The Battle for the Throne: Succession Wars in the Mughal Empire

The Timurid tradition dictated that after a king's death, the royal throne would pass to the king's eldest son; however, the lust for power shattered this tradition. Following a king's death, wars would break out among his sons and relatives. The prince who defeated his rivals would become the heir to the Mughal throne. Babur had to fight against his uncles and cousins, and his brother Jahangir Mirza became a constant source of trouble for him.

After Babur's death, his son Humayun ascended to the throne, facing hostility and opposition from his brothers. They opposed him at every turn, and due to the Afghan chiefs' enmity, Humayun suffered significant losses as his brothers sought to defeat him and seize the throne of Delhi. They troubled him at every step; Afghan chief Sher Shah Suri defeated him, forcing Humayun to leave Delhi. Humayun reached Lahore, only to be driven out by the Afghan army again. Defeated, he made his way to Multan. During his stay in Multan, Kamran Mirza attempted to blow up his sleeping quarters with cannon fire, but Humayun remained safe. Eventually, he sought refuge in Iran via Sindh. Fifteen years later, in 1555, he regained the Mughal Empire but died in less than a year.

After Humayun, Akbar ascended the throne. No one opposed Akbar, except for his stepbrother Mirza Abdul Hakim, who attacked Lahore with a rebellious army incited by scheming nobles. 

After Akbar, his son Jahangir took the throne. His son Khusrau rebelled against Jahangir. Jahangir defeated the rebel army, publicly executed the insurgents, and blinded Prince Khusrau, who spent his entire life in captivity. After Jahangir, Prince Khurram, known as Shah Jahan, ascended to the throne. He faced opposition from his brothers, Shahryar and Dawar Baksh, but Shah Jahan's loyalists defeated and captured them. Prince Shahryar was blinded, while Prince Dawar Baksh was killed.

In 1707, after Aurangzeb's death, succession wars erupted again, involving Princes Azam, Muazzam, and Kam Baksh. Prince Muazzam emerged victorious, while the other princes were killed in battle. In the ten years following Aurangzeb's death, seven bloody wars occurred, causing significant damage to the Mughal Empire. Countless generals, soldiers, and military experts lost their lives, leading to the weakening of the Mughal state.