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The <i>Anwar-i Suhayli</i> or 'The Lights of Canopus', commonly known as the <i>Fables of Bidpai</i> in the West, is a Persian version of the ancient Indian collection of animal fables, the <i>Panchatantra</i>. It tells a tale of a Persian physician, Burzuyah, and his mission to India, where he stumbles upon a book of stories collected from the animals who reside there.<br/><br/> In a similar vein to the <i>Arabian Nights</i>, the fables in the manuscript are inter-woven as the characters of one story recount the next, leading up to three or four degrees of narrative embedding. Many usually have morals or offer philosophical glimpses into human behaviour, emphasising loyalty and teamwork.
The <i>Anwar-i Suhayli</i> or 'The Lights of Canopus', commonly known as the <i>Fables of Bidpai</i> in the West, is a Persian version of the ancient Indian collection of animal fables, the <i>Panchatantra</i>. It tells a tale of a Persian physician, Burzuyah, and his mission to India, where he stumbles upon a book of stories collected from the animals who reside there.<br/><br/> In a similar vein to the <i>Arabian Nights</i>, the fables in the manuscript are inter-woven as the characters of one story recount the next, leading up to three or four degrees of narrative embedding. Many usually have morals or offer philosophical glimpses into human behaviour, emphasising loyalty and teamwork.
The <i>Anwar-i Suhayli</i> or 'The Lights of Canopus', commonly known as the <i>Fables of Bidpai</i> in the West, is a Persian version of the ancient Indian collection of animal fables, the <i>Panchatantra</i>. It tells a tale of a Persian physician, Burzuyah, and his mission to India, where he stumbles upon a book of stories collected from the animals who reside there.<br/><br/> In a similar vein to the <i>Arabian Nights</i>, the fables in the manuscript are inter-woven as the characters of one story recount the next, leading up to three or four degrees of narrative embedding. Many usually have morals or offer philosophical glimpses into human behaviour, emphasising loyalty and teamwork.
The <i>Anwar-i Suhayli</i> or 'The Lights of Canopus', commonly known as the <i>Fables of Bidpai</i> in the West, is a Persian version of the ancient Indian collection of animal fables, the <i>Panchatantra</i>. It tells a tale of a Persian physician, Burzuyah, and his mission to India, where he stumbles upon a book of stories collected from the animals who reside there.<br/><br/> In a similar vein to the <i>Arabian Nights</i>, the fables in the manuscript are inter-woven as the characters of one story recount the next, leading up to three or four degrees of narrative embedding. Many usually have morals or offer philosophical glimpses into human behaviour, emphasising loyalty and teamwork.
Charles IV (1316-1378), born Wenceslaus, was the eldest son of King John of Bohemia and grandson of Emperor Henry VII, making him part of the Luxembourg dynasty. He spent several years in the court of his uncle, King Charles IV of France, after whom he would rename himself during his coronation.<br/><br/> In 1346, Charles was chosen as King of Germany by Pope Clement VI and some of the prince-electors in opposition to Emperor Louis IV. He was seen by many as a papal puppet and the 'Priests' King' due to the extensive concessions he had to make to the pope. His initial position was weak, but the sudden death of Louis in 1347 prevented a longer civil war, allowing Charles to claim the throne of Germany and Bohemia, after his father's death during the Battle of Crecy the year previous.<br/><br/> Charles was crowned King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor in 1355, and later became King of Burgundy in 1365, making him the personal ruler of all the kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire. In the latter years of his reign, Charles took little part in the actual running of German affairs apart from securing the election of his son Wenceslaus as King of Germany in 1376. He died in 1378, having long suffered from gout.
Charles IV (1316-1378), born Wenceslaus, was the eldest son of King John of Bohemia and grandson of Emperor Henry VII, making him part of the Luxembourg dynasty. He spent several years in the court of his uncle, King Charles IV of France, after whom he would rename himself during his coronation.<br/><br/> In 1346, Charles was chosen as King of Germany by Pope Clement VI and some of the prince-electors in opposition to Emperor Louis IV. He was seen by many as a papal puppet and the 'Priests' King' due to the extensive concessions he had to make to the pope. His initial position was weak, but the sudden death of Louis in 1347 prevented a longer civil war, allowing Charles to claim the throne of Germany and Bohemia, after his father's death during the Battle of Crecy the year previous.<br/><br/> Charles was crowned King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor in 1355, and later became King of Burgundy in 1365, making him the personal ruler of all the kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire. In the latter years of his reign, Charles took little part in the actual running of German affairs apart from securing the election of his son Wenceslaus as King of Germany in 1376. He died in 1378, having long suffered from gout.
The Hermitage of San Baudelio de Berlanga (Ermita de San Baudelio de Berlanga) is an early 11th-century church at Caltojar in the province of Soria, Spain, 80 km south of Berlanga de Duero. It is an example of Mozarabic architecture and was built in the 11th century, in what was then the frontier between Islamic and Christian lands. It is dedicated to Saint Baudilus or Baudel.<br/><br/> The hermitage housed many fine Romanesque frescoes from about 1125; most of these have been removed, but some have remained. Two sections, transferred to canvas, are now in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, showing the Entry of Christ into Jerusalem and the Wedding at Cana.<br/><br/> The paintings were done by the Catalan Master of Tahull (Taüll in Catalan), whose best known works are in Sant Climent de Taüll and the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona, with two other painters. The frescoes include that of a camel and of a war elephant, which were inspired by Muslim motifs.
The Hermitage of San Baudelio de Berlanga (Ermita de San Baudelio de Berlanga) is an early 11th-century church at Caltojar in the province of Soria, Spain, 80 km south of Berlanga de Duero. It is an example of Mozarabic architecture and was built in the 11th century, in what was then the frontier between Islamic and Christian lands. It is dedicated to Saint Baudilus or Baudel.<br/><br/> The hermitage housed many fine Romanesque frescoes from about 1125; most of these have been removed, but some have remained. Two sections, transferred to canvas, are now in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, showing the Entry of Christ into Jerusalem and the Wedding at Cana.<br/><br/> The paintings were done by the Catalan Master of Tahull (Taüll in Catalan), whose best known works are in Sant Climent de Taüll and the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona, with two other painters. The frescoes include that of a camel and of a war elephant, which were inspired by Muslim motifs.
