This the first critical biography of Zahīr al-Dīn Muhammad Bābur, the founder of one of the great premodern Islamic empires, the Timurid-Mughul empire of India. It contains an original evaluation of his life and writings as well as fresh insights into both the nature of empire building and the character of the Timurid-Mughul state. Based upon recently published critical editions of Bābur's autobiography and poetry, the book examines Bābur's life from the time he inherited his father's authority in the Ferghanah valley, east of Samarqand, in 1494, until his death in...