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The place of letters in the composition of "Baburnama"
Sayyora KAZAKOVA
1
Namangan State University
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Article history:
Received March 2025
Received in revised form
10
April 2025
Accepted 2 April 2025
Available online
25 May 2025
This article discusses the place of letters in the history of our
literature, the letters written by Zahiriddin Muhammad Babur
and included in "Baburnama", their content, and their place in
the composition of the work.
2181-3701
/©
2025 in Science LLC.
https://doi.org/10.47689/2181-3701-vol3-iss5
This is an open-access article under the Attribution 4.0 International
(CC BY 4.0) license (
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.ru
Keywords:
letter,
composition,
love letters,
letters expressing family
relationships,
diplomatic letters,
letters reflecting social
relationships.
Xatlarning “Boburnoma” tarkibidagi o‘rni
ANNOTATSIYA
Kalit so‘zlar
:
xat,
kompozitsiya,
sevgi maktublari,
oilaviy munosabatlarni
ifodalovchi xatlar,
diplomatik xatlar,
ijtimoiy munosabatlarni aks
ettiruvchi xatlar.
Ushbu maqolada xatlarning adabiyotimiz tarixidagi
o‘rni, Zahiriddin Muhammad Bobur qalamiga mansub
“Boburnoma”ga kiritilgan maktublar, ularning mazmuni va asar
kompozitsiyasidagi o‘rni haqida so‘z boradi.
1
Researcher, Namangan State University. E-mail: sayyora19900309@gmail.com
Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
–
Зарубежная лингвистика
и лингводидактика
–
Foreign Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Special Issue
–
5 (2025) / ISSN 2181-3701
448
Место писем в композиции «Бабурнаме»
АННОТАЦИЯ
Ключевые слова:
письмо,
композиция,
любовные письма,
письма,
выражающие семейные
отношения,
дипломатические письма,
письма, отражающие
общественные отношения
.
В данной статье рассматривается место писем в истории
нашей литературы, письма, написанные Захириддином
Мухаммадом Бабуром и вошедшие в «Бабурнаме», их
содержание и их место в составе произведения.
INTRODUCTION
Letters, which are important in the history of human life, also occupy a large place
in the history of our literature, which is the art of speech. Because it is through letters
that it is possible to convey thoughts that cannot be expressed face to face, especially
expressions of the heart. But in addition to the love letters, the word "Baburnama" that
we analyzed also contains letters with important socio-political and educational content.
The work "Baburnama" is also of great importance today in this respect.
LITERATURE ANALYSIS
If we look at the history of letters, the first appearance of letters in Central Asian
written sources is a letter from the Mug' Mountain documents, which is part of the
Sogdian written sources, marked with the number A-14, which is considered an example
of diplomatic letters. It continues in the form of "An appeal to His Excellency, our great
support, the Sogdian king, the governor of Samarkand Devashtich, from his most
indifferent slave Fatufarn". According to V.A. Livshitsin, the letter is said to have been
written in 712-714 [1;321].
Mahmud Kashgari, in his work “Devonu lug‘otit
-
turk”,
explains the word irqish, saying that “it is also used in the meaning of letter, letter”
[1;17]. Also, when Mahmud Kashgari explains the word koshug, the lyrical hero sends a
letter to Turkon Khotun, stating that “his servant is ready for service”
[1;357]. Yusuf Khos
Hajib’s work “Kutadgu bilig” writes that Kuntugdi sent a letter to Uzgurmish, who was
living a
hermit’s life in a cave on the mountain, and decided to meet and talk with him.
