Empire of the Moghul

 My bedtime reading has been the first of Alex Rutherford's Empire of the Moghuls series. I am sure I have read one of the later ones many years ago, but this one is new to me. It covers the first Moghul Emperor of India, Hindustan in those days, Babur. He came from the former Timurid regions, hence the title, Raiders from the North.

Babur (1483–1530) was born in Andijan (present-day Uzbekistan); he was a descendant of both Timur on his father's side and Genghis Khan through his mother's lineage. Babur inherited the small kingdom of Fergana at the age of 12. He faced constant rebellions and lost his kingdom several times while attempting to capture Samarkand. After years of struggle, he established a strong base in Kabul (Afghanistan) in 1504. Unable to regain his Central Asian territories, Babur turned his attention to northern India. In 1526, he defeated Ibrahim Lodi at the First Battle of Panipat, marking the beginning of Mughal rule in India. He strengthened his control by winning the Battle of Khanwa against Rana Sanga in 1527 and the Battle of Ghaghra in 1529. Babur died in 1530 at the age of 47. He was succeeded by his son, Humayun. Although his reign in India lasted only four years, Babur laid the foundation for the Mughal Empire, which became one of the most powerful and culturally influential empires in South Asian history.

The author sticks pretty close to the history while adding a few extra people to the narrative that we don't have. However, Babur did write a very open memoir, the Baburnama. It is ideal territory for historical fiction as Babur’s life was a whirlwind of battles, blood feuds and epic challenges. Most of the action here is well before he invaded Hindustan. Rutherford does not let us down. This is brilliant fiction, with fast-paced action, victories and defeats, with all the uncertainty that brings. Babur had a lot of luck, as he was offered the crown of Afghanistan when he was reduced to living in a small village with a very small force.

I got into this period back in 2008, and I did a display game for GDWS at the Targe show that year, and I wrote a piece for Wargames Illustrated with army lists for WAB. I plan to dust them down again to play Scourge of Princes, as his key edge was the introduction of cannons and muskets into India. The armies have a long time frame, and many were still OK for the battles against the British in the 18th century.