Akbar #1: Chingizid and Mughals
Timur (the Lame) was the most famous ancestor of the group that would come to be known as the Mughals. He was not a descendant of Genghis Khan himself, but had married women from Genghis’ line so he could claim Chingizid heritage. When still in Central Asia, Babur was kicked out of his kingdom by the Uzbeks, who claimed Chingizid blood, writes Ira Mukhoty in her biography of the Mughal emperor, Akbar . No surprise that Babur hated the Chingizid. Obviously, he did not want to be called a Chingizid. Instead, he preferred to be known as a Timurid (descendant of Timur). It is ironic that when they came to rule India, Babur’s line came to be known as the Mughals, the Persian word for Mongols (Chingizid), not as the Timurids! Even the victors don’t get to decide what they are called. Being kingdom-less also explains why Babur came to India to settle, not just loot and return the way Timur and so many other Central Asians had in the past. It also explains Babur’s tolera...