First Battle of Panipat

First Battle of Panipat, one of the three conflicts that took place between 1526 and 1761 at Panipat (now in Haryana, India), about 50 miles (80 km) north of Delhi. The First Battle of Panipat is believed to have occurred on April 20, 1526 (although some scholars believe this date might have been April 21), and was fought between the Central Asian ruler Babur and the Afghan sultan of Delhi Ibrahim Lodi. This battle marked the end of both the Lodi dynasty and the Delhi sultanate as well as the beginning of the Mughal Empire in India.

The First Battle of Panipat is discussed in detail below the following chart, which provides a quick comparison of the three battles.

(Read Britannica’s article on the Mughal dynasty.)

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Battles of Panipat Events

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First Battle of Panipat

April 20, 1526 - April 21, 1526

Second Battle of Panipat (1556)

1556

Third Battle of Panipat (1761)

January 14, 1761

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Background

The state of the Indian polity during Ibrahim Lodi’s rule (1517–26) was precarious. The Delhi sultanate under Ibrahim was marked by growing internal strife and suspicion among the Afghans and the Rajputs of India alike because of his tyrannical regime. Some scholars have characterized Ibrahim as being militarily skilled but lacking in tact and moderation. Amid declining stability, Ibrahim’s persistence in building a large centralized empire in which he could exercise absolute authority undermined the position of nobles in his court, and the interventions of antagonized powerful Afghan chiefs such as Daulat Khan Lodi (the governor of Punjab) made conditions favorable for Babur’s invasion.

Babur was a descendant of both Genghis Khan (a Mongol warrior-ruler) and Timur (a Turkic conqueror). His family became members of the Chagatai clan that ruled over Fergana in what is now Uzbekistan. His father ruled Fergana, but the absence of a fixed law of succession among the Turks led to multiple claimants. Although Babur had ascended the throne of Fergana, he eventually lost it. The territory was marked by unending wars between princes trying to claim it. Babur followed in his father’s footsteps and tried to claim Samarkand (now in Uzbekistan), the old capital of Timur. After years of unsuccessful attempts to capture Samarkand, coupled with the loss of Fergana to stronger Uzbek rivals, Babur was effectively displaced from his base. For a brief period he occupied Kabul (now in Afghanistan). With no prospects of reclaiming his former territories, Babur turned his attention toward India, where new opportunities for expansion presented themselves.

The Baburnama (“History of Babur”) provides detailed information about his battle with Ibrahim and the events leading up to it. According to the text, Babur set out on his expedition to Hindustan, a region of the northern Indian subcontinent, in November 1525.

The battle

Before the First Battle of Panipat, Babur made four raids (1519–24) into India without being able to gain a foothold strong enough to conquer the region. During his four unsuccessful raids into the Punjab, cracks in the Lodi polity began to reveal themselves, as the Delhi sultanate was troubled by constant internal conflicts. During one such conflict, the Afghan nobles Alam Khan (Ibrahim’s uncle) and Daulat Khan Lodi urged Babur to launch a fifth invasion, arguing that Ibrahim had become a tyrant and had lost the support of his nobles.

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To launch an attack on Delhi, Babur crossed the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab rivers before reaching Siālkot (now in Pakistan). From Siālkot he marched toward Milawat (now Malot, Punjab, India) and captured it. This strengthened his resolve to capture Delhi. As he marched through Punjab, he captured key regions and defeated many forces, including an army that was in support of Ibrahim Lodi and led by the Afghan noble Hamid Khan Lodi. Babur diverted his son Humayun toward the army to neutralize the threat.

In early April 1526, Babur arrived near Panipat and began preparing for the battle that would ensue against Ibrahim. His army was much smaller than Ibrahim’s, but he made up for it in innovative tactics. In the days leading up to the battle, Babur’s forces had some encounters with Ibrahim’s army. For one week, small contingents of his forces were ordered to advance to the enemy camp and launch night attacks. Ibrahim was not provoked into action by these. Finally, on the morning of April 20, Ibrahim led his forces toward the Mughal camp, and both sides engaged. The Mughal army, which was organized into a well-planned formation, proved successful in slowing down Ibrahim’s army while Babur himself remained in a fortified position. The Lodi forces, consisting of soldiers and elephants, were ambushed by the firing of Babur’s artillery and were unable to maneuver effectively. The fighting continued for several hours, and the Lodi forces began to collapse. By midday the battle had turned in Babur’s favor. Ibrahim was killed in the battle and thus began the three-century-long Mughal rule (1526–1857) in India.

The estimates of casualties in this battle vary from 15,000 to 50,000.

Forces and military strategy

In the Baburnama Babur describes Ibrahim’s army as a “standing-army was called a lak (100,000), whose elephants and whose begs’ elephants were about 1,000.” Recognizing the disadvantage that he had with his smaller army, Babur adopted innovative tactics influenced by Central Asian and Ottoman practices.

One reason for Babur’s success in this battle was his use of the tulughma military tactic, which involved dividing the army into coordinated left, right, and center units supplemented by flanking forces. This enabled Babur’s small army to surround the much larger army of Ibrahim. The defense line of Babur’s army consisted of hundreds of carts (arabas) tied together with rawhide. Behind these carts were mantelets, protecting cannons and providing cover to matchlock operators. This battle demonstrated the effectiveness of gunpowder weapons and new military tactics in action.

Ibrahim’s army—which consisted of elephants, cavalry, and mercenary units—lacked the artillery and cohesiveness of Babur’s army. By surrounding Lodi’s army, Babur was able to control the outcome of the battle. He then went on to take Delhi and Agra. Unlike earlier Central Asian invaders such as Timur and Nadir Shah, Babur did not leave with his loot but instead stayed and established the Mughal Empire, which became the primary power in India for the next few centuries.

(Read Britannica’s article on gunpowder empires.)