Please post links to material (particularly stories and legends) on Mughal Dynasty in English or Urdu.Thanks
@muqawwee123 …I really need them.
Re: Urdu literature on Mughals
Do you need it in book form.
I remember one in Urdu, which a translation of an Italian book written by an Italian physician, who visited India during last years of Shahjahan and this book contain information about war between Aurangzeb and his brothers. Its an interesting read as this guy covers history from legends view and give us some details from Babur to Jehangir as well.
There was this trilogy novels mentioned by Khatti in a thread, which can may be interesting for you as well.
Re: Urdu literature on Mughals
In the following link, there are two books on Mughals written by Abraham Eraly. I read his book ‘The Mughal Throne’ and it was quite interesting read.
http://en.bookfi.org/s/?q=abraham+eraly&t=0
While going through that book, I had opened some threads in History forum:
http://www.paklinks.com/gs/indo-pak-history/557633-rana-sanga-and-babar.html
http://www.paklinks.com/gs/indo-pak-history/558763-the-unlucky-humayun.html
http://www.paklinks.com/gs/indo-pak-history/545002-aurangzeb-bad-ruler-or-bad-history.html
Re: Urdu literature on Mughals
Thanks...I'll go through these links inshaAllah.
Re: Urdu literature on Mughals
Good work @muqawwee123 :k:
Re: Urdu literature on Mughals
I’m looking for interesting legends and stories on Panipat Battle…wiki is just not good enough. Can you help? :flower1:
Re: Urdu literature on Mughals
Panipat is after Mughal era.
I think @marwati can be better help in this regard.
Till he comes let me find you something from a Punjabi book ‘Lok Tawareekh’.
Re: Urdu literature on Mughals
here is a discussion threads on Marathas and Panipat:
BTW, have you heard Punjabi saying: Ahmed Khan Durrani, Nokar ganja, ghoRi kaani :hehe:
Re: Urdu literature on Mughals
:k:
Re: Urdu literature on Mughals
lengthy posts of Faris on Panipat, but worth reading:
http://www.paklinks.com/gs/indo-pak-history/477195-the-worst-day.html
Re: Urdu literature on Mughals
I think he is referring to the first battle of panipat of Babur, in that case here is article,
Battle of Panipat, 1526 - Afghans vs Mughals](http://historyofpashtuns.blogspot.com/2014/06/battle-of-panipat-1526-afghans-vs.html)
In 1526 babur captured Kabul. For several years he tried to re-conquer his hereditary domain but failed, The deficit economy of mountainous plateau of Afghanistan forced babur’s attention towards India. The stories of riches of India and plunder picked up by his ancestor timur inflamed babur passion . moreover babur required glory and money to keep the afghan soldiers under his control. Otherwise they would desert mughal standards and join the rebellious chieftains, who from their hilly stronghold, were threatening babur’s shaky rule.
Babur decided to test the quality of ibrahim’s military responses by conducting frontier raids. In 1519 babur took the bajaur fort, plundered bhira and then returned to Kabul. In 1520 he led a plundering expedition upon Sialkot. He continued such raids till 1524.The inaction of ibrahim lodhi’s government encouraged babur to stake every thing towards decisive throw of dice. Babur crossed the Rubicon when he launched his main invasion in the winter of 1525. His force crossed the Indus over attock.
Initially the delhi court thought babur was leading yet another plundering expedition. But when they won Punjab , ibrahim realized the gravity of situation and set his military machine in motion.. ibrahim himself accompanied the army, which was under his general bahadur khan. Lethargy, indiscipline and indecisiveness dogged the lodhi army. After one day march , the lodhi force halted for two or four days. It was as if ibrahim didn’t know what to do, advance or retreat.
Ibrahim had more than one hundred thousand men and one thousand elephants. However it is improbable that he brought this whole army to fight the mughal invaders. It was impossible to move one thousands elephants simultaneously because each such animal daily required huge amounts of water and fodder. Moreover while the rajput ruler, rana sanga threatened the southern boundry of ibrahim’s domain, recalcitrant afghan chiefs created problems in the eastern parts. To guard against these two threats, ibrahim had to detached substantial number of troops and elephants.
One of the ibrahim’s commander daud khan lodhi advanced seven miles from the main army to test the mughal army’s strength. Several skirmishes occurred between the afghan and the mughal advance guards before the main battle was fought. Babur mobile cavlry took many afghan prisoners.
Thanks to his long experience of fighting in central Asia, babur was adept at using violence to terrorize his opponents. On march 1526 , babur deliberately killed all his afghan prisoners and made a pyramid with their skulls. On 12 April 1526 two opposing forces finally met at panipat.
Babur needed a quick victory, because he was far away from his base Kabul. The uzbkes were threatening to invade his domain. To provoke ibrahim into hasty action , as advised from deserters from the lodhi side, decide on night attack. The sally on the night of 19 april was made under command of mahdi khwaja. Since babur troops were not trained for night attacks, it was not decisive.