This picture scroll is a copy of selected sections of the <i>Ezo Shima Kikan</i> (Unusual Views of the Island of Ezo [Hokkaido]) by Hata Awagimaro, completed in Kansei 11 (1799) and considered the most notable work depicting the contemporaneous lives of the Ainu.<br/><br/> The Ainu or in historical Japanese texts Ezo, are an indigenous people of Japan (Hokkaido, and formerly northeastern Honshu) and Russia (Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands).
This picture scroll is a copy of selected sections of the <i>Ezo Shima Kikan</i> (Unusual Views of the Island of Ezo [Hokkaido]) by Hata Awagimaro, completed in Kansei 11 (1799) and considered the most notable work depicting the contemporaneous lives of the Ainu.<br/><br/> The Ainu or in historical Japanese texts Ezo, are an indigenous people of Japan (Hokkaido, and formerly northeastern Honshu) and Russia (Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands).
John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216), also known as John Lackland (Norman French: Johan sanz Terre), was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death in 1216. John lost the Duchy of Normandy to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of most of the Angevin Empire and contributing to the subsequent growth in power of the Capetian dynasty during the 13th century.<br/><br/> The baronial revolt at the end of John's reign led to the sealing of Magna Carta, a document of immense significance considered to be an early step in the evolution of the constitution of the United Kingdom.
The Afrasiab painting is a rare example of Sogdian art. It was discovered in 1965 when the local authorities decided on the construction of a road through the middle of Afrāsiāb mound, the old site of pre-Mongol Samarkand. It is now preserved in a special museum on the Afrāsiāb mound. It is the main painting we have of ancient Sogdian art.<br/><br/> The painting dates back to the middle of the 7th century CE. On the four walls of the room of a private house, three or four different countries neighbouring Central Asia are depicted. On the northern wall China (a Chinese festival, with the Empress on a boat, and the Emperor hunting), on the Southern Wall Samarkand (the Iranian world: a religious funerary procession in honor of the ancestors during the Nowruz festival), on the eastern wall India (as the land of the astrologers and of the pygmies, but the painting is much destroyed there).
The <i>Anwar-i Suhayli</i> or 'The Lights of Canopus', commonly known as the <i>Fables of Bidpai</i> in the West, is a Persian version of the ancient Indian collection of animal fables, the <i>Panchatantra</i>. It tells a tale of a Persian physician, Burzuyah, and his mission to India, where he stumbles upon a book of stories collected from the animals who reside there.<br/><br/> In a similar vein to the <i>Arabian Nights</i>, the fables in the manuscript are inter-woven as the characters of one story recount the next, leading up to three or four degrees of narrative embedding. Many usually have morals or offer philosophical glimpses into human behaviour, emphasising loyalty and teamwork.
The <i>Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry</i> is the most famous and possibly the best surviving example of French Gothic manuscript illumination, showing the late International Gothic phase of the style. It is a book of hours: a collection of prayers to be said at the canonical hours.<br/><br/> It was created between c. 1412 and 1416 for the extravagant royal bibliophile and patron John, Duke of Berry, by the Limbourg brothers. When the three painters and their sponsor died in 1416, possibly victims of plague, the manuscript was left unfinished. It was further embellished in the 1440s by an anonymous painter, who many art historians believe was Barthelemy d'Eyck. In 1485-1489, it was brought to its present state by the painter Jean Colombe on behalf of the Duke of Savoy.<br/><br/> Acquired by the Duc d'Aumale in 1856, the book is now in the Musee Conde, Chantilly, France.
The <i>Anwar-i Suhayli</i> or 'The Lights of Canopus', commonly known as the <i>Fables of Bidpai</i> in the West, is a Persian version of the ancient Indian collection of animal fables, the <i>Panchatantra</i>. It tells a tale of a Persian physician, Burzuyah, and his mission to India, where he stumbles upon a book of stories collected from the animals who reside there.<br/><br/> In a similar vein to the <i>Arabian Nights</i>, the fables in the manuscript are inter-woven as the characters of one story recount the next, leading up to three or four degrees of narrative embedding. Many usually have morals or offer philosophical glimpses into human behaviour, emphasising loyalty and teamwork.
'Book of the Marvels of the World' (French: <i>Livre des Merveilles du Monde</i>) or 'Description of the World' (<i>Devisement du Monde</i>), in Italian <i>Il Milione</i> ('The Million') or <i>Oriente Poliano</i> and in English commonly called 'The Travels of Marco Polo', is a 13th-century travelogue.<br/><br/> It was recorded by Rustichello da Pisa from stories told by Marco Polo, describing Polo's travels through Asia between 1276 and 1291, and his experiences at the court of Kublai Khan.
Siyah Kalem or 'Black Pen' is the name given to the 15th century school of painting attributed to Mehmed Siyah Kalem. Nothing is known of his life, but his work indicates that he was of Central Asian Turkic origin, and thoroughly familiar with camp and military life. The paintings appear in the 'Conqueror’s Albums', so named because two portraits of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror are present in one of them.<br/><br/>The albums are made up of miniatures taken from manuscripts of the 14th, 15th, and early 16th centuries, and one series of paintings is inscribed 'work of Master Muḥammad Siyah Kalem'. Something of the style and techniques of Chinese paintings is apparent in these, and an acquaintance with Buddhist art, particularly in the depictions of grotesque demonic figures.
Siyah Kalem or 'Black Pen' is the name given to the 15th century school of painting attributed to Mehmed Siyah Kalem. Nothing is known of his life, but his work indicates that he was of Central Asian Turkic origin, and thoroughly familiar with camp and military life. The paintings appear in the 'Conqueror’s Albums', so named because two portraits of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror are present in one of them.<br/><br/>The albums are made up of miniatures taken from manuscripts of the 14th, 15th, and early 16th centuries, and one series of paintings is inscribed 'work of Master Muḥammad Siyah Kalem'. Something of the style and techniques of Chinese paintings is apparent in these, and an acquaintance with Buddhist art, particularly in the depictions of grotesque demonic figures.
