The Mughals

The empire was founded by the Mongol leader Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Afghan Lodi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat, where they used gunpowder for the first time in India. The Mughal Empire is known as a “gunpowder empire.” The word "Mughal" is the Indo-Aryan version of "Mongol." Babur was a descendant of Chingis Khan. The Mughals retained aspects of Mongal culture well into the sixteenth century, such as the arrangement of tents around the royal camp during military maneuvers. The religion of Moghals was Islam.