Emperor Babur

Khanzadeh Begum – At the altar of sacrifice

Dawn, The Review, probably November 30-December 6, 2000 Khanzadeh Begum is one of the forgotten women of history. She played an important role in the careers of Babur and Humayun, and was a pillar of the Mughal dynasty in its formative phase. The early historians, including Babur himself, mention her, but the modern historians often […]

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Babur

Dawn, The Review, November 23-29, 2000 ‘Listen to the flute. How it tells its story and complains of separation. It says, I have been crying ever since I was chopped off the reed…’ Thus opened the Mathnavi of Rumi, the favourite reading of Babur’s father Umar Sheikh besides the Holy Quran. Umar Shiekh used to

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Humayun

Dawn, The Review, September 7-13, 2000 ‘What’s your sun sign?’ The answer to this question could decide one’s appointment to the civil services in the days of Humayun, if one is to believe the story that he organized his entire administration on astrological elements. According to this account, for instance, the officers belonging to water

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