Biographies of the Moghul Emperors

Humayun's youngest sister was named Gulbadan, meaning 'the rose-body Princess'. When Gulbadan was over sixty years of age, Akbar requested her to write down all that she remembered of her father, Babar, as well as the events of her brother's life. Gulbadan was both a scholar and a poet. Her biography of Humayun was called Humayun-nama, and it is a most vivid and accurate account of the Emperor Humayun's life.

At the same time, Akbar asked his greatest friend, Abu'l Fazl, to write his own biography, and thus the famous Akbar-nama came to be written. It was illustrated with beautiful miniature paintings by the court artists.