Making the Baburnama

“May the reader excuse me; may the listener take me not to task.” —Babur*

In 1526, Babur wrested Delhi from the Lodi Sultans to found the Mughal empire. He continued writing his memoirs (which he began at the age of twelve) until the year before his death in 1530. Babur’s grandson, the emperor Akbar, massively expanded the empire. To unite this vast territory, Akbar created an identity for the Mughals that asserted their right to rule. As part of this project, he sponsored the writing of new imperial histories and ordered that the Baburnama, which Babur had written in his native Turkish dialect (Chagatai), be translated into Persian, the language of the Mughal court.

In the 1580s and 1590s, artists produced at least five Baburnama manuscripts, each with over 180 paintings. The most complete Baburnama is in the National Museum of India; others were largely dispersed in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Today, they are in museum and private collections around the world. This exhibition features eight folios from different copies of the Baburnama produced in Akbar’s royal workshop.

*Thackston, Wheeler M., trans. The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor. New York: Oxford University Press in association with Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 1996. 241.

An Illiterate Bibliophile

Although Babur’s grandson Akbar did not read (he may have been dyslexic), he appreciated the power of the written word. He listened to books recited at court and commissioned illustrated manuscripts—among them the Baburnama. This folio is from the chronicle of Akbar’s own reign, the Akbarnama. Enthroned at the center of a bustling court, Akbar listens expectantly to the report of a victorious battle, which the messenger also bears on a written scroll.

A Translator’s Talents

This superbly sensitive portrait depicts the translator of the Baburnama, Akbar’s vizier and general Abd al-Rahim. A multitalented bibliophile and poet, Abd al-Rahim was one of the new generation of Mughal courtiers who moved fluidly between the Muslim, Hindu, Jain, and Christian denizens of the empire. He also maintained his own studio of artists and writers. One of his most important books, the Freer Ramayana, is on view in Freer gallery 1 through the end of 2023.

Developing a Visual Language

Akbar’s artists created multiple illustrated manuscripts of the Baburnama. This folio, from their first copy of the manuscript, depicts a seventeen-year-old Babur relaxing after a successful battle at Pishkaran (modern Uzbekistan). To depict a scene that took place over half a century earlier, Akbar’s artists deployed standard motifs, including a cluster of tents and a servant pounding in a hitching post, to convey the energy and activity of a royal encampment.

A Place in History

The Akbarnama begins with events leading to the formation of the Mughal empire. This folio represents Babur’s capture of Kabul—his first major victory—at the age of twenty-one. Wearing a gold robe, Babur is presented as the central figure in a historical turning point, much like Akbar is depicted in scenes of his own rule. The vibrant palette and energetic gestures of the crowd are typical of Mughal painting during Akbar’s reign.