Have you ever imagined France without Eiffel Tower, Egypt without pyramids, India without Taj Mahal? These are some of the few things, which people visualize when they think about a country. Taj Mahal , Red Fort and Humayun's Tomb are some of the few such monuments that stand as a token of the might and power of the Mughal dynasty even after it's fall in 1857. Dynasties rise and fall, only some manage to leave their mark on the face of the earth forever be it through bravery or virtue or monuments that stand tall depicting the absolute power they enjoyed.This book is the first part of the quintet series that tells the epic story of the rise and fall of the most powerful and opulent dynasties in history.
It is about the journey of a prince, Babur, from ruler of a small kingdom called Ferghana, a principality in Uzbekistan, to being an emperor of the Indian sub-continent.It tells about Babur's vicissitudes of fortune and how Babur overcomes his difficulties and impending dangers with the help of some well wishers like his grandmother, Esan Dawlat, his military guide and mentor, Wazir Khan, as a young ruler, after inheriting Ferghana at the age of 12. He starts his campaign by conquering Samarkhand(his ancestor Timur's Capital) at the age of 13. He looses it after a very short time(100 days) and unfortunately he also looses his own kingdom, Ferghana to his half-brother in a coup. He becomes a king without a kingdom for some years. With his band of soldiers he irritates his half-brother and shaibani khan(ruler of smarkhand) using hit and run policy. He leads his soldiers by facing the enemy bravely like Alexander, the Great did. He succeeds upto certain extent but looses most of his soldiers in the process and at one point he lives on bread. The proverb fortune favours the brave comes true, when he becomes the king of kabul after his uncle's death, as he was the only blood relative alive who can claim the throne(his half-brother gets killed by shaibani khan, who has sworn to get rid of all the Timurid princes). He rules Kabul in peace for sometime. His kingdom florishes because of trade. Using all this new found wealth and food, he raises an army against Shabani Khan(Who takes Babur's sister as his wife by force) mainly to free his sister. But, fortune favours him and the Persian King defeats Shaibani Khan before his armies reach Samarkhand. Babur returns to Kabul, marries his Commander-in-chief's daughter(thus ensuring his loyalty) and he rules Kabul well with the help of some loyal servants like karim and Baburi.
It is very hard to have companions with whom you can share most of your thoughts when you are an emperor(as most of the people will be sycophants trying to impress you). Babur befriends a street boy named Baburi at a very young age and he stays with him during hardships and motivates him when in need. The author makes use of this character very well to let the readers know about Babur's character in detail. As a street kid(Baburi), he learns lot more things than a ruler. He learns life the hard way looking at adversities straight in the face.This knowledge and knack of Baburi's help Babur to know a lot about common people and in his war strategies, as well. He lives peacefully for some years looking at his kingdom thrive under his rule and his sons growing into young lads(Humayun). He sets off on a long campaign to fulfill his lifetime goal of conquering Hindustan. He strives hard to conquer Hindustan marching through a rough terrain, which his ancestor, Timur, had conquered and looted(slaugtered 1 lakh people in the process). He launches an attack on Ibrahim Lodhi, the Sultan of India in 1526 A.D. in panipat.Taking the advantage of having the latest technology then (cannons etc) he wins the battle. He wins few more battles against the native kings (Rajputs) spearheaded by Rana Sanga with the help of his son and the heir apparent , Humayun. He proclaims himself the emperor of India, unopposed. Sadly, soon after his coronation as the emperor of India he falls sick and dies leaving a vast empire to his heir, Humayun.
It is the journey of a warrior going through highs and lows before fulfilling his goal of conquering Hindustan, modern India. One should read it for onself to find out the pleasure in reading this book. Generally, historical books are boring with too many unnecessary details(for non-history lovers).But, this book is written targeting non history lovers, I guess. Some fictitious characters were included to make it a smooth read without loosing the originality, which I felt was fantastic. I already bought it's sequel: Brothers at war. I am saving it to read it during the most boring times. Babur means Tiger!
It is about the journey of a prince, Babur, from ruler of a small kingdom called Ferghana, a principality in Uzbekistan, to being an emperor of the Indian sub-continent.It tells about Babur's vicissitudes of fortune and how Babur overcomes his difficulties and impending dangers with the help of some well wishers like his grandmother, Esan Dawlat, his military guide and mentor, Wazir Khan, as a young ruler, after inheriting Ferghana at the age of 12. He starts his campaign by conquering Samarkhand(his ancestor Timur's Capital) at the age of 13. He looses it after a very short time(100 days) and unfortunately he also looses his own kingdom, Ferghana to his half-brother in a coup. He becomes a king without a kingdom for some years. With his band of soldiers he irritates his half-brother and shaibani khan(ruler of smarkhand) using hit and run policy. He leads his soldiers by facing the enemy bravely like Alexander, the Great did. He succeeds upto certain extent but looses most of his soldiers in the process and at one point he lives on bread. The proverb fortune favours the brave comes true, when he becomes the king of kabul after his uncle's death, as he was the only blood relative alive who can claim the throne(his half-brother gets killed by shaibani khan, who has sworn to get rid of all the Timurid princes). He rules Kabul in peace for sometime. His kingdom florishes because of trade. Using all this new found wealth and food, he raises an army against Shabani Khan(Who takes Babur's sister as his wife by force) mainly to free his sister. But, fortune favours him and the Persian King defeats Shaibani Khan before his armies reach Samarkhand. Babur returns to Kabul, marries his Commander-in-chief's daughter(thus ensuring his loyalty) and he rules Kabul well with the help of some loyal servants like karim and Baburi.
It is very hard to have companions with whom you can share most of your thoughts when you are an emperor(as most of the people will be sycophants trying to impress you). Babur befriends a street boy named Baburi at a very young age and he stays with him during hardships and motivates him when in need. The author makes use of this character very well to let the readers know about Babur's character in detail. As a street kid(Baburi), he learns lot more things than a ruler. He learns life the hard way looking at adversities straight in the face.This knowledge and knack of Baburi's help Babur to know a lot about common people and in his war strategies, as well. He lives peacefully for some years looking at his kingdom thrive under his rule and his sons growing into young lads(Humayun). He sets off on a long campaign to fulfill his lifetime goal of conquering Hindustan. He strives hard to conquer Hindustan marching through a rough terrain, which his ancestor, Timur, had conquered and looted(slaugtered 1 lakh people in the process). He launches an attack on Ibrahim Lodhi, the Sultan of India in 1526 A.D. in panipat.Taking the advantage of having the latest technology then (cannons etc) he wins the battle. He wins few more battles against the native kings (Rajputs) spearheaded by Rana Sanga with the help of his son and the heir apparent , Humayun. He proclaims himself the emperor of India, unopposed. Sadly, soon after his coronation as the emperor of India he falls sick and dies leaving a vast empire to his heir, Humayun.
It is the journey of a warrior going through highs and lows before fulfilling his goal of conquering Hindustan, modern India. One should read it for onself to find out the pleasure in reading this book. Generally, historical books are boring with too many unnecessary details(for non-history lovers).But, this book is written targeting non history lovers, I guess. Some fictitious characters were included to make it a smooth read without loosing the originality, which I felt was fantastic. I already bought it's sequel: Brothers at war. I am saving it to read it during the most boring times. Babur means Tiger!
