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That seems to be Babar the 5th generation descendent of Timur and the founder of Mughal dynasty in India. The trees are still very stylized and persian in nature.

Pulin Trivedi : You are right...it is the image of Babur.

Babur was a child prodigy in the art and science of war. He had won and lost Samarkand - Timur's Capital - 3 times before he was 17, last time to his cousin Shaibani Khan and finally turned towards Kabul and then on to India.

Babar founded the Mughal dynasty in India in 1526 that lasted till 1857. The 1st 6 Emperors are known as The Great Mughals and the rest of 11 that followed were the weak kings, often known as Mini Mughals. Babar defined the value of Koh-i-Noor diamond as, "This kind of gems cannot be bought or sold. They are either taken by the flash of the sword or received as gifts. But if it could be sold, then the proceeds from the sale, would feed the world population for 2½ day."

Pulin: You seem to be referring to the great diamond that was presented by the mother of Raja Bikramjeet (?) of Gwalior to Prince Humayun when he entered victorious over Sultan Ibrahim Lodi in Agra (around 1526), and later handed it over like an obedient son to Emperor Babur. Yes, Babur does write admiringly about the quality of this great diamond in Babur- Nama, but it is not clear if that was the actual Koh-i-Noor diamond. There is equally strong evidence that the Koh-i-Noor was a diamond recovered from the Golcunda mines, taken by Mir Jumla while in the service of the King of Golcunda, and presented later to Emperor Shah Jahan. After changing many hands (Nadir Shah, Maharaja Ranjeet Singh), it is now the property of Her Majesty the Queen of the U.K.

That is right, Asad. The same. My info is that Humayun found it in the treasury of Sultan Ibrahim Lodi at Sikandra where he captured the treasure and escorted back the royal Ladies of Lodi with full honour. UPon reaching Babar, he presented it to Babar who after making the above remark, returned it to Humayun.

Pulin: You ae right that Babur did return the diamond to Humayun. Since both Sultan Itbrahim Lodi and Raja Bikramjit were killed in the Battle of Panipat, things were in total disarray and there was complete panic in Agra. Babur had sent Humayun to enter Agra with a Mughal detachment. Humayun treated the royal ladies with respect, but the mother of Raja Bikramjit was very nervous. It was then that she presented an exquisite diamond to Humayun for safe passage. I believe they were escorted back to Gwalior with all respect. Even the Queen mother of Ibrahim Lodi was treated with respect on special instruction by Babur. Therefore, it is surprising that the same ex-Queen tried to poison Babur by conspiring with two cooks. Babur ate some of the poisoned food, quickly realized that there was something wrong, ordered a test on dogs, and the cooks - who admitted the conspiracy - were severely punished (executed in a horrible way). Ibrahim Lodi was buried somewhere near the battlefield but his grave has not been traced. The other noteworthy point here is that both the Afghan King and the Hindu Raja fought together against the invading Mughals. But the Mughal tactics at the battlefiled were far superior.

Gostaria muito de voltar ao Punjab e descobriressa fantástica biblioteca.Will be great to discoverthat fabulous library,Namaskar!

My information re Koh-i-Noor comes from The Great Mughals by Bamber Gascoigne. I am aware of the poisoning of Babar and the deaths of Khansamas. Re the Battle tactics of Babar at Panipat, please see the note below that I had uploaded on Airawat Tours Pvt Ltd's Page on FB under NOTES where I put upload "What Happened in History Today" notes almost on daily basis. The below was written in response to a query raised by one of the reader: On 20APR1526, Babar – 5th generation direct descendent of Timur-i-Lang – faced Ibrahim Lodi the Sultan of Delhi at Panipat. Babar with his 15,000 battle-hardened troops – mostly light and fast moving cavalry - met Ibrahim Lodi with an army of 100,000 including the phalanx of elephants, dreaded in the war, with swords tied to their tusks. Since both were camped against each other for a few days, Babar had observed Imperial Army and devised his strategy. Babar had “borrowed” the bullock carts from the neighbouring villages and had lashed them together in front of his army to offer a barricade to the Imperial army. Over and above this he had also borrowed buffaloes and camels from the same villagers. On 19APR1526, his soldiers went out to the open grounds and sprinkled ‘caltrops’ (4-5 pronged metal objects that would always have 1 prong pointing towards the sky when thrown on the ground) and driven pointed wooden stakes in the ground with the pointed ends facing Lodi’s army. On 20th April, Babar cavalry sent out through the carts as if to attack the enemy and seeing this Ibrahim Lodi advanced his dreaded elephants forward who were goaded by their mahouts into a run. Feigning fear, the cavalry wheeled back and pretended to retreat and were let in through the carts by unlashing them and then carts lashed back again. The elephants lumbered on to overwhelm Babar small army but soon started stepping on the caltrops and shrieking in pain. Those that avoided the caltrops were effectively stopped by the pointed wooden stakes and stopped in the middle of their tracks. This was the moment Babar was waiting for and he let out the buffaloes and the camels with bundles of burning hay tied on their back who ran straight out towards the Lodi elephants and the army to get away from the fire on their back. Seeing this and sensing the tension of the animals, the elephants turned around and started running towards their own army, causing a great havoc and lot of casualties. Now Babar split this cavalry which went on the left and the right of the Lodi army – which was already under the onslaught of their own elephants - making a 2-pronged attack which the Imperial army could not withstand and were annihilated. Ibrahim Lodi too, died in the battle field that day. Thus Babar with his 15,000 defeated Ibrahim Lodi with his 100,000.

