BABUR RACING WITH QASIM BEG AND QAMBAR 'ALI FOLIO FROM A MANUSCRIPT OF BABURNAMEH (AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BABUR) Accession Number:AKM130Creator:signed by Mitra Place:Pakistan, Lahore Dimensions:26.7 x 15.8 cm Date:ca. 1530 Materials and Technique:opaque watercolour, ink, and gold on paper By noon we were at the foot of Judak Village […] and still moving. Along the way Qambar-Ali, Qasim Beg, and I were racing. My horse pulled ahead, and I turned to see how far behind they were. My girth strap must have snapped over and I fell on my head. So recalls Babur, the Timurid prince and King of Ferghana who ultimately founded the Mughal Empire. This painting fully reflects the narrative and includes the broken saddle girth flying out under Babur’s foot. Further Reading Babur’s memoirs tell us that the race took place on the day following his surrender of the city of Samarkand to the Uzbeks led by Shaybani Khan in 1501. Capturing Samarkand was a longstanding goal of Babur, and he besieged the city on various occasions.

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