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The ''Bāburnāma'' ( chg, ;
literally ''Literally'' is an English adverb. It has been controversially used as an intensifier for figurative statements. History The first known use of the word ''literally'' was in the 15th century, or the 1530s, when it was used in the sense of "in ...
: ''"History of Babur"'' or ''"Letters of Babur"''; alternatively known as ''Tuzk-e Babri'') is the memoirs of Ẓahīr-ud-Dīn Muhammad Bābur (1483–1530), founder of the
Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
and a great-great-great-grandson of
Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
. It is written in the
Chagatai language Chagatai (چغتای, ''Čaġatāy''), also known as ''Turki'', Eastern Turkic, or Chagatai Turkic (''Čaġatāy türkīsi''), is an extinct Turkic literary language that was once widely spoken across Central Asia and remained the shared literar ...
, known to Babur as ''Türki'' ("Turkic"), the spoken language of the
Andijan Andijan (sometimes spelled Andijon or Andizhan in English) ( uz, Andijon / Андижон / ئەندىجان; fa, اندیجان, ''Andijân/Andīǰān''; russian: Андижан, ''Andižan'') is a city in Uzbekistan. It is the administrative, ...
-
Timurid Timurid refers to those descended from Timur (Tamerlane), a 14th-century conqueror: * Timurid dynasty, a dynasty of Turco-Mongol lineage descended from Timur who established empires in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent ** Timurid Empire of C ...
s. During the reign of emperor
Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
, the work was translated into
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
, the usual literary language of the Mughal court, by a Mughal courtier,
Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan Khanzada Mirza Khan Abdul Rahim (17 December 1556 – 1 October 1627), popularly known as simply Rahim and titled ''Khan-i-Khanan'', was a poet who lived in India during the rule of Mughal emperor Akbar, who was Rahim's mentor. He was one of t ...
, in AH 998 (1589–90 CE). Bābur was an educated Timurid prince and his observations and comments in his memoirs reflect an interest in nature, society, politics and economics. His vivid account of events covers not just his own life, but the
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
and
geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
of the areas he lived in as well as the people with whom he came into contact. The book covers topics as diverse as astronomy, geography, statecraft, military matters, weapons and battles, plants and animals, biographies and family chronicles, courtiers and artists, poetry, music and paintings, wine parties, historical monument tours as well as contemplations on human nature. Though Babur himself does not seem to have commissioned any illustrated versions, his grandson began as soon as he was presented with the finished Persian translation in November 1589. The first of four illustrated copies made under Akbar over the following decade or so was broken up for sale in 1913. Some 70 miniatures are dispersed among various collections, with 20 in the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
in London. The three other versions, partly copied from the first, are in the
National Museum, New Delhi The National Museum in New Delhi, also known as the National Museum of India, is one of the largest museums in India. Established in 1949, it holds a variety of articles ranging from pre-historic era to modern works of art. It functions under t ...
(almost complete, dated 1597–98),
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
(143 out of an original 183 miniatures, probably early 1590s) with a miniature over two pages in the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, and a copy, mostly lacking the text, with the largest portions in the
State Museum of Oriental Art The State Museum of Oriental Art (russian: Музей Востока) is one of the biggest cultural institutions in the world for preservation, research, and display of Oriental art. The museum was founded in 1918 as a part of soviet programme to ...
, Moscow (57 folios) and the
Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...
in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
(30 miniatures). Various other collections have isolated miniatures from these versions. Later illustrated manuscripts were also made, though not on as a grand a scale. Babur is at the centre of most scenes shown. As far is known, no contemporary images of him survive, but from whatever sources they had Akbar's artists devised a fairly consistent representation of him, "with a roundish face and droopy moustache", wearing a
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
n style of
turban A turban (from Persian دولبند‌, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Communities with promine ...
and a short-sleeved coat over a robe with long sleeves. Coming from a period after Akbar's workshop had developed their new style of
Mughal painting Mughal painting is a style of painting on paper confined to miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniatures either as book illustrations or as single works to be kept in albums (muraqqa), from the territory of the Mughal Empire in South Asia. It e ...
, the illustrated ''Baburnamas'' show developments such as landscape views with recession, influenced by Western art seen at court. Generally the scenes are less crowded than in earlier miniatures of "historical" scenes.


