Music and Musicians in the Baburnama: An Analysis of Babur’s Narratives (1483–1530 CE)
Music and Musicians in the Baburnama: An Analysis of Babur’s
Narratives (1483–1530 CE)
ORCID:
0009-0004-0024-1223
Author: Islamuddin
Firoz, Former Professor, Department
of Music, Faculty of Fine Arts, Kabul
University
Abstract
This study examines the representation of music and musicians in the
Baburnama, the memoirs of Ẓahīr al-Dīn Muḥammad Bābur (1483–1530), with
particular attention to his observations of musical practices, performers,
instruments, and aesthetic judgments. As a ruler with strong cultural and
literary interests, Babur documented numerous musicians and composers
associated with the courts and cultural centers of Khorasan, Transoxiana,
Kabul, and India. His accounts provide valuable evidence concerning instruments
such as the qānūn, ʿūd, ghichak, nāy, chang, rubāb, and tanbur, as well as
musical forms including naqsh and pīshraw. Through an analysis of these
narratives, this study explores the social status of musicians, the
relationship between performance and composition, musical innovation, and the
circulation of artists across regional boundaries. The findings demonstrate
that the Baburnama constitutes an important historical source for understanding
the musical culture of the late Timurid and early Mughal periods. Babur’s
detailed and critical observations also reveal his considerable familiarity
with musical performance and aesthetics.
Keywords: Baburnama; Babur; Afghan Music History; Musical Culture; Timurid and Mughal Music
Introduction
Ẓahīr al-Dīn Muḥammad Bābur (1483–1530) occupies a distinctive position in
the cultural and political history of Central and South Asia. Although
primarily remembered as the founder of the Mughal Empire in India, Babur was
also a poet, writer, patron of the arts, and perceptive observer of the
cultural life of his time. Born in Andijan in the Fergana Valley and later
established in Kabul, he experienced the cultural environments of Transoxiana,
Khorasan, Afghanistan, and northern India. These experiences shaped his
intellectual and artistic outlook and are reflected extensively in his memoir,
the Baburnama.
The Baburnama is more than a political or autobiographical account. It
provides detailed observations on geography, nature, social customs,
literature, architecture, and the arts, including music. Babur frequently
identifies individual musicians and composers, describes the instruments they
played, comments on their technical abilities, and evaluates their vocal or
instrumental performances. His references to the qānūn, ʿūd, ghichak, nāy,
chang, rubāb, and tanbur, as well as musical forms such as naqsh, sawt, and
pīshraw, offer valuable insights into the musical practices of the fifteenth
and early sixteenth centuries.
This study analyzes Babur’s musical narratives in order to examine the
status of musicians, the relationship between composition and performance, the
circulation of musical traditions, and the aesthetic criteria reflected in his
judgments. It argues that the Baburnama represents an important primary source
for reconstructing the musical culture of the late Timurid and early Mughal
world and provides evidence of the interconnectedness of musical traditions
across Khorasan, Transoxiana, Kabul, and India.
Babur’s Observations on Music and Musicians
Ẓahīr al-Dīn Muḥammad Bābur was not merely the founder of an empire; he was
also a pivotal figure in a new era of cultural interaction and exchange among
Transoxiana, Khorasan, and the Indian subcontinent. He was born on 14 February
1483 CE in Andijan, a city in the Fergana Valley of present-day Uzbekistan.
From an early age, Babur grew up amid political turmoil, military defeat, and
displacement. On his father’s side, he was a descendant of Amir Timur, while
through his mother he traced his lineage to Chinggis Khan. This connection to
two powerful dynastic traditions fostered in him a strong sense of historical
destiny and ambition. Although he was repeatedly driven from Samarkand during
his youth and lost his paternal domains, his character was not defined solely
by warfare and political struggle. He also displayed a profound inclination
toward culture, poetry, nature, and the arts—qualities that are vividly
reflected in the Baburnama.