Siyah Kalem or 'Black Pen' is the name given to the 15th century school of painting attributed to Mehmed Siyah Kalem. Nothing is known of his life, but his work indicates that he was of Central Asian Turkic origin, and thoroughly familiar with camp and military life. The paintings appear in the 'Conqueror’s Albums', so named because two portraits of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror are present in one of them.<br/><br/>The albums are made up of miniatures taken from manuscripts of the 14th, 15th, and early 16th centuries, and one series of paintings is inscribed 'work of Master Muḥammad Siyah Kalem'. Something of the style and techniques of Chinese paintings is apparent in these, and an acquaintance with Buddhist art, particularly in the depictions of grotesque demonic figures.
Bedouin (from the Arabic badawī بَدَوِي, pl. badw بَدْو or badawiyyūn بَدَوِيُّون) are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arabian ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes, or clans, known in Arabic as ʿašāʾir (عَشَائِر).The term 'Bedouin' derives from a plural form of the Arabic word badawī, as it is pronounced in colloquial dialects. The Arabic term badawī (بدوي) derives from the word bādiyah (بَادِية), which means semiarid desert (as opposed to ṣaḥarāʾ صَحَرَاء, which means desert).<br/><br/> Starting in the late nineteenth century, many Bedouin under British rule began to transit to a seminomadic life. In the 1950s and 1960s, large numbers of Bedouin throughout Midwest Asia started to leave the traditional, nomadic life to settle in the cities of Midwest Asia, especially as hot ranges have shrunk and populations have grown. For example, in Syria the Bedouin way of life effectively ended during a severe drought from 1958 to 1961, which forced many Bedouin to abandon herding for standard jobs. Similarly, governmental policies in Egypt and Israel, oil production in the Persian Gulf, as well as a desire for improved standards of living, effectively led most Bedouin to become settled citizens of various nations, rather than stateless nomadic herders.
Khwāja Shamsu d-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī (Persian: خواجه شمس‌الدین محمد حافظ شیرازی‎), known by his pen name Hāfez (1325/1326–1389/1390),was a Persian lyric poet. His collected works composed of series of Persian poetry (Divan) are to be found in the homes of most Persian speakers in Iran and Afghanistan, as well as elsewhere in the world, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day. His life and poems have been the subject of much analysis, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-fourteenth century Persian writing more than any other author.<br/><br/> Themes of his ghazals are the beloved, faith, and exposing hypocrisy. His influence in the lives of Iranians can be found in 'Hafez readings' (fāl-e hāfez, Persian: فال حافظ‎), frequent use of his poems in Persian traditional music, visual art and Persian calligraphy. His tomb in Shiraz is visited often. Adaptations, imitations and translations of Hafez' poems exist in all major languages.
Khwāja Shamsu d-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī (Persian: خواجه شمس‌الدین محمد حافظ شیرازی‎), known by his pen name Hāfez (1325/1326–1389/1390),was a Persian lyric poet. His collected works composed of series of Persian poetry (Divan) are to be found in the homes of most Persian speakers in Iran and Afghanistan, as well as elsewhere in the world, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day. His life and poems have been the subject of much analysis, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-fourteenth century Persian writing more than any other author.<br/><br/> Themes of his ghazals are the beloved, faith, and exposing hypocrisy. His influence in the lives of Iranians can be found in 'Hafez readings' (fāl-e hāfez, Persian: فال حافظ‎), frequent use of his poems in Persian traditional music, visual art and Persian calligraphy. His tomb in Shiraz is visited often. Adaptations, imitations and translations of Hafez' poems exist in all major languages.
The Lahu (Ladhulsi or Kawzhawd; La Hủ) are an ethnic group of Southeast Asia and China.<br/><br/> They are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where about 450,000 live in Yunnan province. An estimated 150,000 live in Burma. In Thailand, Lahu are one of the six main hill tribes; their population is estimated at around 100,000. The Tai often refer to them by the exonym 'Mussur' or hunter. About 10,000 live in Laos. They are one of 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam, where about 1,500 live in Lai Chau province.<br/><br/> The Lahu divide themselves into a number of subgroups, such as the Lahu Na (Black Lahu), Lahu Nyi (Red Lahu), Lahu Hpu (White Lahu), Lahu Shi (Yellow Lahu) and the Lahu Shehleh. Where a subgroup name refers to a color, it refers to the traditional color of their dress.
Zahir ud-din Muhammad Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of South Asia. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother.<br/><br/> Babur identified his lineage as Timurid and Chaghatay-Turkic, while his origin, milieu, training, and culture were steeped in Persian culture and so he was largely responsible for the fostering of this culture by his descendants, and for the expansion of Persian cultural influence in the Indian subcontinent, with brilliant literary, artistic, and historiographical results.
Akbar (Urdu: جلال الدین محمد اکبر , Hindi: जलालुद्दीन मुहम्मद अकबर, Jalāl ud-Dīn Muhammad Akbar), also known as Shahanshah Akbar-e-Azam or Akbar the Great (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), was the third Mughal Emperor. He was of Timurid descent; the son of Emperor Humayun, and the grandson of Emperor Babur, the ruler who founded the Mughal dynasty in India. At the end of his reign in 1605 the Mughal empire covered most of the northern and central India.<br/><br/> Akbar was thirteen years old when he ascended the Mughal throne in Delhi (February 1556), following the death of his father Humayun. During his reign, he eliminated military threats from the powerful Pashtun descendants of Sher Shah Suri, and at the Second Battle of Panipat he decisively defeated the newly self-declared Hindu king Hemu. It took him nearly two more decades to consolidate his power and bring all the parts of northern and central India into his direct realm. He dominated the whole of the Indian Subcontinent and he ruled the greater part of it as emperor. As an emperor, Akbar solidified his rule by pursuing diplomacy with the powerful Hindu Rajput caste, and by marrying Rajput princesses.<br/><br/> Akbar's reign significantly influenced art and culture in the country. He was a distinguished patron of art and architecture. He took a great interest in painting, and had the walls of his palaces adorned with murals. Besides encouraging the development of the Mughal school, he also patronised the European style of painting. He was fond of literature, and had several Sanskrit works translated into Persian and Persian scriptures translated in Sanskrit, in addition to having many Persian works illustrated by painters from his court.<br/><br/> During the early years of his reign, he showed an intolerant attitude towards Hindus and other religions, but later exercised tolerance towards non-islamic faiths. His administration included numerous Hindu landlords, courtiers and military generals. He began a series of religious debates where Muslim scholars would debate religious matters with Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians and Portuguese Roman Catholic Jesuits. He treated these religious leaders with great consideration, irrespective of their faith, and revered them.<br/><br/> Akbar not only granted lands and money for the mosques but the list of the recipients included a huge number of Hindu temples in north and central India, Christian churches in Goa and a land grant to the newly born Sikh faith for the construction of a place of worship. The famous Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab is constructed on the same site.
