What do you think?
Rate this book
Vagabond Princess: The Great Adventures of Gulbadan
A captivating biography of one of the world’s greatest adventurers, the itinerant Mughal Princess Gulbadan, based on her long-forgotten memoir
Situated in the early decades of the magnificent Mughal Empire, this first ever biography of Princess Gulbadan offers an enthralling portrait of a charismatic adventurer and unique pictures of the multicultural society in which she lived. Following a migratory childhood that spanned Kabul and north India, Gulbadan spent her middle years in a walled harem established by her nephew Akbar to showcase his authority as the Great Emperor. Gulbadan longed for the exuberant itinerant lifestyle she’d known. With Akbar’s blessing, she led an unprecedented sailing and overland voyage and guided harem women on an extended pilgrimage in Arabia. Amid increasing political tensions, the women’s “un-Islamic” behavior forced their return, lengthened by a shipwreck in the Red Sea.
Gulbadan wrote a book upon her return, the only extant work of prose by a woman of her times. A portion of it is missing, either lost to history or redacted by officials who did not want the princess to have her say.
Vagabond Princess contemplates the story of the missing pages and breathes new life into a daring historical figure. It offers a portal to a richly complex world, rife with movement and migration, where women’s conviviality, adventure, and autonomies shine through.
Situated in the early decades of the magnificent Mughal Empire, this first ever biography of Princess Gulbadan offers an enthralling portrait of a charismatic adventurer and unique pictures of the multicultural society in which she lived. Following a migratory childhood that spanned Kabul and north India, Gulbadan spent her middle years in a walled harem established by her nephew Akbar to showcase his authority as the Great Emperor. Gulbadan longed for the exuberant itinerant lifestyle she’d known. With Akbar’s blessing, she led an unprecedented sailing and overland voyage and guided harem women on an extended pilgrimage in Arabia. Amid increasing political tensions, the women’s “un-Islamic” behavior forced their return, lengthened by a shipwreck in the Red Sea.
Gulbadan wrote a book upon her return, the only extant work of prose by a woman of her times. A portion of it is missing, either lost to history or redacted by officials who did not want the princess to have her say.
Vagabond Princess contemplates the story of the missing pages and breathes new life into a daring historical figure. It offers a portal to a richly complex world, rife with movement and migration, where women’s conviviality, adventure, and autonomies shine through.
280 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2024
30 people are currently reading
610 people want to read
About the author
Ruby Lal
9 books58 followersRuby Lal is professor of South Asian history at Emory University. She is the author of Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan, Domesticity and Power in the Early Mughal World, and Coming of Age in Nineteenth Century India: The Girl-Child and the Art of Playfulness.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
February 5, 2024
Did you ever party so hard you got kicked out of an entire city? Well, Gulbadan did. Ok, not entirely. It wasn't for partying but she did get kicked out of a city.
Gulbadan is the titular character in Ruby Lal's Vagabond Princess. As the title suggests, Gulbadan was a princess and she did a fair bit of traveling. Along the way, she spends time with her own family members who are part of what was the Mughal Empire.
One thing which is important to note is that I would hesitate to call this a biography of Galbadan and leave it at that. As with much of history, we have lost quite a bit of it and women's lives were not especially documented on top of that. Very often, this would make me like a book less. However, Lal does an amazing amount of research and fills in many of the historical gaps with other stories or flourishes about the world Gulbadan lived in. Lal does exceptional work and makes this story feel complete even while there are a maddening amount of gaps in Gulbadan's full life.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Yale University Press.)
Gulbadan is the titular character in Ruby Lal's Vagabond Princess. As the title suggests, Gulbadan was a princess and she did a fair bit of traveling. Along the way, she spends time with her own family members who are part of what was the Mughal Empire.
One thing which is important to note is that I would hesitate to call this a biography of Galbadan and leave it at that. As with much of history, we have lost quite a bit of it and women's lives were not especially documented on top of that. Very often, this would make me like a book less. However, Lal does an amazing amount of research and fills in many of the historical gaps with other stories or flourishes about the world Gulbadan lived in. Lal does exceptional work and makes this story feel complete even while there are a maddening amount of gaps in Gulbadan's full life.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Yale University Press.)
May 15, 2024
In Vagabond Princess: The Great Adventures of Gulbadan, Ruby Lal writes that in about 1587, the Mughal Emperor Akbar decided to commission an official history of his empire. The work, Akbarnama, was to be written by Abul Fazl; but Abul Fazl would need the help of those who had gone before. Among those Akbar requested for assistance was his aunt, Gulbadan Bano Begum, Babar’s daughter and Humayun’s half-sister. Gulbadan, then in her early sixties, complied with Akbar’s request to document her memories; the resultant work was called Ahval-i-Humayun Baadshah (‘Conditions in the Age of Humayun Baadshah’), now more commonly referred to as the Humayunnama. An up-close look at Babar and Humayun, and at the lives of the Mughals in the early decades of their sojourn in Hindustan, the Humayunnama is a unique piece of writing: a chronicle that is honest, intimate, and—even more of a rarity—from the point of view of a woman.