After years of conflict with the Uzbeks and the Shaybanids, Babur
eventually captured Kabul in 910 AH (1505 CE). The conquest of Kabul was more
than a military victory for him; the city became his principal base, providing
him with a place amid mountains, gardens, and flowing water where he could find
respite, reflect, and write. Kabul during Babur’s reign was a crossroads of
cultures, attracting people from Khorasan, Badakhshan, Balkh, India, and even
Iraq. This ethnic and cultural diversity created a favorable environment for
the flourishing of the arts, particularly music. In Kabul, Babur established
gardens, constructed buildings, and organized musical and convivial gatherings.
Despite his reputation as a warrior, he possessed a refined aesthetic sensibility:
he was knowledgeable about flowers, composed poetry, and took pleasure in
listening to music.
After consolidating his position in Kabul, Babur eventually turned toward
India and, following his victory at the Battle of Panipat in 932 AH (1526 CE),
conquered Delhi. Yet even after his Indian conquests, his emotional attachment
remained strongly connected to Kabul and the cultural world of Khorasan. His
affinity with the cultural traditions of Khorasan and Transoxiana also shaped
his musical preferences. The Baburnama reflects this connection: it
records the names of musicians, musical instruments, musical practices, and
even the author’s personal judgments concerning the quality of performances.
Beyond his role as a military and administrative ruler, Babur possessed a
deep interest in art and culture and was a committed patron of literature,
music, and the visual arts. His court became a gathering place for poets and
scholars. Babur himself was a skilled writer, and his memoir, the Baburnama,
constitutes both a narrative of his life and an expression of his literary
sensibility.
The Baburnama provides a multifaceted portrait of everyday life,
nature, customs, food, warfare, friendship, and the arts. Among these
observations are particularly noteworthy passages devoted to music and
musicians. With considerable precision and candor, Babur records the names of
performers, the instruments they played, their musical styles, and even aspects
of their personalities, as though he himself were a knowledgeable critic of the
musical arts.
Among the musicians whom Babur mentions, Khwaja ʿAbdullah Marvarid is the
first to receive particular attention. Babur writes that no one could equal him
in playing the qānūn. With its numerous strings and clear resonance, the
qānūn is a delicate and technically demanding instrument, requiring both acute
aural sensitivity and considerable finger dexterity. Babur’s praise of Khwaja
ʿAbdullah indicates that the musical traditions of the Timurid and post-Timurid
courts continued to preserve sophisticated and learned musical practices and
that accomplished instrumentalists enjoyed a high social status.
Another musician mentioned by Babur is Qul Muhammad ʿŪdī, an artist who was
skilled not only in playing the ʿūd but also the ghichak. Babur
notes that he attached three additional horsehair strings to the ghichak, a
subtle reference to innovation in the construction of the instrument. The
ghichak is a bowed string instrument characterized by a penetrating and
expressive tone, and the addition of strings could expand its tonal range. Qul
Muhammad was particularly renowned for composing pīshraws, and Babur
explicitly states that no one had composed as many fine pīshraws as he had,
although he had not achieved the same level of distinction in other areas. This
assessment suggests that, during this period, the composition of structured
instrumental pieces resembling preludes was regarded as an independent artistic
skill.
Shaykhī Nāyī is another prominent figure. He played the ʿūd and ghichak and
had mastered the nāy from the age of twelve. Babur’s account of a
musical gathering held by Badīʿ al-Zamān Mirza provides a vivid illustration of
artistic competition. Qul Muhammad was unable to perform a particular melody on
the ghichak and described the instrument as “incomplete.” Shaykhī, however,
took the same instrument and performed the melody accurately and skillfully.
This anecdote demonstrates not only Shaykhī’s technical ability but also the
contemporary belief that the quality or deficiency of a musical performance depended
less on the instrument itself than on the performer’s skill and artistic
sensibility. Shaykhī was said to possess such extensive knowledge of melodic
structures that he could identify the appropriate pardah or tonal
position for each melody. Nevertheless, he composed relatively few works, with
only one or two naqshes attributed to him. He therefore appears to have
been primarily a performer rather than a prolific composer.
Shah Qulī Ghichakī, who was originally from Iraq and studied the instrument
in Khorasan, is another musician recorded by Babur. He composed numerous naqshes
and pīshraws and had made considerable progress in his art. The movement
of musicians between Iraq, Khorasan, and Transoxiana points to the existence of
a broad cultural network that transcended political boundaries.