Akbar (Urdu: جلال الدین محمد اکبر , Hindi: जलालुद्दीन मुहम्मद अकबर, Jalāl ud-Dīn Muhammad Akbar), also known as Shahanshah Akbar-e-Azam or Akbar the Great (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), was the third Mughal Emperor. He was of Timurid descent; the son of Emperor Humayun, and the grandson of Emperor Babur, the ruler who founded the Mughal dynasty in India. At the end of his reign in 1605 the Mughal empire covered most of the northern and central India.<br/><br/> Akbar was thirteen years old when he ascended the Mughal throne in Delhi (February 1556), following the death of his father Humayun. During his reign, he eliminated military threats from the powerful Pashtun descendants of Sher Shah Suri, and at the Second Battle of Panipat he decisively defeated the newly self-declared Hindu king Hemu. It took him nearly two more decades to consolidate his power and bring all the parts of northern and central India into his direct realm. He dominated the whole of the Indian Subcontinent and he ruled the greater part of it as emperor. As an emperor, Akbar solidified his rule by pursuing diplomacy with the powerful Hindu Rajput caste, and by marrying Rajput princesses.<br/><br/> Akbar's reign significantly influenced art and culture in the country. He was a distinguished patron of art and architecture. He took a great interest in painting, and had the walls of his palaces adorned with murals. Besides encouraging the development of the Mughal school, he also patronised the European style of painting. He was fond of literature, and had several Sanskrit works translated into Persian and Persian scriptures translated in Sanskrit, in addition to having many Persian works illustrated by painters from his court.<br/><br/> During the early years of his reign, he showed an intolerant attitude towards Hindus and other religions, but later exercised tolerance towards non-islamic faiths. His administration included numerous Hindu landlords, courtiers and military generals. He began a series of religious debates where Muslim scholars would debate religious matters with Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians and Portuguese Roman Catholic Jesuits. He treated these religious leaders with great consideration, irrespective of their faith, and revered them.<br/><br/> Akbar not only granted lands and money for the mosques but the list of the recipients included a huge number of Hindu temples in north and central India, Christian churches in Goa and a land grant to the newly born Sikh faith for the construction of a place of worship. The famous Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab is constructed on the same site.
Bāburnāma (Chagatai/Persian: بابر نامہ;´, literally: 'Book of Babur' or 'Letters of Babur'; alternatively known as Tuzk-e Babri) is the name given to the memoirs of Ẓahīr ud-Dīn Muḥammad Bābur (1483-1530), founder of the Mughal Empire and a great-great-great-grandson of Timur. It is an autobiographical work, originally written in the Chagatai language, known to Babur as 'Turki' (meaning Turkic), the spoken language of the Andijan-Timurids.<br/><br/> Because of Babur's cultural origin, his prose is highly Persianized in its sentence structure, morphology, and vocabulary, and also contains many phrases and smaller poems in Persian. During Emperor Akbar's reign, the work was completely translated to Persian by a Mughal courtier, Abdul Rahīm, in AH 998 (1589-90 CE).
The Tacuinum (sometimes Taccuinum) Sanitatis is a medieval handbook on health and wellbeing, based on the Taqwim al‑sihha تقويم الصحة ('Maintenance of Health'), an eleventh-century Arab medical treatise by Ibn Butlan of Baghdad.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân was a Christian physician born in Baghdad and who died in 1068. He sets forth the six elements necessary to maintain daily health: food and drink, air and the environment, activity and rest, sleep and wakefulness, secretions and excretions of humours, changes or states of mind (happiness, anger, shame, etc). According to Ibn Butlân, illnesses are the result of changes in the balance of some of these elements, therefore he recommended a life in harmony with nature in order to maintain or recover one’s health.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân also teaches us to enjoy each season of the year, the consequences of each type of climate, wind and snow. He points out the importance of spiritual wellbeing and mentions, for example, the benefits of listening to music, dancing or having a pleasant conversation.<br/><br/> Aimed at a cultured lay audience, the text exists in several variant Latin versions, the manuscripts of which are characteristically profusely illustrated. The short paragraphs of the treatise were freely translated into Latin in mid-thirteenth-century Palermo or Naples, continuing an Italo-Norman tradition as one of the prime sites for peaceable inter-cultural contact between the Islamic and European worlds.<br/><br/> Four handsomely illustrated complete late fourteenth-century manuscripts of the Taccuinum, all produced in Lombardy, survive, in Vienna, Paris, Liège and Rome, as well as scattered illustrations from others, as well as fifteenth-century codices.
The Tacuinum (sometimes Taccuinum) Sanitatis is a medieval handbook on health and wellbeing, based on the Taqwim al‑sihha تقويم الصحة ('Maintenance of Health'), an eleventh-century Arab medical treatise by Ibn Butlan of Baghdad.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân was a Christian physician born in Baghdad and who died in 1068. He sets forth the six elements necessary to maintain daily health: food and drink, air and the environment, activity and rest, sleep and wakefulness, secretions and excretions of humours, changes or states of mind (happiness, anger, shame, etc). According to Ibn Butlân, illnesses are the result of changes in the balance of some of these elements, therefore he recommended a life in harmony with nature in order to maintain or recover one’s health.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân also teaches us to enjoy each season of the year, the consequences of each type of climate, wind and snow. He points out the importance of spiritual wellbeing and mentions, for example, the benefits of listening to music, dancing or having a pleasant conversation.<br/><br/> Aimed at a cultured lay audience, the text exists in several variant Latin versions, the manuscripts of which are characteristically profusely illustrated. The short paragraphs of the treatise were freely translated into Latin in mid-thirteenth-century Palermo or Naples, continuing an Italo-Norman tradition as one of the prime sites for peaceable inter-cultural contact between the Islamic and European worlds.<br/><br/> Four handsomely illustrated complete late fourteenth-century manuscripts of the Taccuinum, all produced in Lombardy, survive, in Vienna, Paris, Liège and Rome, as well as scattered illustrations from others, as well as fifteenth-century codices.
