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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 954.0252
EAN num: 9780375761379
ISBN number: 0375761373
Label: Modern Library
Manufacturer: Modern Library
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 608
Printing Date: September 10, 2002
Publishing house: Modern Library
Release Date: September 10, 2002
Sale Popularity Level: 169577
Studio: Modern Library
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Both an official chronicle and the highly personal memoir of the emperor Babur (1483–1530), The Baburnama presents a vivid and extraordinarily detailed picture of life in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India during the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries. Babur’s honest and intimate chronicle is the very first autobiography in Islamic literature, written at a time when there was no historical precedent for a personal narrative—now in a sparkling new translation by Islamic scholar Wheeler Thackston.
This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition includes notes, indices, maps, and illustrations.
Amazon.com Review:
Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur was the very first Mughal, or Mongol, emperor of India. A devoted warrior who fought by the bloodthirsty standards of his time, Babur was also a gifted scholar and ethnographer, and his memoir, The Baburnama--which translator and editor Wheeler Thackston heralds as the very first autobiography in Islamic literature--paints a fascinating portrait of the lands he conquered, such as Hindustan: 'A strange country. Compared to ours, it is another world. Its mountains, rivers, forests, and wildernesses, its villages and provinces, animals and plants, peoples and languages, even its rain and winds are altogether different.' They were different indeed, and we're fortunate to have this beautifully illustrated record of Babur's wonderment at the new places he saw.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
I think reading this book is an experience in itself. Its remarkable how similar we all are in basic high level thinking even though we might be centuries apart. Of course a emperror's biography going through smallest of details is very interesting. The preface by Salman Rushdie is an insult to such a great book. I believe he shouldnt have been chosen for it. But other than that I found the information in this book vital to undertstand the present culture, thinking and lifestyle in India. I am myself a proud Mughal and having this book in my possession is a pride in itself.
Rated by buyers -
The book itself is excellent.
I had problems with Salman Rushdie's preface, however. It is not a bad introduction, but some of his comments seem to be flawed. The writer explains the contradictory aspect of Babur's psychology (both ruthless/aggressive and soft/cultured) as the outcome of two conflicting "aspects" within Islam. Mr Rushdie does not explain how he arrives at this conclusion, however, and he fails to mention the possibility that Babur's aggression might have naturally stemmed from his Mongol background & warrior instincts. In addition, in the 2nd last paragraph, Rushdie seems to contradict himself when he compares Babur to Machiavelli: "In both men, a cold appreciation of the necessities of power, of what yesterday would be called realpolitik, is combined with deeply cultured and literary nature, not to mention the love, of excess, of wine and women."
Rated by buyers -
I would compare this extraordinary memoir by an extraordinary man to The Tale of Genji - both of them are "firsts" in their culture. The descendants of Tamerlane were both ruthlessly crafty Central Asian kings and warriors, and ultra refined conoisseurs of art and architecture, poetry, food, gardens, and (alas for them) wine. The Baburnama has it all. To encounter the private thoughts of a great conquerer is a unique experience. The Baburnama is well-written and well translated. It is one of the great treasures of literature, and will give the reader a much better idea why Afghanistan and Central Asia are the way they are.
Rated by buyers -
Babur, a descendant of both Timur and Genghis Khan, was a truly remarkable man: a soldier and a poet, an inspirational leader with a deep appreciation for the beauties of nature - and a sensitivity that seems striking to us in a warrior of his undoubted stature.
His memoirs are a detailed, entertaining, and highly personal view of a changing world. In leading his followers into northern India, he laid the groundwork for the Mughal Empire, one of the great Islamic powers of the early modern period - and it is this achievement that history primarily remembers him for. Yet the _Baburnama_ shows that there is considerably more to the story than its conclusion.
With unstinting and engaging honesty, Babur talks of his early struggles, his constant setbacks, and his lifelong desire to hold Samarkand, glorious seat of his ancestor Timur (Tamerlane). For Babur, India is only the consolation prize after his failure to reconquer the lands of his birthright; India is rich, yes, astoundingly so, but it is far removed from his fond reminiscences of home. Along the way, reports of skirmishes with his enemies, and the constant betrayals of his allies, share the page with descriptions of local flora and fauna, and fascinating observations on everyday life in the cities and towns that he spends time at - and it is here that the work's true enjoyment lies.
Bear with the initially confusing internecine squabbles of the Central Asian nomads, and you'll be richly rewarded. A comprehensive and compelling insight into both Central Asia at the turn of the sixteenth century, and the day-to-day pressures inherent in the leadership of an empire based on conquest.
Rated by buyers -
Babur was a king in the true sense of the word. His autobiography outlines his feirceness as a warrior as well as his compassion toward the people in his court. Although he lived in a time where one would think there would be little time for introspection, this is exactely what his narrative is: and introspective look at his own life, his shortcomings, his downfalls, his triumphs and tragedies. One is touched by Babur's humbleness, his sensitivity towards some of the most simple of things, and at his sense of awe and appreciation of beauty in the world around him. Although in some ways I prefered the AS Beveridge translation, this is also a wonderful translation with beautiful pictures and notes in the margins to help explain things. Even if you are not normally interested in this type of book, Babur leads you into his world and you are compelled to read on!
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