Tuzuk-i-Baburi (Baburnama)

The Baburnama reveals much about its author’s character and personality. The most obvious trait is Babur’s
intelligence—his active, inquisitive mind. Babur took great notice of the world around him. Much of his memoir
is devoted to the exotic customs and natural wonders of the places that he visited. The Tuzuk-i-Baburi is a
faithful description of the world the author had lived in, and of the people he had come into
contact. According to modern scholars, no other eastern prince has written such vivid, interesting
and veracious account of his own life as Babur. He writes about his own success and failure or
about his shortcomings with candour, which greatly impresses the reader. With great regard for
truth, Babur recorded historical events exactly as they had occurred.

Babur was a passionate lover of nature who found pleasure in streams, meadows and pasture
lands of his own country; springs, lakes, plants, flowers, and fruits all had charm for him so that
even when he came to India and founded the Mughal empire in India, he could not forget his
native land Farghana. This love of nature gave him the poetic genius, he cultivated poetry from his
early youth and his Diwan (collection of poems) written in Turkish language is regarded as a work
of considerable merit. His mastery over prose was equally remarkable, he could write with ease
both in Turkish and Persian and the most remarkable of his prose works is his autobiography.

Babur's observations about India in the Tuzuk are very important. He briefly dwells upon the
political condition at the time of his invasion, and also gives a minute account of the flora and
fauna of Hindustan. He mentions about mountains, rivers, jungles, and streams and about various
kinds of foodstuffs, fruits and vegetables. He says that in India they have no aqueducts or canals
in their gardens or palaces, their peasants and people of lower classes all go almost naked and
use only a langoti to cover their nakedness. He says that the excellence of Hindustan consists in
the fact that there is abundance of gold and silver in the country. The climate of India is pleasant,
there is no dearth of workmen in any profession or trade, but their occupations are mostly
hereditary, and for particular kinds of works particular groups of people are reserved.

Babur's observations about Bengal are also noteworthy. He did not come to Bengal, but he had to
measure sword with the Bengal sultan NUSHRAT SHAH. Being a keen observer, he collected
information about the sultan, the country and the people of Bengal, and his observations are
found to be appropriate. Babur praised Nusrat Shah as one of the great rulers of India. He also
praised Bengali solders, particularly the sailors and gunners. He observes that the Bengalis are
loyal to the throne and express loyalty to whoever occupies the throne. He further says that in
Bengal hereditary succession is rare. Babur refers to other customs prevalent in Bengal. First, the
new king does not spend the wealth accumulated by former kings, he has to arrange for his
expenditure; secondly, the Bengalis look upon accumulation of wealth with disfavor and thirdly,
they earmark revenues of particular parganas for specific expenses.

Personal life and relationship

In his autobiography, Babur claimed to be strong and physically fit, and claimed to have swum
across every major river he encountered, including twice across the Ganges River in North India.
Unlike his father, he had ascetic tendencies and did not have any great interest in women. In his
first marriage, he was "bashful" towards Aisha Sultan Begum. Later losing his affection for her.
However, he acquired several more wives and concubines over the years, and as required for a
prince, he was able to ensure the continuity of his line. Babur's first wife, Aisha Sultan Begum,
was his cousin, the daughter of Sultan Ahmad Mirza, his father's brother. She was an infant when
betrothed to Babur, who was himself five years old. They married eleven years later, c. 1498-99
AD. The couple had one daughter by her, Fakhr-un-Nissa, who died within a year in 1500. Three
years later, after Babur's first defeat at Fergana, Aisha left him and returned to her father's
household.

In 1504, Babur married Zaynab Sultan Begum, who died childless within two years. In the period
1506-08, Babur married four women, being Maham Begum (in 1506), Masuma Sultan Begum,
Gulrukh Begum and Dildar Begum. Babur had four children by Maham Begum, of whom only one
survived infancy. This was his eldest son and heir, Humayun. Masuma Sultan Begum died during
childbirth; the year of her death is disputed (either 1508 or 1519). Gulrukh bore Babur two sons,
Kamran and Askari, and Dildar Begum was the mother of Babur's youngest son, Hindal. Babur
later married Mubaraka Yusufzai, a Pashtun woman of the Yusufzai tribe.