The Tacuinum (sometimes Taccuinum) Sanitatis is a medieval handbook on health and wellbeing, based on the Taqwim al‑sihha تقويم الصحة ('Maintenance of Health'), an eleventh-century Arab medical treatise by Ibn Butlan of Baghdad.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân was a Christian physician born in Baghdad and who died in 1068. He sets forth the six elements necessary to maintain daily health: food and drink, air and the environment, activity and rest, sleep and wakefulness, secretions and excretions of humours, changes or states of mind (happiness, anger, shame, etc). According to Ibn Butlân, illnesses are the result of changes in the balance of some of these elements, therefore he recommended a life in harmony with nature in order to maintain or recover one’s health.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân also teaches us to enjoy each season of the year, the consequences of each type of climate, wind and snow. He points out the importance of spiritual wellbeing and mentions, for example, the benefits of listening to music, dancing or having a pleasant conversation.<br/><br/> Aimed at a cultured lay audience, the text exists in several variant Latin versions, the manuscripts of which are characteristically profusely illustrated. The short paragraphs of the treatise were freely translated into Latin in mid-thirteenth-century Palermo or Naples, continuing an Italo-Norman tradition as one of the prime sites for peaceable inter-cultural contact between the Islamic and European worlds.<br/><br/> Four handsomely illustrated complete late fourteenth-century manuscripts of the Taccuinum, all produced in Lombardy, survive, in Vienna, Paris, Liège and Rome, as well as scattered illustrations from others, as well as fifteenth-century codices.
Khosrau I (also called Xusro I, Khosnow I, Chusro I, Khusro I, Husraw I or Khosrow I, Chosroes I in classical sources, most commonly known in Persian as Anushirvan, meaning the immortal soul), also known as Anushiravan the Just (Born c. 501, ruled 531–579), was the favourite son and successor of Kavadh I (488–531), twentieth Sassanid Emperor (Great King) of Persia, and the most famous and celebrated of the Sassanid Emperors.<br/><br/> He laid the foundations of many cities and opulent palaces, and oversaw the repair of trade roads as well as the building of numerous bridges and dams. During Khosrau I's ambitious reign, art and science flourished in Persia and the Sassanid Empire reached the peak of its glory and prosperity.
Ashurbanipal (685 BCE – c. 627 BCE), also spelled Assurbanipal or Ashshurbanipal, was an Assyrian king, the son of Esarhaddon and the last great king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (668 BCE – c. 627 BCE). He established the first systematically organized library in the ancient Middle East, the Library of Ashurbanipal, which survives in part today at Nineveh.<br/><br/> In the Bible he is called Asenappar (Ezra 4:10). Roman historian Justinus identified him as Sardanapalus.
Hand-colored engraving from 'Moeurs, Usages, et Costumes de tous les Peuples de Monde, d'apres des Documents Authentiques et les Voyages les plus Recents', by Auguste Wahlen (Brussels, 1843-44).
The Karen or Kayin people (Pwa Ka Nyaw Poe or Kanyaw in Sgaw Karen and Ploan in Poe Karen; Kariang or Yang in Thai), are a Sino-Tibetan language speaking ethnic group which resides primarily in southern and southeastern Burma (Myanmar).<br/><br/> The Karen make up approximately 7 percent of the total Burmese population of approximately 50 million people. A large number of Karen also reside in Thailand, mostly on the Thai-Burmese border.<br/><br/> The Karen are often confused with the Red Karen (or Karenni). One subgroup of the Karenni, the Padaung tribe from the border region of Burma and Thailand, are best known for the neck rings worn by the women of this group of people.<br/><br/> Karen legends refer to a 'river of running sand' which ancestors reputedly crossed. Many Karen think this refers to the Gobi Desert, although they have lived in Burma for centuries.<br/><br/> The Karen constitute the biggest ethnic population in Burma after the Bamars and Shans.
Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province.<br/><br/> Along with Baekje and Silla, Goguryeo was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Goguryeo was an active participant in the power struggle for control of the Korean peninsula as well as associated with the foreign affairs of neighboring polities in China and Japan.<br/><br/> The Samguk Sagi, a 12th century CE Goryeo text, indicates that Goguryeo was founded in 37 BC by Jumong, a prince from Buyeo, although there is archaeological and textual evidence that suggests Goguryeo culture was in existence since the 2nd century BCE around the fall of Gojoseon, an earlier kingdom that also occupied southern Manchuria and northern Korea.<br/><br/> Goguryeo was a major dynasty in Northeast Asia, until it was defeated by a Silla-Tang alliance in 668 CE. After its defeat, its territory was divided among the Unified Silla, Balhae, and Tang dynasty.<br/><br/> Goguryeo changed its name into Goryeo (Koryŏ) during the reign of King Jangsu, and such name was succeeded by Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), from which the English word "Korea" stemmed.
The Stieng people (Vietnamese: Xtieng) are an ethnic group of Vietnam and Cambodia that speak a Bahnaric language of Mon-Khmer roots. Most Stieng live in Binh Duong Province and Dong Nai Province in southeastern Vietnam. In Cambodia, they are grouped under the heading ‘Khmer Loeu’, referring to non-Khmer ethnic groups, or Degar peoples. Nowadays, many Stieng have converted to Christianity, though the total population of the group is estimated at just 6,000.
A Persian miniature is a small painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a muraqqa. The techniques are broadly comparable to the Western and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illuminated manuscripts. Although there is an equally well-established Persian tradition of wall-painting, the survival rate and state of preservation of miniatures is better, and miniatures are much the best-known form of Persian painting in the West, and many of the most important examples are in Western, or Turkish, museums.<br/><br/> Miniature painting became a significant Persian genre in the 13th century, receiving Chinese influence after the Mongol conquests, and the highest point in the tradition was reached in the 15th and 16th centuries. The tradition continued, under some Western influence, after this, and has many modern exponents. The Persian miniature was the dominant influence on other Islamic miniature traditions, principally the Ottoman miniature in Turkey, and the Mughal miniature in the Indian sub-continent.
