Content area
Full Text
The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor, tr., ed. and annotated by Wheeler M. Thackston. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press, 1996. 447 pages. Chron. to p. 450. Select. Gloss. to p. 454. Refs. to p. 459. Indices to p. 472. $39.95.
Reviewed by Iran B. Jewett
The memoirs of Babur Padisha (1483-1530), founder of the Moghal empire in India, need no introduction. Almost everyone interested in the history and literature of India has heard of or read a translation of the autobiography of this remarkable man.
Descended from Amir Temur on his father's side and from Ghengis Khan on his mother's side, Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur became the ruler of the small kingdom of Fergana in 1494 at the age of 12. The throne he inherited was not a secure one, and he soon found himself defending his domain from relatives as well as strangers. He suffered many defeats and triumphs and at one time found himself without a kingdom or even a home. But fortune smiled on him, and he was on his way to conquest and fame.
Babur's memoirs are unique in many ways. Rulers, especially conquerors, are not given to introspection, and one does not expect them to write about themselves...