During his rule in Kabul, when there was a relative time of peace, Babur pursued his interests in
literature, art, music and gardening. Previously, he never drank alcohol and avoided it when he
was in Herat. In Kabul, he first tasted it at the age of thirty. He then began to drink regularly, host
wine parties and consume preparations made from opium. Though religion had a central place in
his life, Babur also approvingly quoted a line of poetry by one of his contemporaries: "I am drunk,
officer. Punish me when I am sober". He quit drinking for health reasons before the Battle of
Khanwa, just two years before his death, and demanded that his court do the same. But he did not
stop chewing narcotic preparations, and did not lose his sense of irony. He wrote, "Everyone
regrets drinking and swears an oath (of abstinence); I swore the oath and regret that."

Babur died at the age of 47 on 5th January 1531 and was succeded by his eldest son, humayun.
After death, his body was moved to Kabul, Afghanistan, where it lies in a BAGH-e-BABUR (Babur
gardens).

Military conditions in India on the eve of Babur’s invasion (changing ways to fight wars)

Embedded in international and intercontinental networks of commerce, trade and intellectual activity. Many of
the goods exchanged—both tangible and intangible—had military applications. The growing Mughal army
employed diverse weapons, equipment and tactics that had their origins in places as distant as Central Europe,
the Middle East, the city states of Central Asia and the steppes of Mongolia and Russia. It was situated at the
convergence of several changing military cultures, and was able to build on all of their accomplishments. Its
success was based on developments in the military art that had been ongoing for decades and centuries before
the emergence of Babur. During his rise to power the first Mughal Emperor greatly accelerated the pace of
innovation by combining the traditional Central Asian way of war with new technology and tactics from the
West. This novel military system would be further refined and adapted to the unique environment of India by
Babur’s successors Humayun.

Babur makes many references to individual foot soldiers armed with bows. He also discusses a weapon
particularly suited to the infantryman—the crossbow. Crossbows were especially valuable during sieges because
they were ideal for sniping. Unlike a conventional archer, a crossbowman could fire his weapon while lying
prone and behind cover. He could also keep it cocked and at full draw while carefully lining up a shot or waiting
for a target to emerge. Babur describes his own experience as a sniper, firing a crossbow from the ramparts of
Samarqand while that city was under siege. Once firearms were adopted they became the ranged weapon of
choice for his infantry, but the musketeers were still supported by large numbers of foot archers. It is clear that
by the time of his entry into India Babur did use large numbers of musket-armed soldiers to deliver massed fire—
with great effect.
Babur’s tactics evolved along with his arsenal. He built and improved upon the model of the classic Central Asian
cavalry army. Even in his later campaigns he still used the same basic formation passed down by his
predecessors. A strong center held and fixed the enemy while flanking elements sought to encircle it. Babur’s
version of this system, however, emphasized defense above all else. He did not seek to immediately 64
overpower the enemy. In a sense his tactics were a variant of an old steppe ploy—the feigned retreat or display
of weakness.

Political conditions in India on the eve of Babur’s invasion

On the basis of Tuzuk-i-Baburi, the political conditions of India on the eve of Babur's
invasion can be described in brief under the following headings:

(1) Innumerable small Independent Kingdoms:"Babur writes in his memories that

when he invaded India there were seven important States-Five Muslim and Two Hindus.
Besides these states mentioned by Babur there were several other States which were also
playing a considerable role in the politics of India. In Northern India, the main States
were Delhi, Punjab, Bengal, Jaunpur, Gujarat, Mewar, Malwa, Orissa, Sindh, Kashmir and
Khandesh.

