The tomb of Babur, the first Moghul emperor, blasted and pock marked during the civil war of the 1990s, has been lovingly restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture
The tomb of Babur, the first Moghul emperor, blasted and pock marked during the civil war of the 1990s, has been lovingly restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture
Born far to the north of modern Afghanistan, Babur went to Kabul only because he had failed in Central Asia
It was Samarkand he dreamed of capturing
Yet when the demands of building an empire drove him south, he yearned to return to Kabul
For a man who achieved so much, he is strangely unknown outside Afghanistan
Not only did he create a dynasty whose empire stretched from Afghanistan to southern India and which gave the world some of its greatest cultural riches, but he also wrote an autobiography which, though half a millennium old, is a far better read than most of the political and business memoirs churned out today
Not only did he create a dynasty whose empire stretched from Afghanistan to southern India and which gave the world some of its greatest cultural riches, but he also wrote an autobiography which, though half a millennium old, is a far better read than most of the political and business memoirs churned out today
The autobiography recounts the barbarity and hardship of a princeling’s life in a chaotic world; but it is also full of delight and humanity
Sometimes self-aggrandizing, sometimes self-critical, Babur emerges from his autobiography as a real person, in a way no other great leader except Churchill does
Babur’s pedigree primed him for greatness
Babur’s pedigree primed him for greatness
On his father’s side he was descended from Timur-i-lang (Tamburlaine), whose empire stretched from the Caucasus to Delhi, and on his mother’s side from Genghis Khan, who conquered Asia from the Black Sea to Beijing
But by the time Babur was born, in 1483, the empires had crumbled and the emperors’ descendants had multiplied into a horde of princelings fighting for loot and territory
As E.M. Forster put it, “At the time that Machiavelli was collecting materials for ‘The Prince’, a robber boy, sorely in need of advice, was scuttling over the highlands of Central Asia. His problem had already engaged the attention and sympathy of the Florentine; there were too many kings about and not enough kingdoms.”
As E.M. Forster put it, “At the time that Machiavelli was collecting materials for ‘The Prince’, a robber boy, sorely in need of advice, was scuttling over the highlands of Central Asia. His problem had already engaged the attention and sympathy of the Florentine; there were too many kings about and not enough kingdoms.”
They got going early in those days
They got going early in those days
Babur’s father died when he was 11, while tending pigeons in an ill-constructed dovecote that toppled into the ravine below the palace, leaving his son in charge of a small province, Fergana
At 13, Babur headed off to capture Samarkand – the former imperial capital, a jewel built by craftsmen Timur had kidnapped from raids into India, Persia, and Arabia
When he got there, he found a couple of young cousins already besieging the place (though one was more interested in the daughter of a local noble than in the city)
The lover got the girl, but Babur did not get Samarkand
He tried again the next year, succeeded briefly and was ejected three months later
In the meantime, a Mongol enemy put his 12-year-old brother on the throne in Fergana
So Babur was homeless; most of his followers had left him; treacherous relations had murdered his tutor
“It was very hard for me. I could not help crying a good deal.”
He was, after all, only 14
Babur struggled on in Central Asia for a while, but was crushed between Uzbeks, Mongols, and Timurid princes
Babur struggled on in Central Asia for a while, but was crushed between Uzbeks, Mongols, and Timurid princes
His lowest moment came when he was chased into the hills and caught by enemies, who were careful with their valuable prize
How he got out of that particular pickle is unclear; but soon he decided to try his luck elsewhere
He considered going east to the lands of his Mongol relations, but regarded them as savages (and would have been horrified to learn that the Persian word for Mongol stuck to his dynasty)
Hearing that Kabul was vulnerable, he set off southwards
Hearing that Kabul was vulnerable, he set off southwards
Though homeless, he was not alone
In this formerly nomadic society, which had only recently acquired the habit of settlement, princes moved around with soldiers, retainers, and relations
But Babur’s entourage was not grand
He had 200-300 people with him and two tents, one of which his mother occupied
Then, in an astonishing reversal of fortune inconceivable in the modern world but commonplace in those uncertain times, Babur gained an army
It happened because of the collapse of a noble, who, amid tough competition, was an outstandingly nasty man
It happened because of the collapse of a noble, who, amid tough competition, was an outstandingly nasty man
Khusrau Shah, formerly a retainer of one of Babur’s relations, had taken Kunduz, murdered one of Babur’s cousins, and blinded another
He was unpopular, even among his own people, many thousands of whom, faced with sustained attacks from Uzbeks, defected from him to an ambitious princeling with a decent reputation and a lineage that gave him a certain claim to Kabul
Khusrau Shah was beheaded by the Uzbeks; Babur, with his new following in tow, virtually walked into Kabul
He was not impressed by his new dominion
He was not impressed by his new dominion
It was, he said, a “trifling place”; but, with Uzbeks and Timurids threatening all around, it had its advantages
Surrounded by mountains that were impassable for most of the year, it was “a fastness hard for a foreign foe to make his way into.”
