The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c23.s4.85

v4.c23.s4.85

Had circumstances permitted, Bābur’s son and successor, Humāyūn, would have left more than one monument as a record of his intermittent rule. But the political situation was unfavourable. As it was, one of his earliest undertakings was to build at Delhi a new city to “be the asylum of wise and intelligent persons, and be called Dīnpanāh (World-refuge)”. It was to contain “a magnificent palace of seven storeys, surrounded by delightful gardens and orchards, of such elegance and beauty that its fame might draw people from the remotest corners of the world”. The laying of the foundation stone of this, the first Mughul capital, is thus described by one who was present.