Somewhat ironically, while Gulbadan’s memoir offers such an unusual glimpse into the private world of the Mughals, the woman herself remains enigmatic. Who, really, was Gulbadan? What sort of person might she have been, and how did she spend the years between her leaving Hindustan—when Humayun went into exile, leaving the empire for Sher Shah Suri to rule—and her writing of the Humayunnama?
This is the personality whom Ruby Lal sets out to demystify in Vagabond Princess. Beginning with Gulbadan’s birth (in 1523) in Bala Hisar, Lal traces Gulbadan’s life over the following decades, as her father Babar establishes the Mughal empire and the (by then six-year-old) princess follows with the harem to Agra. As Gulbadan and her clan settle into life in Hindustan; as Humayun succeeds Babar, and then has to contend with not just Sher Shah Suri, but his own ambitious brothers, among them Kamran. As Gulbadan, now married, is forced to return to Kabul, an exile like Humayun.
Throughout, Lal uses not just Gulbadan’s own memoir to build up a picture of the peripatetic princess, but myriad other sources as well: other chroniclers, and other details embedded in writings and art, in architecture and artefacts. Like a meticulous and careful detective (as any good historian should be), Lal unearths clues to Gulbadan’s life, especially in the decade or so before she wrote the Humayunnama.
In 1577, Gulbadan had led a group of haraman (women from the harem)—including some of her closest relatives—to a hajj, going all the way to Arabia and spending four years there. This trip, including their adventures on the journeys to and fro, forms a large portion of Vagabond Princess. Lal describes, through the eyes of other travellers and pilgrims, through the stories of the Quran and other religious texts, what Gulbadan’s experiences as a haji might have been. Where she might have gone, what she might have seen, the legends and histories she might have encountered. The reason why, at the orders of the Ottoman Sultan Murad III, Gulbadan and her party were forced to leave Arabia and return to Hindustan.
Where Lal excels is in her skilful narration of the life and times of Gulbadan Begum. Mughal history unfolds across the reigns of Babar and Humayun, and against this backdrop is told the story of the womenfolk of this dynasty:
… Gulbadan’s universe was peopled by busy women, brilliant strategists, and peacemakers advising princes as well as younger women on law, the politics of marriage, and the ethical principles of the dynasty.
Lal writes with authority and panache, detailing not just the family dynamics of the Mughals, but the more tangible aspects of life in the harem. The picnics and parties, the celebrations of births and weddings. What the haraman wore, what books they read, how they spent their time. A picture is gradually built up, of a close-knit family, but with the disagreements and dissensions of all families.
Gulbadan’s character emerges impactfully from this account: strong-willed, deeply loyal to her family, keen-sighted. A woman who had known freedom and adventure in her childhood and youth, and perhaps craved some of that old nomadic life in her old age. Lal shows, with empathy and sensitivity, how a changing world might have felt to women like Gulbadan, born and brought up in a milieu quite different from where they found themselves. It is a thought-provoking narration that makes one wonder about the hidden strengths, talents and achievements of Mughal (and other women from history) that may never come to light.
If there is a niggle here, it is in Lal’s occasional tendency to conjecture about emotion. There can be no certainty about how Gulbadan felt or thought, and to put a definiteness to her feelings can come across as presumptuous. For instance, this seems like conjecture:
What Gulbadan had was intention, a key ingredient of her upcoming journey. She longed to be in the House of God, far from the court and harem, simmering with intrigue and ambition, and far from structures of confinement in Fatehpur-Sikri, so that she could direct her intention to the desert land where Prophet Muhammad had outlined a rich direction for life and being.
This, however, is perhaps just a matter of style, and a writing style can be subjective. For a book as informative and entertaining as Vagabond Princess, it is a trivial (and infrequent) annoyance.
(From my review for Frontline: https://frontline.thehindu.com/books/...)
Somewhat ironically, while Gulbadan’s memoir offers such an unusual glimpse into the private world of the Mughals, the woman herself remains enigmatic. Who, really, was Gulbadan? What sort of person might she have been, and how did she spend the years between her leaving Hindustan—when Humayun went into exile, leaving the empire for Sher Shah Suri to rule—and her writing of the Humayunnama?
This is the personality whom Ruby Lal sets out to demystify in Vagabond Princess. Beginning with Gulbadan’s birth (in 1523) in Bala Hisar, Lal traces Gulbadan’s life over the following decades, as her father Babar establishes the Mughal empire and the (by then six-year-old) princess follows with the harem to Agra. As Gulbadan and her clan settle into life in Hindustan; as Humayun succeeds Babar, and then has to contend with not just Sher Shah Suri, but his own ambitious brothers, among them Kamran. As Gulbadan, now married, is forced to return to Kabul, an exile like Humayun.
