Status in the Court of the Babur-nama
(55th Meeting, 2012)
Social hierarchy is important in many ways. It positions the individual in a social or accepted structure and gives the individual certain rules and rights to perform. Without a social hierarchy and its enforcement and acceptance civil society would fragment and degenerate in to anarchy.
In the 16th century Central Asia, social hierarchy was a product of tradition and convention. Contemporary decent had a historical foundation and was deliberated in the present and carried through into the future. This paper looks at the premier source for 16th century Central Asia, the Babur-nama; a diary of a boy King who described life in the court, in the army, on the battle-field and in his anxieties and concern over moral decline. The paper identifies and uses textual analysis to examine examples of a number of social hierarchies. In conclusion the paper examines itself and makes note of its achievements and failures.