Siyah Kalem or 'Black Pen' is the name given to the 15th century school of painting attributed to Mehmed Siyah Kalem. Nothing is known of his life, but his work indicates that he was of Central Asian Turkic origin, and thoroughly familiar with camp and military life. The paintings appear in the 'Conqueror’s Albums', so named because two portraits of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror are present in one of them.<br/><br/> The albums are made up of miniatures taken from manuscripts of the 14th, 15th, and early 16th centuries, and one series of paintings is inscribed 'work of Master Muḥammad Siyah Kalem'. Something of the style and techniques of Chinese paintings is apparent in these, and an acquaintance with Buddhist art, particularly in the depictions of grotesque demonic figures.<br/><br/> Oghuz Khagan (Turkish: Oğuz Kağan) was a legendary and semi-mythological Khan of the Turks. Some Turkic cultures use this legend to describe their ethnic origins and the origin of the system of political clans used by Turkmen, Ottoman, and other Oghuz Turks. The narrative is often entitled Oghuznama, or narrative of the Oghuz.
Siyah Kalem or 'Black Pen' is the name given to the 15th century school of painting attributed to Mehmed Siyah Kalem. Nothing is known of his life, but his work indicates that he was of Central Asian Turkic origin, and thoroughly familiar with camp and military life. The paintings appear in the 'Conqueror’s Albums', so named because two portraits of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror are present in one of them.<br/><br/> The albums are made up of miniatures taken from manuscripts of the 14th, 15th, and early 16th centuries, and one series of paintings is inscribed 'work of Master Muḥammad Siyah Kalem'. Something of the style and techniques of Chinese paintings is apparent in these, and an acquaintance with Buddhist art, particularly in the depictions of grotesque demonic figures.
Probably born in Venice around 1254 CE, Marco Polo was raised by his aunt and uncle after his mother died. His father, Niccolo, was a Venetian merchant who left before Marco was born to trade in the Middle East. Niccolo and his brother Maffeo passed through much of Asia and met with Mongol emperor Kublai Khan who reportedly invited them to be ambassadors. In 1269, Niccolo and Maffeo returned to Venice, meeting Marco for the first time.<br/><br/> In 1271, Marco Polo, aged 17, with his father and his uncle, set off for Asia, travelling through Constantinople, Baghdad, Persia, Kashgar, China and Burma. They returned to Venice 24 years and 15,000 miles later with many riches. Upon their return, Venice was at war with Genoa, and Marco Polo was imprisoned. He spent the few months of his imprisonment dictating his adventures to a fellow inmate, Rustichello da Pisa, who incorporated the tales into a book he called 'The Travels of Marco Polo'. The book documented the use of paper money and the burning of coal, and opened European eyes to the wonders of the East.
The Kingdom of Champasak (1713-1946) was a kingdom in southern Laos that broke away from the Lan Xang kingdom in 1713. Champasak prospered at the beginning of the 18th century, but was reduced to a vassal state of Siam before the century had passed. Under French rule the kingdom was known as Bassac and became an administrative block with its royalty stripped of many of its privileges. The Kingdom of Champasak was abolished in 1946 when the Kingdom of Laos was formed.
The Stieng people (Vietnamese: Xtieng) are an ethnic group of Vietnam and Cambodia that speak a Bahnaric language of Mon-Khmer roots. Most Stieng live in Binh Duong Province and Dong Nai Province in southeastern Vietnam. In Cambodia, they are grouped under the heading ‘Khmer Loeu’, referring to non-Khmer ethnic groups, or Degar peoples. Nowadays, many Stieng have converted to Christianity, though the total population of the group is estimated at just 6,000.
Kamal ud-Din Behzad Herawi (c. 1450 - c. 1535), also known as Kamal al-din Bihzad or Kamaleddin Behzad, was a painter of Persian miniatures and head of the royal ateliers in Herat and Tabriz during the late Timurid and early Safavid periods. An orphan, he was raised by the prominent painter Mirak Naqqash, and was a protege of Mir Ali Shir Nava'i. His major patron in Herat was the Timurid sultan Husayn Bayqarah (ruled 1469 - 1506).
Khwāja Shamsu d-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī (Persian: خواجه شمس‌الدین محمد حافظ شیرازی‎), known by his pen name Hāfez (1325/1326–1389/1390),was a Persian lyric poet. His collected works composed of series of Persian poetry (Divan) are to be found in the homes of most Persian speakers in Iran and Afghanistan, as well as elsewhere in the world, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day. His life and poems have been the subject of much analysis, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-fourteenth century Persian writing more than any other author.<br/><br/> Themes of his ghazals are the beloved, faith, and exposing hypocrisy. His influence in the lives of Iranians can be found in 'Hafez readings' (fāl-e hāfez, Persian: فال حافظ‎), frequent use of his poems in Persian traditional music, visual art and Persian calligraphy. His tomb in Shiraz is visited often. Adaptations, imitations and translations of Hafez' poems exist in all major languages.
Miniature painting on cloth of a man with an apparently recalcitrant Saluki hunting dog on a leash. Mid-16th century. Signed by Dost Muhammad.
Taiwanese aborigines (Chinese: yuánzhùmín; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gôan-chū-bîn; literally "original inhabitants") may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han Chinese immigration began in the 17th century. Taiwanese aborigines are Austronesian peoples, with linguistic and genetic ties to other Austronesian ethnic groups, such as peoples of the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Madagascar and Oceania. For centuries, Taiwan's aboriginal peoples experienced economic competition and military conflict with a series of colonizing peoples. Centralized government policies designed to foster language shift and cultural assimilation, as well as continued contact with the colonizers through trade, intermarriage and other dispassionate intercultural processes, have resulted in varying degrees of language death and loss of original cultural identity. Taiwan's Austronesian speakers were formerly distributed over much of the island's rugged central mountain range and were concentrated in villages along the alluvial plains. As of 2009, their total population was around 500,000 (approximately 2 percent of Taiwan's population).
Mehmed Siyah-Kalem was a 15th-century artist known solely by the attribution of his name to a remarkable series of paintings preserved in the Imperial Ottoman Palace Library (Topkapi Saray).<br/><br/> Nothing is known of his life, but his work indicates that he was of Central Asian (presumably Turkish) origin, probably from Iran or Turkestan, and thoroughly familiar with camp and military life. His paintings appear in the ‘Conqueror’s Albums’, so named because they contain two portraits of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror.