Throughout, Lal uses not just Gulbadan’s own memoir to build up a picture of the peripatetic princess, but myriad other sources as well: other chroniclers, and other details embedded in writings and art, in architecture and artefacts. Like a meticulous and careful detective (as any good historian should be), Lal unearths clues to Gulbadan’s life, especially in the decade or so before she wrote the Humayunnama.
In 1577, Gulbadan had led a group of haraman (women from the harem)—including some of her closest relatives—to a hajj, going all the way to Arabia and spending four years there. This trip, including their adventures on the journeys to and fro, forms a large portion of Vagabond Princess. Lal describes, through the eyes of other travellers and pilgrims, through the stories of the Quran and other religious texts, what Gulbadan’s experiences as a haji might have been. Where she might have gone, what she might have seen, the legends and histories she might have encountered. The reason why, at the orders of the Ottoman Sultan Murad III, Gulbadan and her party were forced to leave Arabia and return to Hindustan.
Where Lal excels is in her skilful narration of the life and times of Gulbadan Begum. Mughal history unfolds across the reigns of Babar and Humayun, and against this backdrop is told the story of the womenfolk of this dynasty:
… Gulbadan’s universe was peopled by busy women, brilliant strategists, and peacemakers advising princes as well as younger women on law, the politics of marriage, and the ethical principles of the dynasty.
Lal writes with authority and panache, detailing not just the family dynamics of the Mughals, but the more tangible aspects of life in the harem. The picnics and parties, the celebrations of births and weddings. What the haraman wore, what books they read, how they spent their time. A picture is gradually built up, of a close-knit family, but with the disagreements and dissensions of all families.
Gulbadan’s character emerges impactfully from this account: strong-willed, deeply loyal to her family, keen-sighted. A woman who had known freedom and adventure in her childhood and youth, and perhaps craved some of that old nomadic life in her old age. Lal shows, with empathy and sensitivity, how a changing world might have felt to women like Gulbadan, born and brought up in a milieu quite different from where they found themselves. It is a thought-provoking narration that makes one wonder about the hidden strengths, talents and achievements of Mughal (and other women from history) that may never come to light.
If there is a niggle here, it is in Lal’s occasional tendency to conjecture about emotion. There can be no certainty about how Gulbadan felt or thought, and to put a definiteness to her feelings can come across as presumptuous. For instance, this seems like conjecture:
What Gulbadan had was intention, a key ingredient of her upcoming journey. She longed to be in the House of God, far from the court and harem, simmering with intrigue and ambition, and far from structures of confinement in Fatehpur-Sikri, so that she could direct her intention to the desert land where Prophet Muhammad had outlined a rich direction for life and being.
This, however, is perhaps just a matter of style, and a writing style can be subjective. For a book as informative and entertaining as Vagabond Princess, it is a trivial (and infrequent) annoyance.
(From my review for Frontline: https://frontline.thehindu.com/books/...)
April 7, 2024
History in the subjunctive mood
This biography unpacks an important figure and gives a clear and engaging account of how she fitted into her world.
The words "would have" recur throughout the book, as Lal attempts to reconstruct Gulbadan's emotions and experiences. Often this seems to stretch the limits of what we can know and it might have been better not to speculate.
One of Gulbadan's notable achievements was the production of a memoir. Lal stresses the uniqueness of this work throughout and especially in the final chapter... So, it is surprising that she quotes from it so infrequently. We don't really get much of an insight into how Gulbadan expressed herself. What was important to her?
Lal's main thesis is that Gulbadan's decision to go on the hajj was a reaction to Akbar's establishment of a strict harem, which was at odds with Gulbadan's expectation of free movement. This is plausible, but we never really get a sustained argument for it. This is connected with the issue of limited quotation. Does Gulbadan talk about the joy of movement?
This biography unpacks an important figure and gives a clear and engaging account of how she fitted into her world.
The words "would have" recur throughout the book, as Lal attempts to reconstruct Gulbadan's emotions and experiences. Often this seems to stretch the limits of what we can know and it might have been better not to speculate.
One of Gulbadan's notable achievements was the production of a memoir. Lal stresses the uniqueness of this work throughout and especially in the final chapter... So, it is surprising that she quotes from it so infrequently. We don't really get much of an insight into how Gulbadan expressed herself. What was important to her?
Lal's main thesis is that Gulbadan's decision to go on the hajj was a reaction to Akbar's establishment of a strict harem, which was at odds with Gulbadan's expectation of free movement. This is plausible, but we never really get a sustained argument for it. This is connected with the issue of limited quotation. Does Gulbadan talk about the joy of movement?
June 12, 2024
Is it masturbatory pseudo-history or just unimaginative, gynocentric fiction? You decide!
October 30, 2024
This is the story of Princess Gulbadan, daughter of Emperor Babur (the very guy who founded the Mughal Empire), and the only known female historian of her time. At 52, Princess Gulbadan boldly defied her nephew, Emperor Akbar, to lead a group of 11 women on a daring Hajj pilgrimage across the Indian and Arabian seas.
