Memoirs of Babur.
This is the personal journal of Emperor Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty. It records the events of his remarkable life from the age of 12 until his death in 1530. His grandson Akbar had the memoirs translated into Persian from their original Chaghatay Turkish so his grandfather’s achievements might be more widely known. This is the largest of four major illustrated copies made during Akbar’s reign. Written and illustrated around 1590, it contains 141 paintings by many different artists.
His first exercise of military and political power came with his claiming the throne of Samarkand, in modern-day Uzbekistan, and taking control of the region around the fertile Fergana Valley. It was at this time that Babur began his memoirs – among the first autobiographies in Islamic literature. In June 1494 AD, he wrote the opening lines, “In the name of God, the All-Merciful, the Compassionate. In the month of Ramadan of the year 899 and in the 12th year of my age, I became ruler in the land of Fergana.”