Enthroned at thirteen, Akbar the Great ruled the Mughal Empire in India for forty-nine years until his death in 1605. Commissioned by Akbar, the Akbarnama manuscript chronicles his lineage, life, and reign in three volumes written by Abu’l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, the emperor’s vizier. The first volume, which includes this calendar’s twelve works, intricately illustrates Akbar’s early years and the famous endeavors of his predecessors: his father, Humayun, and his grandfather, Babur. Even the birth of Timur, Akbar’s paternal ancestor and founder of the Timurid dynasty centuries earlier, is celebrated in gilded miniature.