But here’s the thing: this book isn’t entirely about Gulbadan herself. It’s more about the fascinating world she lived in, though she does pop in and out of the narrative. There’s a fair bit of “she would have” but honestly, I can’t fault the author. I mean, working with only 83 folios and about 15 lines per page from Gulbadan’s original work? That’s pretty impressive!
I enjoyed this read. Gulbadan’s story is rarely told in historical nonfiction, and Lal captures her with a mix of respect and liveliness. It’s refreshing to see a Mughal princess portrayed as someone who didn’t just follow the rules but made her own.
That said, some parts did feel like they dragged a bit, leaning into textbook territory. And with limited source material, there’s that speculative tone in places that might not sit well with everyone.
Overall, Vagabond Princess is an engaging look at an incredible woman who defied the norms in an era where royal women were often kept in the background. It’s a must-read for history fans and anyone curious about the hidden lives of powerful women. A little slow here and there, but worth it!
But here’s the thing: this book isn’t entirely about Gulbadan herself. It’s more about the fascinating world she lived in, though she does pop in and out of the narrative. There’s a fair bit of “she would have” but honestly, I can’t fault the author. I mean, working with only 83 folios and about 15 lines per page from Gulbadan’s original work? That’s pretty impressive!
I enjoyed this read. Gulbadan’s story is rarely told in historical nonfiction, and Lal captures her with a mix of respect and liveliness. It’s refreshing to see a Mughal princess portrayed as someone who didn’t just follow the rules but made her own.
That said, some parts did feel like they dragged a bit, leaning into textbook territory. And with limited source material, there’s that speculative tone in places that might not sit well with everyone.
Overall, Vagabond Princess is an engaging look at an incredible woman who defied the norms in an era where royal women were often kept in the background. It’s a must-read for history fans and anyone curious about the hidden lives of powerful women. A little slow here and there, but worth it!
Read
November 24, 2023This was chosen by Nandini Das, author of Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire (Bloomsbury), as one of History Today’s Books of the Year 2023.
Find out why at HistoryToday.com.
Find out why at HistoryToday.com.
August 9, 2024
History nerds take notice of this one. Sincerely, I have a difficult time even doing this review without gushing. And I do not have the depth of any history for this earth placement for this time period. Tudors I do. But little else could be compared to the mixes in this mid-1500's lifetime.
They were SO mobile. When I think Persian Empire I always grasp a context cognition with the Iran- Arabian area. This Mughal Empire lapped over them all and into /over the top quarter or more of the Indian sub-continent. Over mountains, and down rivers and on voyages. But nearly always either conquering at war or combining and designating new ownerships or relatives' kingdoms of varying sizes.
There are 40 plus pages of sources and Gulbadan documentation. This is a mighty work.
Is it really a biographic piece? Not really. Women's lives were always subject to huge periods of invisibility. Not only because of harem arrangements but because at this level of noble course- each household may have 30 or 40 people under each wife or assistant, let alone the 1st family members' separate caravans. Each of her brothers had numerous wives and many children with such supporting casts for each, as well. Women had highly places roles of inference and reference in "talks" and in negotiation. Yet presently unmarried (not just daughters either) could be married off to a man going in constant movement in other directions.
The glut of "stuff" is worth the reading alone. This Muslim culture has gift giving at the core of almost every level and type of transaction for political, economic, religious, conquering or allying aims. Everything may be given in "9's". One massive gem would never do.
But the best part of reading this is not the chewy gore (life short and entire people/languages could be ended in a week re annihilation without many even going into subjective slavery)- but the mechanical aspects. I see that few readers have mentioned the logistics of moving these tented and felt boarded wall castles over months or years of 500 to 1000 miles plus journeys. Kabel to the Kush. Just imagine the horses and donkeys and paladins and slaves or water bearers etc.
Gulbadan has huge periods of utmost importance and also total "unknown" decades. But her influence! Read how she called 3 or 4 women "Mama" growing up and how her own birth mother was the least she ever saw. Sensibilities on 8 or 9 scales are so varied from today's world (nearly all of it everywhere) -that I wonder how many readers could even understand this.
Difficulty of read is EXTREME. But it's worth the immense time a Western mindset can put into this one. I still do not understand how they could have done it physically. In this mode of living and moving and conquering- these people lived in GARDENS. The first task was placing the huge 4 square garden /path arrangement. EVERYWHRE they stopped for mere month or two they did this!
They were SO mobile. When I think Persian Empire I always grasp a context cognition with the Iran- Arabian area. This Mughal Empire lapped over them all and into /over the top quarter or more of the Indian sub-continent. Over mountains, and down rivers and on voyages. But nearly always either conquering at war or combining and designating new ownerships or relatives' kingdoms of varying sizes.
There are 40 plus pages of sources and Gulbadan documentation. This is a mighty work.