This letter from Kuntugdi is also a form of a letter. In general, letters played an important
role in the everyday, spiritual and cultural life of the peoples of Central Asia. It can also be
observed that they were one of the main means of communication (exchange of
information). The letter is also expressed in the old Uzbek language by the word
bildirguluk. In the epic poem “Oguznoma”, Oguz Khagan demands bildirguluk, that is,
submission and tribute, from the rulers of all countries. Thus, it can be said that the forms
of expressing the message that arose due to certain needs also formed the basis for the
formation of the letter. Eastern scholars paid special attention to the genre of letters. The
scholar A. Orinbayev, who is engaged in the study of letters, chooses the letters of
Abdurakhmon Jomi, collected in his time in “Ruqa’ot”, as the object of his research. As a
result of his in-depth study of them, he notes that the letter genre reached the peak of its
development in the 14th-15th centuries [3]. This genre, especially in the work of Alisher
Navoi, reached a new stage of development, and the letter began to be used as an
independent literary genre. Navoi's letters to his contemporaries are collected in the
Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
–
Зарубежная лингвистика
и лингводидактика
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Foreign Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Special Issue
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5 (2025) / ISSN 2181-3701
449
collection "Munshaot" ("Essays") [4]. These two examples, the letter and the letter, are
recognized by literary critics as leading examples for the epistolary literature of the 14th-
15th centuries. A. Orinbayev and M. Hasanov, in their treatise "Letters of Navoi's
Contemporaries", reviewed the letters addressed to Navoi and confirmed that the letters
are truly a window into history. Studying the letters collected in the Munshaot not only
helps to study the economic, political, and cultural aspects of any state or country, but is
also very useful in revealing the activities and spiritual world of individual individuals as
figures [5].
In this article, we have analyzed the letters written by Babur and included in the
"Baburnama" and which are of great importance, and tried to determine their place in the
composition of the work.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In this article, the letters in the "Baburnama" were analyzed based on the
structural method, and the place of these letters in the plot and composition of the work
was determined.
ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
Babur also included several of his letters in the "Baburnama". They are significant
as examples of the literary form of the letter in Uzbek literature. The thoughts and
teachings expressed in these letters are also important because they have a general
educational content. They are also of particular importance in the composition of the
work. The scholar Kh. Abdulkhamidova, who studied the letter genre, divides the letters
in the work into 4 content groups: 1) love letters, 2) letters expressing family
relationships; 3) diplomatic letters; 4) letters reflecting social relations [6].
Two letters addressed to Humayun are presented in full in “Baburnama”
[7;243-
244]. Both the content and the form of these letters belong to the second group of letters
classified by Kh. Abdulhamidova, because the letter presented in the work is a letter from
a father to his son, and is very instructive. This letter, presented in “Baburnama” is an
excellent example of a letter expressing family relations. The introductory part of the
letter is not long, but rather very concise. The father greets his son, expressing his
longing for him. “Having longed for Humayun and greeted him with greetings,” after
which the main part of the story begins. The father informs his son that his people have
arrived. He reports that he received the letters and documents sent by his son and
became acquainted with the situation: “...from the letters and conversations, the mood
and sit
uation in that and this face became specific and known.”
When the father learned that Humayun had a son and that the boy had been named
Al’amon, he wrote to express his mood:
Thank you, my true son,
You are my son and my heart.
This letter discusses two groups of issues. The first is the relationship between
father and son, family relations; the second is the issues of state governance, what
qualities a person who rules over the state should have. In this letter, Babur appears as a
caring, kind, but demanding father and educator, an intelligent, resourceful and
experienced statesman.
The words written in this letter were the plans of King Babur. The fact that orders
were issued to Kamran and the beks in Kabul is also evidence of this. But Humayun could
not carry out these plans.
Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
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In this letter, Babur's thoughts on the rules of governance are very important.
There are two issues in this.
The first concerns the personality of the king. The king should be energetic and
warlike. Self-interest and laziness are not suitable for a king. Therefore, Babur, while
expressing his plans to Humayun in the form of a decree, encourages him to be
courageous and determined. Babur writes to his son: "By the grace of God, you will
conquer the mountains, take provinces, make friends happy and enemies ashamed, God
willing. This is your place to risk your lives and cut your sword. Do not neglect the work
that has come to you. Idleness and laziness are not compatible with kingship." The king
must always be among the people, work in harmony with them. The letter condemns
Humayun's feeling of loneliness. Babur says that the king's loneliness is a fault.
"And in your letters, you say loneliness, loneliness, how can you say that it is a fault
of the king?