Akbar's manuscripts

Most images trimmed of borders File:2006AT3750 (cropped).jpg,
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
: Babur and a group of men including his son,
Humayun Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern ...
, the next emperor were encamped near
Bagram Bagram (; Pashto/ fa, بگرام) is a town and seat in Bagram District in Parwan Province of Afghanistan, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir Va ...
and were told that a rhinoceros had been seen nearby. As Humayun had never seen one before, they rushed to find it. File:Babur and his army emerge from the Khwaja Didar Fort, from a Baburnama manuscript..jpg, Babur and his army emerge from the Khwaja Didar Fort,
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
File:The siege and battle of Isfarah. Babur and his army assaults the fortress of Ibrāhīm Sārū.jpg, The siege of Isfarah, Baltimore File:Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur - Babur and His Warriors Visiting a Hindu Temple - Walters W59622B - Full Page (cropped).jpg, Babur visits a Hindu cave complex near
Bagram Bagram (; Pashto/ fa, بگرام) is a town and seat in Bagram District in Parwan Province of Afghanistan, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir Va ...
, Baltimore File:PeafowlBaburnama.jpg,
National Museum, New Delhi The National Museum in New Delhi, also known as the National Museum of India, is one of the largest museums in India. Established in 1949, it holds a variety of articles ranging from pre-historic era to modern works of art. It functions under t ...
, Squirrels, a Peacock and Peahen, Demoiselle Cranes and Fishes


Content

According to historian Stephen Frederic Dale, Babur's Chagatai prose is highly
Persianized Persianization () or Persification (; fa, پارسی‌سازی), is a sociological process of cultural change in which a non-Persian society becomes "Persianate", meaning it either directly adopts or becomes strongly influenced by the Persian ...
in its sentence structure, morphology, and vocabulary, and also contains many phrases and smaller poems in
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
. The ''Bāburnāma'' begins abruptly with these plain words: Bābur describes his fluctuating fortunes as a minor ruler in Central Asia – he took and lost
Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
twice – and his move to
Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
in 1504. There is a break in all known manuscripts between 1508 and 1519.
Annette Beveridge Annette Susannah Beveridge (née Akroyd) (1842–1929) was a British Orientalist known for her translation of the '' Humayun-nama'' and the '' Babur-nama''. Background and education Annette Akroyd's father William Akroyd was a Unitarian indus ...
and other scholars believe that the missing part in the middle, and perhaps an account of Babur's earlier childhood, a preface and perhaps an
epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...
, were written but the manuscript of those parts lost by the time of Akbar. There are various points in his highly active career, and that of his son
Humayun Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern ...
, where parts of the original manuscript might plausibly have been lost. By 1519 Bābur is established in Kabul and from there launches an invasion into north-western
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The final section of the ''Bāburnāma'' covers the years 1525 to 1529 and the establishment of the
Mughal empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
over what was by his death still a relatively small part of north-western India, which Bābur's descendants would expand and rule for three centuries. The account of the decisive
First Battle of Panipat The first Battle of Panipat, on 20 April 1526, was fought between the invading forces of Babur and the Lodi dynasty. It took place in North India and marked the beginning of the Mughal Empire and the end of the Delhi Sultanate. This was one of ...
in 1526 is followed by long descriptions of India, its people, fauna and flora. Various exciting incidents are recounted and illustrated: Babur jumps off his horse just in time to avoid following it into a river, and when his army has formed its boats into a circle a fish jumps into a boat to escape from a crocodile. The original Chagatai language text does not seem to have existed in many copies, and those that survive are mostly partial. The copy seen in the Mughal Library in the 1620s, and presumably used to base the Persian translation on, seems to have been lost. In this autobiography,
Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...
mentions a boy named ' Baburi' as a teenager, on which he was fascinated and lust soaked. This subtle feeling is expressed on pages 120 and 121 of "Baburnama", where he writes: - (A personal episode and some verses by Babur.)
'Äyisha-sultan Begum whom my father and hers, i.e. my uncle, Sl. Aḥmad Mirzā had betrothed to me, came (this year) to Khujand¹ and I took her in the month of Sha'ban. Though I was not ill-disposed towards her, yet, this being my first marriage, out of modesty and bashfulness, I used to see her once in 10, 15, or 20 days. Later on, when even my first inclination did not last, my bashfulness increased. Then my mother Khänīm used to send me, once a month or every 40 days, with driving and driving, dunnings and worry. In those leisurely days, I discovered in myself a strange inclination, nay! as the verse says, 'I maddened and afflicted myself' for a boy in the camp-bazar, his very name, Bāburī, fitting in. Up till then, I had had no inclination for anyone, indeed of love and desire, either by hear-say or experience, I had not heard, I had not talked. At that time I composed Persian couplets, one or two at a time; this is one of them: May none be as I, humbled and wretched and love-sick: No beloved as thou art to me, cruel and careless. From time to time Bāburi used to come to my presence but out of modesty and bashfulness, I could never look straight at him; how then could I make conversation (ikhtilät) and recital (hikayat)? In my joy and agitation I could not thank him (for coming); how was it possible for me to reproach him with going away? What power had I to command the duty of service to myself? One day, during that time of desire and passion when I was going with companions along a lane and suddenly met him face to face, I got into such a state of confusion that I almost went right off. To look straight at him torments and shames, I went on. A (Persian) couplet of Muhammad Salih's came into my mind. — Baburi Andijani, in Jahiruddin Muhammad Babur, Baburnama, Page 120 FARGHANA (q. Babur's first marriage.)