Is it really a biographic piece? Not really. Women's lives were always subject to huge periods of invisibility. Not only because of harem arrangements but because at this level of noble course- each household may have 30 or 40 people under each wife or assistant, let alone the 1st family members' separate caravans. Each of her brothers had numerous wives and many children with such supporting casts for each, as well. Women had highly places roles of inference and reference in "talks" and in negotiation. Yet presently unmarried (not just daughters either) could be married off to a man going in constant movement in other directions.
The glut of "stuff" is worth the reading alone. This Muslim culture has gift giving at the core of almost every level and type of transaction for political, economic, religious, conquering or allying aims. Everything may be given in "9's". One massive gem would never do.
But the best part of reading this is not the chewy gore (life short and entire people/languages could be ended in a week re annihilation without many even going into subjective slavery)- but the mechanical aspects. I see that few readers have mentioned the logistics of moving these tented and felt boarded wall castles over months or years of 500 to 1000 miles plus journeys. Kabel to the Kush. Just imagine the horses and donkeys and paladins and slaves or water bearers etc.
Gulbadan has huge periods of utmost importance and also total "unknown" decades. But her influence! Read how she called 3 or 4 women "Mama" growing up and how her own birth mother was the least she ever saw. Sensibilities on 8 or 9 scales are so varied from today's world (nearly all of it everywhere) -that I wonder how many readers could even understand this.
Difficulty of read is EXTREME. But it's worth the immense time a Western mindset can put into this one. I still do not understand how they could have done it physically. In this mode of living and moving and conquering- these people lived in GARDENS. The first task was placing the huge 4 square garden /path arrangement. EVERYWHRE they stopped for mere month or two they did this!
May 4, 2024
-Princess on an Adventure in Mughal India-
Review of Vagabond Princess- The great adventures of Gulbadan by Ruby Lal
🖋️📖
It was in 1997 in British Library of London that Ruby Lal came face to face with a book written by an adventurous princess forgotten by time. Or shall we say erased? Gulbadan, daughter of Humayun, was hailed by the historians as first woman (in Mughal Indian) to pen a prose, offering a detailed picture of the Mughal society of her times in her book- the Ahval-i Hu-mayun Badshah or Conditions in the Age of Humayun Badshah, popularly called the Humayun-nama.
She was 64 when she wrote it. Alas, the book is incomplete. Perhaps the pages were lost to time or more probable, portions were redacted as they were deemed unbecoming of Mughal women of that time. Arriving in India in 1529 at age six, Gulbadan was the first Mughal girl to travel in a royal caravan across the dangerous Khyber Pass and the massive river Indus on the way to be reunited with the militarily victorious Babur.
Gulbadan spent her middle years in a walled harem established by her nephew Akbar to showcase his authority as the Great Emperor. Gulbadan longed for the exuberant itinerant lifestyle she had known. With Akbar’s blessing, she led an unprecedented sailing and overland voyage, and guided harem women on an extended pilgrimage in Arabia. Amid increasing political tensions, the women’s “un-Islamic” behavior forced their return, lengthened by a dramatic shipwreck in the Red Sea. The author has explained in gray details what this behaviour was.
Ruby Lal has breathed new life into an extraordinary Mughal figure and establishes her place in a history that has long been dominated by men’s actions and words. Written over two decades, this sweeping saga of a scholar-adventurer-sailor princess is her labour of love.
Review of Vagabond Princess- The great adventures of Gulbadan by Ruby Lal
🖋️📖
It was in 1997 in British Library of London that Ruby Lal came face to face with a book written by an adventurous princess forgotten by time. Or shall we say erased? Gulbadan, daughter of Humayun, was hailed by the historians as first woman (in Mughal Indian) to pen a prose, offering a detailed picture of the Mughal society of her times in her book- the Ahval-i Hu-mayun Badshah or Conditions in the Age of Humayun Badshah, popularly called the Humayun-nama.
She was 64 when she wrote it. Alas, the book is incomplete. Perhaps the pages were lost to time or more probable, portions were redacted as they were deemed unbecoming of Mughal women of that time. Arriving in India in 1529 at age six, Gulbadan was the first Mughal girl to travel in a royal caravan across the dangerous Khyber Pass and the massive river Indus on the way to be reunited with the militarily victorious Babur.
Gulbadan spent her middle years in a walled harem established by her nephew Akbar to showcase his authority as the Great Emperor. Gulbadan longed for the exuberant itinerant lifestyle she had known. With Akbar’s blessing, she led an unprecedented sailing and overland voyage, and guided harem women on an extended pilgrimage in Arabia. Amid increasing political tensions, the women’s “un-Islamic” behavior forced their return, lengthened by a dramatic shipwreck in the Red Sea. The author has explained in gray details what this behaviour was.
Ruby Lal has breathed new life into an extraordinary Mughal figure and establishes her place in a history that has long been dominated by men’s actions and words. Written over two decades, this sweeping saga of a scholar-adventurer-sailor princess is her labour of love.
