Who was the founder of the Mughal (or Mogul) Empire?

Babur, born Ẓahīr-ud-Dīn Muhammad in 1483, became ruler of Fergana, a relatively small principality in modern-day Uzbekistan, in the area referred to as the Timurid emirates. He was a descendant of the Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur on his father’s side, and on his mother's side, a descendant of Chagatai, the second son of Genghis Khan.

After a number of military setbacks in Central Asia, Babur managed to conquer a region around Kabul in present-day Afghanistan. And later he conquered a larger portion of the Indian subcontinent and became the first emperor of the Mughal Empire in 1526. Babur died a few years later in 1530, and was succeeded by his son, Humayun.

The Mughal Empire (also Moghul or Mogul, word related to Mongol) would be known as one of the "Gunpowder Empires." These three eastern empires were very successful at implementing gunpowder-based weaponry for expanding and maintaining those empires. Babur employed an Ottoman firearm expert to show him how to utilize artillery and firearm-equipped infantry. Babur utilized these methods against a numerically superior force at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526, thoroughly defeating his enemy.

The remnants of the Mughal Empire lasted until 1857 when, Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal Emperor, was overthrown by the British because of his involvement in the Indian Rebellion of 1857.