Dynasty on Arrival: The Mughals Who Came, Conquered, and Chose to Stay

The Mughals were Central Asians-exactly, the founder Babur was a descendant of Timur (Tamerlane) and Genghis Khan, and belonged to the Turkic-Mongol Barlas tribe of present-day Uzbekistan. Driven out of his ancestral lands by rival powers, Babur turned his attention towards India, defeating Delhi in 1526 and establishing the Mughal dynasty.

 

Once established, the Mughals never glanced back towards Central Asia because India held greater possibilities of power and wealth, and their dynasty soon became integral to the political and cultural life of the subcontinent. The Mughal rulers through generations built a strong imperial structure, married into local aristocracies, and made India home.

 

The downfall of the dynasty in the 18th century was due to weak successors, infighting, economic problems, and rising regional powers, not from any desire to return to Central Asia. The British exiled the last emperor in 1857, which ended Mughal rule in India.

 

Source: Britannica, BBC Bitesize, Wikipedia