September 21, 2024
The story of Gulbadan Begum, a 16th-century Mughal princess. Her extraordinary extant journal provides the foundational primary source for her remarkable life. The first half of the book is autobiographical and covers her childhood as the daughter of the first Mughal emperor, Babur, the ascent to the throne of her half-brother, Humayun, after Babur’s death, and culminating in her nephew’s (Akbar) succession by the time she was in her fifties. As a devout Muslim, Gulbadan’s life goal was to complete a pilgrimage to the holy land in Mecca and Medina. Early in Akbar’s regime, she led a caravan of Mughal women and attendants on the arduous journey.
The second half of the book is an account of the pilgrimage from India to Mecca. The caravan traverses land and sea to reach its destination. Lal paints vivid accounts of the haji from their arrival at the Arabian port of Jeddah, to the short trek from there to Mecca, and finally the camelback journey to Medina. The practices and experiences of the hajj while the entourage is at the holy sites is described in detail. Unfortunately, most of this section is historical fiction as Gulbadan’s journal abruptly ends before leaving India.
Lal’s feminist, yet pro-Muslim ideology interferes with her objectivity in writing this book. Its biographical elements are borderline hagiographic. Princess Guldaban is clearly her personal heroine. Her fight against the prevailing historiography of the Mughal harem leads to a romanticism of harem life and a vaulted estimation of the influence harem elders had on Mughal policy. She has a bad practice of using documented events in one time period to speculate or project events that are undocumented in another period. If this book were a novel, it would be a fun beach read on holiday. As a work of historical scholarship, it is sorely lacking.
The second half of the book is an account of the pilgrimage from India to Mecca. The caravan traverses land and sea to reach its destination. Lal paints vivid accounts of the haji from their arrival at the Arabian port of Jeddah, to the short trek from there to Mecca, and finally the camelback journey to Medina. The practices and experiences of the hajj while the entourage is at the holy sites is described in detail. Unfortunately, most of this section is historical fiction as Gulbadan’s journal abruptly ends before leaving India.
Lal’s feminist, yet pro-Muslim ideology interferes with her objectivity in writing this book. Its biographical elements are borderline hagiographic. Princess Guldaban is clearly her personal heroine. Her fight against the prevailing historiography of the Mughal harem leads to a romanticism of harem life and a vaulted estimation of the influence harem elders had on Mughal policy. She has a bad practice of using documented events in one time period to speculate or project events that are undocumented in another period. If this book were a novel, it would be a fun beach read on holiday. As a work of historical scholarship, it is sorely lacking.
July 11, 2025
3.5⭐
This was a well researched book laying out the minutiae of lives lived centuries ago. I've always found that this information being available for us to be read, understand, appreciate and be amazed by, now, is so fascinating. I'd previously read Ruby Lal's Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan so the era of the Mughals was not completely new to me. This book though, did open up another aspect of the Mughal era for me.
In Vagabond Princess, the story of the princess Gulbadan's life and her adventures are laid out. She was Emperor Babur's daughter, Humayun's sister, Akbar's aunt, Jehangir's grandaunt and she was truly a woman ahead of her time. In an era where you would expect that a woman of her lineage would be kept under wraps in purdah, she blazed a trail of independence and fortitude. Well educated, respected, intrepid, influential - these are but a few of the adjectives that can be ascribed to Princess Rosebody.
At the request of her nephew, the Emperor Akbar, she wrote her memoir Ahval-i Humayun Badshah (popularly called the Humayun-nama). It is a unique viewpoint of Mughal domestic/ court life, social customs and political events that occured when Humayun reigned. A distinctive point of view of a woman from the royal household.
The book is also about the travelling Gulbadan did from the time she was a child to when she made an unprecedented trip to complete the Haj with certain other members of the royal harem. There were very detailed descriptions of Mecca and Medinah and of the journey itself. And while the descriptions were intriguing, there were times when I felt the narrative dragged on slightly.
The author has taken some artistic license and reimagined some situations involving Gulbadan but with very little actually remaining of Gulbadan's original work, this was certainly justified and didn't detract from the narration.
All in all, a captivating read about the Mughals and the Muslim world and customs.
This was a well researched book laying out the minutiae of lives lived centuries ago. I've always found that this information being available for us to be read, understand, appreciate and be amazed by, now, is so fascinating. I'd previously read Ruby Lal's Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan so the era of the Mughals was not completely new to me. This book though, did open up another aspect of the Mughal era for me.
In Vagabond Princess, the story of the princess Gulbadan's life and her adventures are laid out. She was Emperor Babur's daughter, Humayun's sister, Akbar's aunt, Jehangir's grandaunt and she was truly a woman ahead of her time. In an era where you would expect that a woman of her lineage would be kept under wraps in purdah, she blazed a trail of independence and fortitude. Well educated, respected, intrepid, influential - these are but a few of the adjectives that can be ascribed to Princess Rosebody.
At the request of her nephew, the Emperor Akbar, she wrote her memoir Ahval-i Humayun Badshah (popularly called the Humayun-nama). It is a unique viewpoint of Mughal domestic/ court life, social customs and political events that occured when Humayun reigned. A distinctive point of view of a woman from the royal household.
