Feast at Sultan Jalāu’d-dīn’s House at Karrah from the Baburnama (Book of Babur),

ca. 1589-1590

As founding emperor of the Mughal Empire, Babur sought to cement his place in history by penning an autobiography, the Baburnama (The Book of Babur). Babur was a highly educated ruler, and the text of his book covers the details of his life, as well as the history, society, economy, and even flora and fauna of the lands he ruled. Babur’s grandson, Akbar, honored Babur by commissioning a lavish, fully illustrated edition of the Baburnama. Feast at Sultan Jalāu’d-dīn’s House comes from Akbar’s Baburnama and illustrates an episode that took place on March 4, 1529. Babur and his men were on a military march and stopped to rest at Sultan Jalāu’d-dīn’s house inside the Karrah fort, located in eastern India. Babur is depicted in the top right of the composition, dressed in a pale green robe, lounging in an open-sided pavilion. The sultan himself is presumably the man standing before Babur, gesturing to his two sons, who stand behind him with their arms raised in a pose of greeting. In the courtyard, guests form an audience for the main entertainment—two burly, bareheaded men grappling one another in a wrestling bout.