The Bajaur massacre or Battle of Bajaur was a military conflict waged by

Babur Babur (; 14 February 148326 December 1530; born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also ...

against the

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

tribes inhabiting the Bajaur region, on 6–7 January 1519. Babur, a

Timurid Timurid refers to those descended from Timur (Tamerlane), a 14th-century conqueror: * Timurid dynasty, a dynasty of Turco-Mongol lineage descended from Timur who established empires in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent ** Timurid Empire of ...

(and later

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

) ruler from

Fergana Fergana ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Fargʻona, Фарғона, ), () or Ferghana, also Farghana is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 320 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km southwest of A ...

(in present-day

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

) who captured

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

1504 __NOTOC__ Year 1504 ( MDIV) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 1 – French troops of King Louis XII surrender Gaeta to the Spanish, under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba. * J ...

, launched this assault with the purpose of solidifying his authority in the

Kabulistan Kabulistan ( Persian: کابلستان) is a historical regional name referring to the territory that is centered on present-day Kabul Province of Afghanistan. By the 10th century, Ibn Khordadbeh and the Hudud al-'Alam report the southern part ...

. It took place in

Bajaur Bajaur District (, ), formerly Bajaur Agency, is a district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Prior to 2018, Bajaur Agency was the northernmost component of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), a semi-a ...

, located in present-day

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

on the border with

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. After capturing the Fort of Bajaur, Babur massacred at least 3,000 Bajauris, and set up a tower of their skulls, charging them of being "false to Islam."

Background

From 1515-19,

enjoyed a relatively calm period when he returned to

in the aftermath of his defeat at the

Battle of Ghazdewan The Battle of Ghazdewan occurred near the city of Ghijduvan, what is now Uzbekistan in November 1512 AD between Safavid army, supported by the Mughal Empire, and the Uzbek army. Prelude After Babur's defeat at the Battle of Köli Malik ne ...

and loss of

Transoxiana Transoxiana or Transoxania (, now called the Amu Darya) is the Latin name for the region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...

to the

Khanate of Bukhara The Khanate of Bukhara was an Uzbek state in Central Asia from 1501 to 1785, founded by the Abu'l-Khayrid dynasty, a branch of the Shaybanids. From 1533 to 1540, Bukhara briefly became its capital during the reign of Ubaidullah Khan. The Khana ...

. But all that came to an end, when he had reached the eastern-end of Kabulistan region. He had to conciliate and give autonomy to

Yusufzai The Yusufzai or Yousafzai (, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ), or Yusufzai Afghans historically, are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. They are natively based in the northern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ( Malakand, Dir, Swat, Shangl ...

in order to maintain peace.A History of India Under the Two First Sovereigns of the House of Taimur, Báber and Humáyun By William Erskine;Published by Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans,1854; Public Domain According to Babur's ''

Baburnama The ''Bāburnāma'' (; ) is the memoirs of Babur, Ẓahīr-ud-Dīn Muhammad Bābur (1483–1530), founder of the Mughal Empire and a great-great-great-grandson of Timur. It is written in the Chagatai language, known to Babur as ''Türki'' "Turkic ...

'', the people of Bajaur, Kunar, Nur Gal, and

Swat A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

were following pagan customs, although they were Muslims. Babur claimed that the people of these areas commonly said that when a woman died and was laid on a

bier A bier is a stand on which a corpse, coffin, or casket containing a corpse is placed to lie in state or to be carried to its final disposition.''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (American Heritage Publishing Co., In ...

, then if she had not been a wrongdoer, she would give the bearers of the bier a sudden shake, resulting in her corpse falling to the ground; but if she had been a wrongdoer, the bier would not move. Babur further claimed that Haidar Ali Gaberi, the

Swati Swati may refer to Films * ''Swati'' (1984 film), a Telugu film * ''Swati'' (1986 film), a 1986 Bollywood romantic drama film * '' Swati Mutyam'', a 1986 Telugu-language drama film written, directed by K. Viswanath * '' Swati Kiranam'', a 1992 ...

Jahangiri Sultan of Bajaur, did not weep or

lament A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about something ...

when his mother died, but instead said: "Go! lay her on the bier! if she move not, I will have her burned." When she was lad on the bier, the desired movement occurred, and only then Haidar Ali Bajauri put on black and lamented for his mother.

Massacre

On 7 January 1519, Babur wrote: "As the ''Bajauris'' were rebels and at enmity with the people of Islam, and as, by reason of the heathenish and hostile customs prevailing in their midst, the very name of Islam was rooted out from their tribe, they were put to general massacre and their wives and children were made captive. At a guess more than 3,000 men went to their death; as the fight did not reach to the eastern side of the fort, a few got away there. "The fort taken, we entered and inspected it. On the walls, in houses, streets and alleys, the dead lay, in what numbers! Comers and goers to and fro were passing over the bodies. Returning from our inspection, we sat down in the Bajaur sultan’s ultan Haidar Ali Bajauriresidence. The country of Bajaur we bestowed on Khwāja Kalān, assigning a large number of braves to reinforce him. At the Evening Prayer we went back to camp." On 8 January, Babur wrote: "Marching at dawn, we dismounted by the spring of Bābā Qarā in the valley of Bajaur. At Khwāja Kalān’s request the prisoners remaining were pardoned their offences, reunited to their wives and children, and given leave to go, but several sultans and of the most stubborn were made to reach their doom of death. Some heads of sultans and of others were sent to

with the news of success; some also to

Badakhshan Badakhshan is a historical region comprising the Wakhan Corridor in northeast Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic ...

, Qunduz (Kunduz), and

Balkh Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It is located approximately to the northwest of the provincial capital city Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately to the south of the Amu Darya and the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border. In 2021 ...

with the letters-of-victory. Shah Mansur Yusufzai,—he was with us as an envoy from his tribe,— was an eye-witness of the victory and general massacre. We allowed him to leave after putting a coat (''tūn'') on him and after writing orders with threats to the

." On 11 January, Babur wrote: "With mind easy about the important affairs of the Bajaur fort, we marched, on Tuesday, one ''kuroh'' (2 m.) down the valley of Bajaur and ordered that a tower of heads should be set up on the rising-ground."

Aftermath

Babur was unable to advance into

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

safely without conciliating the neighbouring

which sat on the strategic hills which threatened his empire. Babur sought peace with the tribe and as part of a peace treaty, Babur married

Bibi Mubarika Bibi Mubarika Yusufzai (;) was the Empress consort of the Mughal Empire. She was the fifth wife of Emperor Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire. She is frequently mentioned in the Humayun-nama by her stepdaughter Gulbadan Begum, who calls her ...

, daughter of Yusufzai chief Shah Mansur, on 30 January 1519. Mubarika played an important role in the establishment of friendly relations of Yusufzai Pashtun chiefs with Babur, who later founded the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

after defeating Pashtun Sultan

Ibrahim Lodi Ibrahim Khan Lodi (; 1480 – 21 April 1526) was the last Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, who became Sultan in 1517 after the death of his father Sikandar Khan. He was the last ruler of the Lodi dynasty, reigning for nine years until 1526, whe ...

at the Battle of Panipat in 1526.

Background

Massacre

Aftermath

References

Further reading