First battle of Panipat

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The first battle of Panipat took place in northern India, and marked the beginning of the Mughal Empire.

In 1526, the forces of Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur, the ruler of Kabul and of Timurid descent, defeated the much larger army of Ibrahim Lodi, the ruler of the large North Indian Delhi Sultanate.

The battle was fought on April 21 near the small village of Panipat, in the present day Indian state of Haryana, an area that has been the site of a number decisive battles for the control of Northern India since the twelfth century.

It is estimated that Babur's forces numbered about 12,000 men and he had between 15 to 20 pieces of field artillery, however Lodi had around 100,000 men, and at least 100 elephants. Babur's guns proved decisive in battle firstly because Ibrahim Lodi's lacked any field artillery but also because elephants are scared of guns. Babur could use the guns to scare the elephents away, causing them to trample Lodi's own men. Babur was an inspirational leader of men and commanded a well disciplined army.

Ibrahim Lodi died on the field of battle, abandoned by his feudatories and generals (many of whom were mercenaries), most of whom would change their allegiance to the new master of Delhi.

The battle marked the foundation of the so called Mughal or Mogul empire in India - the word means Mongol and alludes to the Turko-Mongol origins of Baburs and his officers, although the majority of his troops would probably have had been of mixed Central Asian descent.