Husayn ʿŪdī is also included in Babur’s account. He was a musician who
played the ʿūd “with taste” and performed what Babur described as “tasty
things.” Babur even comments on his manner of tuning or arranging the strings,
noting that he played the strings of the ʿūd individually or in a particular
configuration. This may have referred to a specific tuning system or
performance technique. Yet Babur’s account also contains criticism: Husayn ʿŪdī
was said to perform “with considerable affectation.” The story of Shaybānī Khan
ordering him to perform, followed by his eventual execution, reflects the harsh
political atmosphere of the courts of the period, in which artists, despite
their artistic refinement, could remain vulnerable to absolute political
authority. Babur’s strong judgment of this episode also illustrates his
characteristically direct and sometimes uncompromising narrative style.
Among the composers, Ghālam Shādī, the son of the singer Shādī, occupies a
distinctive position. Although he was not equal to some of the other musicians
in instrumental performance, he possessed exceptional skill in composing sawt
and naqsh. Babur states that no one had composed as many pieces as he
had. This distinction between the performer and the composer suggests that
musical composition was recognized as an independent artistic discipline. Mīr
ʿIzzū and Banāʾī are also mentioned as composers whose works were few in number
but regarded as musically refined and aesthetically pleasing.
A particularly remarkable figure is Pahlawān Muḥammad Bū Saʿīd, who was
renowned as one of the foremost wrestlers of his time but also composed poetry
and created sawts and naqshes. This combination of physical
strength and artistic refinement recalls the ideal of the insān-i kāmil,
or “perfect human,” in the Khorasani-Timurid cultural tradition: a person who
was simultaneously strong, artistic, and eloquent. Babur refers to one of his
fine naqshes in the Chahargah mode, demonstrating his familiarity
with specific modal structures and musical traditions.
In Kabul, Babur mentions Nūrullah, a tanbur player, as well as
another musician whose name he does not provide. The presence of the tanbur, an
ancient instrument deeply rooted in the musical traditions of Khorasan and
Transoxiana, indicates that local musical traditions continued alongside courtly
musical practices. Babur’s description of the ṭarabkhāna in Herat also
provides an architectural image of a dedicated musical space: a two-story
structure situated within a garden, with chambers at its four corners and a
central area. Such a space was presumably designed for regular musical
performances and gatherings of musicians. It is reasonable to infer that a
group of musicians may have been permanently associated with the venue and
performed there during royal celebrations and festivities.
Elsewhere, Babur describes a musical gathering in Herat and mentions Hāfiz
Hāji, Jalāl al-Dīn Maḥmūd Nāyī, and Shādī Bacha. He writes that Shādī Bacha
played the chang (harp), while Hāfiz Hāji was a fine singer. Babur
characterizes the vocal style of the people of Herat as “low, delicate, and
smooth.” He also refers to Jahāngīr Mirza, who had a singer named Mīrjān from
Samarkand. According to Babur, Mīrjān sang in a loud, coarse, and uneven voice.
Babur recounts that on one occasion, while intoxicated, Jahāngīr Mirza ordered
Mīrjān to sing; however, his voice was unusual, loud, coarse, and lacking in
aesthetic beauty. Babur adds that the people of Khorasan possessed refined
musical tastes and that if one listener became displeased with the performance
or another frowned, no one dared to restrain Mīrjān or prevent him from
continuing to sing. This observation demonstrates that Babur possessed
sufficient musical knowledge to distinguish subtle qualities and deficiencies
in the vocal performances of singers.
Babur also refers to the dancing of Yūsuf ʿAlī Kukaltāsh at a nocturnal
gathering, describing him as a person “well versed in the principles” (ṣāḥib-i
uṣūl). This observation indicates that dance, like music, was governed by
recognized conventions and principles. Elsewhere, Babur mentions a Qalandar
named Shāhī and a musician named Rubbābī Kārezī, further demonstrating the
presence of music in diverse social settings.
Babur’s reference to “the time of the naqāra” is also significant.
