A History of Agriculture in India v2.c67.s1.3

v2.c67.s1.3

The reason for Babur’s discomfiture in the second half of 1512 lay in his understanding with Shah Ismael Safavi of Persia for the capture of Samarkand. For the Shah’s support Babur had agreed to hold the Samarkand kingdom as his vassal, become a convert to the Shia faith, adopt all its symbols, and to impose the Shia creed on the orthodox Sunni subjects of the conquered kingdoms. This unprincipled compromise made Babur extremely unpopular with his Sunni subjects and enabled the Uzbeg chiefs to stage a come back at Samarkand.