14th February 2021 marks the 538th birth anniversary of the brave and brilliant bon vivant; the Emperor Zaheer-ud Din Mohammad Babur (1483-1530) who laid the foundations of the Timurid (Mughal) empire in India.

#Babur #Mughals #History #Hindustan

Babur, like all Mughals felt a legitimate claim on Hindustan after its conquest in 1398-99 by Temür, which effectively ended the already tottering Tughlaq Sultanate following the fall of Delhi.
Not until 1451 and the rise of the Lodis (under Bahlul Khan), did Delhi recover.

Babur’s own Tuzuk-i Baburi, or the Bāburnama remains the best primary source for a study of the Emperor’s life; an incredibly human, self-deprecating and candid diary.
A new edition of Annette Beveridge’s translation with an introduction by @DalrympleWill is now available.

“Do not fail to make the most of an opportunity that presents itself. Indolence and luxury do not suit kingship. Conquest tolerates not inaction; the world is his who hastens most.”

Emperor #Babur in a letter to his son Humayun 1527.
The Baburnāma. Sec 348.

#History #Mughals