Translations

It was first translated into English by
John Leyden John Caspar Leyden, M.D., (8 September 1775 – 28 August 1811) was a Scottish indologist. Biography Leyden was born at Denholm on the River Teviot, not far from Hawick. His father, a shepherd, had contrived to send him to Edinburgh University ...
and William Erskine as ''Memoirs of Zehir-Ed-Din Muhammed Baber: Emperor of Hindustan'', later by the British orientalist scholar
Annette Beveridge Annette Susannah Beveridge (née Akroyd) (1842–1929) was a British Orientalist known for her translation of the '' Humayun-nama'' and the '' Babur-nama''. Background and education Annette Akroyd's father William Akroyd was a Unitarian indus ...
, and most recently by
Wheeler Thackston Wheeler McIntosh Thackston (born 1944) is an American Orientalist. He has edited and translated numerous Chaghatai, Arabic, and Persian literary and historical works. Life Thackston is a graduate of Princeton's Oriental Studies department, wh ...
, who was a professor at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. Widely translated, the ''Bāburnāma'' forms part of textbooks in no fewer than 25 countries – mostly in Central, Western, and Southern Asia.


Context

The ''Baburnama'' fits into a tradition of imperial autobiographies or official court biographies, seen in various parts of the world. In
South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
these go back to the ''
Ashokavadana The Ashokavadana ( sa, अशोकावदान; ; "Narrative of Ashoka") is an Indian Sanskrit-language text that describes the birth and reign of the Third Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. It contains legends as well as historical narratives, and g ...
'' and ''
Harshacharita The ''Harshacharita'' ( sa, हर्षचरित, ) (''The deeds of Harsha''), is the biography of Indian emperor Harsha by Banabhatta, also known as Bana, who was a Sanskrit writer of seventh-century CE India. He was the ''Asthana Kavi'', ...
'' from
ancient India According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...
, the medieval ''
Prithviraj Raso The ''Prithviraj Raso'' (IAST: Pṛthvīrāja Rāso) is a Braj language epic poem about the life of Prithviraj Chauhan (reign. c. 1177–1192 CE). It is attributed to Chand Bardai, who according to the text, was a court poet of the king. Th ...
'', and were continued by the Mughals with the ''
Akbarnama The ''Akbarnama'', which translates to ''Book of Akbar'', the official chronicle of the reign of Akbar, the third Mughal Emperor (), commissioned by Akbar himself and written by his court historian and biographer, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak. It was ...
'' (biography), ''
Tuzk-e-Jahangiri ''Tuzuk-e-Jahangiri'' or ''Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri'' ( fa, ) or Jahangir-nama ( fa, ) is the autobiography of Mughal Emperor Jahangir (1569–1627). Also referred to as ''Jahangirnama'', the ''Tuzk-e-Jahangiri'' is written in Persian, and follows the ...
'' or ''Jahangir-nameh'' (memoirs), and ''
Shahjahannama The ''Shahjahannama'' (Chronicle of Shah Jahan) is a genre of works written about the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. ''Padshahnama'' is a term for lavishly illuminated versions. A significant work in this genre was written by the historian Inayat K ...
'' (genre of flattering biographies). Akbar's ancestor
Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
had been celebrated in a number of works, mostly called ''
Zafarnama Zafarnama ( fa, ظفرنامه, lit. ''Book of Victory'') is the title of a number of Persian and Turkish literary works Zafarnama may also refer to: * ''Zafar-Namah'' or ''Timur-Namah'' of Hatefi, by a Persian epic poet dedicated to Timur * ''Za ...
'' ("Book of Victories"), the best known of which was also produced in an illustrated copy in the 1590s by Akbar's workshop. A work purporting to be Timur's autobiography, which turned up in
Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...
's library in the 1620s, is now regarded as a fake of that period.


