Both an official chronicle and the highly personal memoir of the emperor Babur (1483–1530), The Baburnama presents a vivid and extraordinarily detailed picture of life in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India during the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries. Babur’s honest and intimate chronicle is the first autobiography in Islamic literature, written at a time when there was no historical precedent for a personal narrative—now in a sparkling new translation by Islamic scholar Wheeler Thackston. This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition includes notes, indices, maps, and illustrations. From the Trade Paperback edition.

At twelve, he was King of Fergana. At fifteen, he was King of Samarkand. And at nineteen, he was King of Exactly Nowhere. This is the story of Babur, the first Mughal emperor of Hindustan. It is based on the Babur Nama, in which Babur writes about the events in his life, and of the people and things he loved or hated. Descended from two legendary conquerors, Chenghis Khan and Amir Temur, Babur spent much of early life losing kingdoms, wandering through the Uzbek mountains and almost living the life of a vagabond. This is the story of the strange and wonderful things the future brought to him. Lavishly illustrated in Mughal miniature style paintings, this action-packed tale of this legend, king and adventurer will fascinate children and their parents alike.

“If you only read one autobiography from a sensitive 16th-century warlord this year, make it this one.” —The New York Times A hardcover edition of the colorful memoirs of Babur—founder and first emperor of the Mughal dynasty—that is "justly considered a masterpiece" (The Wall Street Journal). Zahiru’d-din Muhamad Babur (1483–1530), a poet-prince from Central Asia, was the author of one of the most remarkable autobiographies in world literature. The Babur Nama reveals him as not only a military genius but also a ruler unusually magnanimous for his time, cultured, witty, and possessing a talent for poetry, an adventurous spirit, and an acute eye for natural beauty. Babur ascended the throne of Fergana, in what is now Uzbekistan, when he was twelve years old. He eventually invaded India and founded the Mughal dynasty, which would dazzle the world for three centuries. Babur left behind a detailed and colorful record of his life, written in simple and unpretentious prose, that has fascinated readers for hundreds of years. But his self-portrait goes beyond the events of a dramatic life; on the page, his restless energy and ambition are balanced by modesty, regret for his failures, and frankness about his experiences with depression and grief in response to tragedy. The Babur Nama is both a lively chronicle of extraordinary historical events and a deeply personal memoir whose unusual honesty and sensitivity has given it enduring appeal.

This book is a concise biography of Babur, who founded the Timurid-Mughal Empire of South Asia. Based primarily on his autobiography and existential verse, it chronicles the life and career of a Central Asian, Turco-Mongol Muslim who, driven from his homeland by Uzbeks in 1504, ruled Kabul for two decades before invading 'Hindustan' in 1526. It offers a revealing portrait of Babur's Perso-Islamic culture, Timurid imperial ambition and turbulent emotional life. It is, above all, a humanistic portrait of an individual, who even as he triumphed in South Asia, suffered the regretful anguish of an exile who felt himself to be a stranger in a strange land.

On the eve of the battle of Panipat, Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur gathers his forces to fight the formidable Lodhi Sultan and regain Hindustan, the land of riches that his ancestor Temur once ruled. His confidence is boosted by his pride in the martial skills of his beloved son and heir, Humayun. But little do the father and son know that their biggest threat lies not in the fields of war, but within the intricate web of relationships they have woven around themselves-Babur with his wives, who are constantly engaged in games of one-upmanship, and Humayun with the alluring concubine Sona. Can Babur really trust anyone, even those who are closest to him? Will the Mughals be able to defeat their enemies, both outside and within? Babur: Conqueror of Hindustan narrates the story of the first Mughal emperor, Babur-poet, warrior, writer, lover, aesthete and inspiring general-and the gentle yet valiant prince, Humayun. An evocative narrative laced with searing passion and intriguing politics, this book brings to vibrant life the era of the mighty Mughals.

Babur, the visionary founder of Timurid Empire in Hindustan, had a fair share of early struggle following his father’s tragic demise in AD 1494. Then on, Babur embarked on an unyielding pursuit of power amid treacherous political landscapes, the narrative unveils his moniker, ‘the chessboard king,’ portraying his adept navigation through political intricacies and adversities. From his ascent to rulership in Ferghana amidst familial threats to fleeting victories and losses in Samarkand, the book paints a poignant picture of Babur's journey. It portrays his retreat to tribal lands after relinquishing hopes of reclaiming Ferghana, eventually establishing a mountainous kingdom in Kabul, a pivotal milestone preceding his ambition to expand into Hindustan. Recounting his initial endeavour to penetrate Hindustan in AD 1505, his alliances, and subsequent setbacks after Sultan Husayn Mirza Bayqarah's demise, leaving him as the sole Timurid prince in power, the book opens a window to Babur's failed second attempt to enter Hindustan, encapsulating the initial thirteen to fourteen tumultuous years of his reign, marked by exile, fleeting victories, and delicate alliances. Gripping, anecdotal and deeply researched Babur: The Chessboard King delves into Hindustan's economic landscape during Timurid rule and portrays Babur as a multifaceted ruler, challenging the typical depiction of an infallible conqueror and a good human being. Meticulously sourced from the Persian manuscript of the Baburnama and other primary sources, this book represents a milestone in Babur's biographical genre, essential for comprehending the ambitions of this enigmatic king.

The Mughal Empire was one of the great powers of the early modern era, ruling almost all of South Asia, a conquest state, dominated by its military elite. Many historians have viewed the Mughal Empire as relatively backward, the Emperor the head of a traditional warband from Central Asia, with tribalism and the traditions of the Islamic world to the fore, and the Empire not remotely comparable to the forward looking Western European states of the period, with their strong innovative armies implementing the “military revolution”. This book argues that, on the contrary, the military establishment built by the Emperor Babur and his successors was highly sophisticated, an effective combination of personnel, expertise, technology and tactics, drawing on precedents from Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and India, and that the resulting combined arms system transformed the conduct of warfare in South Asia. The book traces the development of the Mughal Empire chronologically, examines weapons and technology, tactics and operations, organization, recruitment and training, and logistics and non-combat operations, and concludes by assessing the overall achievements of the Mughal Empire, comparing it to its Western counterparts, and analyzing the reasons for its decline.