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.

This book presents the Persian Baburnama, a key primary source and the earliest record of Babur’s memoirs. The authoritative translation uses paintings from the original work and draws on contemporary texts of the period to delve into the history of the legendary Mughal ruler. It provides a fresh treatment to the source material and highlights vivid accounts of the historical events of the time. The paintings are divided thematically, offering a unique and rare perspective into the Mughal world. Accompanied by a detailed Introduction, the volume also touches upon narrative art and analyses the influence of European Renaissance art on Mughal painting. With over 150 Mughal paintings and illustrations in colour, this volume will be an important sourcebook for scholars and researchers of Medieval Indian, especially Mughal, history, and art historians, as well as connoisseurs of art and the general reader.

The Facts Are As Stated Here . . . I Have Set Down Of Good And Bad Whatever Is Known. The Babur Nama, A Journal Kept By Zahir Uddin Muhammad Babur (1483 1530), The Founder Of The Mughal Empire, Is The Earliest Example Of Autobiographical Writing In World Literature, And One Of The Finest. Against The Turbulent Backdrop Of Medieval History, It Paints A Precise And Vivid Picture Of Life In Central Asia And Afghanistan Where Babur Ruled In Samarkand And Kabul And In The Indian Subcontinent, Where His Dazzling Military Career Culminated In The Founding Of A Dynasty That Lasted Three Centuries. Babur Was Far More Than A Skilled, Often Ruthless, Warrior And Master Strategist. In This Abridged And Edited Version Of A 1921 English Translation Of His Memoirs, He Also Emerges As A Sensitive Aesthete, Naturalist, Poet And Lover. Writer, Journalist And Internationally Acclaimed Middle Eastern And Central Asian Expert, Dilip Hiro Breathes New Life Into A Unique Historical Document That Is At Once Objective And Intensely Personal For, In Babur S Words, The Truth Should Be Reached In Every Matter .

“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.

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.