The book is also about the travelling Gulbadan did from the time she was a child to when she made an unprecedented trip to complete the Haj with certain other members of the royal harem. There were very detailed descriptions of Mecca and Medinah and of the journey itself. And while the descriptions were intriguing, there were times when I felt the narrative dragged on slightly.
The author has taken some artistic license and reimagined some situations involving Gulbadan but with very little actually remaining of Gulbadan's original work, this was certainly justified and didn't detract from the narration.
All in all, a captivating read about the Mughals and the Muslim world and customs.
February 28, 2025
As much as I appreciate the desire to write a book about Gulbadan, because she’s such an interesting person in both Mughal and women’s history this almost felt like a bait and switch.
It was less about Gulbadan herself and more about the things happening around her with an occasional “Gulbadan was probably there…” or “Gulbadan probably had some sort of feelings about this, but we’re not sure what…”
All that said, for what it is, it was great to learn more details about women during the Mughal period in some way. I especially liked the parts about her younger years, but I also enjoyed finding out about how the women were kept in Surat on the way for the Hajj because I only recently found out about some connections I might have to that area myself!
All in all, an interesting book but didn’t feel like I actually learned a ton more about Gulbadan herself from it and wanted more about her actual writing too. The biggest part of what is known about her is that she wrote books, but we only get a brief chapter about that… I thought we’d get more about/from her books.
Also an aside: I listened to the audiobook at the same time as reading and I didn’t quite like the narrator. It was clear she wasn’t of South Asian descent, but did a good enough job pronouncing names but she kept saying “Moo-GAL” for “Mughal” which was an odd pronunciation and when reading quotes she would put on this weird pseudo-Indian accent that I didn’t really appreciate. 😅
It was less about Gulbadan herself and more about the things happening around her with an occasional “Gulbadan was probably there…” or “Gulbadan probably had some sort of feelings about this, but we’re not sure what…”
All that said, for what it is, it was great to learn more details about women during the Mughal period in some way. I especially liked the parts about her younger years, but I also enjoyed finding out about how the women were kept in Surat on the way for the Hajj because I only recently found out about some connections I might have to that area myself!
All in all, an interesting book but didn’t feel like I actually learned a ton more about Gulbadan herself from it and wanted more about her actual writing too. The biggest part of what is known about her is that she wrote books, but we only get a brief chapter about that… I thought we’d get more about/from her books.
Also an aside: I listened to the audiobook at the same time as reading and I didn’t quite like the narrator. It was clear she wasn’t of South Asian descent, but did a good enough job pronouncing names but she kept saying “Moo-GAL” for “Mughal” which was an odd pronunciation and when reading quotes she would put on this weird pseudo-Indian accent that I didn’t really appreciate. 😅
September 21, 2024
3.5 stars, tbh.
I was very psyched to read it when I first came across it on the Not Just Tudors Podcast episode with the author. I had been thinking about mughal women and how little I knew of them when i found the podcast.
I have been interested in the idea of the 'lack' in archives of sources on women and other non normative people in history for a while and it still fascinated me. This book, imo, was done very capably for the most part. Gulbadan as a person comes across vividly, fleshed out through the stories of other women around her. Dr Lal's contextualising life in the harem by describing the peripatetic life before is particularly revealing. I feel Gulbadan will be in my thoughts for quite a while.
I felt, at some points, Dr Lal lost sight of Gulbadan in writing her history. This is particularly felt in the chapters on her pilgrimage which are a little repetitive and a little too removed from Gulbadan than I had hoped. We build up to the reasons for her having to return but we only get tantalising glimpses which could have been expanded upon.
I do understand, however, the challenge of working with such limited archival sources, and I think she does manage quite well regardless. I am looking forward to reading more by her - an excellent historian from whom Id love to learn more about working with/against archives.
I was very psyched to read it when I first came across it on the Not Just Tudors Podcast episode with the author. I had been thinking about mughal women and how little I knew of them when i found the podcast.
I have been interested in the idea of the 'lack' in archives of sources on women and other non normative people in history for a while and it still fascinated me. This book, imo, was done very capably for the most part. Gulbadan as a person comes across vividly, fleshed out through the stories of other women around her. Dr Lal's contextualising life in the harem by describing the peripatetic life before is particularly revealing. I feel Gulbadan will be in my thoughts for quite a while.
I felt, at some points, Dr Lal lost sight of Gulbadan in writing her history. This is particularly felt in the chapters on her pilgrimage which are a little repetitive and a little too removed from Gulbadan than I had hoped. We build up to the reasons for her having to return but we only get tantalising glimpses which could have been expanded upon.
I do understand, however, the challenge of working with such limited archival sources, and I think she does manage quite well regardless. I am looking forward to reading more by her - an excellent historian from whom Id love to learn more about working with/against archives.
May 12, 2024
An interesting read about an adventure that was almost erased. Sadly, it was kinda erased, and the part of Ruby Lal's book that covers Gulbadan's adventure in Arabia is the weakest.