Praise

Babur's autobiography has received widespread acclaim from modern scholars. Quoting Henry Beveridge,
Stanley Lane-Poole Stanley Edward Lane-Poole (18 December 1854 – 29 December 1931) was a British orientalist and archaeologist. Poole was from a famous orientalist family as his paternal grandmother Sophia Lane Poole, uncle Reginald Stuart Poole and great-uncle E ...
writes: Lane-Poole goes on to write: Writing about the time Babur came to India, the historian
Bamber Gascoigne Arthur Bamber Gascoigne (24 January 1935 – 8 February 2022) was an English television presenter and author. He was the original quizmaster on ''University Challenge'', which initially ran from 1962 to 1987. Early life and education Gasco ...
comments:


Illustrations from the Manuscript of Baburnama (Memoirs of Babur)

File:The battle of Sultan Ḥusayn Mīrzā against Sultan Masʿūd Mīrzā at Hiṣṣār.jpg, The battle of Sultan Ḥusayn Mīrzā against Sultan Masʿūd Mīrzā at Hiṣṣār File:Animals of Hindustan small deer and cows called gīnī, from Illuminated manuscript Baburnama (Memoirs of Babur).jpg, Animals of Hindustan small deer and cows called gīnī, Walters File:Illuminated Manuscript Baburnamah.jpg, ''Foray to
Kohat Kohat ( ps, کوهاټ; ur, ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century ...
'', Walters


Notes


References

* Beveridge, Annette, Introduction to her translation
''The Babur-nama in English (Memoirs of Babur)''
at Internet Archive *Crill, Rosemary, and Jariwala, Kapil. ''The Indian Portrait, 1560–1860'',
National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...
, 2010, *Losty, J. P. Roy, Malini (eds), ''Mughal India: Art, Culture and Empire'', 2013, British Library, , 9780712358705


Editions of the text in English

* * * ''The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor'', Zahir-ud-din Mohammad Babur, Translated, edited and annotated by Wheeler M. Thackston. 2002 Modern Library Classics Edition, New York. * ''Babur Nama: Journal of Emperor Babur'', Zahir Uddin Muhammad
Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...
, Translated from
Chagatai Turkic Chagatai (چغتای, ''Čaġatāy''), also known as ''Turki'', Eastern Turkic, or Chagatai Turkic (''Čaġatāy türkīsi''), is an extinct Turkic literary language that was once widely spoken across Central Asia and remained the shared literar ...
by Annette Susannah Beveridge. Abridged (1/3 of the original), edited and introduced by
Dilip Hiro __NOTOC__ Dilip Hiro, born in Larkana, Pakistan is an Indian author, journalist, and commentator who specializes on the politics of South Asia and Middle East. Career Hiro was the chief analyst on the Middle Eastern, Central Asian, South Asian ...
. Penguin Classics. ;


External links


"Turning the Pages", online display of the British Library copy


{{Authority control Mughal royal books Books about the Mughal Empire Indian autobiographies Medieval Indian literature 16th-century Indian books Political autobiographies Islamic illuminated manuscripts Mughal art Indian manuscripts 16th-century illuminated manuscripts Indian chronicles Chagatai Turkic literature