The influence of the Great Mughals on every aspect of Indian life – social, economic and political – has been profound and far-reaching. But in spite of their great historical and important role, their existing biographies are not only few but far in between. Historians and biographers have denoted far greater attention and space to Babur’s Central Asian career than to the last five years of his life in Hindustan. Moreover they have ignored his cultural and political background, and the early influences which shaped his character; nor have they described his conception of sovereignty, his administration, his cultural achievements and his fighting forces, including the role of firearms in his Indian wars.

In this classic work, first published in 1985, a vigorous at­tempt has been made to deal with hitherto untouched topics in detail with the help of original sources, revealing various aspects of Babur’s life.