The Baburnama Meeting between Babur and the sultan ʿAli Mirza near Samarkand (now in Uzbekistan), illustration from the Baburnama (“History of Babur”), c. 1590; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. (more) 500 Years of the Mughal Empire Written by Shatarupa Chaudhuri Shatarupa Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica, bringing over 15 years of editorial experience in news media and publishing. Shatarupa Chaudhuri Fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Apr. 14, 2026 •History On April 21, 1526, a Central Asian prince named Babur defeated the Delhi sultanate ruler Ibrahim Lodi in India and laid the foundations of what would become one of the most important empires of early modern history—the Mughal Empire (1526–1857). Over the next three centuries much of the political, economic, social, and cultural landscape of the Indian subcontinent was shaped by the Mughal dynasty. Although the peak of Mughal power lasted for the first 180...

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