On 21 april babur decided to try his luck. Babur realized that since ibrahim is commanding bigger force, he might attempt to attack mughal flanks. So babur deployed his army with its right side protected by the suburb of the town named panipat. To protect the left side of his army , babur ordered his army to dig a ditch. At some places ditch was covered by mud to allow counter attack by small groups of two hundred cavalry each. These units were know as “braves”
Babur anticipated the mad onrush by ibrahim’s foot soldiers and might elephants . he insisted on constructing field fortifications. His men collected seven hundred carts. These carts carried guns as well as troops baggage. Ustad ali was ordered to join up these carts with ropes of raw hide. Babur admits in his memoirs that it is typical ottoman tactic for stopping an enemy cavalry charge. Ustad ali had witnessed battle of chaldiran fought near Tabriz between ottomans and safavids. Between every tow catrs in babur’s line. Six wooden tripods were set up. The matchlocks were to support their handguns on these tripods while firing. The matchlock men under ustaad quli supplanted by cannon in cart under Mustafa were in charge of securing front of mughal army.
!8 year old hamyaun commanded the right wing of the mughal line. The mughal left was under Muhammad mirza. The advanced guards were under khusrau kukaldus. Abdul aziz was in charge of reserve. The mughal centre was divided into two parts. The right hand of mughal centre was under chin timur and khalifa khaja commanded the left part of it. The most crucial component of mughal force was tulghama contingents. . they were the flanking parties. Their aim being to charge at enemy’s sides and thereby to turn their flanks. after this the two tulghama contingents were to join hands at the rear of enemy thus completely surrounding him. The Uzbeks of central Asia were adept at implementing this tactic.
Babur plan was to allow ibrahim attack first and then check it through prudent use of filed fortifactions, cannons and matchlocks. If this succeeded . the afghan attack would come to a halt. Babur then planned to throw his fresh tulghama parties against ibrahim;s exhausted troops to encircle and eliminate them.
When the order to advance was given , ibrahin’s troops moved forward and the troops on ibrahim;s left were able to reach mughal right. The reserve under abdul aziz strengthened the mughal’s right. Simultaneously babur ordered the braves to counter-attack, and ibrahim’s left wing came to a halt. Moments later, the lodhi right wing, with some elephants, clashed with mugahl left. There was close quarter hand to hand combat with ibrahim’s infantry, armed with swords. A combination of arrows loosened by croos0bow men , and the shots of matchlock and cannon, forced out elephants. Lodhi troops were confused, they were undecided whether to advance again or retreat, Babur realized that decisive moment has arrived. His ordered his centre to stand firm and right and left wings to advance and attack the lodhis. To add confusion, babur simultaneously launched his trump cards, the tulghama contingents. The turning parties, galloping forward at high speed, shouting “hai, hai”, discharged arrows towards the flank of enemies. At this point babur’s army looked like two horns of a crescent attempting to swallow the lodhi army. Troops on the right and left of ibrahim felt the pressure of tulghama parties and started retreating towards centre. The rain of arrows loosened on ibrahim;s massed troops by the mounted archers resulted in massive resulted in massive slaughter. The lodhi sioldiers tried to flee the battlefield but were slaughtered., Ibrahim, like paurava, possessed personal courage and he fought and died in the battlefield. Even his arch enemy babur paid respect to his dead body, touching it and crying out over it , ‘honour to your courage’.
Over seventy percent of ibrahim’s forces suffered casualties. About 35,000 soldiers on lodhi side were wounded and the 15,000 dead soldiers from the lodhi force lay scattered on battlefield. The battle lasted for six hours .
India’s Historic Battles: From Alexander the Great to Kargil
Battle of Panipat, 1526 - Afghans vs Mughals | History of Pashtuns
Re: Urdu literature on Mughals
Thanks Marwati....
Re: Urdu literature on Mughals
Oh btw I’ve found the Urdu Tuzk-e-Babri…I’m reading it.
It doesn’t state the reason of him wanted to conquer Samarkand…is there any particular reason for his obsession with Samarkand? @muqawwee123 @marwati
Re: Urdu literature on Mughals
It was the first fief that he conquered during his teens and lost it within 100 days another cousin. shayad pehli muhabbat ki tarah pehli jeet aur haar insaan ko kabhi nahin bhoolti
Re: Urdu literature on Mughals
there are three battles of Panipat
One during Babar's invasion
Second during Akbar ascencion
Third between Durranis and Marathas
So please check which one is needed in hareem's case, first two are of Mughals
Re: Urdu literature on Mughals
Thanks Marwati....
You are welcome
Re: Urdu literature on Mughals
Samarkand was seat of Timurids, so naturally he wanted to wrest it from uzbeks
I have a hard copy of Mughal Darbar by Doctor Mubarak Ali. It's in Urdu, and a book adaptation of his PhD thesis on Mughals. Quite an informative read.
Hareem, I can mail you that book. Let me know.
Re: Urdu literature on Mughals
@hareem01
I think Khushwant Singh’s novel ‘Delhi’ is a must read, when you want to know legends of Mughal era. It covers Delhi’s history from Sultante period till Gandhi’s death in an interesting way.
http://www.krizma-ebooks.com/books/Delhi.pdf
Chapter 12 is about Nadir Shah, Pani-pat and Nadir’s love affair in Delhi 