Times to the Present . - Oxford University Press, 1999. - 462 p. - ISBN 1-57607-075-1 .
- Babur-name