Thank you for the excellent account of this battle...Pulin Trivedi !

You are most welcome RBSI. The knowledge is meant for sharing and not patenting. You are doing a great job yourself. Hats off to you guys.

A lucid, first-hand account of the Battle at Panipat is given by Emperor Babar himself in the 'Babur-Nama' (which generally agrees with Pulin's description). The only variance is that the diamond was presented to Prince Humayun by the Rani of Gwalior and there is no mention of Sikandra - just Agra. I suspect Sikandra was just a new city (having been founded by Sultan Sikander Lodi only a few years earlier) and there was no Fort yet (still there is no trace of a Fort in Sikandra, as far as I can remember). On the other hand, there was a Fort in Agra. I have the recollection that Akbar built the Agra Fort on the foundation of an ancient Fort that was there. Another problem with Ibrahim Lodi was that the Afghans were divided, and one of the Lodis had encouraged Babur to invade India. Reminds me of Raja Jaichund of Kannauj! Babur's great advantage was the tactics he used in the battlefield. He used a similar tactic at the Battle of Kanua where his 10,000 troops faced 200,000 troops from all over Rajputana (13 brave Rajas + Husain Khan Mewati, and another Lodi). One has to visit the battlefield at Kanua to fully appreciate the tactic used by Babur at the Battle of Kanua. (I was lucky to do so two years ago.) Even Babur's astrologer had predicted defeat from the Rajputs, but he turned the tide. After the Battle, Babur called him in, rewarded him generously, then fired him, and sent him back to Kabul.

Great Asad! I did mention Sikandra because it was founded by Sikander Lodi who preceded Ibrahim Lodi. You are right about the Agra Fort. Akbar started its construction on the same site where another fort existed viz. Badalgarh. You are also absolutely right about one of the Lodis who invited Babar to attack the Delhi Sultanate. His name misses me but he was appointed as Governor of Punjab by Ibrahim Lodi. The battle ground of Kanua (Khanua), is at the back of where Fatehpur Sikri stands today. Fatehpur Sikri stands on a rocky, boat-shaped outcrop.

The name of the Lodi who invited Babar to attack Ibrahim Lodi, it jsut came to me a moment ago and hence this rejoinder. He was Daulat Khan Lodi, the Governor of Punjab. The boat shaped rocky outcrop on which stands Fatehpur Sikri today is about 90 meters long. Being red sand-stone, the water had to be brought from the fields below, and for this a series of wells were constructed at different heights, on top of which the persian wheels operated to haul up the water, 90' above the fields to Fatehpur Sikri. This series of wells are visible even today from the rear gate of Fatehpur Sikri that overlooks the caravan sarai at 11 O'clock and Hiran Minar in front.

Thank you, Pulin. You are right, that was Daulat Khan Lodi, the Governor of Punjab. The road from Fatehpur Sikri to Kanwa is the worst rocky road I have ever driven on - even in India. I had terrible pain in my back for several days, but the trip was exhilarating. Next time I go there, I would examine the Chhatri of every brave Rajput Raja who fell in that battle; I could count 11 of them from the high stony ridge. It is a shame that the baoli Babur built (for travellers between Agra and Bayana) to commemorate his amazing victory is now full of sand on which a beri (Zizyphus jujuba) bush is growing. This is also the spot where Babur took an oath never to drink wine again, had salt added to the stock of wine and had it poured on the ground, and discarded all golden utensils used for drinking and had them distributed among the poor. That was on the evening before the actual battle when his troops were terribly nervous and ready to quit. Next day, he came out victorious and fired the astrologer who had scared the Mughal troops. The only leader who escaped the battlefield alive was Raja Sangram Singh (Rana Sanga). I believe he was from Chittor.

Thanks Asad for the information on the Chhatris and the baoli. I'll visit the spot the next time I am on a private visit to Sikri. Yes Rana Sanga was from Chittore and was the Sisodiya Rajput.

Thank you, Pulin. India is fascinating for its history. Fatehpur Sikri has become exceedingly commercialized and the unofficial 'guides' take tourists around telling them inaccurate historical tales. Many of our problems would disappear if we knew history truthfully and accurately since it has been twisted to serve special interests. You are lucky that you are close to all those interesting places!