Khwāja Shamsu d-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī (Persian: خواجه شمس‌الدین محمد حافظ شیرازی‎), known by his pen name Hāfez (1325/1326–1389/1390),was a Persian lyric poet. His collected works composed of series of Persian poetry (Divan) are to be found in the homes of most Persian speakers in Iran and Afghanistan, as well as elsewhere in the world, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day. His life and poems have been the subject of much analysis, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-fourteenth century Persian writing more than any other author.<br/><br/> Themes of his ghazals are the beloved, faith, and exposing hypocrisy. His influence in the lives of Iranians can be found in 'Hafez readings' (fāl-e hāfez, Persian: فال حافظ‎), frequent use of his poems in Persian traditional music, visual art and Persian calligraphy. His tomb in Shiraz is visited often. Adaptations, imitations and translations of Hafez' poems exist in all major languages., Khwāja Shamsu d-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī (Persian: خواجه شمس‌الدین محمد حافظ شیرازی‎), known by his pen name Hāfez (1325/1326–1389/1390),was a Persian lyric poet. His collected works composed of series of Persian poetry (Divan) are to be found in the homes of most Persian speakers in Iran and Afghanistan, as well as elsewhere in the world, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day. His life and poems have been the subject of much analysis, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-fourteenth century Persian writing more than any other author.<br/><br/> Themes of his ghazals are the beloved, faith, and exposing hypocrisy. His influence in the lives of Iranians can be found in 'Hafez readings' (fāl-e hāfez, Persian: فال حافظ‎), frequent use of his poems in Persian traditional music, visual art and Persian calligraphy. His tomb in Shiraz is visited often. Adaptations, imitations and translations of Hafez' poems exist in all major languages.
Utagawa Hiroshige II (1826-1869) was the successor and pupil of ukiyo-e print-master Hiroshige, inheriting his name after his death in 1858. He married his master's daughter, though they divorced in 1865, after which he began using the name Kisai Rissho. His work is so similar to his master's that most scholars often confuse their prints.
Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram Shah Jahan I (1592 –1666), or Shah Jahan, from the Persian meaning ‘king of the world’, was the fifth Mughal ruler in India and a favourite of his legendary grandfather Akbar the Great.<br/><br/> He is best known for commissioning the ‘Phadshahnamah’ as a chronicle of his reign, and for the building of the Taj Mahal in Agra as a tomb for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Under Shah Jahan, the Mughal Empire attained its highest union of strength and magnificence. A war of succession to the Mughal throne ensued and the emperor's youngest son, the governor of Deccan, Abu Muzaffar Muhiuddin Awrangzeb, was the ultimate victor after deposing and imprisoning his father.
Emperor Xuande, 5th ruler of the Ming Dynasty (r. 1425-1435). Personal Name: Zhu Zhani, Zhū Zhānjī. Posthumous Name: Zhangdi, Zhāngdì. Temple Name: Xuanzong, Xuānzōng. Reign Name: Ming Xuandei, Ming Xuāndé.<br/><br/> The Xuande Emperor was Emperor of China (Ming Dynasty) between 1425–1435. His era name means 'Proclamation of Virtue'. The Xuande Emperor ruled over a remarkably peaceful time with no significant external or internal problems. Later historians have considered his reign to be the Ming dynasty's golden age.
The Admonitions Scroll is a Chinese narrative painting on silk that is traditionally ascribed to Gu Kaizhi (c.345-c.406 CE), but which modern scholarship regards as a 5th to 8th century work that may be a copy of an original Jin Dynasty (265–420 CE) court painting by Gu Kaizhi. The full title of the painting is Admonitions of the Court Instructress (Chinese: Nushi Zhentu). It was painted to illustrate a poetic text written in 292 by the poet-official Zhang Hua (232–300). The text itself was composed to reprimand Empress Jia (257–300) and to provide advice to imperial wives and concubines on how to behave. The painting illustrates this text with scenes depicting anecdotes about exemplary behaviour of historical palace ladies, as well as with more general scenes showing aspects of life as a palace lady. The painting is reputed to be the earliest extant example of a Chinese handscroll painting.
Khwāja Shamsu d-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī (Persian: خواجه شمس‌الدین محمد حافظ شیرازی‎), known by his pen name Hāfez (1325/1326–1389/1390),was a Persian lyric poet. His collected works composed of series of Persian poetry (Divan) are to be found in the homes of most Persian speakers in Iran and Afghanistan, as well as elsewhere in the world, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day. His life and poems have been the subject of much analysis, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-fourteenth century Persian writing more than any other author.<br/><br/> Themes of his ghazals are the beloved, faith, and exposing hypocrisy. His influence in the lives of Iranians can be found in 'Hafez readings' (fāl-e hāfez, Persian: فال حافظ‎), frequent use of his poems in Persian traditional music, visual art and Persian calligraphy. His tomb in Shiraz is visited often. Adaptations, imitations and translations of Hafez' poems exist in all major languages.
The Safavid dynasty (Persian: سلسلهٔ صفويان; Azerbaijani: صفویلر) was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning points in Muslim history. The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1722 (experiencing a brief restoration from 1729 to 1736) and at their height, they controlled all of modern Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Azerbaijan and Republic of Armenia, most of Iraq, Georgia, Afghanistan, and the Caucasus, as well as parts of Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Turkey. Safavid Iran was one of the Islamic 'gunpowder empires', along with its neighbours, the Ottoman and Mughal empires.<br/><br/> The Safavid dynasty had its origin in the Safaviyya Sufi order, which was established in the city of Ardabil in the Azerbaijan region. It was of mixed ancestry (Kurdish and Azerbaijani, which included intermarriages with Georgian and Pontic Greek dignitaries). From their base in Ardabil, the Safavids established control over all of Greater Iran and reasserted the Iranian identity of the region, thus becoming the first native dynasty since the Sassanid Empire to establish a unified Iranian state.<br/><br/> Despite their demise in 1736, the legacy that they left behind was the revival of Persia as an economic stronghold between East and West, the establishment of an efficient state and bureaucracy based upon 'checks and balances', their architectural innovations and their patronage for fine arts. The Safavids have also left their mark down to the present era by spreading Shi'a Islam in Iran, as well as major parts of the Caucasus, South Asia, Central Asia, and Anatolia.
