Timur (1336�1405), the Central Asian ruler from whom the Mughals were descended, sits in the centre of this allegorical painting handing the imperial crown to the founder of the Mughal dynasty, Babur (r.1526�1530), who is seated to his right. On his left is Babur�s son Humayun, the second Mughal emperor (r.1530�1540 and 1544�1545), who briefly lost the throne and was forced into exile in Iran. All are seated on jewelled thrones beneath parasols, an emblem of royalty. Before them stand their chief ministers, all identified in minuscule Persian inscriptions: on the right is Bayram Khan, with Mirza Shah Rukh and Mirza Rustam in the middle and on the left respectively.

He ascended the throne in the city of Agra, on the 29th of December, A. 1). 1530, three days after the late Emperor’s death. The usual solemnities followed; the chief nobility presented themselves at the Derbar, and tendered their allegiance, and money was scattered among the populace. The public prayers were read, and coin struck, in name of the new prince. But, though the son of the great Baber thus mounted the throne of Agra, his situation was not free from danger and difficulty. The government was still, of course, military. The army was not a national one, connected by common language and country, but a mixed body of adventurers, Chaghatai, Uzbek, Moghul, Persian, Afghan and Indian. Even the Chaghatai chiefs, who had enjoyed most of the Emperor's confidence and favour, were not perfectly unanimous. Though attached to the family of Baber 1, as the representatives of that revered prince and of the great Taimur lang, yet no eminent chief or.head of a tribe considered the crown itself as beyond the range of his ambition.