If your feet are busy, put your satisfaction before you,
And if you are a lonely rider, go your own way.
(Meaning: If your feet are busy, put your satisfaction before you, if you are a lonely
rider, go your own way. That is, if you are attached to the world, be content with
everything that comes to you; if you are not attached to anything, do not stray from your
path, go your own way.
The inclusion of these poems in the letter serves both to confirm the ideas
expressed and to increase their impact. At the same time, the poem is well remembered.
Therefore, Humayun can remember these poems and strengthen his father's advice in his
mind. Also, the division of poetic fragments into letters or various other statements
makes this statement more elegant, making it easier to read and understand. Babur,
continuing to explain the rules of kingship to his son Humayun, first advises him to ally
with his brothers. Babur had previously informed him that Kamran (Humayun's brother)
had been ordered to come to his brother and participate in the planned campaigns. Now
he reminds his son of the rule established regarding the division of the conquered lands
between him and his brother Kamran: “You knew that this rule was always the rule: Six
shares were for you, five for Kamran. Always keep this rule and do no
t encroach on it.”
This is the rule regarding the service relationship between brothers. Now, the most
important thing is the relationship between the two brothers. The father treats both sons
equally. But Humayun is older. Therefore, Babur reminds Humayun that he is older and
writes that he should be patient and resilient: “The great ones need to rise, I hope that
you will also make a good conflict.”
Again, the father tries to present his younger son in a
good light in front of his brother, writing that Kamran is a good, honest young man and
expressing confidence that he will treat Humayun well and be united with him. “He has
also raised a good and honest young man, and he will not fail in his service and unity.”
From the contents of this letter, it is clear that Babur is giving his son Humayun
guidance in the affairs of state management, in what a king should be like. Again, as a
loving father, he expresses good feelings for him. As the head of a large family, he teaches
him how to deal with his younger brothers. He also expresses his resentment towards
him regarding the relationship between father and son. As an educator-pedagogue, he
teaches about spelling, naming, and writing style. As a statesman, he issues decrees on
major state affairs. Babur did not i
nclude this letter in the “Baburnama” by chance. The
ideas expressed in it are important for all readers. By publishing this letter, Babur is
probably conveying this noble education to entire generations.
Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
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In the “Baburnoma”, Babur says that after the lette
r written to Humayun, he also
sent letters with the same content to Kamron and Khoja Kalon. “I wrote letters to Kamron
and Khoja Kalon with this content and my own attention”
[7,244].
There is another letter that appears in the composition of the “Baburnama”. That
letter is also a letter to Humayun. This letter has socio-political significance. Although this
letter also expresses family relations, it can be said that it is a letter that embodies
diplomatic relations with socio-political significance in terms of its subject matter. Babur
wrote it when he was in places such as Murii and Adusa. We read in this regard in the
"Baburnama": "On Wednesday, the first day of the month of Jumada, Atawadin moved
from the city, arrived at Murii and Adusa for eight days, went down to Kabul, and wrote
some letters in this country" [7;248]. It is noteworthy that Babur sent a copy of the letter
written to Khoja Kalon along with the letter to Humayun. ("In order to make it clear that
some of the moods were written to Khoja Kalon, the letter was written in the same way").
The purpose of this, as Babur himself said, was to warn Humayun about the
contents of the letter written to Khoja Kalon, and at the same time, perhaps, to convey to
Humayun through the letter written to Khoja Kalon the lessons that should have been
conveyed to him directly. Because such indirect delivery would not be a burden to the
prince's self-esteem.
The copy of the letter to Humayun in the "Baburnama" is not very large. However,
the letter to Khoja Kalon is much larger. First of all, Babur's son orders Humayun to
protect the country from thieves and robbers, so that the peace process is not harmed. He
also informs that the Kabul province has been made a halisa. None of the sons should try
to get into this province. He also states that the same thing was said in the letter to
Kamran.