The first half of the book, which draws from Gulbadan's own accounts, is where she is most alive. In attempting to recreate the great adventure from other sources, Gulbadan is less prominent in the second half of the book, and we get more of a description of how these places were back then rather than a story of this woman. Which is what I picked this book up for. I definitely enjoyed hearing about 16th century Arabia and the political landscape, but I wanted more Gulbadan. I understand the difficulty, what with her story being purposefully erased.
I'll probably read the translation of Gulbadan's own work in order to get a better sense of her from her own writing. Even if it is a translation.
The book was also a good introduction to other interesting women of history I hadn't heard of, Zubaida and El Qutlugh. I will definitely be reading more about them.
The first half of the book, which draws from Gulbadan's own accounts, is where she is most alive. In attempting to recreate the great adventure from other sources, Gulbadan is less prominent in the second half of the book, and we get more of a description of how these places were back then rather than a story of this woman. Which is what I picked this book up for. I definitely enjoyed hearing about 16th century Arabia and the political landscape, but I wanted more Gulbadan. I understand the difficulty, what with her story being purposefully erased.
I'll probably read the translation of Gulbadan's own work in order to get a better sense of her from her own writing. Even if it is a translation.
The book was also a good introduction to other interesting women of history I hadn't heard of, Zubaida and El Qutlugh. I will definitely be reading more about them.
June 19, 2024
This would be described more accurately as a book about Gulbadan's world than about the princess herself. It often seemed that everywhere Gulbadan went and the actions of all the men (and sometimes women) around her were described. But Gulbadan's thoughts were rarely conveyed, and then only as speculation: "Gulbadan would have done / felt X." This may reflect the book Gulbadan wrote, Conditions in the Reign of Humayun, which undoubtedly provided much of the source material for this biography. But Lal certainly could have included more direct quotations and discussion of the sources throughout the book (instead of only in the last chapter) to better present Gulbadan as an actor in her own life.
April 10, 2024
‘Vagabond Princess’ by Ruby Lal offers a fresh look at Mughal women, spotlighting Gulbadan Begum's pivotal role. Lal skillfully unveils Gulbadan's journey, from her interactions with Babur to her adventures in Mecca and Medina, showcasing the agency of royal women in politics and diplomacy. This tribute to Gulbadan's resilience challenges stereotypes, presenting a compelling narrative that redefines Mughal history. Ruby Lal's thorough research, drawing from varied sources enriches the portrayal. A captivating read, this book is a must for those intrigued by the dynamic lives of historical women.
March 16, 2024
Princess Gulbadan: daughter, sister, and aunt of the Mughal Emperors. Not only did she experience the adventures that marked the beginning of empire in India, she personally preserved her observations for future generations in a book. Many of the observations of internal life of the Mughals that we still have today come from her work. While many think of the harem when they think of Muslim royalty, Gulbadan shows the world outside it did exist for some women, to the extent of completing a pilgrimage to Mecca. Lal's book helps shed light on the connections between India, Arabia, and Portugal - tensions between countries over ocean travel and charity.
June 5, 2024
Excellent book.
Very impressed with the style, writing, and explanations the author provided on some obscure topics and characters.
Liked it so much I purchased the author's book on Nur Jahan which I have not read yet.
Very impressed with the style, writing, and explanations the author provided on some obscure topics and characters.
Liked it so much I purchased the author's book on Nur Jahan which I have not read yet.
May 30, 2025
I liked this at the start, but I got bored toward the end. I understand that Gulbadan is one of those people in history where only part of the story is known, and the author is trying to fill in context from other women's stories, but I think I may have appreciated sticking to her story more.
October 24, 2025
this is a really interesting story and i liked it but unfortunately due to the lack of primary sources (not the author's fault) you kind of have to infer and embellish a lot and that ruined the flow of the book imo.
November 9, 2025
This book feels a bit unfinished but such was the time when women's story were not well documented. the author does a fine job or even excellent with the sources that he has to paint a picture of the importance of woman in the Mughal World and Gulbadan leads the way.
June 12, 2024
Extremely detailed history of Mughal empire in India.
June 22, 2024
This book was an absolute gem.
December 27, 2024
read for class, cool take on Mughal history and super detailed
January 11, 2025
This book paints an enchanting picture of the lives of Mughal women, their love of poetry, gardens and tents, and their pilgrimage to Mecca.
November 6, 2024
The opulence of the Mughals never ceases to impress. This biography offers a slightly different perspective, but ultimately Gulbadan is something of a side character for much of it. Instead the focus is on the men of her life: Babur, Humayun, and Akbar. I was puzzled until the author describes her challenges in actually sourcing information about the vagabond princess at the end of the book.
This book best serves as a thought-provoking snapshot of 16th C geopolitics around the Mughals, and the Hajj. It's got many great tidbits you might not find in other works.
This book best serves as a thought-provoking snapshot of 16th C geopolitics around the Mughals, and the Hajj. It's got many great tidbits you might not find in other works.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews