from Babarnama
Akbar Period
16th century AD
Born in Ferghana near Samarkand, Babar invaded India four times before he met Ibrahim Lodi on the battlefield of Panipat on 12th April 1525. It was a battle between two unequal forces. Ibrahim with his army of one lac soldiers and one thousand elephants. Babar with his twenty thousand soldiers and his canons. The battle lasted till the evening. The canons had won the day. By the evening, Ibrahim was lying dead amongst his thirty thousand dead soldiers. Indian history took a u-turn. The Mughals had arrived.
This painting depicts the movement of Babar's army. The artist has masterfully captured the thrust, the movement of the army. With cattle drums beating in the background, with the canons lined in the front, the cavalry charges towards an unseen enemy. The archers draw their bows, the naked swords flash through the battlefield. Babar rides his black capricioned horse in the centre of the painting. He leads his troops into the din of the battlefield.
Of course the painter has taken a few artistic licence: He has paintes hills and knolls, when the fact is that the battlefield of Panipat is a flat land. But nonetheless, this is one of the best paintings of Babarnama. It depicts a turning point of our history.
This painting depicts the movement of Babar's army. The artist has masterfully captured the thrust, the movement of the army. With cattle drums beating in the background, with the canons lined in the front, the cavalry charges towards an unseen enemy. The archers draw their bows, the naked swords flash through the battlefield. Babar rides his black capricioned horse in the centre of the painting. He leads his troops into the din of the battlefield.
Of course the painter has taken a few artistic licence: He has paintes hills and knolls, when the fact is that the battlefield of Panipat is a flat land. But nonetheless, this is one of the best paintings of Babarnama. It depicts a turning point of our history.
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