The playing of the naqāra was not limited to entertainment; it was also
used to announce the time of the morning prayer, convey information, and
regulate aspects of urban life. Music in this period therefore functioned not
merely as entertainment but was also integrated into social and religious
structures.
Alongside these observations, Babur’s references to Mawlānā Jāmī and Amīr
ʿAlī-Shīr Navāʾī reveal the inseparable relationship between poetry and music.
Poetic collections were recited and sung, poems were transformed into sawt,
and the boundaries between poet and musician could at times become fluid. The
cultural environment of Babur’s era continued the Timurid tradition of Herat,
in which different art forms converged: architecture, garden design,
calligraphy, poetry, and music.
Taken together, these observations portray Babur not merely as the
conqueror of Delhi but as a perceptive observer of the artistic life of his
time. He knew musical instruments, recognized differences between performance
styles, documented innovations, and described the personalities of musicians
with humor and candor. This level of attention makes the Baburnama an
exceptionally valuable source for the study of the musical culture of the ninth
and tenth centuries AH.
Thus, beneath the eventful life of a ruler who traveled from Fergana to
Kabul and from Kabul to Delhi, there emerges a network of melodies,
instruments, and musicians that connected the Khorasani-Timurid cultural sphere
with India. Music, in this context, functioned as a shared language of human
expression—a language that retained its vitality even amid warfare and
political upheaval. The reign of Babur, despite its political violence, was
culturally vibrant and artistically dynamic. The names he recorded constitute
echoes of this musical world, in which the sounds of the qānūn, ghichak, ʿūd,
nāy, chang, rubāb, and tanbur resonated through gardens and ṭarabkhānas,
intertwining music with the historical memory of the period.
Conclusion
The Baburnama provides valuable and multifaceted evidence for
understanding the musical culture of Central and South Asia during the late
Timurid and early Mughal periods. Babur’s references to musicians, composers,
instruments, musical forms, and performance practices demonstrate that music
occupied an important position within the cultural and social life of the
courts and urban centers of his time. His accounts not only identify prominent
musicians but also reveal differences in their artistic abilities, professional
status, and relationships with rulers and cultural institutions.
The musical references in the Baburnama further indicate the
circulation and interaction of musical traditions across Transoxiana, Khorasan,
Kabul, and India. Babur’s descriptions of instruments such as the qānūn, ʿūd,
ghichak, nāy, chang, rubāb, and tanbur, together with his references to forms
such as naqsh, sawt, and pīshraw, provide important
historical evidence for the diversity and development of musical practices
during this period. These references also suggest that musicians and musical
traditions moved across political and geographical boundaries, contributing to
a dynamic process of cultural exchange.
Equally significant is Babur’s personal engagement with music. His
evaluations of performances, musicians, and musical compositions reveal an
informed and critical musical sensibility rather than a merely incidental
interest in the arts. His observations therefore offer insights not only into
what music was performed, but also into how musical excellence, creativity, and
performance were perceived by an educated member of the ruling elite.
Overall, the Baburnama should be regarded as an important primary
source for the historical study of music in the late fifteenth and early
sixteenth centuries. Although it was not written as a treatise on music, its
scattered yet detailed musical references contribute substantially to the
reconstruction of the musical history of the Timurid and early Mughal worlds. A
systematic examination of these references, in conjunction with contemporary
Persian, Central Asian, and South Asian sources, can provide a deeper
understanding of the continuity, transformation, and intercultural exchange
that shaped the musical traditions of the region.
Reference
1. Bābur, Ẓahīr al-Dīn Muḥammad. (2007). Bāburnāma. Translated and
edited by Shafīqah Yāqīn. Kabul: Afghanistan Academy of Sciences.
2. Satbir. Kumar, Raj. (2018). A Historiography of Babur to Aurangzeb in
the Mughal Empire. ournal of Advances and Scholarly Researches in Allied
EducationVol. XV, Issue No. 6, August-2018, ISSN 2230-7540.
3. Obidov, Asadbek. (2025). Babur: Forging the Mughal Empire Through Governance and Culture. journal of international scientific research Volume 2, Issue 8,April, 2025.
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