Baburnama

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Emperor Babur receives a visitor in this folio from the Baburnama (The Book of Babur). As the visitor bows, courtiers and attendants stand nearby, their attire and accessories along with a fly whisk, carpet, and tent depicting the opulence of royal life.

Bābur inspecting a garden, portrait miniature from the Bābur-nāmeh, 16th century; in the British Library.

Baburnama

work by Babur

Also known as: “Babur-nameh”, “Memoirs of Babur”

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Last updated

June 18, 2026

Quick Summary

The Baburnama — The Baburnama Meeting between Babur and the sultan Ali Mirza near Samarkand (now in Uzbekistan), illustration from the Baburnama (“History of Babur”), c. 1590; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

The Baburnama is the autobiography of Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty in India. Written in Chagatai Turkic between approximately 1493 and 1529, it chronicles Babur's life from his birthplace in Fergana to his conquest of northern India.12

The memoir details his early struggles to regain lost territories, his consolidation of power in Kabul, and his military campaigns in India, including the pivotal First Battle of Panipat in 1526. The Baburnama offers a rare, personal glimpse into the life of a Central Asian ruler, covering his relationships, emotions, and reflections, alongside accounts of his campaigns and governance. It is noted for its direct and unadorned prose, contrasting with the more ornate styles of court historians.12

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Islamic world
Foundation by Bābur
…remembered for his memoirs, the Bābur-nāmeh. Written in Chagatai, then an emerging Islamicate literary language, his work gives a lively and compelling account of the wide range of interests, tastes, and sensibilities that made him so much a counterpart of his contemporary, the Italian Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527).
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…remembered for his memoirs, the Bābur-nāmeh. Written in Chagatai, then an emerging Islamicate literary language, his work gives a lively and compelling account of the wide range of interests, tastes, and sensibilities that made him so much a counterpart of his contemporary, the Italian Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527).
Read More

First Battle of Panipat
Background
The Baburnama (“History of Babur”) provides detailed information about his battle with Ibrahim and the events leading up to it. According to the text, Babur set out on his expedition to Hindustan, a region of the northern Indian subcontinent, in November 1525.
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The Baburnama (“History of Babur”) provides detailed information about his battle with Ibrahim and the events leading up to it. According to the text, Babur set out on his expedition to Hindustan, a region of the northern Indian subcontinent, in November 1525.
Read More

Babur
Legacy
Finally, his prose memoirs, the Baburnama, have become a renowned autobiography. They were translated from Turki into Persian in Akbar’s reign (1589), were translated into English, Memoirs of Babur, in two volumes, and were first published in 1921–22. They portray a ruler unusually magnanimous for his age, cultured, and witty,…
Read More
Finally, his prose memoirs, the Baburnama, have become a renowned autobiography. They were translated from Turki into Persian in Akbar’s reign (1589), were translated into English, Memoirs of Babur, in two volumes, and were first published in 1921–22. They portray a ruler unusually magnanimous for his age, cultured, and witty,…
Read More

Mughal painting
The folios from the Baburnama (“History of Babur”), Babur’s memoirs, were illustrated by Akbar’s court artists. Note the use of three-quarter figures, a Persian feature in early Mughal art.
Read More
The folios from the Baburnama (“History of Babur”), Babur’s memoirs, were illustrated by Akbar’s court artists. Note the use of three-quarter figures, a Persian feature in early Mughal art.
Read More