Babur was born in Andijan (in modern Uzbekistan) and became the first Mogul Emperor of India. He was a keen student of natural history and a life-long garden maker. His interests are known from his autobiography. His influence on design history came through his own work and his descendents, who ruled India until deposed by the British. Of Turkic descent, from Genghis Khan and Timur Tamerlane, the Mogul dynasty brought about a fusion of the Islamic design ideas from Persia and the ancient Buddhist-Hindu love of geometry. Babur's son (Humayun, 530-1556) was buried in the oldest Mogul tomb garden. Babur's grandson (Akbar, 1556-1605) laid out Fatehpur Sikri and the Fort at Agra. Babur's great-grandson (Jahangir 1605-1627) and his wife, laid out Shalamar Bagh in Kashmir. Babur's great-great-grandson (Shah Jahan,1628-1658) made the most famous of all Mughal gardens: the Taj Mahal. Though described as Mughal, the type of gardens they made also merits the description Timurid.
Gardens designed by Babur, Zahiruddin Muhammad