(2) No Powerful Central Authority: There was no powerful Central Authority to unite all
the small States against a foreign invasion.

(3) Political condition of Southern India was also weak: The political condition of
southern India was also very deteriorating. The Bahmani kingdom had broken up into
five small principalities. These were-Beejapur, Golkunda, Beedar, Brar
and Ahmadnagar.

(4) There was no feeling of Modern Nationalism: The people of India were lacking the
feeling of Modern Nationalism. They were more loyal to their local rulers than the
symbolic central Power of Delhi.

(5) Views of Historians about the Political condition of India: "The condition of that time
was serious. India, indeed, was a group of small states and it would be invaded by any
invaders very easily."

Babur’s military achievements

 Babur proved to be an ambitious young man and nurtured a desire to capture

the city of Samarkand to the west. He besieged Samarkand in 1497 and
eventually gained control over it. He was just 15 at the time of this conquest.
However, due to continued rebellions and conflicts, he lost control over
Samarkand after just 100 days and also lost Fergana.

 He laid siege on Samarkand again in 1501 but was defeated by his most
formidable rival, Muhammad Shaybani, khan of the Uzbeks. Unable to attain
Samarkand, he then attempted to reclaim Fergana but again met with failure.
He somehow escaped with his life and took refuge with hill tribes, living in exile
for some time.

 He spent the next few years building a strong army and in 1504, he marched
into the snow-bound Hindu Kush Mountains into Afghanistan. He successfully
besieged and conquered Kabul—his first major victory. This helped him to
establish a base for his new kingdom.
  By 1505 he had set his eyes upon conquering territories in India. However, it
would take him several more years before he was able to build a formidable
army and finally launch an attack on the Delhi Sultanate.

 He marched into Delhi via Sir hind in early 1526 and reached Panipat in April
the same year. There he was confronted by Ibrahim Lodi’s army of about
100,000 soldiers and 100 elephants which outnumbered his own. A shrewd and
skilled warrior, Babur utilized the tactic of “Tulugma”, encircling Ibrahim
Lodi's army and forcing it to face artillery fire directly.

 The decisive victory in the First Battle of Panipat helped Babur in laying the
foundation for the Mughal Empire. Following the battle he occupied Delhi and
Agra, and set about consolidating his empire.

My perspective on tuzuk-i-baburi

According to me, Baburnama gives a detailed insight of Babur’s life.

Baburnama tells us closely about the aspect of Babur as a ruler, nature lover
and a warrior including his family. Babur was a good observer because
everything he has describes him very well in his memoir like his personal
encounters, his reign, the wars he fought, expeditions, revenue system,
architecture, poetry, geographical locations, people of that time ad flora and
fauna. This has been explained in a perfect manner as we could get detailed
information of that time.

The facts presented are interesting and has been inscribed within in a excellent
way as it was translated from Persian.

After reading this memoir it is clear to the thoughts that Babur was a keen lover
of nature and wildlife. Wherever Babur visited he constructed gardens and
complimented beautiful spots by holding parties. He had a charming
personality and was an empire builder with good fortune. He was also fond of
reading, society, hunting and political issues with economic development.
Babur was a person who was never discouraged by defeats instead he found
faults that lead to the defeat so that it could be corrected the next time. He was a
ruler who invested his mind rather than becoming aggressive as he built several
tactics that can be used in the war. Babur was very much successful as a
general, diplomat, soldier, a physically strong man, motivational speaker and
builder.

Babur besides mentioning his achievements also mentioned his failures

a ruler which makes him a charismatic and honest person in my mind.
Babur is perhaps the most captivating personality in oriental history. He
was also affectionate in domestic relations. He was an obedient son, an
affectionate father, reliable friend, lovable husband and most
importantly one of the most successful rulers of all time who left a
impactful imprint in mughal dynasty.

TEJAS ROY
SKP162E0292
SSH (5TH SEMESTER)