_____ was the first Mughal Emperor in India.

Concept

The founder of a dynasty is the ruler who establishes it — the very first person to hold the throne, from whom the line of successors descends. The Mughal Empire in India was established in 1526, when its founder defeated the reigning Delhi Sultanate ruler at the First Battle of Panipat and began a new imperial line that would govern most of the Indian subcontinent for over three centuries.

Application

Babur (born Zahiruddin Muhammad), a Timurid prince from Ferghana, invaded India, defeated Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat in 1526, and founded the Mughal Empire, ruling until 1530. He is therefore the first Mughal Emperor in India. Every later Mughal ruler descends from him in sequence: Babur, then Humayun, then Akbar, then Jahangir, then Shah Jahan, and so on.

Cross-check

• Humayun directly succeeded the founder as the second Mughal emperor (1530-1540, and again 1555-1556 after a period of exile) — he was not the one who first established Mughal rule in India.

• Akbar was the third Mughal emperor (1556-1605), inheriting the throne after two earlier rulers had already reigned; he greatly expanded and consolidated the empire but did not found it.

• Shahjahan was the fifth Mughal emperor (1628-1658), ruling several generations after Mughal rule was first established, and is remembered for commissioning the Taj Mahal rather than for founding the dynasty.

Result

Hence, Babur is confirmed as the first Mughal Emperor in India.