Humayun's informing about the contents of the letter to Kamran may have been
done in order to warn him at a higher level about the contents of both official and
personal documents. So that the spoilers do not intervene and cause discord. After that,
Babur sends Humayun a copy of his letter to Khoja Kalon.
In the letter written by Babur to Khoja Kalon, Babur again writes about the halisa
of Kabul. He describes this province. He expresses his thoughts on state affairs. He gives
specific instructions on how to improve Kabul.
Khoja Kalon urges him to give up drinking, writing: “You too repent. Conversation
and drinking are pleasant, and you drink wine with your companion and companion. If
your companion and companions are Sherahmat and Haydarkuli, then this kind of
repentance is not bad at all [
7;250]”. The letter was written on the first day of the month
of Jumul (935/1528).
After Babur concluded this letter, he wrote, “These words of
advice have greatly
affected me when they are finished.” When they brought him a melon, “I cut it and ate it,
and it had a strange effect. I was crying all the time,” he wrote at the beginning of the
letter. When he promised not to drink wine again, “I wo
uld reach the point of crying from
the desire for wine.”
These show how impressionable and sensitive Babur was.
Babur does not use letters in his work "Baburnama" without a purpose. Letters
expressing family relationships were a tool for the writer to illuminate the image of the
family environment, while they served to purely describe the relationships of the
characters. Through these letters, Babur informs the reader about certain events and
expresses his attitude to them.
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At a time when Shaybani Khan was threatening Khorasan, a letter came to Babur
from Husayn Bayqara. Copies of this letter were also sent to Badiuzzaman Mirza,
Khisrawshah and Zunnun. Babur calls it "a sign from afar." After such an ironic
assessment, Babur announces the content of the letter. In it, Husayn Bayqara recalls that
he had closed the Murghab pass, which was a threat from the north. Even now, if
Shaybani Khan marches, he writes that he will block the Murghab pass. He orders
Badiuzzaman to place men in Balkh, Shoburgan, and Andhud, while he himself blocks
Gurzvan and Darai Zang. He advises Babur to place men in Kohmard and Ajar, and
Khisrawshah to place men in Hisar and Kunduz, while he and his younger brother Vali
block Badakhshan and Khatlan. Babur openly expresses his negative attitude to this
letter. In Babur's opinion, the great king who ascended the throne instead of Temurbek
was Husayn Baykara. If he had gone on the defensive instead of attacking the enemy,
would there have been any hope left between the people and the ulus? Instead, Sultan
Husayn Baykara concludes that if he had issued the following orders: “Build a ship in the
districts of Tirmiz, Kilif and Karki, prepare this amount of bridge equipment, and take
good care of the upper Toqquz Olim districts”
[7;103], the people would have been
encouraged.
The work contains another letter sent by Babur to Shohbek and Mukim. Its content
is quoted in the “Baburnama”: “We came on your word, a foreigner like Uzbek has taken
Khorasan, come! What a welcome, if there is a good state, we should decide on your
alliance and meritorious deeds”
[7;156]. They gave rude answers. Again, Shohbek
stamped a place in the middle of the letter written to Babur that did not belong to him.
Because of this impudence, Shohbek got into trouble.
Another letter was sent by Babur's wife, Mahim, asking for permission to take the
child she was about to give birth to into her care. Babur responded to this letter, gave
Hindol to Mahim, and after the letters were written, sent Yusuf Ali, the scribe, to Kabul.
The reader will undoubtedly ask why Babur used so many letters in the work. As scholar
Kh. Abdulhamidova said: "Letters are a force in a work of art that reflects the vitality of
the work, the truthfulness of inner experiences, and the clarity of human emotions. They
perform several functions in the composition of the work, such as a node, solution, detail,
and problem" [6].
CONCLUSIONS
From the above considerations, it can be seen that the letters cited in the work,
first of all, provide information about the events of that period, the character of the
heroes, and secondly, help to reveal the bright spots of Babur's life, to determine his
character traits. They also ensure the perfection of the composition of the work.
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Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
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Зарубежная лингвистика
и лингводидактика
–
Foreign Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Special Issue
–
5 (2025) / ISSN 2181-3701
453
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