Babar the Conqueror (1483-1530) was a descendant of Tamerlane and Genghis Khan, who founded the Mughal (Mogul) dynasty of India and, although a devout Muslim, bequeathed a legacy of toleration for non-Muslims that characterized the Empire at its zenith.

"Strange and engrossing" was Sir Wolseley Haig's description of Babar's early life. A descendant on his father's side of the great conqueror Tamerlane and on his mother's of the Mongol overlord Genghis Khan, Babar (also known as Zahir-ud-din Muhammed Babur) inherited the legacy of division and war that had followed in these great conqueror's wakes. Tamerlane's central Asian Empire lay divided into a number of separate city-states ruled over by his Timurid descendants, who styled themselves princes and constantly fought to enlarge their domains. The cities and towns, ruled by local potentates, dominated their surrounding countryside thus giving each populated community a strategic importance which grew as they continually...