Babur Prepares to Invade India

Timeline

1. 1519Fort Bhera · PakistanBabur set out from Kabul, crossed the Khyber Pass into northwestern India, and captured the strategic fortress of Bhera, stationing a garrison there. Bhera commanded the Indus river crossing and was the gateway to the Punjab plains; with this move Babur established his first forward outpost on Lodi territory by force.
2. 1519Lahore · Punjab ProvinceBabur dispatched the envoy Mullah Murshid to Delhi, demanding Sultan Ibrahim Lodi cede the formerly Turkic Punjab territories. Upon reaching Lahore the envoy was detained by governor Daulat Khan Lodi, who neither granted him an audience nor allowed him to proceed to Delhi; only months later did he safely return to Kabul. Daulat Khan simultaneously expelled the Bhera garrison, revealing internal divisions within the Lodi realm.
3. 1519Kabul · AfghanistanJust as Babur was preparing to push deeper into India, news arrived that the Uzbeks were threatening the capital of Kabul, forcing him to abort the expedition and withdraw. Though it achieved no territorial objectives, the campaign made Babur aware of the Lodi regime's internal divisions and gave him cross-border combat experience, laying the groundwork for his second expedition in 1520 and eventual conquest.