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Baburnama - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Baburnama
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bburnma (Chagatai/Persian: ;, literally: "Book of Babur" or "Letters of Babur" ; alternatively known as Tuzk-e Babri) is the name given to the memoirs of ahr ud-Dn Muammad Bbur (14831530), founder of the Mughal Empire and a great-great-great-grandson of Timur. It is an autobiographical work, written in the Chagatai language, known to Babur as "Turki" (meaning Turkic), the spoken language of the Andijan-Timurids. Babur's prose is highly Persianized in its sentence structure, morphology, and vocabulary,[1] and also contains many phrases and smaller poems in Persian. During Emperor Akbar's reign, the work was completely translated to Persian by a Mughal courtier, Abdul Rahm, in AH 998 (158990).[2]

Illustrations in the Baburnama regarding the fauna of South Asia.

Contents
1 Overview 2 Contents 3 Illustrations from the Manuscript of Baburnama (Memoirs of Babur) 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links

Overview
Bbur was an educated Timurid 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 life, but the history and geography of the areas he lived in, and their flora and fauna, as well as the people with whom he came into contact.
An image of Rhino hunt from Baburnama.

Contents
The Bburnma begins with these plain words:[3]
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Baburnama - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the month of Ramadan of the year 899 and in the twelfth year of my age, I became ruler in the country of Farghana

After some background, Bbur describes his fluctuating fortunes as a minor ruler in Central Asia in which he took and lost Samarkand twice and his move to Kabul in 1504. There is a break in the manuscript between 1508 and 1519. By the latter date Bbur is established in Kabul and from there launches an invasion into northwestern India. The final section of the Bburnma covers the years 1525 to 1529 and the establishment of the Mughal empire in India, which Bbur's descendants would rule for three centuries. The Baburnama is also the earliest known reference to mass conversions of the jatt tribes converting to Islam and the only known Islamic text describing an Islamic conquest into Hindu India providing a great insight into the ongoings of an Islamic Empire progressing.[2] Babur also writes about his homeland, Fergana:

The Domain of Fergana has seven towns, five on the south and two on the north of the Syr river. Of those on the south, one is Andijan. It has a central position and is the capital of the Fergana Domain.

He also wrote: A man took aim at Ibrahim Beg. But then Ibrahim Beg yelled,"Hai! Hai!"; and he let him pass, and by mistake shot me in an armpit from as near as a man on guard at the Gate stands from another. Two plates of my armour cracked. I shot at a man running away along the ramparts, adjusting his cap against the battlements. He abandoned his cap, nailed to the wall and went off, gathering his turban sash together in his hand.

The Bburnma is widely translated and is part of text books in no less than 25 countries mostly in Central, Western, and Southern Asia. It was first translated into English by John Leyden and William Erskine as Memoirs of Zehir-Ed-Din Muhammed Baber: Emperor of Hindustan[4] and later by the British orientalist scholar Annette Susannah Beveridge (ne Akroyd, 18421929).

Illustrations from the Manuscript of Baburnama (Memoirs of Babur)

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Baburnama - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An awards ceremony in the Sultan Ibrhms court before being sent on an expedition to Sambhal

The first Mughal Emperor Babur.

A scene with peacocks and birds from the Baburnama

A scene from the Baburnama.

Animals of Hindustan Illuminated Manuscript small deer and cows Baburnamah called gn, from Illuminated manuscript Baburnama (Memoirs of Babur)

See also
Akbarnama Tuzk-e-Jahangiri Tuzk-e-Taimuri

References
1. ^ Dale, Stephen Frederic (2004). The garden of the eight paradises: Bbur and the culture of Empire in Central Asia, Afghanistan and India (14831530). Brill. pp. 15,150. ISBN 90-04-13707-6. 2. ^ a b "Biography of Abdur Rahim Khankhana" (http://www.poemhunter.com/abdur-rahimkhankhana/biography/poet-33381/). Retrieved 2006-10-28. 3. ^ English translation (https://archive.org/stream/baburnamainengli01babuuoft#page/n69/mode/2up)
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Baburnama - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4. ^ Bbur (Emperor of Hindustn) (1826). Memoirs of Zehir-Ed-Din Muhammed Baber: emperor of Hindustan (http://books.google.com/books?id=kydN074DwhwC). Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green. Retrieved 5 October 2011.

Further reading
The Babur-nama in English (Memoirs of Babur) (1922) Volume 1 by Annette Susannah Beveridge (http://www.archive.org/details/baburnamainengli01babuuoft) on Internet Archive The Babur-nama in English (Memoirs of Babur) (1922) Volume 2 by Annette Susannah Beveridge (http://www.archive.org/details/baburnamainengli02babuuoft) on Internet Archive The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor, Zahir-ud-din Mohammad Babur, Translated, edited and annotated by Wheeler M. Thackston. 2002 Modern Library Palang-faack Edition, New York. ISBN 0-375-76137-3 Babur Nama: Journal of Emperor Babur, Zahir Uddin Muhammad Babur, Translated from Chagatai Turkic by Annette Susannah Beveridge, Abridged, edited and introduced by Dilip Hiro. (ISBN ) ISBN 9780-14-400149-1; (ISBN ) ISBN 0-14-400149-7. online version (http://www.farlang.com/diamonds/beveridge-baburnama/page_057) Local Culture (http://www.yachtworks.info/baburnamah.htm)

External links
Baburnama, at Washington University (http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/babur/babur1.html) The Babur-nama in English (Memoirs of Babur) (https://archive.org/stream/baburnamainengli01babuuoft#page/n69/mode/2up) at Internet Archive Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baburnama&oldid=602872789" Categories: Mughal Empire History books about India Indian autobiographies Medieval Indian literature 16th-century books 16th-century Indian books Political autobiographies Islamic illuminated manuscripts Mughal art Persian books This page was last modified on 5 April 2014 at 15:10. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

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