Probably born in Venice around 1254 CE, Marco Polo was raised by his aunt and uncle after his mother died. His father, Niccolo, was a Venetian merchant who left before Marco was born to trade in the Middle East. Niccolo and his brother Maffeo passed through much of Asia and met with Mongol emperor Kublai Khan who reportedly invited them to be ambassadors. In 1269, Niccolo and Maffeo returned to Venice, meeting Marco for the first time.<br/><br/> In 1271, Marco Polo, aged 17, with his father and his uncle, set off for Asia, travelling through Constantinople, Baghdad, Persia, Kashgar, China and Burma. They returned to Venice 24 years and 15,000 miles later with many riches. Upon their return, Venice was at war with Genoa, and Marco Polo was imprisoned. He spent the few months of his imprisonment dictating his adventures to a fellow inmate, Rustichello da Pisa, who incorporated the tales into a book he called 'The Travels of Marco Polo'. The book documented the use of paper money and the burning of coal, and opened European eyes to the wonders of the East.
Emperor Jiajing, 12th ruler of the Ming Dynasty (r. 1521-1567). Personal Name: Zhu Houcong, Zhū Hòucōng. Posthumous Name: Sudi, Sùdì. Temple Name: Shizong, Shìzōng. Reign Name: Ming Jiajing, Ming Jiājìng.<br/><br/> The Jiajing Emperor was the 12th Ming Dynasty Emperor of China who ruled from 1521 to 1567. His era name means 'Admirable Tranquility'. After 45 years on the throne (the second longest reign in the Ming Dynasty), Emperor Jiajing died in 1567 – possibly due to mercury overdose – and was succeeded by his son, the Longqing Emperor. Though his long rule gave the dynasty an era of stability, Jiajing's neglect of his official duties resulted in the decline of the dynasty at the end of the 16th century.
Chinese scroll painting from 1280 by Liu Kuan-tao showing a camel caravan carrying carpets in the background with the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan hunting in foreground; note hunting cheetah on back of saddle.
Kiyomasa was one of the three senior commanders during the Seven-Year War (1592–1598) against the Korean dynasty of Joseon. Together with Konishi Yukinaga, he captured Seoul, Busan and many other crucial cities. He defeated the last Korean regulars in the Battle of Imjin River and pacified Hamgyong.
Bronze figurine of an Edo warrior with hunting leopard from the court of Benin, Nigeria, 16th century. The Benin Empire (1440–1897) was a pre-colonial African state in what is now modern Nigeria. It is not to be confused with the modern-day country called Benin (and formerly called Dahomey).
This fable by Luqman, well-known in Arabic and Turkish folk literature, is the moral story of a conceited stag that is very proud of his great antlers but ashamed of his skinny legs. One day, hunters chase him and he escapes thanks to his speed and his spindly legs, but runs between some trees. He becomes trapped in the branches of the trees due to his large antlers and is killed by the hunters.
The Karen are a major ethnic group of Burma, though several hundred thousand live in northern Thailand. Linguistically Tibeto-Burman, the Karen maintain a legend that dates them back to the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. There are several branches of Karen—the Red Karen (Karenni), Sgaw Karen and Pwo Karen. There is also the hilltribe of Padaung, better known as 'Long-neck Karen'. In present-day Myanmar, the Karen rebel army, the KNU, has continuously fought a bloody civil war with the central Burman government since 1948.
Bāburnāma (Chagatai/Persian: بابر نامہ;´, literally: 'Book of Babur' or 'Letters of Babur'; alternatively known as Tuzk-e Babri) is the name given to the memoirs of Ẓahīr ud-Dīn Muḥammad Bābur (1483-1530), founder of the Mughal Empire and a great-great-great-grandson of Timur. It is an autobiographical work, originally written in the Chagatai language, known to Babur as 'Turki' (meaning Turkic), the spoken language of the Andijan-Timurids.<br/><br/> Because of Babur's cultural origin, his prose is highly Persianized in its sentence structure, morphology, and vocabulary, and also contains many phrases and smaller poems in Persian. During Emperor Akbar's reign, the work was completely translated to Persian by a Mughal courtier, Abdul Rahīm, in AH 998 (1589-90 CE).
Akbar (Urdu: جلال الدین محمد اکبر , Hindi: जलालुद्दीन मुहम्मद अकबर, Jalāl ud-Dīn Muhammad Akbar), also known as Shahanshah Akbar-e-Azam or Akbar the Great (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), was the third Mughal Emperor. He was of Timurid descent; the son of Emperor Humayun, and the grandson of Emperor Babur, the ruler who founded the Mughal dynasty in India. At the end of his reign in 1605 the Mughal empire covered most of the northern and central India.<br/><br/> Akbar was thirteen years old when he ascended the Mughal throne in Delhi (February 1556), following the death of his father Humayun. During his reign, he eliminated military threats from the powerful Pashtun descendants of Sher Shah Suri, and at the Second Battle of Panipat he decisively defeated the newly self-declared Hindu king Hemu. It took him nearly two more decades to consolidate his power and bring all the parts of northern and central India into his direct realm. He dominated the whole of the Indian Subcontinent and he ruled the greater part of it as emperor. As an emperor, Akbar solidified his rule by pursuing diplomacy with the powerful Hindu Rajput caste, and by marrying Rajput princesses.<br/><br/> Akbar's reign significantly influenced art and culture in the country. He was a distinguished patron of art and architecture. He took a great interest in painting, and had the walls of his palaces adorned with murals. Besides encouraging the development of the Mughal school, he also patronised the European style of painting. He was fond of literature, and had several Sanskrit works translated into Persian and Persian scriptures translated in Sanskrit, in addition to having many Persian works illustrated by painters from his court.<br/><br/> During the early years of his reign, he showed an intolerant attitude towards Hindus and other religions, but later exercised tolerance towards non-islamic faiths. His administration included numerous Hindu landlords, courtiers and military generals. He began a series of religious debates where Muslim scholars would debate religious matters with Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians and Portuguese Roman Catholic Jesuits. He treated these religious leaders with great consideration, irrespective of their faith, and revered them.<br/><br/> Akbar not only granted lands and money for the mosques but the list of the recipients included a huge number of Hindu temples in north and central India, Christian churches in Goa and a land grant to the newly born Sikh faith for the construction of a place of worship. The famous Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab is constructed on the same site.