To cement his power, Babur needed to see off rivals
He attacked Kandahar, where Kabul’s previous occupants hailed from, and beat them soundly
He also needed to give his subjects security – especially from his own troops
When one of the defectors from Khusrau Shah – an undisciplined lot – stole some cooking oil from a local, he had the man beaten to death
When one of the defectors from Khusrau Shah – an undisciplined lot – stole some cooking oil from a local, he had the man beaten to death
But early on he made a serious mistake
To feed and reward his huge retinue, he took 30,000 donkey-loads of grain from Kabul and Ghazni
He soon regretted it
“The tax was excessive, and under it the country suffered very badly.”
That a new ruler bled the land he had conquered was not surprising; that he had the honesty to admit it, and the wit to learn from it, is
Though Kabul was not rich in grain, it was a cosmopolitan city – Babur reckoned that 11 or 12 languages were spoken – on the trade route between Central Asia and India
Though Kabul was not rich in grain, it was a cosmopolitan city – Babur reckoned that 11 or 12 languages were spoken – on the trade route between Central Asia and India
Historians reckon that merchants provided most of the revenues for Babur’s remarkably sophisticated taxation system
Merchants were taxed at 5% on gold coins and 2.5% on silver
There was also a tariff on foreign trade (of 5% or 10%, depending on whether the merchants were Muslims or not) an income tax on harvests (a third to a half) and a progressive wealth tax on flocks (one sheep from a herd of 40 -120, and two from herds of 120 and up)
But Babur’s orderly state-building could not solve a problem that has troubled Afghanistan’s rulers through the ages; the tribes
But Babur’s orderly state-building could not solve a problem that has troubled Afghanistan’s rulers through the ages; the tribes
They not only failed to pay taxes, but also, by holding up caravans, threatened the prosperity of the merchants who did
And the mountains that protected Babur from foreign invaders also protected the tribes from Babur
He had no sympathy for them
Although he had spent much of his youth wandering around Central Asia with a tent, he was at heart a city boy
He prized the civilized pursuits – literature, science, and music – that flourished in an urban environment and regarded tribesmen as “stupid peasants”
He prized the civilized pursuits – literature, science, and music – that flourished in an urban environment and regarded tribesmen as “stupid peasants”
Babur’s approach to the problem was not constrained by modern notions of human rights
Shortly after his arrival in Kabul, he attacked Kohat and killed hundreds of tribesmen
Some of the survivors put grass into their mouths – a way, locals explained to him, of saying “I am your cow.”
But he had them killed anyway, and a tower built of the victims’ heads
Many similar raids followed, and similar towers were built, to encourage submission to Babur’s authority
Many similar raids followed, and similar towers were built, to encourage submission to Babur’s authority
But it was not all fiscal policy and decapitation
Babur enjoyed himself too
He loved nature, and describes the local flora and fauna in exquisite detail
He developed a lifelong passion for gardening
He developed a lifelong passion for gardening
Unlike the despised Mongols, the Timurids were cultured
Babur longed to be a great poet
His poems are not, unfortunately, much good, but his advice on prose style is
In a letter to his son Humayun, he complains about the obscurity of the young man’s vocabulary: “In future write without elaboration; use plain, clear words. It will be less trouble for you and for the reader.”
Poetry went with another taste Babur developed in Kabul: for wine
Poetry went with another taste Babur developed in Kabul: for wine
As a young man, he did not drink
When on a visit to Herat his cosmopolitan cousins encouraged him to
He would have tried it, but his prime minister, who was travelling with him, told the cousins to lay off
During an 11-year gap in the narrative, he took to the bottle with an enthusiasm that in the modern age would have seen him shipped off to rehab
Babur’s life became a long series of parties interspersed with brief interludes of warfare and administration
Babur’s life became a long series of parties interspersed with brief interludes of warfare and administration
There was music, poetry, beauty – and vast quantities of alcohol
Babur struggled with his habit – though not very hard
He wrote that he was planning to give up in his 40th year, so “I was drinking to excess, now that there was less than a year left.”
At one party Babur saw a very surprising sight: a woman drinking
At one party Babur saw a very surprising sight: a woman drinking
She made a pass at him
“I got rid of her by pretending to be drunk”
Babur was not much interested in women
He explains that he had married early, and neglected the girl
He uses that to introduce the subject of his passion for a boy called Baburi whom he sees in the bazaar
But shyness prevents him from approaching the boy
Still poetry and parties were not enough
Babur was ambitious, and his dominion in Kabul was limited by the Afghan’s insubordination
Babur was ambitious, and his dominion in Kabul was limited by the Afghan’s insubordination
He needed to expand elsewhere
He tried again to take Samarkand, and was again beaten back
So he raided what is now Pakistan, found the people of the plains easier meat than the mountain tribes, and by 1523 pretty much controlled Lahore
Delhi was in his sights
Because it had been part of Timur’s domains, Babur maintained that it was legitimately his, and wrote to the ruler to stake his claim
